"Hiruzen, your idea is very good, but Hanzō may not accept it so easily…"
Koharu spoke softly: "Although he's repeatedly negotiated with the administrative department and every word from him suggests cooperation, you know what kind of person he is."
"He once attempted to unify the shinobi world through military force in order to bring peace…"
"Hanzō will absolutely try to negotiate with us using his personal combat strength as leverage."
Homura nodded.
"That's something we need to factor in, Hiruzen. Hanzō's strength absolutely cannot be underestimated, and it really is a bargaining chip worth considering."
The expressions of Orochimaru and Tsunade darkened slightly.
The two of them had personally experienced life-and-death battles against Hanzō…
And they had to admit that, at least several years ago when he was at his peak, Hanzō had been extraordinarily troublesome.
In water-rich environments, his Water Release and Body Flicker Technique had reached an almost divine level of mastery. His swordsmanship was also extremely powerful, and his speed was so fast he could interrupt even Orochimaru's hand seals…
He also possessed a Hydrification Technique similar to that of the Hōzuki Clan, and when combined with the poison mist formation of his salamander summon, he was practically a walking war machine.
He was equally formidable in one-on-one combat.
That was also why Hanzō had dared to brazenly launch a war back then. In the proper environment, the Hanzō of those days truly possessed a deterrent force ordinary powerhouses could hardly compare to…
"But over the past few years, I've heard Hanzō has grown old…"
"Ever since his defeat, I've rarely heard any news about him throughout the shinobi world. At one point, I thought he planned to hole up inside Amegakure and stop stirring up trouble altogether. Yet now he's proactively contacted the village multiple times?"
Kakuzu looked toward Koharu and said thoughtfully: "Something about this feels off… It smells like a scheme. Hokage-sama really should consider this carefully."
The younger Hanzō had been an extremely wild and overbearing shinobi—a true warlord.
Simply because he despised the existence of samurai, he had once marched alone into the Land of Iron with a sickle in hand and nearly slaughtered the entire nation built around samurai culture…
At his peak, he had even used Amegakure to ignite a Shinobi World War. Everything he did was on a grand scale.
"Sensei, something really is strange about this…"
Orochimaru spoke softly.
"Given a shinobi's physical condition, he should already be declining. Just as Kakuzu said—once an ordinary flesh-and-blood body starts deteriorating, a person's ambitions should decline alongside it…"
"The fact that he's contacting Konoha so frequently contradicts the so-called 'demigod' image he promotes within the Land of Rain. He's even helping us build momentum for peace talks…"
"I have a feeling he may have obtained some kind of secret technique and intends to display military force during negotiations so he can claim a larger share of the cooperation with the village."
Orochimaru was not speaking baselessly.
A shinobi's mentality changed alongside changes in the body…
A heroic figure who once dominated an era in their prime could, with age, become a hateful old man. Countless such examples were recorded in historical texts.
That was also why Orochimaru despised growing old so much…
But ironically enough—Konoha now had quite a few monsters who were effectively immortal and ageless…
Orochimaru was one of them. Kakuzu was now another. Mito and Tsunade naturally possessed similar traits as well.
And in the future, even Hiruko might have a chance.
As for Hiruzen, there was no need to mention him at all. He had already begun aging backward, growing stronger and more vigorous day by day…
"He's become stronger?"
Hiruzen suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
"I still remember how he bullied Team Sarutobi back then and granted you the title of the Sannin!"
"From now on, Konoha should uphold the tradition of 'beat the young ones and the old ones come out.' If Hanzō wants to use military force as leverage…"
"My fists aren't exactly light either," Hiruzen said casually.
"Just leave it to me."
Recently, Hiruzen had been looking for people to spar with…
Jiraiya, who constantly bragged about his Sage Mode and kept sending letters back to the village whenever he had nothing better to do, was candidate number one.
The more seasoned Minato and Tobirama, now possessing Izuna's power, were candidates number two and three.
The problem was that he couldn't conveniently fight any of them right now. They were all busy with their own matters, and as Hokage, dragging them out by force under the excuse of "sparring" would be a little inappropriate…
But now another candidate had appeared—Hanzō.
The corners of Hiruzen's lips curled upward slightly. He genuinely wanted to test the feel of battling the Salamander, to see just how powerful Hanzō's Water Release Body Flicker and swordsmanship truly were…
"Sensei, Hanzō really is extremely strong," Orochimaru said seriously.
"He is strong. But not in front of me."
Hiruzen replied calmly: "Ōnoki of Iwagakure, the Third Raikage of Kumogakure, and Jinchūriki who have deeply mastered Tailed Beast power—those are the people I need to truly pay attention to."
"As for the rest of these so-called powerhouses, they only become troublesome once they form teams."
"Hanzō may be powerful, but what makes him 'special' doesn't count as 'special' in front of me."
"I counter him."
A trace of confidence flowed through Hiruzen's words.
Shinobi without sufficient attack power simply didn't frighten Hiruzen.
He was different from other shinobi. Hanzō's combat style was actually somewhat similar to Minato's and Sakumo's—focusing on swift kills with precisely enough attack power and no wasted force…
A Tailed Beast Bomb obliterating someone and a blade slicing open their throat looked completely different on the surface, but the result was the same.
But Hiruzen was different.
To him, shinobi whose attack power failed to overwhelm him were equivalent to having no threat at all.
His specialty was pure fault tolerance…
Hiruzen practically wished for Hanzō to come challenge Konoha through military sparring. His hands had genuinely been itching lately!
And using force to subdue someone also suited the mindset of an old-school shinobi like Hanzō.
Hiruzen had realized something.
Before overwhelming strength like Hashirama's became universally recognized and respected, trying to reason with shinobi truly required backing your words with fists before they'd properly listen…
"The export version of the Sage Region Pills—the formula and supply quotas need to be moved into production."
"Kakuzu's identity will remain undisclosed externally for now, but within the village he'll also take on another important role. He'll act as an independent third-party auditor, reviewing Konoha's various financial expenditures."
Hiruzen smiled warmly.
"But there's no need for everyone to feel nervous. It's only to patch loopholes and address oversights."
Even so, every Konoha committee member felt a chill run through them.
Especially Orochimaru and Danzō, who handled the largest allocations of funding. Both immediately began mentally reviewing whether they had committed any irregularities lately or whether there were flaws in their accounts…
After today's meeting, Kakuzu's expertise in economics no longer needed explanation…
He was absolutely a professional!
This was also the perfect job Hiruzen had found for Kakuzu.
Konoha's grand accountant…
Audit inspections!
If audits were never conducted, then even without deliberate corruption, people would inevitably become lax over time…
"Hiruzen, there's something else I need to mention."
Homura coughed lightly.
"Well… on the administrative department's side, many nobles—even the daimyō—have been asking whether you intend to take concubines…"
This time, it was Hiruzen's turn to be completely baffled.
Take concubines?
"How could they even come up with something like that?!"
"You're now the shogun of the Land of Fire… You're the Hokage, but also the greatest noble in the entire Land of Fire. What noble doesn't take concubines?"
"Marriage alliances are an important tool among nobles. You know that…" Homura had also been unable to process it at first when he heard about it, but after thinking it through carefully, it did make sense.
"I already asked Biwako for you. She doesn't really mind on her side either," Koharu added.
Hiruzen's lips twitched as he waved his hand.
"No need…"
Ever since Biwako had begun practicing the preliminary form of the Yin Seal, she was already more than enough for Hiruzen.
Besides, with his physique, those delicate noble ladies simply would not be able to endure him. And once he formed marriage alliances with those nobles, it would inevitably trigger a whole chain of troublesome complications…
The only thing the nobles could provide was money.
But Hiruzen didn't need marriage alliances to make them willingly hand over the money in their pockets.
"As the founder of the village and the man revered as the God of Shinobi, Lord Hashirama also had only Lady Mito as his sole wife…" Hiruzen pondered for a moment before saying: "Just tell them that as long as peace has not yet come to the shinobi world, I have no such intentions. Reject them."
Taking concubines, equal wives, or political marriages…
In the end, it all depended on how much benefit they could bring.
Hiruzen was not some stubborn idealist…
"If there were a kunoichi with the strength of Uchiha Madara or the First Hokage, and marrying me meant she'd work for Konoha, then I'd hold the wedding tomorrow!"
"Of course, if she possessed the legendary might of the Sage of Six Paths, then that'd be even better…"
"If that day ever comes, don't forget to bring generous wedding gifts!" Hiruzen joked, causing the Konoha council members to burst into laughter.
"Sensei, aren't you being a little too greedy there?" Orochimaru teased with a smile.
In the shinobi world, the upper limit for kunoichi was basically someone at Mito's level, and even that was a once-in-a-century rarity…
As for people on Hashirama's or Madara's level, nobody had ever even heard of such women existing…
Orochimaru realized his teacher actually had quite a sense of humor.
Danzō laughed as well.
"Hiruzen, when that day comes, I'll definitely prepare an enormous wedding gift for you. But I doubt I'll ever live to see it. This is the first time I've ever heard someone say the Sage of Six Paths was a woman…"
Danzō and Orochimaru no longer attacked each other over not calling him Hokage anymore.
"Hiruzen" and "Sensei" had become the terms they used to express their closeness to Hiruzen, distinguishing themselves from ordinary shinobi.
Hiruzen laughed heartily.
He had only been using it as an excuse to dodge the topic and lighten the mood anyway.
Never mind whether the Sage of Six Paths was male or female…
Whether such a figure had truly existed at all remained uncertain throughout the shinobi world, almost like an ancient myth.
"The discussions with Hanzō need to be put on the schedule. We should finalize the exact timing of his visit to Konoha."
"And those exchange students from Kirigakure have also reached the time when they should return home. Coordinate with Kirigakure's side and have the Ninja Academy hold a farewell gathering for them…"
Hiruzen straightened his expression and instructed them seriously.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" the Konoha council members answered in unison.
...
Several days later.
Hizashi arrived at the research department.
Orochimaru stared at the calm-faced Hizashi and softly asked: "Hizashi… do you desire greater power?"
"The kind of power that could help Sensei even more!"
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