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JST Chapter 114: The Monkey, the Root, and the Rant
🕑 Added 2024-11-25 02:18:36 +0000 UTC"Monkey, do you know what Shimura Danzo did?" Senju Tobirama asked lightly, and there was no joy or anger in his tone.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart skipped a beat.
What things? Shimura Danzo has done too many things...
"Tobirama-sensei, Danzo and I manage the village together. Although I am the Hokage, he still has a certain degree of independence as the Hokage's assistant, so some things..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen answered carefully.
"Monkey, you are the Hokage of this village. Whether you know what Shimura Danzo has done or not, you are the first person responsible for any mistakes in the village."
"You should understand this, right?"
Senju Tobirama looked at Shimura Danzo coldly.
In his era, Konoha did not have such a thing as Hokage's assistant, let alone the Root, an armed force independent of the Hokage.
In Senju Tobirama's opinion, the positions of the consultants as well as the Root are all manifestations of Sarutobi Hiruzen's lack of control over the village.
"Tobirama-sensei, I know, I know..." Sarutobi Hiruzen stammered, not knowing how to explain to Senju Tobirama.
The so-called birth of the root is actually a manifestation of Sarutobi Hiruzen's personal incompetence.
In Senju Tobirama's era, no matter what decision he made as Hokage, he would take charge of everything. Even if it was a controversial decision, he would not let others take the blame. He had to bear all the criticism.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen could not do this. His prestige and ability were not enough to withstand external pressure. He could only establish allies to share the firepower for him.
In order to appease Danzo who attracted most of the firepower, Sarutobi Hiruzen's power as the Hokage became less complete.
"What do you know?" Senju Tobirama said in a deep voice: "You are incompetent!"
"As a Hokage, you have two sides. Do you think that you can gain the trust of others by putting all the darkness on Shimura Danzo?"
"Don't treat the shinobi of the village as fools!"
Senju Tobirama said sternly: "You want to recruit the geniuses of the shinobi clans into the ANBU? Then negotiate and persuade them personally. If you allow Danzo's Root to forcibly absorb them, don't you think the others will assume that you, as Hokage, are allowing it?"
"You are too weak, monkey! It's not that you don't know, but you don't have the courage to shoulder your due responsibilities!"
"You, the Hokage, are actually afraid of the voice of criticism, which is ridiculous..."
"Do you think that even if Konoha falls into decline, you, as Hokage, will be exonerated and everything will be Danzo's fault?"
Senju Tobirama's words were very heavy, and he directly exposed Sarutobi Hiruzen's thoughts.
Hiruzen shivered, unable to deny the rawness of what he heard. It was all so real that he couldn't face his own truth.
"I... I have the courage to sacrifice myself for Konoha, Tobirama-sensei. Please believe me..." Hiruzen murmured weakly.
"Sacrifice?" Senju Tobirama snorted coldly. "Most of Konoha's shinobi have the courage to sacrifice for the village!"
"But true courage lies in facing seemingly insoluble problems and surviving to solve them."
Senju Tobirama shook his head in disappointment.
"What infuriates me most about you is that you don't even know how to properly deflect responsibility."
"The case of Hatake Sakumo... your position was completely dominated by Shimura Danzo, leaving you as a plaything in his hands!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen lowered his head unconsciously, regretting it in his heart.
He had been manipulated by Danzo only once in so many years, but it was enough for his sensei to witness it.
"Tell me, what was there to doubt in the case of Hatake Sakumo?"
Senju Tobirama waved his hand and said fiercely:
"As the Hokage, you have long known the conflict between the Shinobi Code and the Will of Fire. If you deal with it as soon as possible, communicate with Hatake Sakumo, and demote him openly but promote him secretly, you can explain the idea of mission first, and you, as the Hokage, can win over Hatake Sakumo's heart. A simple matter, you handled it so badly!"
"Also, I see that you are afraid of war!"
Senju Tobirama said coldly: "What is there to be afraid of? I left you so many forbidden techniques, what is the use of it?"
"When other villages try to invade us, if they are strong, our attitude must be firm. If we are weak, then we must be even more aggressive! If they sense your insecurity, they will only intensify their methods and their ambitions will grow."
"Even if you summon all the previous Hokage and the powerful Konoha shinobi back from the Pure Land to face the tailed beasts, sacrificing the Root, the ANBU, and your own life, you cannot show weakness..."
Senju Tobirama shook his head. "Monkey, do you really think you are the strongest Hokage?"
"You don't want to use extreme means, you don't have enough strength, and you still want a good reputation for benevolence. Who do you think you are?"
Senju Tobirama was very puzzled. What is there to be afraid of in war?
Tailed beasts? Even if Kazuki wasn't there, a few shinobi willing to die could come up and use the Four Symbols Seal. Isn't that enough to deal with them?
There is also the Impure World Reincarnation Technique, which is a great weapon in war!
Sarutobi Hiruzen panted heavily and couldn't even speak.
"Tobirama-sensei, as Hokage, I have failed you..."
"I am too afraid of failing to live up to your trust, and I am worried that Konoha will fall in my hands. This fear has devoured my heart..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly shed tears and bowed to the ground.
"Monkey, I won't punish you for now. Protect Kazuki for me. Even though you are incompetent, Konoha still needs a Hokage to maintain stability..."
Thinking of Kazuki's musings on peace and falsehood, Tobirama felt a slight headache.
Compared to the poor performance of his two apprentices, what really worried Tobirama was that Kazuki would lose confidence in the village and think about the issue of peace from the perspective of the Uchiha clan.
It's not that thinking about peace was wrong, but in the shinobi world, those who obsessed over this topic often ended up following an extreme path.
Uchiha Madara became so extreme that he broke away from Konoha, even abandoning his own clan. Senju Hashirama, on the other hand, became so radical that he ignored his own power, even bowing to others.
...
A flash of understanding flashed in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes. He had been correct in his deduction...
Senju Tobirama was actually planning to take possession of Kazuki's body. Saying he wanted to protect him was just a way to buy time.
However, those words were not easy to express directly. Cautiously, Hiruzen commented: "Tobirama-sensei, when do you plan to resurrect? I will do my best to protect Kazuki until then!"
Senju Tobirama looked at Hiruzen in surprise. How could that monkey have directly guessed that Kazuki intended to revive him?
It seems that although Monkey has some problems as Hokage, his intellect has not diminished completely.
"It depends on Kazuki, it's not a matter I can decide..." Tobirama replied with a sigh, before adding with some melancholy: "If Kazuki hadn't been confused by this matter, I wouldn't have seen you, Monkey."
"But it shouldn't be long, maybe three or five years…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded thoughtfully.
It all made sense. Kazuki only lost control when he was deeply shocked, a moment that Tobirama-sensei took advantage of to take over his consciousness.
And this process seems to be accelerating. Sarutobi Hiruzen understands that with Senju Tobirama's personality, if he says the word 'soon', then resurrection is a foregone conclusion, and there will be almost no deviation.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed in his mind.
To be honest, he still likes Kazuki. He is really a good child.
But he was targeted by Senju Tobirama, and he, as the Hokage, could do nothing to help, and could only watch the ruthless possession.
At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen's feelings for Senju Tobirama were very complicated.
At that moment, Hiruzen reflected on his sensei's criticism: a Hokage should not fear the shadows that surround him but be able to bear them.
What would the village say when Tobirama took over Kazuki's body?
How would Tobirama face the people close to Kazuki? Even overcoming Tsunade's obstacle seemed impossible...
Tsunade had recovered thanks to Kazuki, and after she got over the loss of her loved ones, she had to face the situation where her savior was possessed by her family. At that moment, Hiruzen doesn't know how Tobirama would explain something like that to his granddaughter.
But looking at Senju Tobirama's appearance, it seems that he doesn't care at all. He simply asked him to take good care of Kazuki, and didn't even mention Tsunade.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's thinking became more and more divergent, and he felt that his darkness was still far behind his sensei.
For Konoha, even towards his family he can be so ruthless!
"Monkey, let Kazuki take charge of the root." Senju Tobirama said in an uncompromising tone: "Shimura Danzo's darkness makes Kazuki feel confused, so let him change everything and build a decent root!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded silently.
After Kazuki sees Shimura Danzo's darkness, his mind will be shaken. This will speed up the process for Tobirama to take control of his body.
'Kazuki, it's not that I don't want to help you, but I... I really can't deal with Tobirama-sensei...' Hiruzen apologized to Kazuki in his mind with embarrassment.
