Recently, Konoha had once again been hit by one major event after another. First came the invasion and chaotic battle during the Chūnin Exams. Then came the inauguration ceremony of the Fifth Hokage, followed by the Third Hokage's funeral… Tsunade buried her teacher with the highest honors, and afterward, Konoha completed the transfer of supreme authority with extreme stability.
This "stability" was the result of several factors. First, before his death, the Third Hokage had already made all the arrangements and had allowed Tsunade to serve as acting Hokage for a period of time. Second, Tsunade herself possessed enough prestige to suppress all factions in Konoha. She was the granddaughter of the First Hokage from the Senju clan, a disciple of the Third Hokage, and one of the Sannin, the Slug Princess. Her succession as Hokage naturally met with everyone's expectations. Third, the person who could have created the greatest obstruction, openly or secretly, had already sacrificed himself alongside the Third Hokage… heroically, one might say.
If Konoha had something like "character declassification" work, then because of this final "passive" act, Danzō's evaluation would probably rise significantly. Sacrificing himself for the village was likely the most commendable thing he had done in his entire life.
Any shinobi who could do such a thing deserved praise.
Even if that shinobi was Danzō.
By the time Hagoromo and Naruto returned to Konoha, all the major matters had basically settled down. From beginning to end, only about ten days had passed.
Konoha had already adapted to its new Hokage, and all work was returning to normal in an orderly manner.
The damage caused by Orochimaru was also gradually being repaired. Before long, everything would be completely smoothed over.
At this moment, Hagoromo stood before the Third Hokage's gravestone. But what exactly was he mourning? To be honest, even he himself was not entirely sure.
The amount of time two people spent together could not represent how important they were to each other, but there was indeed some connection. In many matters, Hagoromo could not avoid being ordinary. Or rather, aside from "occasionally" causing trouble—note the key word—he was no different from the average person.
Regarding the Third Hokage, it was impossible for him to be completely unmoved.
Moreover, although everything had been the Third Hokage's own decision, Hagoromo had also played a rather important role in it. So he needed to shoulder part of the consequences and responsibility.
Although no one would hold him accountable or criticize him for it.
"Sometimes, certain dislocations make me feel as if I'm the one who killed the Third Hokage… Aside from Orochimaru still being alive, everything followed the Third Hokage's expectations and plans from before his death. But… is this what they call meaningful?"
"Is there really meaning equal to the value of life?"
Hagoromo suddenly asked. This was not deranged muttering to himself.
There was someone here who could answer him.
"For a shinobi, death can happen at any time. It is sudden, accidental, and even… ordinary. So for us, death is always unavoidable."
"But if one can choose the way they die, then that is best. Because if one must choose between meaningful and meaningless, then naturally the former is the only choice."
"For a shinobi who bears the title of 'Kage,' this is even more true. But 'meaningful' is always a relative concept. Perhaps for the Third Hokage at thirty, doing this would not have meant much. But for the Third Hokage at seventy, this was probably the best choice for realizing his final value…"
"As for Teacher Sarutobi's sacrifice, perhaps I understand it more deeply than you do. After all, before long, I too will reach his age… So, by comparison, Minato's matter back then is what truly makes people feel regret."
The person who could come here immediately at such a time and give this kind of explanation was probably only Jiraiya.
Hagoromo did not turn around. He merely nodded with his back to Jiraiya, indicating that he understood… In truth, what he had said just now was only a momentary sigh. He did not really need such comfort.
Persuading oneself was far more fundamental and important than being comforted by others.
"There are no problems inside the village now. Tsunade has truly become the Fifth Hokage, and the only urgent issue left is one thing…"
"The most important problem Konoha faces now should be how to handle its relationship with Sunagakure. Fortunately, both sides are relatively restrained. But… is the news that Chiyo is dead true?" After a brief silence, Jiraiya asked again.
This matter was fairly important, so he needed to confirm it with Hagoromo.
Hagoromo's departure from the village had originally been for Shukaku. Later, he told Jiraiya that he would actively pursue Chiyo, because at that time he had vaguely felt that she might be able to use some special method to save Gaara… And later, that was exactly what happened.
After that, he found Naruto, and the explanation changed again into going to capture Uncle Snake.
In the end, although he did catch up with Uncle Snake, his actual purpose had been to solve the Nine-Tails problem inside Naruto… When lying became a habit, what a terrifying thing it was.
"That's right. Chiyo's death is something I saw with my own eyes." Based on what Hagoromo had seen at the time, Chiyo was indeed dead.
"In other words, during the Chūnin Exams, Sunagakure lost both the Fourth Kazekage and Advisor Chiyo in succession…" Jiraiya thought for a moment, then continued, "In that case, their high-end combat power has suffered considerable losses. More importantly, the sudden loss of the Kazekage will throw Sunagakure into a certain degree of chaos. With the precedent of the Third Kazekage before them, I imagine Sunagakure will not take this chance to make trouble for Konoha."
Jiraiya's judgment was sound. Although Konoha had also lost its Hokage, if one compared the difference in strength between the two sides, Sunagakure probably would not do anything unwise.
"They had no real excuse for war to begin with. The Fourth Kazekage was killed by Orochimaru. The conflict between Konoha and Sunagakure was stirred up by Orochimaru using the distrust between both sides. In this matter, we are victims too… In short, just push all the responsibility onto Orochimaru."
Fine. Hagoromo's final sentence revealed his true thoughts.
Although this incident had been started by Orochimaru, judging from the process, he should not have to bear all the responsibility.
But there was nothing wrong with making him carry the blame. As long as everything was pinned on him, both Konoha and Sunagakure would have a way to step down, and the possibility of resolving the incident peacefully would become much greater.
In any case, Orochimaru was a wandering old bachelor. Adding a little more infamy to his name did not matter much. He probably did not care about such things himself… Whether he cared or not, Hagoromo would just assume he did not.
So… what exactly had Orochimaru done to deserve being buried under this many black pots?
If the two sides blamed each other, then with both current "Kage" dead, Konoha and Sunagakure would inevitably have to fight. Fortunately, there was Orochimaru.
Orochimaru was everyone's Orochimaru. He was neither too tall nor too short, neither too fat nor too thin—just right. And not long ago, during the Chūnin Exams, he had indeed caused trouble. So if the responsibility was not his, whose could it be?
All mistakes, great and small, were Ah-Maru's fault. In this matter, Sunagakure could only laugh it off and get through it. Otherwise, were they really going to clash head-on with Konoha?
So what else could Orochimaru do? As for what other people said, he could just listen casually and make his own decisions. On a weekend night, he could abandon all logic and curl up pitifully on the sofa…
In reality, Hagoromo did not even need to suggest this. Konoha and Sunagakure were already doing exactly that.
When great shinobi villages started acting like rogues, they were far more shameless than Hagoromo.
"Where is Lady Tsunade? Next, I'll explain the details of this trip to you."
Sunagakure's problem was not only that it had lost Chiyo and the Kazekage, but also that it had permanently lost Shukaku. However, perhaps due to various concerns, they had not explained this matter to Konoha.
That was only natural. After all, if Sunagakure eagerly came over and enthusiastically told Konoha that Shukaku was gone, that would be strange… Moreover, they still had not figured out exactly how Shukaku had disappeared.
Likewise, now that Konoha had lost the Nine-Tails, Hagoromo also needed to explain things to the Fifth Hokage.
"Tsunade is naturally in her office, though she doesn't look very willing…" Jiraiya said.
Making Tsunade stay in the Hokage's office all the time was, given her personality, easy to imagine as rather difficult and uncomfortable, especially during the initial adjustment stage.
She might even go on strike often… Fortunately, the super-nanny Shizune was constantly urging her on.
As Hagoromo and Jiraiya spoke, they turned and prepared to leave.
But Hagoromo kept feeling as if he had forgotten something. Was there some necessary matter he had not explained yet? But if he could not remember it, then it probably was not anything important, right?
Fortunately, Jiraiya reminded him.
"By the way, after the Chūnin Exams, the last descendant of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Sasuke of Team Seven, disappeared. Do you know what happened?"
Hagoromo froze.
Oh.
There was that, wasn't there?
Fine. This last Uchiha seemed like he ought to be an important character. But apparently, he would not interfere with Hagoromo's goals, so he was not someone Student White Yaksha needed to focus on.
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