Under normal circumstances, Kabuto should have been highly suited for Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode. However, under Uchiha Keizumi's influence, Kabuto had never received sufficient tempering under Orochimaru. He hadn't even gone to Ryūchi Cave of his own will.
On top of that, Kabuto had been fixated on inheriting Orochimaru's legacy. Naturally, it was difficult for him to sense natural energy and successfully enter Sage Mode.
"No—you are the most suitable successor for Ryūchi Cave. In some ways, you're even more suitable than that Orochimaru fellow!"
What left Kabuto somewhat helpless was that the White Snake Sage directly rejected his request.
As one of the sages of the Three Great Sage Regions, the White Snake Sage possessed a limited ability to foresee the future. In the future she had seen, Kabuto had successfully mastered Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode—that was precisely why she had brought him here.
"I'm more suitable than Orochimaru-sama as Ryūchi Cave's successor?"
Kabuto didn't quite believe the white snake's nonsense, but he had little choice. When you're at the mercy of someone else, you have to bow your head. No matter how much he longed for Orochimaru's legacy, he could only remain in Ryūchi Cave for now.
What Kabuto didn't know was that staying in Ryūchi Cave might not necessarily be a bad thing.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Keizumi, after waiting a long time without seeing any reinforcements from Konoha, had already begun selecting shinobi within Kirigakure to establish the initial framework of a police force in the Land of Water.
"Is it really appropriate for me to be the captain of the Land of Water's police force?"
"I used to be one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Then I became a missing-nin, joined the Akatsuki, and later left them…"
Biwa Jūzō had never expected that Uchiha Keizumi would actually plan to put him in charge of the Land of Water's police force.
This "gift" was too big—so big that Jūzō didn't dare accept it.
"Compared to the other shinobi of the Land of Water, you're already the most suitable."
"Izumi still has a lot to learn, and her strength isn't enough to suppress the Land of Water's shinobi or those nobles. But you can. Your status as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen is barely enough to serve as the police force captain."
Keizumi looked at Jūzō. If he had better options, he would naturally choose them—but the current situation left him with no choice.
Besides, letting Jūzō take charge of the police force could also be considered recycling local resources.
"You… are planning to leave?"
Jūzō frowned. He sensed that Keizumi seemed to have the intention of leaving the Land of Water.
"The ninja world still has many places that need me."
"And Konoha's Hokage election is about to begin. If the Fifth Hokage turns out to be Tsunade, then pushing forward 'Absolute Justice' in the Land of Fire might save me a lot of trouble."
Keizumi spoke. Sweeping through the Land of Water did look impressive, but carrying out justice for so long had begun to take a toll on his own mental state.
Compared to staying in the Land of Water, Keizumi now found himself wanting to return to Konoha and rest for a while.
"The Fifth Hokage election in Konoha…"
Jūzō instinctively began to analyze the situation, but quickly dismissed the thought.
Konoha's affairs were too far removed from the Land of Water. Instead of worrying about the Fifth Hokage, he needed to focus on how to establish and run the police force here.
At the same time Keizumi was preparing to return to Konoha, Hiruzen finally could no longer withstand the pressure and allowed those shinobi who upheld "Absolute Justice" to leave the village.
This created a bizarre scene in Konoha: hundreds of shinobi leaving the village almost simultaneously—and their destination was the Land of Water.
If the Land of Water hadn't already been pacified by Keizumi, such a large-scale movement would have practically been seen as the Land of Fire declaring war.
"Look on the bright side—many of the shinobi leaving Konoha are jōnin. They hold voting rights."
"And now that they've all gone to the Land of Water, doesn't that give you a better chance of continuing as Hokage, Hiruzen?"
Koharu looked at Hiruzen's troubled expression and couldn't help but try to console him.
"You still don't understand Keizumi."
To her surprise, Hiruzen shook his head after hearing her words.
"Keizumi is someone who doesn't compromise. Shinobi who follow Absolute Justice tend to share that trait."
"I've already figured it out. If I remain Hokage this time, then Tsunade might truly lead a portion of Konoha's shinobi away and establish a new Konoha within the Land of Fire."
"Compared to that outcome, I'd rather hand the position over to Tsunade."
Hiruzen sighed. Absolute Justice… it simply did not compromise.
As time passed, Tsunade had likely come to understand this as well. She had gradually stopped frequently visiting the major clans and instead focused on how Absolute Justice could be implemented within Konoha—how it could be integrated into the village itself.
"Is there really no hope at all?"
Koharu fell silent for a long time. She hadn't expected that Hiruzen would consider the possibility of a second Konoha emerging in the Land of Fire if he continued as Hokage.
She truly found it difficult to let go of the power in her hands—especially now that she had gained deeper control over Root. She was beginning to understand why Danzō had once dared to slam the table and glare at Hiruzen.
To put it bluntly, the Hokage's control over the Anbu might not even match the Root leader's control over Root.
With the Hokage's backing, the Root leader could accomplish nearly as much within the village as the Hokage himself.
Under such circumstances, Koharu was genuinely reluctant to relinquish power.
"There's no hope. But I'll probably remain as an advisor to assist Tsunade."
"Originally, I thought that if the Fourth Great Ninja War broke out, this old body of mine could still fight—I could go to the battlefield and see whether I, the Third Hokage, could replicate the legend of the Third Raikage."
"But the great nations are all exercising restraint. The Fourth Great Ninja War won't start anytime soon. So the best thing I can do now is serve as a Hokage advisor—stay in Konoha and step on the brakes if Tsunade makes any extreme policies."
Hiruzen could more or less guess what Koharu was thinking. But unfortunately, since he himself would no longer hold the Hokage position, Root would not be allowed to remain under Koharu's control.
"Our era is coming to an end. In fact, it should have ended long ago."
"Tsunade becoming the Fifth Hokage is already the best possible outcome."
Hiruzen sighed. Under the ideology of Absolute Justice, there was no longer any place in the new era for an old conservative like him.
What he could do now was simply preserve Konoha's strength as much as possible.