The stage

Kakashi's scroll had not recorded much. Everything in it consisted of relatively crucial remarks.

For instance, Xia Yan's uncertainty about Kakashi's circumstances, and his telling Kakashi that "Lord Hokage's actions might have been misunderstood."

Minato Namikaze was no fool. Although he was warm and friendly, that did not mean he was some innocent airhead.

Highly intelligent since childhood, he could see through and think through many things.

His experience on the battlefield, in particular, had greatly improved his judgment and ability to think.

Kakashi had been dispatched on a mission as soon as he arrived in the Anbu. If that had not been because "Kakashi was strong enough," as Minato had thought, but instead meant what Xia Yan had suggested...

Then it was a show of authority, one directed at Kakashi.

Coupled with the remark that his actions might have been misunderstood, it led Minato Namikaze to think of many more things.

He had only just taken office. Although he was nominally the Hokage, there were many things he simply had no authority over.

The Anbu, for example.

The Anbu were one of the Hokage's core sources of power. With the Third having stepped down, he, as the Fourth Hokage, should have had complete control over them.

Yet he had only put Kakashi in, without any other plans, and a problem like this had already arisen...

"Perhaps I'm overthinking it."

Minato Namikaze suddenly realized that his thoughts seemed somewhat dangerous, and immediately suppressed the urge to think any further.

He glanced at the scroll in his hand, then sensed the Anbu still concealed around him, and sighed softly.

Putting the scroll away, he decided it would be better to take it home. Leaving it here might very well invite unnecessary trouble.

"Fukami Natsuhiko, or rather, Senju Natsuhiko. This boy seems rather interesting..."

Xia Yan had no idea what had happened in the Hokage's office. By then, he had already returned to his room.

He really did need to consider his upcoming plans, such as how to secure more benefits for himself from future events.

In fact, Xia Yan had known long ago that what he could gain in Konoha in the future would far exceed what he could gain anywhere else.

First came the competition!

Xia Yan still remembered quite vividly just how rocky Konoha's future would be.

In fact, signs of Konoha's decline had begun to emerge with the generation of White Fang and the Sannin.

They had either died, would defect in the future, or had already left Konoha.

Even Jiraiya had ultimately chosen not to remain in Konoha.

And, frankly, there were not many Kage-level fighters in Minato Namikaze's generation. Counting everyone, there might only have been him and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki-his wife, Kushina.

As for the others, whether Hyuga Hiashi, Uchiha Fugaku, or the heads of major clans like the Ino-Shika-Cho, they were all quite strong and fully capable of holding their own.

But they were probably still a little short of truly reaching Kage Level.

Of course, if Uchiha Fugaku really did have the Mangekyo, that would be another matter.

Xia Yan's generation, meanwhile, could be considered quite good, with one capable, independent ninja emerging after another.

But if he really counted carefully, in the future there would be Kakashi, who could fight anyone to a draw, and Might Guy, who had nearly kicked the story straight to its ending.

The others fell considerably short. They were elite jonin, while Kakashi and Might Guy were Kage-level, or even Super Kage Level figures.

Konoha would have a gap in its talent pool. That was bound to happen in the future!

For Xia Yan, this was an opportunity he could only hope to stumble upon.

He certainly did not believe he would fail to reach even Kage Level with more than a decade ahead of him. After all, he had a cheat.

Although planting trees in his early days had been hard work, he had at least already reached jonin strength.

And he was certain that once he entered Sage Mode, he would definitely be at the elite jonin level.

It was worth mentioning that his Sage Mode was still only in its beginner stage. There were intermediate and advanced stages after that, and he even thought there might be something like a complete form and a Six Paths form.

Unfortunately, he had not obtained those seeds, nor was he qualified to plant them, but the future held promise.

If even beginner Sage Mode had such power, Xia Yan felt that once his intermediate Sage Fruit ripened, he could count as quasi-Kage Level.

At the very least, his overall strength would be quasi-Kage Level, even if it lasted only a short while.

Not only that, he also had the option of Bloodline Development, although he was not sure exactly how he was supposed to expand on that development mode.

Still, he was not all that worried. Whether his Basic Attributes seeds, Chakra Nature Seeds, Sage Seeds, or Chakra Reserves Seeds, they had all actually been randomly extracted from plants.

Of course, if he could find plants more closely aligned with certain attributes, the chances of obtaining them would be higher.

He felt that perhaps, in the future, he might even extract seeds that increased the degree of his Bloodline Development.

"Strictly speaking, my only competitors are actually Kakashi and Might Guy.

And Might Guy is a training fanatic. He won't take part in any struggle for power at all.

Perhaps the thought never even crosses his mind. Otherwise, he wouldn't foolishly try to save Hiruzen Sarutobi in the future.

As for Kakashi, he's probably more passive than proactive. His time as Hokage..."

Xia Yan silently recalled how Kakashi would become the Sixth in the future. In truth, the position of Sixth had practically been handed to him for free.

Being outstanding enough did not mean you could become Hokage.

You had to be outstanding and also satisfy the choices of the various interest groups before you could take the Hokage's seat!

As the Fourth's student, Kakashi could be considered to have all the right credentials.

Besides that, he was on good terms with all the jonin of his generation. They had even been classmates.

His rise had also received the support of Konoha's absolute mainstays at the time, while the older generation's core power holders had conveniently all been blown up by a single Tailed Beast Bomb from the Ten-Tails.

With the reshuffling of the upper circles of power, along with Kakashi's good connections across the board and sufficient strength, he had naturally been pushed to the forefront.

Of course, there was another reason: the two people who could be called the saviors of the Shinobi World were both his students!

To Xia Yan, his rise was something that could be replicated. Xia Yan even believed he could do better.

But while the idea was good, some things would not turn out as he imagined.

Of course, this was still much better than trying to get by in the Akatsuki.

Never mind the competitors there—the sheer intensity of the competition among its members alone chilled Xia Yan. Going there now would mean serving himself up on a platter!

"For now, I should still focus on improving my strength and winning over all kinds of talent, while spreading the persona I've already established even further."

Xia Yan quickly made his decision. Improving his strength naturally meant "planting trees," and that could only be done by waiting patiently.

Winning over talent was a real headache, but he still had to try and do it.

In fact, he did know of a "Talent Base" sitting there. He could try looking for some promising people there.

But once he came into contact with them, there would be plenty of trouble in the future...