At night, Hiruzen watched as the Senju ninja left the reception hall one by one.
The vast hall felt oppressively empty, making him deeply uneasy. The faint chirping of crickets lingered in his ears, and his thoughts gradually became restless.
Just moments ago, Mito had dismissed everyone present.
Now only two people remained in the room.
Hiruzen carefully observed Mito's expression. Her face was calm, without the slightest sign of anger, as though the furious shouting she had displayed earlier had all been an act.
"Mito-sama, please don't take my earlier offense to heart. I was only..."
After thinking for a moment, Hiruzen still felt that he needed to say something now, if only to salvage a little of his image in Mito's eyes.
"Enough. Sit down. I already know what you want to say."
Mito waved her hand and cut him off, signaling for him to sit before speaking.
So Hiruzen walked over to a stool at the side and sat down, though only half his backside actually touched it. He still could not read Mito's thoughts, so he remained ready to jump up and stand at attention again at any moment.
Seeing how cautious and uneasy Hiruzen looked, Mito found it somewhat amusing. Her expression softened, and that familiar kindly face returned to her features once more.
"Brat, your performance just now made me look at you in a different light. You're not quite as ordinary as I thought. You do have a bit of something beyond the average person."
Looking at Hiruzen's tense expression, Mito openly praised him. Over the long course of her life, she had seen far too many geniuses favored by heaven.
Her husband Hashirama.
Her brother-in-law Tobirama.
Madara of the Uchiha.
Izuna of the Uchiha...
They had all been the brightest figures of an era.
Compared to them, the talent Hiruzen displayed was plain as a roadside stone, the sort that drew no one's eye at all.
Still, Hiruzen's character was not bad.
Tobirama had taught him well.
At the very least, he had inherited Konoha's Will of Fire.
"Mito-sama praises me too much. I only did what I should have done."
Hiruzen answered modestly. The current Mito was completely different from the predator-like fury she had shown earlier. Looking at her now, she seemed like a gentle grandmother next door, which eased Hiruzen's heart considerably.
"There's no need to be overly humble. Among your generation, you are indeed somewhat outstanding. But do you think you're worthy of Konoha's Hokage seat?"
That single sentence instantly extinguished the flame that had just been lit in Hiruzen's heart by her praise.
Was he worthy?
Hiruzen desperately wanted to answer that yes, he was worthy of becoming Konoha's Hokage. It had been the dream he set for himself ever since becoming a ninja, a lifelong ambition that had never changed through repeated brushes with death.
But reality was cruel.
He was not worthy.
"I will do everything I can to make myself into a qualified Hokage."
That was Hiruzen's answer.
He simply could not bring himself to say outright that he was unworthy.
"Hmph. At least you have some self-awareness."
Mito rose to her feet and looked toward the Konoha emblem hanging on the wall of the reception hall. Her gaze became deep and distant.
"There are many people in Konoha more suited than you to become the Third Hokage. Me, for instance. Or my son, Senju Toma."
"Even Uchiha Kagami, who stood here just now, would be more suited to become Hokage than you. The overwhelming force needed to suppress everyone in Konoha, a prestigious birth, the strength of a powerful clan. You don't possess a single one of these things."
"I've thought about it for a long time, and I still can't understand why Tobirama would hand the position of Third Hokage to you. That bastard Tobirama is impossible to read. Even at the moment of death, all he knew how to do was leave trouble for me. Just like that dead fool Hashirama."
"I used to think he was the one who caused me the least trouble."
"..."
Mito continued speaking to herself in an aged tone, chasing old memories through her mind. The burden of protecting Konoha now rested entirely on her shoulders, and it was so heavy that it left her struggling to breathe.
Hiruzen sat there without daring to say a word. Mito had casually cursed two Hokage in a single breath. How could he possibly dare interrupt?
Was this really a subject he had any right to interrupt?
"Even though I still can't understand why Tobirama passed the seat of Third Hokage to you, I will still help you. After all, this was the dying wish he left behind. I only hope that I was wrong about you, and that there is some extraordinary quality in you that I have yet to discover."
Mito turned to look at Hiruzen, and the moment those words left her mouth, Hiruzen's heart began pounding wildly. His delight was written all over his face.
"Mito-sama, I will work hard."
"Don't be happy too soon. I only said that I would help you. I never said I would definitely make you Konoha's Hokage. As things stand, what you possess is still far from enough to become Konoha's Hokage."
Hiruzen nodded.
He understood his own situation clearly enough. He had at least that much self-awareness.
Still, things were already far better than before. The fact that Mito was willing to help him at all was already the greatest mercy heaven could possibly grant him.
"Originally, I planned to conceal the news of Tobirama's death first, then find a way to suppress Konoha's clans. Only after everything had been settled would I release the news of Tobirama's death."
"But unfortunately, those Uchiha are people you can never lower your guard against. The news of Tobirama's death has already spread throughout Konoha, and the story of your group abandoning Tobirama and fleeing back to the village has been spread so widely that everyone knows it. The reputations of all of you in Konoha are going to be ruined beyond imagination."
"Mito-sama, w-we didn't intentionally abandon Tobirama-sama. It was..."
Hiruzen immediately stood up and tried to explain.
On the battlefield, ninja were meant to obey orders, even if those orders went against their duties.
And more importantly, this had been the Hokage's command. The six of them had never possessed the ability to go against Tobirama's order.
Mito waved her hand, telling Hiruzen not to get too worked up.
"I know. There's no need to explain. Tobirama was always someone whose word was absolute, and on the battlefield that was even more true. Once he made a decision, all you could do was obey."
"But the villagers won't understand any of that. And with the Uchiha secretly guiding the narrative from behind the scenes, you need to be prepared."
Mito was warning Hiruzen in advance.
This problem was not unsolvable.
The Hokage sacrificing himself, carrying out Konoha's Will of Fire, and saving the village's newborn leaves.
Hiruzen still had Tobirama's dying appointment in hand. With that righteousness on his side, he could barely salvage his public reputation.
If they handled things well, it could still be repaired.
After all, the opinions of villagers who possessed not even a sliver of force could never decide who became Hokage.
The ones who could truly decide the seat of Hokage were still Konoha's ninja clans.
"I understand, Mito-sama."
Hiruzen's voice was full of gratitude.
Thankfully, Mito-sama was helping him.
Otherwise, just the spit and curses of Konoha's villagers would have been enough to drown him, let alone becoming Konoha's Hokage.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]