Chapter 583: The Choice of the Hokage
Land of Fire, Konoha Village.
To commemorate the heroes who had fallen on the battlefield, Konoha held a memorial ceremony.
With the exception of the Ninja assigned to security and public order for the day, every other Ninja was required to attend.
Normally, memorials on this scale were only held after a major victory in war. But considering how significant this victory had been, and the fact that many Ninja had indeed sacrificed their lives beforehand, no one felt the arrangement was unreasonable.
Large numbers of Ninja stood solemnly beneath the towering Memorial Stone. Dark clouds hung overhead, and both the people below and the sky above seemed wrapped in the same sorrowful atmosphere.
Even Obito found it hard to show an inappropriate expression in such a setting.
"So war has already taken this many lives..."
Looking at the densely packed names carved into the Memorial Stone, a strange emotion rose in Obito's heart.
"They are the backbone of the Land of Fire, the pride of Konoha..." Standing before the crowd, Hiruzen began to read the eulogy in a solemn voice.
Meanwhile, below the platform, Mugetsu quietly used Appraisal Technique to inspect every Ninja present.
Most of the Ninja who had not come belonged to special departments and had already been checked by Mugetsu beforehand. As long as he appraised everyone attending the memorial, he would have effectively finished screening all of Konoha's Ninja.
Although White Zetsu was not truly an Iwagakure spy, it certainly had reason to infiltrate Konoha.
If he could conveniently root out any White Zetsu hidden among the Ninja, that would naturally be a good thing.
[Name: Tsunade]
[Chakra: 186000 (??)]
[Potential: SS- (Basic Talent + Six Paths Bloodline)]
[Skills: Yang Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 5500/15000), Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 2600), Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 1500), Earth Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery), Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficient), Mystical Palm Technique (Mastery)...]
After glancing at Tsunade's panel, Mugetsu felt that Appraisal Technique still had room for improvement.
Neither the Yin Seal nor the Tailed Beast sealed inside a body could be clearly identified by the technique. It could only detect them once they were actually used.
As for potential, compared to Tsunade's actual strength, it was a classic example of bloodline inflating the rating.
So far, Mugetsu had only seen four people with SS level potential: Shisui, Tsunade, Kushina, and Naruto. Every one of them carried the blessing of Six Paths Bloodline, and Kushina and Naruto additionally had the support of a Tailed Beast.
Among the four, Naruto had the highest potential at SS+, followed by Kushina at SS, while Shisui and Tsunade both sat at SS-.
"If she were willing to train for a few more years, her strength should still rise quite a bit," Mugetsu thought.
Potential was not the same as talent, and high potential did not guarantee great future strength, but there was still a connection.
If Tsunade stopped slacking off and trained seriously, Mugetsu estimated that her strength still had plenty of room to grow.
Still, he thought the odds of that happening were slim.
As things stood, Tsunade already had enough strength and status to live comfortably without worry. Combined with everything she had gone through, it would be difficult for her to recover the desire to become stronger.
"Where Konoha dances, fire will continue to burn. The firelight will continue to illuminate the Village and allow new leaves to sprout. Let us observe three minutes of silence for these heroes who lived out the Will of Fire with their lives."
Hiruzen ended the eulogy with his summary of the Will of Fire and began the moment of silence.
Because almost every Ninja in the entire Village had been required to attend, and because Konoha's normal operations could not be disrupted for too long, every step of the memorial was kept brief. The event ended quickly.
The Ninja who had duties returned to their posts, while those without assignments left according to their own wishes.
Mugetsu, however, naturally belonged to the group that still had work to do. He followed Hiruzen straight to the Hokage Office.
"There were no signs of any Iwagakure spies," Mugetsu reported truthfully.
He had indeed not found any White Zetsu among the mourners.
Hiruzen's expression did not change as he gave a slight nod, though inwardly he let out a breath of relief.
The best possible outcome was that no Iwagakure spies had been found in Konoha. That suggested the creation of those infiltrators was likely even more difficult than they had first imagined.
"Mugetsu, take a look at these training plans for teaching Kenbunshoku Haki and tell me which one you prefer." Hiruzen handed him a scroll.
Mugetsu accepted it and began reading.
The first plan was to upgrade Mugetsu's nominal position within Anbu from Special Squad Leader to Special Captain, form a training unit under his command, and select suitable Ninja for him to teach.
The second plan was similar to what Hiruzen had done before: he would personally organize a training program and designate certain qualified Ninja to participate.
"Anbu Captain..." Mugetsu appeared to fall into thought.
The first plan was obviously also a form of reward.
An Anbu Captain was no minor position. Back when Danzo had first used an excuse to establish Root, all he had obtained on paper was the authority of a single squad.
Of course, the present day Root had clearly far exceeded the strength of a single squad.
The second plan was simpler. Mugetsu would only need to teach and would not need to worry about management.
"The training unit belongs to a special structure within Anbu. Although its level is equivalent to that of an Anbu Captain, it answers only to the Hokage and does not fall under the authority of either the Anbu General Captain or Vice General Captain," Hiruzen reminded him.
"As for recruiting team members, you may use your own judgment. You only need to submit the final list to me for review. If necessary, I can also transfer outstanding Ninja from other departments to assist you."
After saying that, Hiruzen stopped speaking. He did not continue to look at Mugetsu either, instead using the free moment to review the documents on his desk.
"What exactly is Hiruzen planning?" Mugetsu was somewhat surprised by his words.
As Hiruzen described it, this was basically another Anbu hidden within Anbu, with Mugetsu serving as its leader.
If Mugetsu had ambitions like Danzo's, he could use Anbu resources to quickly build something very similar to Root.
It might even develop faster than Root had, since Mugetsu would begin with a Captain level structure.
"He couldn't be thinking of making me Hokage, or the next Hokage's assistant, could he?" Mugetsu's thoughts moved rapidly.
A structure of this level was useful, yes, but the implications were too obvious.
Danzo had once been able to expand Root in large part because of his position as Hokage Assistant. If Hiruzen gave Mugetsu direct control over a structure like this, it was hard not to overthink the intent.
And honestly, it would not even be strange.
Tsunade was still the most suitable candidate to become Hokage. In terms of bloodline, strength, and achievements, no one could deny it.
But she had already given up. At this point, not only did she not want to become Hokage, she barely wanted to be a Ninja.
Jiraiya was Hiruzen's preferred choice, but he also had no desire to become Hokage, and he had recently suffered a defeat.
Orochimaru, whose nature had grown increasingly cold and twisted, had already lost that qualification in Hiruzen's mind.
With the three main candidates all out of the running, and Mugetsu now outperforming even Minato, plus his increasingly close connection to Hiruzen through Ninjutsu and war merits, the logic was not hard to follow.
Under those circumstances, Mugetsu felt the possibility that Hiruzen wanted him to become Hokage was not small.
And the Hokage Assistant possibility was even easier to explain.
Mugetsu was capable, steady, and had a good temperament. He was an ideal candidate to be groomed as a right hand for the next generation.
"Sandaime, I choose the first plan," Mugetsu replied after thinking it over.
Whether it was Hokage or Hokage Assistant, he had no interest.
But this special Anbu Captain level structure was indeed useful to him.
If he wanted to train a skill to mastery in the future, he could organize the training himself.
However, he had no interest in building a second Root. That would only complicate his life.
Mugetsu's actual plan was simple: if Hiruzen assigned a mission, he would teach. If there was no mission, he would organize training activities according to his own needs.
That would leave him as an Anbu Captain in name, but it would also preserve his freedom.
After all, if he became a real, fully active Anbu Captain, where would he find the time to train disciples, lead them on missions, and build prestige on the battlefield?
"Since that's your choice, then we'll do it that way." Hiruzen nodded.
He had already told Mugetsu to use his own judgment, so naturally he could not take the words back.
Besides, Mugetsu did have the ability to justify it. He had already trained hundreds of Ninja by himself before without any issues.
Once that matter was settled, Mugetsu left the Hokage Building and headed for the South Border Forest to continue teaching his disciples.
"Mugetsu... would you really be the right choice?" Hiruzen stared at the direction of his departure and sank into thought.
For the first time in a long while, he genuinely felt uncertain about the matter of succession.
That was something he had never expected.
He had once had three disciples: one was the eldest granddaughter of the First Hokage, one had been a genius since childhood, and the last had started as dead last but gradually accumulated strength until he stood beside the others.
With disciples like those three, how could Hiruzen ever have imagined that one day he would worry about not having a successor?
"Let's observe a while longer," Hiruzen thought to himself.
Among the Ninja of Jiraiya and Orochimaru's generation, only the Three Sannin were truly qualified to become Hokage.
Below them, the ones with that possibility were Mugetsu and Minato.
Only Ninja with extraordinary strength and prestige like them could partially ignore the usual age limitations.
Still, Hiruzen had not yet decided whom to choose. The position of Hokage was too important to Konoha to be settled hastily.
"Perhaps after a few more years, their thoughts will change."
Deep down, Hiruzen still hoped that Tsunade or Jiraiya would step forward. Mugetsu and Minato were both too young.
An hour later, an Anbu member knocked and entered the Hokage Office.
"Sandaime, the information you asked for has been compiled." The Anbu member respectfully held out a sealed scroll with both hands.
Hiruzen accepted it, inspected it briefly, then handed it back.
"Deliver it to Mugetsu."
The Anbu member nodded, left the Hokage Office, shut the door behind him, and quickly headed toward Mugetsu's house in the main urban district.
"If you really can develop Wood Release, that would be for the best..." Hiruzen sighed, placing his pipe back in his mouth and exhaling thin threads of smoke.
If Mugetsu truly developed Wood Release, then there would be no need to think so hard anymore.
At that point, Hiruzen would simply take Mugetsu as his disciple, let him continue earning military merits and building up Anbu, and then hand the seat to him when the time was right.
What would there even be left to choose?
With Mugetsu's current performance, if he gained Wood Release and had a few more years to mature, he would at minimum become a lesser God of Shinobi.
Of course, this was still Wood Release they were talking about.
In Hiruzen's eyes, the odds of Mugetsu successfully developing it were about the same as the odds of Jiraiya suddenly changing his mind and willingly becoming Hokage.
...
That night, Mugetsu received a message from Danzo and quietly made his way to the Root base.
"Mugetsu, how did Hiruzen arrange the matter of teaching Kenbunshoku Haki?" Danzo asked immediately.
In truth, this matter should have been decided in the high level meeting.
But Hiruzen had rejected that approach, saying the matter involved Mugetsu's own technique and should take his wishes into account. He had insisted on discussing it privately with him.
Since Mugetsu had just won an enormous victory, neither advisor had objected. Naturally, Danzo's opposition meant nothing.
Still, Danzo was not the sort to be stopped by something so simple. If Hiruzen would not tell him, then he would ask Mugetsu directly.
"The Sandaime wants me to become the Captain of a special Anbu unit..." Mugetsu selectively told him about the outcome.
The fact that he had become an Anbu Captain could not be hidden from Danzo anyway. Root and Anbu were far too closely tied together, and Danzo was still one of Konoha's elders.
"He really is generous with you." Danzo felt a surge of irritation after hearing it.
The irritation was not directed at Mugetsu, but at Hiruzen.
Back then, he had begged and maneuvered repeatedly, and all he had managed to get from Hiruzen was the authority of a single squad.
"If you ever capture another one of those Iwagakure spies again, obtain their bodily tissue immediately," Danzo instructed.
Konoha had Mugetsu, whose abilities could distinguish spies, but Danzo had yet to hear of any other village having such a method. That Transformation Technique, capable of even mimicking chakra, was far too troublesome.
Mugetsu nodded.
If he encountered White Zetsu in the future, he would not expose it at all. He would simply deal with it quietly himself.
Just as Mugetsu was leaving Danzo's office, a Root Ninja happened to walk toward him.
"Lord Mugetsu." The Root Ninja bowed his head slightly and greeted him.
Mugetsu smiled faintly in response and continued walking.
"Lord Danzo, Lord Orochimaru's reply has arrived!"
The Root Ninja entered the office, shut the door quickly, and reported.
Danzo had not paid much attention at first, but after seeing the contents of the message, surprise quickly appeared on his face.
"That Nagato was once Jiraiya's disciple!"
Danzo had only contacted Orochimaru with a try it and see attitude. Since Orochimaru was not especially busy, Danzo had thought he might as well have him look into it.
He had not expected Orochimaru to return such important intelligence, intelligence Danzo himself had not known.
He truly had not known that the young man with the Rinnegan, Nagato, now regarded as the greatest genius in the Ninja World, had once had a master disciple relationship with Jiraiya.
"Perhaps Jiraiya can be used as a point of leverage..." Danzo fell into thought.
He wanted the Iwagakure spy technology, yes.
But what he wanted even more was the Rinnegan and the inheritance of Sage Arts.
.....
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