Chapter 90
The customary hat and haori, over the red, full-length kimono tied with a white sash, were his official Hokage's uniform. Something he wore every day. It was more than a second skin to him by now than anything else.
Usually, it was heavy with responsibility and duty, but not today. Not when he looked at the two elders who should work hand in hand with him in matters that concerned the village. These robes now give them all the right to do as he wished with them.
"You two knew." It wasn't even a guess, but a fact. "You knew Danzo's plans, and you let him do as he wished."
He should have known it sooner. But all he could think of those two was as a pair of idiots, people who thought that because of their experience, they knew better. They were once elite shinobi who fought alongside him in the past, of whom he had no memory.
It took a few days, but finally, Hiruzen finished investigating them. There wasn't much to find about them, but everything connected back to them. One dot after another was finally connected, and these two were also the dots on the schemes that were happening in the shadows of the village.
They helped to establish Danzo's network to spy on almost every faculty member of Konoha. If only it were a voluntary network. At least he could have tried to understand that it was for the village. But to force others against their will to do it, that was disgusting to say the least.
"You never would have agreed," that was their answer to him.
"I wonder why I would ever do that?" Hiruzen's voice was dry as he replied. "What is wrong with you people? Seriously, what pushes you to do something like this? Fear? Power? Greed? Control? Or plain old stupidity?"
At this point, there was no need to even try to act like some old, wizened man. He genuinely was stupefied at what he managed to find out when he started looking at all of it. What was the original Hiruzen even doing?
Well, seeing how deep it went and how well it was hidden, it was hard to blame his old self for not realizing it. But how could he let these kinds of people have power over the village? Was he just looking the other way on purpose? Or did he genuinely have no idea?
"What do you expect? We were at war. Spies could be anywhere: sleeping agents, saboteurs, people who didn't agree with our policies. They were everywhere. We had to keep watch on all of it."
"Children? The sick? Hard-working people? You had to spy on them? All of them?"
The reason why the robes didn't feel as heavy as usual today was that it allowed Hiruzen to question them like this. To look down on them and tell them how stupid they were, and that it was over. Because he was above them, he could put them down. And that felt good.
"I don't want to listen to your sickening excuses anymore." Hiruzen didn't let them speak again. "You will provide every operative you still have, willing ones and not so much. And maybe then I will keep you two alive."
"War never ended. It never ends. We have to be prepared at all times. Be ahead of our enemies. Or have you forgotten how much we have lost already? Have you forgotten how the Second Hokage died? It was because, like you, he believed in peaceful resolution. Because of all his suspicions and carefulness, he believed in people too much, and he paid the ultimate price because of it. From that day, it wasn't just Danzo who swore not to make the same mistake. Only you refused to learn."
"So, it was fear. How pathetic." Hiruzen had no more words for them.
Inoichi would get all they had in their heads one way or another; there was no need to give them any more chances. But their words were reassuring. He didn't know what kind of person the Second Hokage was, or if what they said was true, but he liked to believe it.
Under all that cold exterior, there was a man similar to him who believed that there was always another way. Hiruzen refused to fall into fear. He refused to abuse his power. To him, Konoha wasn't a place he had to control but a place he had to protect.
No matter what kind of people resided here, what their feelings and thoughts about him were, or what their desires were, none of it mattered. As long as they believed in the Will of Fire, they were his people. And he would trust them with the future of the village.
…
"Good work," Hiruzen said to Kakashi and Shizune, who finally returned from their missions.
After giving a detailed report and the messages from General Mifune and the Tsuchikage, Hiruzen could only sigh. He got more than he expected, but that didn't mean all was good. But then again, he should stop doubting himself.
General Mifune had agreed to host talks with them, but only two guards might accompany them, no more. Onoki agreed to it; now Hiruzen couldn't back away, since he was the one who initiated it all.
And worse, he wasn't given time to prepare himself for it. The date was set, and they had a week to meet. Hiruzen could already guess who Onoki would bring with him. He would definitely try to put pressure on him with his two Jinchuriki.
The question was who Hiruzen should bring. Jiraiya was the first to come to his mind. But he had to think of who he should take as his second. As much as Fugaku would be helpful, he would be more needed in the village while he was gone.
He wouldn't put it past Onoki to use Hiruzen's absence to try something funny. And they still needed to bargain with all the captured shinobi he had in his hands. Why did he try to sell them back to their village? He had no idea anymore. It was more troublesome than it was worth.
Still, money was good. Money was always good. And the more stable their finances were, the safer and better it was for the village. But at this point, Hiruzen just wanted this year to end. Though he doubted the next year would be any better for him.
"What do you think, Shikaku?"
"It is more than we could ask," the Jonin Commander replied. "But I fear that Onoki might see your intentions as a challenge. Maybe it is good, as he won't back down from it, but…"
"Hostility wasn't something I thought I could avoid. Hiruzen knew where Shikaku was going with this. "How did Onoki react to my message, Kakashi?"
"With a sneer and ridicule." There was probably more, but Kakashi chose to summarize it.
"It will be nothing but a standoff before a fight for him," Hiruzen sighed and started to think of backing out of it. "And I must talk him out of it, even while I know he won't listen to a word I say to him."
That being said, he had no choice now. It was his idea, and he couldn't back out of it, not if he wanted to keep the peace they had. And sadly, he didn't want to escalate the conflict, so that meant he had to go.
"Have Fugaku prepare all his units on standby, and I will be giving the ANBU to you, Shikaku, to use as you see fit while I am gone."
It wouldn't take more than two days to get to the meeting point. And if anything did happen, he could rush back in one day to the village. But one day was already a long time, especially during war.
There were many things to think through before he left. The defenses could be left in the safe hands of Fugaku and Shikaku. The first thing he had to deal with was the captured shinobi who had overstayed their welcome in his village.
"Shizune, have a message crafted for the Tanigakure leader that if he can't cough up the ransom money, I will let it become a loan that they will have to pay back over five years. This is the last grace I will show him."
It was time to put his foot down and make them act without dragging their feet. Hiruzen didn't want dozens of foreign shinobi in his village, no matter how well they were secured.
And if Tanigakure couldn't take responsibility for their actions, Hiruzen might have to do what none of them wanted. Either way, he had to end this before he left. But the Tanigakure leader refused to come to Konoha, and they were too close to Iwagakure for them to go to Tanigakure.
He would give them another three days to come to their senses, and then he would act. Though he didn't wish to do this, it didn't seem like he had a choice. In the end, he was the Hokage, and he had to make the tough decisions.
"Ding!!! Congratulations, host. You have uncovered and severed the remnants of the past from Konoha's future. Ding!!!"
His thoughts were interrupted by the loud ringing in his head. He had already got used to it, though it happened less and less of late. Even if he believed he was doing more work each day. It just made Hiruzen think that nothing he was doing was worth it in the end. Not in the system's eyes.
Either way, it was finally done. Inoichi took his time, but it was good that Hiruzen trusted him with this. And now it was finally over. Dismissing everyone from his office, Hiruzen relaxed in his chair. Now, nothing was holding Konoha back. It felt good to know that.
"Ding!!! For the completed hidden quest, you have received a random memory as a reward. Ding!!!"
Hiruzen would never get used to information being crammed into his head like this. Like a drill going into his head, Hiruzen could only grasp his head in agony. But this time, it was the worst he had ever gotten.
"Ding!!! Congratulations, host. You have received memories of war. Ding!!!"
'Congratulations, my ass.' That was all Hiruzen could think as he tried to steady himself. 'Great, for all my work, I get PTSD.'
It wasn't just that, but damn, it felt like all of it was just pain and suffering. And everything in between them was crammed into his head in mere seconds. And now he had to cope with it. Yeah, fuck this system he was stuck with.
…
As a shinobi of Tanigakure, he didn't think he would be in this situation. At least he was alive, but now he knew that they shouldn't mess with powerful villages like Konoha. Those damn monsters still haunted him.
Every shadow made him flinch. He knew he was looking over his shoulder far too often. Even in his own home, he couldn't escape that horror. In the middle of the village, which should protect him as it had done for all his life, he didn't feel safe anymore.
Not now, when their leader decided to abandon their comrades to their fate. He told them that he wouldn't allow this village to be pressured by anyone, even if it were the Third Hokage. But the leader wasn't here. He didn't see what had happened.
Nobody in this village knew more than him of what Konoha was capable of. Because he had seen it with his own eyes, they were nothing but prey to them. And they shouldn't have declined an offer to correct their mistakes, to ask for amends with Konoha.
If not for their comrades, they should have done so to show that they had no wish to fight Konoha anymore. But the leader made his decision. He chose to side with Iwagakure, to completely submit himself and this village to them.
He was sure that they would rue this day, that it would be the beginning of their end. And just a few days after they refused to pay the ransom for their comrades, they were brought back. And then all of them realized they were done for.
It was the worst outcome they could have had. And now everyone knew why he called Konoha shinobi monsters, not because they were strong, but because of how terrifying they were. Especially the Third Hokage. With one action, he doomed the whole village, and he didn't even need to do anything himself.
There was no need to ask how one would feel being abandoned by their own village, not after they were forced to fight for someone else to begin with. And now half of the village was made up of those kinds of shinobi.
Destroying an enemy from within, that's what made the Third Hoakge so damn terrifying. He gave them a chance, and once they refused, he released the captured shinobi, full of rage at the betrayal of their own village, their own home.
No matter what Iwa could promise them. At least half of the village would not even think twice before refusing them. It was over for them. And now he knew that it wasn't his imagination. The Third Hokage's shadow had followed him to his home, and now it had consumed them all.
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven more chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.