novel-bin Chapter 127 I'm also from the Hokage lineage, why can't I become Hokage? [4 Updates]
Chapter 127 I'm also from the Hokage lineage, why can't I become Hokage? [4 Updates]
Chapter 127 I'm also from the Hokage lineage, why can't I become Hokage? [Fourth Update]
Inside the Root Base, Danzo also learned of this news from his subordinates' reports.
"Useless, all of them are useless."
Danzo was furious and sent a small team this time, but they were still defeated by Kitahara Kaede.
This made him realize that the missing squad probably didn't encounter any mishaps, but rather that they all died at the hands of Kitahara Kaede.
For some time now, he has been sending people to search for the whereabouts of that original squad, because he knows that the members of the Root have basically been cursed with the Tongue Curse Elimination Technique, so they are fundamentally incapable of betraying him.
Even if they disobey orders, the art of eradicating tongue-related troubles will automatically paralyze them, rendering them unable to move or have any thoughts of betraying them.
This is why he dared to order the Root members to kill the Hokage; once you're on his pirate ship, there's no getting off.
In other words, the possibility of them betraying the regime is zero; the most likely outcome is that they will be killed or imprisoned.
He had previously thought that the members of that root team had encountered some unpredictable powerful figure and been wiped out, perhaps by some expert from another village who had conveniently eliminated them.
It now seems highly likely that the unpredictable powerhouse is Kitahara Kaede.
The strongest member of the Root team he sent out was only a special Jonin, similar to the current team's composition, so there wouldn't be much difference. However, judging from the results reported back, they were no match for him at all.
Kitahara Kaede's strength is at least at the level of an elite Jonin!
An elite Jonin who is about fifteen or sixteen years old is quite dazzling even in Konoha, a place teeming with geniuses.
If he had shown extraordinary talent from a young age and had grown to have such strength and status by the age of fifteen or sixteen, he might have been taken in as a disciple or grand-disciple of Hiruzen Sarutobi and incorporated into their Hokage lineage.
It's even possible that he could become the next Hokage.
In his mind, his old friend was absolutely capable of doing such a thing.
They talk a lot about principles, but all they care about is business!
If it weren't for me handling those shady dealings for him, would he have achieved his current reputation?
He would take in truly promising talents under his tutelage for various reasons, either as his own disciples or his grand-disciples. In short, the Hokage lineage has always been based on a master-disciple system.
Unless you're a successor to the Hokage, you don't even have the right to touch it. That's Konoha's unspoken rule—no, it should be called their explicit rule.
Therefore, the competition for the Fourth Hokage was between Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze, because one was Hiruzen Sarutobi's apprentice and the other was Hiruzen Sarutobi's grand-apprentice, and only these two were qualified to compete for the Fourth Hokage.
No one else can be touched, they'll die if they are, like Sakumo Hatake.
He was the most likely fourth generation leader back then.
At his peak, he could even overpower the legendary Sannin, forcing them to retreat. Yet, what happened? He still died.
The fundamental reason was that he threatened Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was still in his prime at the time and was not yet a member of the Hokage lineage.
Although he was the one who ultimately stepped forward, could Hiruzen Sarutobi really say that he didn't condone it or tacitly approve of it?
What's most infuriating is that if we're talking about orthodoxy and the master-disciple lineage of the Hokage, I'm also from the Hokage lineage, I'm also orthodox!
Hiruzen Sarutobi holds the Hokage position, so why can't I, Danzo Shimura, take it?
Your teacher was the Second Hokage, and so was my teacher. We are the same!
However, because Kitahara Kaede possessed such talent and ability, he did not show it while in school, secretly concealing his strength and even approaching the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. In Shimura Danzo's eyes, this was already an act of blatant evil.
When I began to doubt you, you had already dug your own grave!
Such people must be eliminated as soon as possible. So what if it was an accidental killing? Does Konoha need more accidental killings like this?
Besides, even if this kid wasn't killed accidentally, he would have become one of my rivals in the struggle for the Fifth Hokage position at his age, so he had to be eliminated completely!
Even Danzo Shimura himself couldn't tell whether his increasingly intense killing intent towards Kitahara Kaede was based on the former reason or the latter.
Before he could think any further, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had already come knocking on his door.
Danzo was clearly prepared for the worst. It was normal for Hiruzen Sarutobi to come knocking on his door after his men's mission failed. However, he was also certain that his old friend would be unable to do anything to him.
Whether it was based on the friendship of an old friend or on his reluctance to part with his role as the "black glove," he knew his old friend all too well.
"Danzo, you've really gone too far this time!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi, puffing on his cigarette, dismissed his men and spoke.
"Is that going too far? Hiruzen, your Anbu should have reported this to you too, right? The four members of the Root squad I sent were easily dealt with by him. His strength must be at least that of an elite Jonin. And who would know such strength? If it weren't for the people I sent, would he have revealed it? Why would he hide his strength? He must be harboring malicious intentions. I told you last time that he was a spy sent by another village, but you didn't believe me." Danzo countered.
Upon hearing this explanation, Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed in exasperation; his old friend really knew how to argue.
He might have had similar concerns before, but after Kakashi Hatake reported to him that Kitahara Kaede had Uchiha clan blood and had even awakened the Sharingan, he immediately understood the cause and effect.
Or rather, he thought he had figured out the cause and effect.
Why did Kitahara Kaede hide his strength from a young age? Think about what happened back then. Uchiha Itachi slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan, leaving only one survivor.
How deep is the water here? How many dark sides might be hidden here? Even just the sight of Itachi Uchiha wandering around could frighten countless people.
If it were him, he wouldn't easily reveal his Sharingan either!
Not to mention, he later encountered Danzo's Root Squad. Such blatant suppression from the village's upper echelons would likely have made anyone completely restrain their sharpness, at least before they had fully developed their power.
Therefore, it is understandable that he is cautious. Fortunately, although he is used to being cautious and self-protective, he has not gone to extremes. Judging from the intelligence and information from various sources, he should still be a good child who has inherited the Will of Fire.
He was just trying to protect himself, what did he do wrong?
Not to mention spies sent from other villages?
What family would send a genius who is only fifteen or sixteen years old and already has the strength of an elite Jonin to be a spy or infiltrator?
Of course, the most important question is: which spy has Uchiha clan blood?
For Hiruzen Sarutobi, who believed he knew the whole truth, he could completely reject all of Danzo's speculations from the bottom of his heart.
Danzo's speculation seemed so utterly untenable to him.
"If you were a high-ranking official in another village, would you send such a genius out as a spy?" Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at him indifferently and said.
These words left Danzo speechless. Indeed, if it were him, he would never have let such a genius go out as an undercover agent.
It's not that being an undercover agent isn't important, but rather that it's a complete waste of his talent.
"But his malicious intentions are certain, otherwise why would he deliberately make contact with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?" Danzo said coldly.
"Not many people know Naruto's true identity. I've already checked all possible connections, and Kitahara Kaede is definitely not among them," Hiruzen Sarutobi said. "In other words, he just happened to become friends with Naruto, and Naruto needs friends like that."
How could Hiruzen Sarutobi not worry about the issues Danzo was concerned about? In fact, he had already conducted a thorough investigation from the very beginning. Anyone who could become Naruto Uzumaki's friend or teacher had already had their ancestors thoroughly investigated for three generations.
After all, Naruto Uzumaki is an extremely important Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to Konoha. People like Iruka, who have a significant impact on Naruto's personality, will, and cognition, could not have been placed in such positions without a thorough investigation, including his parents and his own will.
Although they themselves were unaware of this thorough investigation, they believed that they had gathered around Naruto Uzumaki for various reasons.
What they didn't know was that they had already gone through layers of screening in the process of getting closer to Naruto.
The same applies to Kitahara Kaede. By investigating the network of relationships among those qualified to know Naruto Uzumaki's identity, it was determined that Kitahara Kaede should have had no chance of knowing that Naruto Uzumaki was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
In other words, their understanding was simply an accident.
Once this conclusion was reached, the subsequent series of events followed naturally.
Although Kitahara Kaede has the blood of the Uchiha clan, although he has the Sharingan, and although Hiruzen Sarutobi was once very wary of the Uchiha clan.
However, what he was wary of was the powerful Uchiha clan, which had many Jonin, a huge influence, and could even threaten the Hokage lineage's status, not any specific individual.
Didn't you see that even the last surviving members of the Uchiha clan were taken in by Kakashi Hatake?
Who says the Uchiha clan can't join the Hokage lineage?
The Uchiha clan is so eager to join the Hokage lineage, and this is the perfect opportunity for them.
Hiruzen Sarutobi believed that he was much more magnanimous than Danzo. So what if they were from the Uchiha clan? He could still make use of them, just like how his teacher had taken Uchiha Kagami as his disciple.
The magnanimity of us Hokage is far beyond what you advisors can achieve, understand, Danzo?
Moreover, this also involves a fundamental disagreement between him and Danzo regarding their attitudes toward dealing with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.