I am the Hokage

The Hokage's office.

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk, puffing away on a pipe held between his lips. Smoke rose slowly, obscuring his aged face.

More than thirty years had passed in the blink of an eye since the Second Hokage had made him Hokage.

As he grew older and his body aged, his energy was nowhere near what it had once been, and he was already considering retirement.

What he needed to consider now was the choice of Fourth Hokage.

His first thoughts were of his three students.

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru.

During the Second Shinobi World War, Tsunade's lover, Dan Katō, had died in battle. After witnessing the massive blood loss, she had developed severe hemophobia, leaving her completely unfit to practice medicine or take to the battlefield.

She had left the village just as the Third Shinobi World War began.

She had not returned even now.

For the time being, she was out of consideration.

Jiraiya had no interest in becoming Hokage. When Hiruzen had asked his opinion some time ago, Jiraiya had recommended his student, Minato Namikaze.

His student's student had perfectly mastered the Space-Time Ninjutsu invented by the Second Hokage, Flying Thunder God, and developed it to its utmost potential, single-handedly deterring every nation involved in the Third Shinobi World War.

There was no counter to Flying Thunder God's speed. The leaders of every nation had ordered their troops to abandon their missions and retreat immediately upon encountering the Yellow Flash, forbidding them from engaging him. Countless Konoha squads had escaped annihilation thanks to his name, greatly reducing casualties among Konoha Ninja.

During the war, Minato had repeatedly undertaken high-risk decapitation and rescue missions, saving surrounded allied forces on numerous occasions in the Third Shinobi World War.

With achievements like those, there would be no problem at all with him becoming Hokage!

Most importantly, Minato was Jiraiya's student, and Jiraiya was his student-a pure continuation of the Hokage lineage!

"If Minato succeeds me as Hokage..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe as a figure surfaced in his clouded eyes.

It was Orochimaru, the student he was proudest of!

Of his three students, he favored Orochimaru, but next to the outstanding Minato, Orochimaru no longer seemed quite so outstanding.

It was not that Orochimaru was not outstanding enough, but rather that Minato was simply too outstanding.

Minato Namikaze's name as the "Yellow Flash" resounded throughout the Shinobi World. He had single-handedly turned the tide of the Third Shinobi World War, and most Konoha Ninja had escaped death in battle thanks to him. Civilians and all the major clans trusted and respected him; his popular support dwarfed Orochimaru's.

Moreover, he had fully inherited the Will of Fire, always prioritizing the protection of his teammates and civilians on the battlefield. His ideals aligned perfectly with the core principles of every Hokage.

In this respect, Orochimaru was no match for Minato at all...

Just then, an Anbu appeared in the office with a swish, kneeling on one knee with his head lowered.

"Lord Hokage..."

He reported everything from his surveillance of Uchiha Jin that day, placing particular emphasis on what Jin had said to the villagers of Konoha.

"All right, understood."

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved a hand, signaling that he could leave.

During the Third Shinobi World War, two young prodigies had emerged among the Uchiha: Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Jin.

Impressed by their talent, he had approached them to join the Anbu once the war ended.

He had wanted to keep them close and nurture them, so they could one day protect the village as ninja who held the Will of Fire in their hearts.

He had thought it would be a sure thing.

Who would have imagined that Uchiha Jin would refuse to join the Anbu and instead join the Uchiha Konoha Military Police Force?

Hiruzen Sarutobi could not understand what he was thinking, so he had dispatched Anbu to monitor his every move.

Jin's defense of his clan's reputation made Hiruzen Sarutobi frown.

"A staunch clan loyalist?"

Clan loyalists were common among Konoha's ninja clans.

In their eyes, the clan's interests came before everything else.

As Hokage, he naturally did not want to see this, so he had always deliberately guided the ninja toward embracing the Will of Fire.

He wanted them to subconsciously consider the village more important than their clans.

That way, there would be no need to worry about the clans rebelling.

The other clans were not much of a concern, but the Uchiha Clan was different.

According to the Second Hokage's research, this clan was full of lunatics. Who knew what they might do?

He had always been on guard against the Uchiha...

For fear that another Madara Uchiha might emerge.

Upon learning that prodigies had emerged among the Uchiha, his first reaction had been to win them over.

Jin and Shisui were both rare Uchiha talents, and their clan would certainly focus on nurturing them.

If the village could win them over early and get them to embrace the Will of Fire and care about the village, there would be no need to worry about a rebellion once they took control of the Uchiha in the future.

But so far, he had only won over Shisui Uchiha.

As for Uchiha Jin, he still needed to be observed.

At present, there did not seem to be any major problems...

"Monkey!"

Just then, someone pushed open the office door.

Shimura Danzō barged in with a dark expression. "Hand Shisui Uchiha over to me!"

He had only just learned that Shisui Uchiha had been recruited into the Anbu and had rushed straight here to confront his close friend.

Damn it, he beat me to it again!

"Danzo, calm down."

The sight of Danzo gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a headache, and he rubbed between his brows helplessly.

"Calm down?" Shimura Danzō sneered. "Hand Shisui Uchiha over to me, and I'll calm down."

A prodigy like that should belong to Root!

"Enough, Danzo!" Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his voice. "I am the Hokage!"

Shimura Danzō: "..."

Why did he use his title as Hokage to put me down every time we argued?!

Was being Hokage so impressive?!

Bastard!

If I had been the first to step forward back then, perhaps things would have been different.

Unfortunately, there were no ifs...

Seeing his companion's constipated expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi's earlier irritation eased a little.

He had been quite annoyed.

Seeing his old friend's expression made him feel much better.

"Danzo, the Anbu is the best place for Shisui. Stop entertaining unrealistic fantasies."

Shisui was a prodigy with the Will of Fire whom he had gone to considerable effort to win over. Handing him over to Root would be like throwing a meat bun to a dog-he would never get him back.

"Then what about Uchiha Jin?"

Shimura Danzō asked through gritted teeth.

There were two Uchiha prodigies. Surely there was no problem with giving one to the Anbu and the other to Root?

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his eyebrows and said meaningfully, "You can try recruiting him."

Even he, the Hokage, had failed to recruit Jin. He did not believe his old friend could succeed.

Uchiha Jin was clearly a clan loyalist, making him extremely difficult to recruit.

"Fine."

Shimura Danzō's eyes lit up, and his mood went from overcast to partly cloudy.

With my abilities, there should be no problem at all recruiting Uchiha Jin into Root!

Monkey only failed to recruit him because he lacked the ability.

With that thought, Shimura Danzō turned and left.

Watching his old friend leave, Hiruzen Sarutobi took the pipe from his mouth and shook his head with a wry smile.

"What baffling confidence..."

They had known each other for so many years. How could he not understand his old friend's little thoughts?

They both understood; they simply did not say it aloud.

"Continue monitoring Uchiha Jin..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly looked toward the shadows and spoke.