A day after returning to Konoha, the ninjas all changed into black mourning clothes. Senju Tobirama was not buried with the ordinary shinobi, but in a location known only to the successive Hokage.
After Tobirama's burial, Konoha and the Cloud Ninja sent Hiruzen and A to sign a new peace treaty. Just as Hiruzen returned to Konoha after completing the negotiations…
Another shocking piece of news spread throughout the Ninja World: the Second Tsuchikage and the Second Mizukage had also passed away. With the successive deaths of several of the strongest second-generation leaders, the Ninja World finally entered a period of peace.
Six months passed.
Since returning to Konoha and being promoted to Jonin, Isamu had begun living a leisurely life.
Every morning he started with exercise, then reported to Hiruzen. After that, he would head to the Mission Hall to take on a few simple tasks to support himself. Once a mission was completed, he would rest for several days before taking another.
It could be said that Isamu had begun living a very relaxed life.
Compared to Isamu, however, Hiruzen's life was the complete opposite. Every day he had to deal with mountains of paperwork. The workload alone was enough to drive anyone crazy.
Isamu walked through the streets of Konoha, watching the bustling crowds with a faint smile.
His thoughts drifted back to his life before reincarnation.
In his previous life, he had stayed home every day watching anime and playing games, accomplishing nothing. Looking at himself now, he not only possessed great power but also lived without any worries. Even without phones or computers, every day felt full and meaningful.
This was the life he had always wanted.
Isamu looked up at the stone faces of the First Hokage, the Second Hokage, and the Third Hokage whose face was still being carved.
"I wonder who came up with the idea of carving a giant face every time someone becomes Hokage. What a waste of effort. It's like they're afraid people won't know who became Hokage."
"It must have been that bored guy Senju Tobirama. No one else would come up with something like that."
Thinking of Senju Tobirama, Isamu recalled the conversation he had with Uchiha Seiyou six months ago.
Ten days after the war ended, Uchiha Seiyou had summoned Isamu to the Guard Division for a private meeting.
"Isamu, now that Senju Tobirama is dead and the Senju Clan has lost more than half its members, and with powerful people like you and Kagami in the Uchiha Clan, we could easily overthrow Hiruzen Sarutobi and take the Hokage position for ourselves."
"What right does someone from a small clan have to be Hokage?"
"So, Isamu, what do you think of my idea?"
Uchiha Seiyou was filled with excitement. Originally, he had planned to use the war to return the Uchiha to the center of power. But he never expected Tobirama to die on the battlefield, nor that Isamu would grow so strong.
At this moment, if the Uchiha launched a coup, the Hokage position would practically fall into their hands.
And in truth, this wasn't impossible.
After Uchiha Madara left the village and two generations of Hokage died, the Senju Clan no longer possessed any top-tier powerhouses. At this moment, the Uchiha Clan had temporarily surpassed the Senju.
If they launched a coup now, with Isamu's Mangekyo Sharingan and no powerful forces left to stop them, the chances of success could easily reach seventy percent.
However, Isamu rejected Uchiha Seiyou's proposal.
He took the Martial Faction and moved away from the Uchiha clan compound to another area of the village.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Kagami secretly reported Seiyou's coup plan to Hiruzen.
For a time, the entire Uchiha Clan became the primary target of surveillance by Konoha's shinobi.
When Uchiha Seiyou learned about this, he became so furious that he coughed up blood and fell seriously ill. Under the double blow of Isamu leading the Martial Faction away and Kagami's betrayal, the clan head eventually passed away in his bed.
His son, Uchiha Mori, succeeded him as the new clan head.
Mori, who was about the same age as Isamu, not only became the clan leader but also took over as the head of the Guard Division. For a time, his influence within the village became extremely powerful.
(Uchiha Mori is established here as Uchiha Fugaku's father.)
"Isamu, the Third Hokage wants to see you. Please go to the Hokage Building immediately."
While Isamu was staring absentmindedly at the Hokage statues, a Chunin suddenly appeared in front of him to deliver the message.
"I understand. I'll head there right away."
After hearing his reply, the Chunin leaped onto a nearby wall and disappeared.
Before long, Isamu arrived at the Hokage Building.
He pushed open the office door and saw Hiruzen sitting behind his desk, buried in documents.
"You're here, Isamu. How have things been lately in the village?" Hiruzen looked up and greeted him warmly.
He couldn't afford to treat Isamu poorly.
The once-obedient Uchiha Clan had nearly launched a coup. Hiruzen had been worried that Isamu might get involved, to the point where he could barely sleep.
Fortunately, Isamu had made the right choice. Not only did he refuse the coup, but he also led many powerful Uchiha away from the clan faction, preventing the rebellion entirely.
That action had earned Hiruzen's complete trust.
"Same as always. If there's a mission, I go out. If there isn't, I just wander around the village."
Isamu casually pulled up a chair and sat down across from him.
"Perfect. Since you're so free, I have a mission for you."
"A mission? I hope it's not something life-threatening. I haven't even had a girlfriend, gotten married, or had kids yet. I haven't lived enough!" Hearing the word mission, Isamu immediately began trying to bargain.
"Relax. It won't interfere with any of that. All I need you to do is help lead three Genin."
Hiruzen rolled his eyes. Marriage and kids? What nonsense. Isamu was clearly just trying to avoid trouble.
"Oh, that? That's easy. I'll take the mission."
Once he heard it was simply supervising Genin, Isamu agreed immediately.
"Good. Since you've accepted, I'll explain the details. Not long ago, I took three students from the academy as my apprentices. But as Hokage, I'm extremely busy."
"When I have free time, I can personally train them. But when work piles up, I simply can't spare the time."
"So I want you to act as their vice-captain and help guide them for a while."
Just thinking about one of those Genin gave Hiruzen a headache.
The other two were excellent, but the third one… he truly didn't know what to do with him. Recently he had even begun wondering whether accepting him as a student had been a mistake.
When Isamu heard they were Hiruzen's disciples, his eyes widened.
The Third Hokage's disciples.
Weren't those the future Sannin—Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya?
Had Hiruzen already taken the Sannin as his apprentices?
And now he wanted Isamu to be their vice-captain?
This mission suddenly became very interesting.
Looks like things were about to get fun.
"The other two disciples are quite good, but that one named Jiraiya… I'm not sure if I misjudged him or if his talent is simply lacking. Anyway, keep a close eye on him," Hiruzen said while shaking his head.
"Alright. I'll go meet them tomorrow and start training them properly."
After saying that, Isamu left the Hokage Building.
In truth, Isamu completely disagreed with Hiruzen's assessment.
Orochimaru came from a family of powerful shinobi and was a genius in his own right. Tsunade, as the granddaughter of the First Hokage, possessed extraordinary talent and bloodline.
To some extent, both of them benefited from their backgrounds.
But Jiraiya was different.
He had no parents, no clan, and no special lineage. He had reached the rank of Genin entirely through his own efforts.
What Hiruzen didn't realize was that this Jiraiya—whom he currently looked down on—would one day become one of the legendary Sannin and create a legend that would be remembered for generations.