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JST Chapter 373: The Mask of the Hokage
🕑 Added 2025-07-08 15:57:45 +0000 UTC"Good. So you’ve gone through the notes I left behind..."
Kazuki’s gaze settled on Hiruzen’s aged face and frail body. He shook his head slightly.
"But Hiruzen… you didn’t absorb the essence of what I left you. If you truly wish to protect Konoha… then with this kind of strength, how do you expect to stand in front of everyone?"
"You don’t look like a Hokage who protects others. You look like an old man… one who needs to be protected."
"This lack of progress… it won’t do."
There was a trace of disappointment in Kazuki’s voice.
"Where did this strange moral code of yours come from? My elder brother opposed forbidden techniques because his power allowed him that luxury.
But you, Monkey—what do you have?"
Kazuki picked up the Konoha Chronicles from the table, flipped to the section on the Third Hokage, and pointed to the bold heading: The Strongest Hokage.
"I can understand if you promoted yourself that way to boost your authority as Hokage. But tell me… did you really start to believe you were the Strongest Hokage?"
"You can fool the kids in the village—but you can’t lie to yourself..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen’s toes curled instinctively.
The secondhand embarrassment was so intense he wanted to ram his head into a wall.
All he could do was wish for the Earth Release technique to open a hole for him to crawl into.
"I’m sorry, Sensei… I–I..."
"Day by day, through constant training, I’ve come to understand the limits of a mortal shinobi."
Kazuki spoke slowly, mimicking the calm yet fervent tone Senju Tobirama had used when studying ninjutsu.
"Not everyone is blessed with the kind of talent my elder brother had. Even I—born a Senju, highly skilled in the development of jutsu—could only go so far."
"Back during the First Great Ninja War, I often wondered… If I had my brother’s power, could I have silenced the entire shinobi world—forced peace through sheer presence, so that no one would dare start another war?"
"But I couldn’t. My talent could only carry me that far—no further."
His voice dropped to a murmur.
"To catch up to my brother… I needed power far beyond what I possessed. I’ve already walked the Senju path… and the only one that can rival it… is the Uchiha."
"If I, as a Senju, could obtain Uchiha power—unite the two bloodlines into one—then perhaps I could surpass even my brother. And if I could do that… I could end the wars that plague the shinobi world and bring lasting peace."
Hiruzen stood stunned, mouth slightly agape.
"Then you… why did you choose Naruto?"
"Naruto carries the blood of the Uzumaki Clan.
He’s just a child, yet he can contain the Nine-Tails’s chakra. He meets the requirements for the new vessel I need."
Kazuki didn’t shy away from the truth.
"The Senju power—I can find a way to reclaim it. The Uchiha’s as well. But a container capable of holding the Nine-Tails… that’s not something you come across often."
"Do you understand now?"
Almost reflexively, Hiruzen reached for his pocket.
The sheer weight of the information had his nerves in pieces—he just wanted a smoke to steady himself.
But then his hand froze.
In front of Senju Tobirama, he was no longer the Third Hokage, puffing calmly before anyone.
He was just the little monkey who used to follow orders.
'To obtain Senju power… Sensei must mean Lord Hashirama’s cells. And the Uchiha power—for Sensei, taking a pair of eyes would be nothing...'
Hiruzen’s eyes widened slightly.
'It’s Naruto’s bloodline… and his innate talent—that’s what’s truly irreplaceable.'
In that instant, Hiruzen understood Kazuki’s implication.
And yet…
There was still one thing he couldn’t bring himself to accept.
Naruto… was the orphaned son of the Fourth Hokage.
Could he really let Sensei take over that child’s body?
True, he hadn’t treated Naruto with much warmth or care…
But that didn’t mean he could sit by and watch—
as a former Hokage possessed the boy before he’d even had a chance to grow up.
Dark.
Unbearably, ridiculously dark.
This—this had to be the most damnable scandal in the history of Konohagakure.
If word of this ever got out, the Will of Fire would collapse in an instant.
It wouldn’t matter if Senju Tobirama’s original intentions had contained some trace of righteousness—none of that would survive the fallout.
"Sensei… do you… do you know who Naruto really is?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen drew in a deep breath, clinging to a last shred of hope.
Kazuki let out a soft chuckle.
"Of course I do. The son of the Fourth Hokage."
"And so what?"
"Hiruzen, if there’s something you want to say—just say it."
So what if I say it directly?
Kazuki's words once again left Hiruzen stunned, just when he had finally mustered the courage to speak.
My own sensei… my Tobirama-sama…
You know Naruto is the son of the Fourth Hokage—don’t you realize what you’re doing?
As a former Hokage, you’ve used a forbidden soul technique to possess the body of the fallen Fourth’s child…
This isn’t about whether it aligns with the Will of Fire anymore—
It’s just plain inhuman!
“Sensei… this technique of yours—it’ll destroy Naruto’s self-awareness, won’t it?”
Hiruzen took a deep breath. When it came to this critical issue, not even his mastery of diplomacy could smooth it over. His wording grew direct, his tone heavy: “The Fourth Hokage… he used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal and gave his life to protect the village by sealing the Nine-Tails. Naruto is his son. Sensei, if this comes to light, the consequences will be dire!”
Kazuki let out a cold laugh.
Hiruzen instinctively shrank his neck back—a classic response. Back in the day, whenever Senju Tobirama chastised him for being naïve, he would always begin with that exact scoff.
“Monkey, are you saying I’m being unfair to Naruto and the Fourth Hokage?”
Kazuki cast a cold glance at Hiruzen.
“From the time he was a child, Naruto didn’t even know he was the son of the Fourth. The only Hokage he ever got to interact with was you—the Third. Is that really how a Hokage’s heir should be treated?”
“Monkey, what were you thinking?”
It was the calm before the storm. Though Kazuki’s eyes appeared still and rippleless, they carried a faint, dangerous fury beneath the surface.
It was the posture of a superior ready to judge a disloyal subordinate.
Senju Tobirama had once shown this very same gaze toward the Uchiha Clan when they defied him.
When Hiruzen had just taken office as Hokage—before he had consolidated his power—there were still some senior jōnin who dared to question or challenge his decisions…
And in those moments, Hiruzen would imitate this very expression from his memories of Tobirama—using the so-called 'Hokage’s death glare' to intimidate uncooperative shinobi.
But now, the Third Hokage never expected—
That same look would one day be turned on him… by his own sensei.
It meant—
Tobirama-sama now saw him as an enemy?!
Hiruzen’s heart trembled.
But he had to admit—
He truly did hold views that differed from Senju Tobirama’s.
'I finally understand… why Hashirama-sama and Mito-sama were always so strict about monitoring Sensei’s jutsu research…'
'He’s just too damn reckless, Sensei! Even under Mito-sama’s watchful eye, he still managed to create a possession technique like this…'
'If no one had kept him in check, I don’t even dare imagine what kind of terrifying jutsu he might’ve come up with—maybe something capable of destroying the entire shinobi world?'
Sarutobi Hiruzen vented his emotions inwardly and didn’t rush to answer Kazuki. Instead, he fixed a solemn gaze on him...
Or rather, on Naruto—on the image of Senju Tobirama he still held in his heart.
He fell into deep thought.
After a moment, Hiruzen exhaled slowly and spoke with solemn resolve: “Sensei… I admit it. I hid Naruto’s identity as the son of the Fourth Hokage because I doubted whether he could bear the burden of being the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki…”
“He was just a child… If it had come to light that Naruto was both the Fourth’s son and the jinchūriki—and he lost control again—it would have shattered the village’s confidence!”
“Even the Fourth Hokage gave his life using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal and still couldn’t suppress the Nine-Tails. If both father and son failed—two generations losing to the same demon fox…”
Hiruzen imagined what would happen if Naruto’s identity were exposed, only for him to go berserk. What kind of chaos would it unleash? How would public opinion shift?
Kazuki chuckled softly, fingers interlocked, eyes sharply appraising Hiruzen.
The message in his gaze was clear—You’ve dressed it all up so nobly… and for what?
Catching that look, Hiruzen’s face stiffened.
He’d gotten too used to preaching the Will of Fire in polished, lofty language…
He wasn’t used to this anymore—this rare, brutally honest conversation between sensei and disciple—both of whom had carried the title of Hokage.
