"Lord Third, what are you looking at?"
Standing outside the venue that the Land of Iron Daimyo had deliberately arranged to look extremely similar to the first Five Kage Summit, Minato Namikaze looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been standing there for a long while, and asked curiously.
"Me? I suppose I am reminiscing about a time that has already passed."
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a large mouthful of smoke and spoke with a wistful tone.
"When Lord First invited the First Kage of each village to the Land of Iron for talks, proposed establishing alliances between the nations to maintain peace in the shinobi world, and distributed the Tailed Beasts to each shinobi village to balance their military strength, I was still a young man who had only just become able to have subordinates of my own…
"I never thought that in the blink of an eye, I would already be an old man around the same age as Lord First back then."
"That is not true, Lord Third. You are still a powerful shinobi in the prime of your life. It is far too early to say you are old," Minato Namikaze said sincerely.
"Hah. Who would fail to notice their own body growing old?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed self-deprecatingly.
"My peak has long since passed. In the time I have left, all that remains for me is to decline further and further… The only ones who can still keep climbing are young people like you, Minato."
"Old man, don't put too much pressure on Minato."
Jiraiya walked forward and wrapped an arm around Minato's shoulders.
"Isn't the reason old people like us exist to shelter the younger generation from wind and rain before they reach their own peak? It isn't good to place problems and pressure you cannot solve onto them too early."
"All right. Enough meaningless discouraging talk."
Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped his melancholy and sighs at the right time.
Then he changed back into the dignity and seriousness he possessed as Hokage.
"Let's go, Minato, Jiraiya. The hosts who invited us here are still waiting."
Under the guidance of the attendant arranged by the Land of Iron Daimyo, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others arrived at the formal meeting venue.
Looking at the three Kirigakure representatives seated early on the opposite side, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help narrowing his eyes and sizing them up one by one.
The Third Mizukage.
A shinobi from basically the same era as himself.
Both of them had become the Third Kage after their village's Second Kage died in battle during the First Shinobi World War.
Because Kirigakure had not participated in the Second Shinobi World War and was also rather closed off, this was his first time meeting the other man in a formal setting as Hokage.
However, looking at the Third Mizukage's spirit, which appeared even older and more decayed than his exterior, Hiruzen Sarutobi basically confirmed that the claim that the other man had once been controlled by genjutsu for a long time was true.
For Konoha, that was truly not good news.
The second person reflected in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes was Yagura Karatachi, who looked as if he were still a student at the Ninja Academy.
From the way Yagura occasionally glanced at the Third Mizukage's movements, Hiruzen Sarutobi could tell that he was probably one of the trusted shinobi heavily cultivated by the Third Mizukage.
Their relationship was close to the one he had with Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
If nothing unexpected had happened, he should have been the person who would normally inherit the position of Fourth Mizukage.
Unfortunately, that "unexpected" person was currently sitting beside him and sizing up Konoha's three representatives with an uncomfortable, scrutinizing gaze.
Thinking this, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath and met Rei Kaguya's eyes without avoiding them.
From those purple vertical pupils, which were similar to Orochimaru's but far more mysterious and difficult to understand, Hiruzen Sarutobi saw an ambitious yet fiercely burning young soul.
He was ambitious.
In order to achieve his ideals, he would sweep away all obstacles before him without mercy.
At the same time, he was extremely confident, almost certain that the path he had chosen would definitely change the world in a better direction.
That feeling reminded Hiruzen Sarutobi of the First Hokage's strongest enemy, Madara Uchiha.
But Rei Kaguya was also someone completely different from Madara Uchiha in every aspect.
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered his first impression of Rei Kaguya and sat down in his own seat, Rei Kaguya, who had been examining the Konoha trio, took the initiative to speak.
He greeted the wary Jiraiya.
"Yo, Senior Jiraiya. It has been a while. I wonder if this time, you will still choose to run away from the problem you must face like before?"
Jiraiya's expression darkened.
He knew that Rei Kaguya had brought this up now to suppress their side's momentum and seize the initiative in the negotiations.
The problem was that this was a difficult question he still had not found an answer or solution for.
Whether he chose silence or forced himself to answer, it would only allow the other side to seize control of the conversation.
For Konoha, which was disadvantaged in every aspect, this would undoubtedly make things even worse.
Seeing that Jiraiya had fallen into a troubled expression because of a single sentence from the other party, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help raising his evaluation of Rei Kaguya another level.
He set down his pipe and asked Rei Kaguya in a peaceful tone.
"If it is convenient, may I also hear the question you asked Jiraiya, Rei Kaguya?"
"Naturally. But I merely listed a few facts and discussed with Senior Jiraiya whether, after developing to our current state, our various shinobi villages have all deviated from the original intentions of their founders and gradually stepped onto the wrong path. It is not exactly any profound philosophical discussion, Lord Hokage."
Rei Kaguya lightly threw the question to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Then he pressed the tips of his ten fingers together and waited for the other man's reply.
"Deviating from our original intentions and stepping onto the wrong path?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes.
In his mind, the faces of children who had died on the battlefield not long after graduating from the Ninja Academy appeared one after another with great clarity.
Then there were the Root ninja, whose emotions and humanity had already been stripped away, and the many inhumane experimental records he had seen after taking over Root's affairs.
"I see. For Jiraiya, this is indeed a question that is difficult to answer."
"Oh?"
Rei Kaguya looked in surprise at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had reopened his eyes, and asked in a deep voice, "Then how does Lord Hokage intend to answer this question?"
"Because my ability as Hokage was insufficient, many problems that violated Lord First's original intention in establishing the village did indeed appear in Konoha during my tenure. That is an undeniable fact…
"The reason Jiraiya was left speechless by your question is probably because he does not have a cold, hard heart like yours, one that can speak such sharp words to his superior and teacher without burden."
This time, Rei Kaguya was not the only one who was surprised.
"Old man!? What are you saying!?"
Jiraiya leaned anxiously toward Hiruzen Sarutobi and growled at him in a low voice.
"This is a problem between me and that guy. What need is there for you to help an idiot like me out by smearing your own reputation!?"
"My career as Hokage has already reached the point where it can be judged by others after the coffin is closed. What is the big deal about acknowledging undeniable mistakes I made in order to resolve a knot in my disciple's heart?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head at Jiraiya.
Then he looked again at the thoughtful Rei Kaguya and asked with a trace of self-mockery.
"How is that? This answer should not be poor enough to receive zero marks, should it?"
"You answered the question but did not mention a single solution. If this answer had not come from you, the person directly involved, I would definitely give it zero."
Hearing Rei Kaguya's tone, which was somewhat dissatisfied yet not easy to refute, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.
He shifted his gaze toward Minato Namikaze, whose expression had turned serious, and said unhurriedly.
"The problems were caused by my incompetence, so solving them obviously cannot rely on this old man…
"But it does not matter. I have already found a successor worthy of entrusting the future to. Now, all I need to do is like the Third beside you—bear the responsibility and infamy, then leave the space to show their abilities to them."
Hearing this, the Third Mizukage could not help revealing a faintly bitter smile.
If he had not been controlled by genjutsu, perhaps he too could have properly entrusted Kirigakure's future and the position of Fourth Mizukage to a young shinobi who had grown during his tenure.
That guy, whether he was really Madara Uchiha or not…
He deserved to die!
Looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had suddenly displayed astonishing bearing, Rei Kaguya fell silent for a while.
Then he said somewhat unhappily, "Tch. Did Danzo Shimura's death allow you to rediscover the self once called the Professor, Lord Hokage?"
"Perhaps."
Hearing the culprit responsible for Danzo Shimura's death mention his name, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression also became rather downcast.
"When the Root hidden underground has died, if Konoha wants to continue flourishing, someone must take the initiative to touch the darkness that originally only needed to be handed over to Root…"
"You do not intend to avenge Danzo Shimura?"
"I came here as Hokage to negotiate with Kirigakure for the sake of peace. If I dragged the village into the quagmire of war again because of my personal friendship with Danzo, he would surely scold me fiercely in the Pure Land.
"Moreover, dragging my own disciples with me into a battle with no visible chance of victory, and one that is not fought to protect the village… That is something I probably cannot do."
Facing the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had displayed a watertight defense, Rei Kaguya, who had originally intended to take the chance to pressure Hiruzen and force Konoha to agree to more conditions, curled his lip and unhappily withdrew.
Seeing this, Yagura Karatachi, who had been on guard against the two sides starting a fight, could not help letting out a sigh of relief.
Then he took out a scroll and tossed it toward Konoha's three representatives.
"This is the draft agreement Kirigakure prepared in advance. For the following negotiations, use what is written above as a reference and discuss what to add or remove."