By all logic, Kabuto should have been well suited for Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode. But because of Uchiha Chizumi's interference, he had never gone through enough tempering under Orochimaru in the first place, and he certainly hadn't come to Ryūchi Cave of his own will.
On top of that, Kabuto's mind was completely occupied with inheriting Orochimaru's legacy, so naturally he found it hard to sense natural energy and successfully enter Sage Mode.
"No. You are the one best suited to become Ryūchi Cave's successor—arguably even more suited than Orochimaru himself."
Unfortunately for Kabuto, the White Snake Sage flatly rejected his request.
As one of the sages of the Three Great Sacred Lands, the White Snake Sage could also glimpse fragments of the future. And in the future he had foreseen, Kabuto successfully mastered Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode. That was the real reason he had brought Kabuto here.
"I'm more suitable than Lord Orochimaru to inherit Ryūchi Cave?"
Kabuto didn't believe a word of the snake's nonsense, but he didn't really have a choice. When you were standing at a snake's mercy, you had no option but to bow your head. Much as he longed for Orochimaru's legacy, for now he could only remain in Ryūchi Cave.
What Kabuto didn't know, however, was that staying in Ryūchi Cave might not actually be a bad thing for him.
As for Uchiha Chizumi, after waiting and waiting for support from Konoha that never came, he had already begun selecting shinobi in Kirigakure and started laying the foundations of a Police Force for the Land of Water.
"Are you sure it's really okay to make me the captain of the Land of Water Police Force?"
"I used to be one of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Then I became a rogue ninja, joined the Akatsuki, and later left the Akatsuki too…"
Biwa Jūzō never would have imagined that Uchiha Chizumi planned to put him in charge of the Land of Water Police Force.
The offer was too big—so big that Jūzō almost didn't dare accept it.
"Compared to the other shinobi in the Land of Water, you're already the most suitable choice."
"Izumi still has a lot to learn, and her strength isn't enough yet. She can't suppress the Land of Water's shinobi or its nobles—but you can. Your old identity as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen is just barely enough to qualify you as captain of the Police Force."
Uchiha Chizumi looked at Jūzō in front of him. If he had better options, of course he would have chosen one of them. But the problem right now was that he didn't.
And besides, making Biwa Jūzō the captain of the Land of Water Police Force really was a perfect case of using the right ingredients for the right meal.
"You're… leaving?"
Jūzō frowned. He could sense that Uchiha Chizumi seemed to be preparing to leave the Land of Water.
"There are still many more places in the shinobi world that need me."
"And Konoha's Fifth Hokage election is about to begin. If Tsunade becomes the Fifth, then pushing Absolute Justice through the Land of Fire may save me a great deal of trouble."
Uchiha Chizumi spoke plainly. Cutting straight through the Land of Water did indeed look impressive, but after carrying out justice continuously for so long, even his own mental state had been affected.
Compared to remaining in the Land of Water, Uchiha Chizumi now found himself wanting, for once, to return to Konoha and rest for a while.
"Konoha's Fifth Hokage election…"
Jūzō instinctively started to analyze the information, but stopped himself almost as soon as he began.
Konoha's affairs were too far removed from the Land of Water. Compared to worrying about Konoha's Fifth Hokage, what he really needed to focus on now was how to establish the Police Force in the Land of Water and make it run properly.
And just as Uchiha Chizumi was preparing to return to Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally buckled under the pressure and lifted the ban on those ninja who followed Absolute Justice from leaving the village.
The result was an incredibly bizarre sight in Konoha: over a hundred ninja leaving the village at nearly the same time, all heading in the direction of the Land of Water.
If the Land of Water hadn't already been steamrolled by Uchiha Chizumi, then a movement of this scale from Konoha could almost have been treated as the Land of Fire declaring war on the Land of Water.
"Look on the bright side. Quite a few of the ninja leaving Konoha are jōnin, and they each have a vote in the jōnin election."
"And now they're all rushing to the Land of Water in one go. For you, Hiruzen, doesn't that actually improve your chances of being re-elected Hokage?"
Homura Mitokado looked at Hiruzen's gloomy face and couldn't help trying to reassure him.
What Homura hadn't expected, however, was that after hearing her words, Hiruzen simply shook his head.
"You still don't understand Chizumi."
"Chizumi is not someone who compromises. And the ninja who believe in Absolute Justice all tend to reflect that trait to some degree."
"Not long ago, I finally realized something. If I really do continue serving as Hokage this time, then Tsunade may very well take part of Konoha's ninja and leave, establishing a new Konoha Village within the Land of Fire."
"Compared to that outcome, I would rather hand the Hokage seat over to Tsunade."
Hiruzen shook his head. Absolute Justice… Absolute Justice did not compromise.
As time passed, Tsunade had likely realized that too. That was why she had gradually stopped visiting Konoha's clans so frequently. Instead, she had begun focusing solely on how Absolute Justice should be implemented in Konoha—and how it could be woven into Konoha itself.
"Is there really… no hope at all?"
Homura fell silent for a long while. She hadn't expected Hiruzen to say that if he stayed on as Hokage, the Land of Fire might end up with a second Konoha Village.
She truly found it hard to let go of the power in her hands. Especially now that her control over Root had grown deeper and deeper, she was beginning to understand why Shimura Danzō had once dared to slam the table and glare Hiruzen down.
To put it bluntly, the Hokage's control over the ANBU might not even be as complete as Root's leader's control over Root.
As long as the Root leader had the Hokage's backing, there really weren't many fewer things they could do in the village than the Hokage himself.
Under those circumstances, Homura truly found it hard to surrender the authority she now held.
"There's no hope. But I will most likely stay on as an advisor to support Tsunade."
"Originally, I had been thinking that if the Fourth Great Ninja War really broke out, then this old body of mine could still fight. I could go to the battlefield and see whether I, the Third Hokage, could recreate the legend of the Third Raikage."
"But the three great nations are all holding back. The Fourth Great Ninja War won't break out anytime soon. So the most important thing for me to do now is serve as a Hokage advisor—stay in Konoha, and step on the brakes whenever Tsunade tries to push any overly extreme policies."
Hiruzen could more or less guess what Homura was thinking, but unfortunately, since he himself would no longer remain Hokage, Root could naturally no longer remain under Homura's control either.
"Our era is coming to an end. In truth, it should have ended already."
"Tsunade becoming the Fifth Hokage is already the best possible outcome."
Hiruzen sighed. Under the ideals of Absolute Justice, there was no longer any place in the new era for old conservatives like him.
At this point, all he could do was preserve as much of Konoha's strength as possible.