Mitokado Homura's face betrayed little emotion.
He might usually call Hiruzen Sarutobi his brother and act as though they were inseparable, but he knew perfectly well how much affection actually remained between them.
The bond between fellow disciples?
Perhaps it had truly existed when they were young.
Back then, they had all been Tobirama Senju's disciples, and they had genuinely gotten along. They had even once regarded Jin Uchiha as a true friend.
But after Tobirama Senju died in the First Shinobi World War and Hiruzen Sarutobi became the Third Hokage, everything had slowly changed.
The affection was still there, of course. It was just that self-interest had long since taken precedence, along with mutual suspicion and scheming.
Power had always been the deadliest poison.
A mere wave of their hands could make their subordinates bow their heads; a name casually written on a document could determine the course of a shinobi's future. Then there were the annual funds sent by the Daimyō's office—staggering sums of money whose use was entirely theirs to decide.
In their positions, they practically had the power to decide what passed for truth in Konoha.
Who could remain clearheaded forever when wielding power they had once never dared to imagine?
When clans like Mitokado, Mitokado, Sarutobi, and Shimura first joined Konoha, they had been nothing more than insignificant little shinobi clans. They had seen only limited resources and wealth. How could they have known what it felt like to have astronomical sums at their disposal?
Tobirama Senju had actually recognized this long ago.
On the surface, his choice of Hiruzen Sarutobi as the next Hokage had been a matter of sufficient strength and experience. In truth, what he valued was Sarutobi's indecisive nature. More importantly, the Sarutobi Clan itself was not powerful enough to immediately