In Uchiha Yu 'Hiruzen Sarutobi view, Meikyō was clearly under the guidance of Uchiha, and at a young age, he mastered all the abilities required of Uchiha with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
However, this strength should still be under control. As long as I can completely win him over to the Hokage and make him serve me, I can achieve my goal.
"To be able to defeat Xuanyuan Group, who has such a reputation in the Underworld, is truly remarkable, Meikyō."
A smile appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face, making him look like a kind, fifty-year-old man.
"You flatter me, Third Hokage-sama."
Meikyō adopted a humble demeanor.
"No, the Hokage's approval is not something that can be easily obtained. You and Minato are the most outstanding young people in the village, and you are destined to take over the future of the village from my hands."
Hiruzen Sarutobi gestured for himself to stand up from the Hokage's position, and then, along with Meikyō and Minato, stood at the window.
Having served Hiruzen Sarutobi for so many years, Hokage Sarutobi naturally knew how to deal with these youngsters.
He continued to sit at the Hokage's desk, leaving the two young men standing opposite him. This created a sense of hierarchy and order. He simply stood up, had them stand beside him, and spoke to them in a casual, conversational tone, like an ordinary elder. This effortlessly reduced the sense of distance between them.
All he needs to do next is, as the Hokage and an elder, say some flattering words and make grand promises about becoming the future Hokage, and he'll generally achieve great results.
"No, Third Hokage-sama, given the current situation, the village's future still depends on you. As for the future, there are also Lord Orochimaru and Lord Dan Katō. We are still far from being able to achieve that."
Minato Namikaze stood next to the Third Hokage, deliberately half a step behind, his tone sincere, but his eyes filled with expectation.
Hokage is his biggest dream right now.
[Have I already ranked Dan Katō alongside Orochimaru? It seems my actions over the past few days have been effective.]
A thought flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind. He then took the pipe from his mouth and pointed to the location of the Hokage Rock opposite the window.
"That was my teacher, the Second Hokage. Ever since Teacher Tobirama handed the Hokage position to me, I have never dared to slack off in the slightest. Although my talent is far inferior to that of my two mentors, the First Hokage and Second Hokage, I am at least gratified that I have met the requirements of Hokage predecessors and have trained Orochimaru, Dan Katō, and outstanding young ninjas like you."
Although she deeply agreed with Hiruzen Sarutobi's statement that she was inferior to the First Hokage and Second Hokage, Meikyō still managed to project a perfectly appropriate sense of emotion into her eyes.
"No, Third Hokage-sama, the times are different. When the First Hokage was alive, the entire Ninja World had just ended the wars of the Sengoku Period, and people longed for peace. So there was no war. During the Second's reign, there was also ample time to train the next generation and improve the village's system based on the First Hokage's foundation."
"But conquering a kingdom is difficult, but maintaining it is even more difficult. Now, wars are more frequent and larger in scale than in the past, so the external pressure on Konoha is naturally greater, and the situation you, Third Hokage-sama, face is naturally more difficult. The village's current situation is all because of you, Hokage!"
In the last sentence, Meikyō is sincere.
In the future of the original timeline, Hiruzen Sarutobi indeed bears a great deal of responsibility for Konoha's decline to such a state.
The fact that Konoha was able to gradually rise to its peak during this period can only be attributed to the immense foundation laid by the First Hokage and Second Hokage. In addition, Hiruzen Sarutobi, in the early stages of his Hokage career, was able to hold his Mito Uzumaki and still managed to forge a future as Shinobi Hero. This allowed Konoha to fully unleash the accumulated strength left by the First Hokage and Second Hokage during this period.
From the time Minato Namikaze was born, he was a ninja from the era of Hiruzen Sarutobi's rule. Apart from the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, only Minato Namikaze reached the Kage Level. Even in the era of the Konoha 12, if Naruto Uzumaki Uchiha Sasuke Indra Asura, there might not have been any strong enough to uphold the family's reputation.
Even Sakura Haruno was able to reach that level of skill only because Naruto brought Tsunade back to the country.
Because other characters like Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi would only be crippled by Hiruzen Sarutobi's self-inflicted martial arts loss.
If Team 7 were to disappear, the position of Hokage would even be reduced to someone with the strength of Shikamaru Nara.
Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed with Meikyō's words, feeling that his status as the Third Hokage had surpassed that of the First Hokage and Second Hokage in the eyes of a junior like Uchiha Meikyō.
"It's hard to conquer a country, but it's even harder to maintain it. That's so true. I never expected that you, Meikyō, would have such a Hokage- like mindset at such a young age."
Hiruzen Sarutobi begins by praising others.
If it were any other ninja who hadn't read many books, they would have been completely taken aback by Hiruzen Sarutobi's "Hokage -style thinking."
At least at this moment Minato Namikaze looked at Meikyō with a hint of envy in his eyes.
Hokage- style way of thinking that's been recognized by the Hokage himself!
Such words are really easy to misunderstand.
Helpless, Meikyō could only pretend to be flattered.
Fortunately, because of his Transparent World, he can observe the changes in every inch of his muscles with great detail, which makes his acting so perfect that there is no flaw in his performance.
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his head and looked at Meikyō and Minato Namikaze.
"Seeing the two of you, it's like I've returned to decades ago. Back then, Mingjing and Meikyō, your second grandfather Kagami Uchiha, stood before the Second Hokage, listening to his teachings. Although you are not my disciples, you are disciples of Tsunade and Jiraiya. All of this seems like one cycle after another."
"Third Hokage-sama, this is not reincarnation, but the inheritance of the Will of Fire!"
In the eyes of the Third Hokage, Meikyō's face was full of admiration, without a trace of acting.
A satisfied smile immediately appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face.
It seems I have successfully subdued this brat.
However, it's normal for Uchiha to be easily agitated, and once they've made up their minds, no one can change their Uchiha.
"Meikyō, you are very much like your second grandfather. You are humble, calm, and possess outstanding talent, as well as a profound understanding of the will of fire."
A hint of nostalgia appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face.
He was a member of the same team as Danzo and Kagami Uchiha back then. When they were on missions, he and Danzo were often saved by Kagami Uchiha using Genjutsu when they were in danger.