Konoha's reforms would require no small amount of effort. Hikaru understood that better than anyone.
That was why, although he cared about the matter, he was more interested in seeing what kind of plan Nara Shikaku would produce.
As a leader, Hikaru's approach had always been consistent.
Just like on the battlefield, he only handled the broad strategic direction.
As for the finer details?
If he had so many capable subordinates and still insisted on exhausting himself over every little thing, that would be the stupidest possible way to manage anything.
"If necessary, the Secretariat should also be established inside the Hokage Building. The same goes for my Internal Affairs Office."
The Secretariat and Internal Affairs Office Hikaru had created in ANBU had helped him resolve plenty of trouble.
He had decided that even after becoming Hokage, both departments had to remain.
Only now, they would probably be upgraded from "offices" into proper "departments."
Although the Hokage already had the Administrative Department to assist with government affairs, that department should be responsible for broader coordination.
For example, the newly proposed, somewhat patchwork-like "comprehensive council system" would require the Administrative Department's later involvement and coordination.
In Hikaru's view, Konoha's administrative system was genuinely chaotic.
If he wanted to completely change it, that would take a great deal of time.
"But I really do have time to slowly deal with all of this."
Hikaru was not short on time.
From now until the original story's timeline, there was still plenty of room.
By the time the original plot began, perhaps Konoha would already have been shaped by him into the model village of the shinobi world.
After leaving the office, Hikaru's chakra stirred slightly.
In the next instant, he appeared near a newspaper stand in Konoha.
Looking at the small toad standing in front of him while holding a kunai, Hikaru showed no surprise.
The reason he had left before finishing his discussion with Nara Shikaku was mainly because he had sensed someone using Flying Thunder God to summon him.
Besides, the existence of these toads was not strange.
They had been staying in Konoha to deliver newspapers to Minato Namikaze.
Hikaru knew very well that Kakashi needed to pass certain information to Minato, so he had simply suggested that Kakashi send newspapers over as well.
Kakashi also thought Hikaru's suggestion made sense.
Unless there were special confidential matters to report, the newspaper covered most things already.
Facts proved that Hikaru had made the right choice for Kakashi.
Minato had indeed grown rather fond of newspapers.
In fact, in order not to interfere with Kakashi's work, he had specially asked some toads to come to Konoha regularly and buy the day's newspaper.
The toad in front of Hikaru was responsible for that task.
Only now, it had gained another duty.
"You're Senju Hikaru?" the toad asked when it saw Hikaru suddenly appear.
There was very little doubt in its tone.
It was almost completely certain that this was the Hikaru Minato had mentioned.
After all, the Flying Thunder God Technique was both mysterious and extremely difficult to learn.
The way Hikaru had appeared just now was clearly through Flying Thunder God.
"That's me." Hikaru nodded lightly. "The Fourth Hokage wants to see me. How should I meet him?"
"Come with me. I'll take you to Mount Myōboku."
The little toad spread its hands and complained as it spoke.
"What a pain. Do they not know how much chakra it takes to bring someone to Mount Myōboku? Why'd they make me do it?"
Hikaru could not help shaking his head and chuckling at the little creature's grumbling.
Summoning beasts were actually quite interesting.
If Hikaru's strength had not improved so quickly over the past few years, perhaps he would still have needed Lizardmaru's help constantly.
Now, the smaller lizards of Lizardmaru's clan had basically become couriers for Hikaru's messages and intelligence.
Sometimes, for convenience, Hikaru would even use Flying Thunder God himself.
However, just because Lizardmaru had little room to appear now did not mean that would always be the case.
After all, summoning jutsu had one very subtle characteristic.
Maintaining it required chakra from both the summoner and the summoned beast.
A summoned beast could even rely on the summoner's chakra to maintain its ability to fight continuously.
And the sheer terror of Hikaru's chakra reserves was obvious.
If Lizardmaru could properly use and adapt to Hikaru's chakra, then many things in the future would become difficult to predict.
Under the little toad's lead, Hikaru followed it to a relatively hidden corner.
Fortunately, it was currently working hours, so Konoha's streets were not too crowded.
On top of that, Hikaru was wearing a mask, so no one recognized him.
Right now, after the newspaper's relentless bombardment, Hikaru had basically reached the point where everyone in Konoha knew his name.
That meant he sometimes really did need to wear a mask when going out.
Otherwise, he would probably be surrounded by the enthusiastic residents of Konoha.
His current fame was far beyond what it had been in the past.
After they reached the corner, the little toad immediately brought its claws together.
A moment later, Hikaru sensed a very familiar chakra appear.
"Senjutsu?"
Hikaru noticed the difference in the little toad's chakra right away.
After all, senjutsu was one of the powers he often used. Naturally, he was extremely sensitive to it.
He had to admit, summoning beasts like this—or rather, the summoning beasts of the Three Great Sage Regions—were truly blessed by the heavens.
The power they naturally used was something humans often could not learn easily.
The number of people in the shinobi world capable of using senjutsu already explained the problem.
Of course, there might also be talented people who simply lacked the path to learn it.
But Hikaru still believed that truly talented people were few.
The risk of petrification alone was enough to make countless people retreat.
After all, not everyone could receive careful guidance like Naruto.
Nor was everyone like Hikaru, who had outside help and could ignore learning conditions and even things like talent.
"This is Reverse Summoning."
The little toad glanced at Hikaru, then spoke.
"Come on. I'll take you over."
"Mm."
Hikaru nodded and stepped into the summoning formation with the little toad.
When a strange chakra swept across Hikaru's body, he clearly sensed spatial power trembling.
This kind of power was truly familiar to him.
However, although its essence was the same as Flying Thunder God, there were still considerable differences.
In the blink of an eye, Hikaru found himself in a forest.
Not far away, a blond man was sitting quietly.
"Hikaru-kun, long time no see."
When the blond man saw Hikaru arrive, he smiled.
Hikaru also smiled and nodded at him.
"It has been a long time, Hokage-sama."
...
Hikaru and Minato Namikaze spoke for a very long time.
It was not until evening that Hikaru ended the meeting with a smile on his face.
This meeting had given Hikaru what he wanted.
Although it was only a promise, to Hikaru, that promise was absolutely enough and absolutely real.
"As long as you can push forward Konoha's election for a new Hokage, I will support the proposal. After all, in my current condition, I can no longer continue leading Konoha."
Those were Minato's exact words.
And those words were an acknowledgment of everything Hikaru had done.
Although Hikaru himself could not quite figure out Minato's inner changes, ever since Minato had learned what Hikaru had done on the night of the Nine-Tails incident, he seemed to have changed greatly.
However, whether compared with the original story or with the present, that change did not make much difference.
After all, in the original, Minato had already died.
Now, everything had been changed by Hikaru.
Clearly, none of it would return to its starting point.
Even if some things still followed the original plot, Hikaru felt the chances were already small.
For example, the Chūnin Exams incident—the arc that had drawn Hikaru into Naruto in his previous life—would probably never happen now.
With Hikaru's current strength and his performance in the war between Kumo and Konoha, he did not believe Sunagakure would be brainless enough to provoke him.
Besides, another reason Suna chose to act in the original was Orochimaru.
Hikaru truly had no idea what method Orochimaru had used to lure Rasa in.
The original had never explained it.
But one thing was certain: Rasa had agreed and sent troops.
As for why Konoha, after learning of Orochimaru's presence and noticing that Suna had brought its jinchūriki into the village, had not taken much action...
That was also simple.
Deterrence and training the new generation.
In the original timeline, Konoha's prestige had plummeted after the Kumo incident.
For Konoha's development, that was a devastating blow.
Konoha needed someone to become its stepping stone so it could regain its prestige in the shinobi world.
Orochimaru and Suna's attack, in a sense, gave Konoha that chance.
Moreover, Suna and Konoha were allies, but that alliance had only come about after Suna's defeat and forced signing.
Naturally, they were unwilling to keep that alliance going forever.
Konoha also wanted to properly suppress this unreliable ally who wished to rebel, so the continuation of war became inevitable.
Furthermore, Konoha had been at peace for many years.
The new generation of shinobi had not experienced war at all.
They could not understand the importance of peace, nor could they become true shinobi.
At the end of the day, shinobi were weapons.
Once a weapon became dull, it lost its power.
Keeping a weapon sharp was necessary, even if one did not actively attack with it.
Using such a war to temper the younger generation naturally had its own necessity.
Of course, Hikaru also maliciously wondered whether this had actually been Hiruzen Sarutobi's helpless choice.
First, Hiruzen had no way of knowing whether the Fourth Kazekage was truly himself.
Even if he knew, if he could not find the Fourth Kazekage's body, then under those circumstances, he would naturally have no evidence to prove Rasa's true condition.
Nor could he expose Orochimaru's identity.
Besides, Sunagakure would not believe Konoha's words.
Second, one month was not enough time for Hiruzen to arrange too much.
Orochimaru understood Konoha too well.
If Hiruzen made any major moves, he might easily alert Orochimaru.
Without figuring out Orochimaru's true goal, he still had to handle such a dangerous person carefully.
In addition, because of Danzo and his indulgence toward the Uchiha Clan's destruction, Hiruzen's position inside Konoha had become extremely awkward.
One could say that at that time, Hiruzen Sarutobi had almost fallen into the embarrassing situation of having no cards left to play.
He could do almost nothing.
He could only watch the war break out.
Of course, these were only thoughts Hikaru had recently.
Whether the truth was really like that, Hikaru did not know.
But he did know one thing.
That event had basically been cut off at the waist.
As long as he was in Konoha, it would never happen.
Especially since Orochimaru was now, for the time being, one of his people.
"But how long Orochimaru can maintain this state is still a question."
Through the summoning formation, Hikaru returned to Konoha again.
What made this return interesting was that he found himself standing on the Hokage Rock.
Standing atop the Hokage Rock, Hikaru swept his gaze over everything before him.
He had to admit, there truly was a feeling of standing above all mountains here.
This feeling was very different from standing atop the Wood Human and looking down on enemies.
Those people had been enemies.
But everything below him now belonged to "Konoha."
He could somewhat understand why the Hokage liked standing here and looking over the whole village.
Whether Konoha was prosperous could be roughly seen from here.
And that was their achievement.
Thinking of this, Hikaru stretched slightly.
Just as he was about to leave, the little Nine-Tails' voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
"That guy just now. The Nine-Tails inside him seems to have noticed me."
"Oh?"
Hikaru raised his brow slightly.
The little Nine-Tails' words surprised him a little, but he did not take it too seriously.
"It's fine if it noticed. What, is it going to tell Minato Namikaze?"
"It hasn't fully noticed yet. It only may have sensed my existence."
The little Nine-Tails' voice sounded in Hikaru's mind again.
"Also, unfortunately, I have to tell you, he may be like you."
"Like me?"
Hikaru was startled at first.
Then his expression instantly became serious.
The little Nine-Tails' meaning was very clear.
The only way Minato could be "like him" was that Minato had likely mastered the Nine-Tails' power.
This news truly surprised Hikaru.
In the original, Minato had indeed mastered the Nine-Tails' power, but how much later had that been?
Now, he had actually already mastered the Nine-Tails' power.
Especially since the Nine-Tails had been split and sealed by Minato himself.
How had he done it?
Could it be that Minato had also mastered Naruto's Talk-no-Jutsu?
"Are you sure you didn't sense wrong?" Hikaru frowned and asked in a low voice. "Are you sure he can use your power to fight now?"
"I'm certain. No mistake."
The little Nine-Tails nodded.
"I can feel the power that belongs to me on his body. Although he is still training it, this is already a fact."
"I see."
Hikaru nodded silently.
He had to admit, this discovery truly surprised him.
When he met Minato, Hikaru had already clearly sensed the abundant senjutsu chakra inside his body.
That meant Minato had trained seriously and diligently during this period, raising his senjutsu level to such a degree.
And now, he had even mastered the Nine-Tails' chakra.
It was hard to say whether he would develop Nine-Tails Chakra Mode before long.
At that moment, Hikaru could not help guessing.
Could it be that Minato had not sealed the Nine-Tails into Naruto?
Instead, after sealing it into Kushina, had he somehow taken Naruto's script for himself?
"This is getting interesting."
Hikaru shook his head.
Just then, raindrops suddenly fell from the sky.
He could not help lifting his head.
"It's raining. How fitting."
...
Late at night, heavy rain poured over Konoha.
Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled.
The tense, oppressive atmosphere in the village was brought to life by the storm, as though foreshadowing the raging winds and violent rain that would soon descend upon Konoha.
Of course, that storm would only target certain people.
For most others, after the heavy rain would come clear skies.
Boom!
A massive bolt of lightning fell from the heavens, striking down into the mortal world.
The pitch-black night sky brightened for an instant beneath that flash, grand and magnificent.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat alone in the Hokage's office.
He was silent, lost in thought, his entire body almost still.
The lights in the room were not on.
Everything was dark.
Whenever lightning flashed outside, the room suddenly brightened.
Then, as the lightning vanished, it sank back into darkness.
Light and shadow alternated.
Within those repeated flashes, Hiruzen's face shifted between brightness and darkness, making him look especially strange.
A gust of wind blew through.
The curtains, which had been hanging still, fluttered gently.
On such a stormy night, that movement seemed especially conspicuous and abrupt.
The breeze rose and stopped just as quickly.
And between that rise and fall, a black shadow had already appeared opposite Hiruzen Sarutobi, sitting across from him at the desk.
Hiruzen seemed not to see the shadow before him.
He remained silent, still thinking.
The shadow also did not speak.
It simply sat there quietly and waited.
"Ah. It seems I really have grown old. I'm becoming prone to losing focus."
After a long while, the rain weakened, and the wind softened with it.
Once the thunder and lightning stopped, Hiruzen finally returned from his thoughts.
He sighed softly, his age fully showing.
"But I truly did not expect that you had not set a Flying Thunder God mark here. Is it disdain, or do you simply feel everything is already in your grasp?"
"Perhaps both."
The shadow spoke slowly, its voice very calm.
The moon gradually revealed itself from behind the clouds.
Clear, bright moonlight scattered down.
The shadow's face also became visible beneath that pale light.
It was Hikaru.
At this moment, Hikaru was silently looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi before him.
Looking at Hiruzen, whose age was now so apparent, Hikaru suddenly felt an uncontrollable surge of emotion in his chest.
Once, Hiruzen Sarutobi had stood above all others.
He had led an era.
He had been a Shinobi Professor whom almost no one could rival.
Yet somehow, without anyone noticing, he had been worn down into this state.
Was the pressure Hikaru had given him this time too great?
Or was time simply that merciless?
For a brief moment, an absurd thought rose in Hikaru's mind.
"Perhaps the First and Second died at exactly the right time?"
After all, they never had to experience or endure the endless erosion of age upon their strength and spirit.
Nor did they have to bear the judgments and accusations of later generations toward their lives, merits, and faults.
They died in the most glorious era of their lives, in the most heroic and invincible posture.
They engraved their strongest selves deep into history and into everyone's hearts, becoming tragic heroes praised forever.
They preserved their dignity and honor as the strong, then elevated it to a broader realm.
They would forever stand above the river of history, smiling down upon the heroes of the past and overlooking all who came after.
Hikaru gently shook his head and put away the thought.
It was only a simple idea.
If a top-level shinobi could maintain their peak state from beginning to end, they would naturally have no fear of the decline that came after their prime.
But those who could truly achieve that in this world were, strictly speaking, no longer human.
They were members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had no idea what Hikaru was thinking.
He took a deep breath, then slowly straightened his aged body.
For some reason, Hikaru clearly felt that all the signs of old age on him vanished with that movement.
It was as if, in that instant, all the power that had drained away returned to him.
He seemed to become once more the "Shinobi Professor" of Hikaru's memory.
"So, do you believe you have won for certain this time?"
A deep voice, utterly disproportionate to his thin and withered body, sounded.
A rolling pressure surged toward Hikaru at that moment.
But this pressure could no longer give Hikaru the same feeling it had in the past.
It no longer made him feel as if he could hardly breathe.
In fact, it could not even make him raise his attention.
"Is the pressure too much?" Hikaru shook his head lightly. "Or did negotiations with the people behind you collapse?"
"Perhaps."
Hiruzen did not relax because of Hikaru's calm attitude.
On the contrary, he seemed to become even more intense.
"You should know that if they collapsed, I would definitely try to kill you!"
"I can be certain that if you take power, you will break every balance Konoha has worked so hard to achieve.
"I will not allow the balance Konoha struggled to build to be buried overnight because of you!"
Hikaru calmly looked at the Third Hokage before him.
Listening to those words that seemed to carry a death resolve, Hikaru could not help smiling.
He roughly guessed what the Third Hokage's true purpose was.
He also knew how he should respond.
"It seems you really have grown old, Third Hokage-sama."
Hikaru shook his head lightly.
At that moment, a rare coldness appeared on his face.
"Do words like this still have any meaning between us?
"No matter what you think, no matter how firmly you oppose this matter, it has already become an irreversible tide.
"You no longer have the ability to stop it.
"And the current Konoha no longer has the ability to prevent it from happening.
"I am already standing above the clouds, looking down at all of you.
"What qualifications do you still have to resist me?"
"Perhaps that is true. But do not underestimate the human heart."
Hiruzen spoke each word clearly.
A startling battle intent and will shone in his eyes.
His slightly tense body looked ready to unleash a fatal blow at any moment.
"Looks like you still want to fight for those interest groups behind you."
Hikaru shook his head lightly.
Then he also stood.
In an instant, his aura erupted completely.
At that moment, the walls of the Hokage's office began to tremble.
The windows, glass, and everything else inside the room began to crack like spiderwebs.
Those cracks spread continuously.
After only a few breaths, they shattered all at once.
With a series of sharp cracking sounds, fragments fell to the floor.
The Hokage's office became especially silent.
Especially oppressive.
Hikaru and Hiruzen stared directly at each other.
But both of them knew very well that in this confrontation of presence, Hiruzen had completely fallen behind.
Hiruzen sighed inwardly.
The aura of this young man before him had truly reached the level of the First Hokage and his own teacher in his memories.
Such powerful pressure was enough to make one despair.
But it was also enough to make one feel joy.
Suddenly, Hiruzen laughed.
He laughed happily and freely.
Looking at Hikaru, he spoke in a calm tone.
"Indeed. Your strength already stands above the clouds.
"My current strength is far below yours.
"If I fought you, perhaps I would have no chance of victory at all.
"I might not even be able to die together with you.
"But there are some things that must be done even when one knows they cannot be achieved."
As he spoke, a certain dignity and bearing that could not be looked down upon emanated from his body.
Even Hikaru could not help being moved.
For a brief moment, Hikaru truly felt that this old man might make a move.
But that feeling soon disappeared.
Because Hikaru knew this old man would not.
It had nothing to do with cowardice.
Nor did it have anything to do with whether he was his opponent.
Hikaru shook his head lightly and withdrew his own aura.
In that instant, Hikaru seemed to once again become the gentle-looking young man he usually was.
"Third Hokage-sama, I think this is enough."
Hikaru sat down.
Moonlight fell on him once more.
Only compared to the strange coldness from a few minutes earlier, Hikaru now looked somewhat sacred.
A smile appeared on his face again.
His voice also became much gentler.
The coldness from before was gone.
"The wheels of history only move forward.
"No one has ever been able to stop them.
"And no one can truly reverse history so easily.
"Neither I nor you can do that.
"It is not that it cannot be done. It is that doing so leads only to death."
At this point, Hikaru sighed softly.
His gaze toward Hiruzen Sarutobi carried something difficult to describe.
After slightly organizing his thoughts, he continued slowly:
"Actually, when I think about it, I truly admire everything the Third Hokage-sama has done.
"After all, even if I stood in your position, the choices I could make would likely be the same.
"Konoha is a swamp.
"If one wants to survive in that swamp, sometimes one truly has to be ruthless.
"You did it, Third Hokage-sama.
"That is why today's situation exists.
"And you controlled Konoha for decades.
"I do not blame you for the choices you made back then.
"Because if it were me, I might only have been colder and more brutal.
"But as I said, times are changing.
"No one can stop the tide of an era, can they?"
Hikaru stopped there and calmly looked at the old man before him.
That was enough.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's earlier behavior could be seen as one final probe.
He wanted to test exactly what kind of capacity Hikaru possessed.
Although Hikaru thought such a thing was boring, he did not mind playing along.
Perhaps the old man had indeed wanted to attack.
But he would not truly do it.
Because Hikaru would inevitably become Hokage.
Just as Hikaru had said, this could no longer be stopped.
"Perhaps."
After a long while, Hiruzen sighed softly, then sat down as well.
"The current problem is no longer me. Or rather, it is not only me."
"I have already visited the Fourth Hokage."
Hikaru spoke calmly.
"He gave me a promise. As long as Konoha decides to hold a Hokage election, he will agree."
"It seems you truly have prepared everything."
Hiruzen slowly closed his eyes.
After a long time, he asked with some difficulty:
"Then what about the others?"
"I will act. Because I will be the one taking power."
Hikaru gave a direct answer.
There was no need to hide something like this.
"If they agree and accept my arrangements, then everything is fine.
"If they disagree and refuse to accept them, I will use normal means.
"If they dare resist, then I will send them to the Pure Land to meet their old friends.
"If necessary, I will pull them up by the roots."
Hikaru's words were calm.
But Hiruzen knew very clearly how thick the scent of blood and storm was beneath that calm.
Yet Hiruzen also knew he had no way to stop it.
Because he had done similar things himself.
And he had done them with just as much brutality.
Besides, Hikaru had already given them a way to live.
Hiruzen simply was not sure whether they would accept it.
After all, interest was always the most terrifying thing.
It was also the thing that tempted people the most.
And beyond interest, there was power.
Once people had tasted power, asking them to let go of it would be an extremely difficult thing.
Hiruzen suddenly smiled bitterly inwardly.
Once, he had hoped Hikaru would not begin a massacre.
But now, he found himself hoping even more that those who had followed him for ten or even several decades would not force Hikaru to raise the butcher's blade because they refused to let go of power and interest.
With a soft sigh, Hiruzen nodded lightly.
He said nothing more.
He knew this was already enough.
"Oh, right."
Seeing Hiruzen's desolate expression, Hikaru suddenly smiled.
"With the Third Hokage-sama's ability, I think it would be better if you did not retire. There are many matters around me that will require your help."
"You..."
Hearing Hikaru's words, Hiruzen immediately glared at him through gritted teeth.
"What exactly do you mean? You want me to raise the blade against those people?"
"That is part of it, but not all."
Hikaru shook his head lightly.
"We are enemies in terms of position.
"With you around, I will always remain vigilant.
"And..."
At this point, Hikaru's smile suddenly became brilliant.
Under Hiruzen's furious gaze, he spoke word by word:
"Wouldn't it be even more interesting to let you witness Konoha rise through my methods?
"What do you think, Third Hokage-sama?"
Hiruzen continued glaring at Hikaru.
At that moment, his anger seemed to have reached its peak.
But he had no way to refuse.
Nor did he have the strength to resist any of this.
After a long while, he finally nodded.
Almost through clenched teeth, he answered:
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
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