Tsunade fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly.
“I know what you’re trying to say.
But I can tell you this—the vast majority of the conspiracy theories about the old man simply aren’t true.” “The old man isn’t someone who enjoys plotting schemes.
He’s just…” “Just what?” Ryan asked curiously.
Tsunade hesitated before finally sighing.
“Using your world’s terminology…
he’s simply incompetent.” Ryan couldn’t help letting out a surprised laugh.
That wasn’t the answer he had expected.
Tsunade continued, “The Senju Clan dwindling until I was the only one left happened for two reasons.” “First, the Senju bloodline gradually merged into Konoha’s population.” “Second…
the Wood Release experiments.” “Back then, my granduncle wanted to recreate Wood Release by researching my grandfather’s cells.
Many members of the Senju Clan volunteered for those experiments.” “The result was catastrophic.” “Too many people died.” “In the end, my granduncle sealed away the research and allowed the Senju Clan to fully integrate into Konoha.” “So after Nawaki died…” “I was the last Senju left.” “As for the Uchiha Clan Massacre…” “They brought it upon themselves.” “It was Obito Uchiha working together with Itachi Uchiha.” “The old man certainly helped push events in that direction…” “But at the end of the day, the root cause was simply that he wasn’t capable enough.” “You’ve already read the story.” “You know the old man became Hokage because my granduncle practically forced the position onto him.” “Not long after handing him the title of Hokage…” “My granduncle died in battle.” “The old man never truly learned how to be a proper Hokage.” “He didn’t possess my grandfather’s overwhelming strength.” “He didn’t have my granduncle’s political skill or decisiveness either.” “So all he could do was lean on Danzo and the others for support, stumbling forward one step at a time.” “That’s how Konoha gradually declined into what it is today.” “You can call him incompetent.” “You can say he lacked leadership.” “You can say he never understood how to be Hokage.” “You can even call him foolish.” “But don’t call him evil.” Ryan was genuinely surprised.
He had never expected Tsunade to evaluate Hiruzen in that way.
Not evil…
just incompetent.
That wasn’t exactly high praise.
But after thinking about it…
She actually made a convincing argument.
Although Hiruzen had been Tobirama Senju’s student, he had never been trained as a successor.
At that time, Tobirama was still in his prime and had never planned to hand over the position so soon.
Unfortunately…
History rarely follows anyone’s plans.
After Hashirama Senju died, the First Great Ninja War broke out.
No one expected Kinkaku and Ginkaku to launch a coup during the peace negotiations between Tobirama and the Second Raikage.
The result was the deaths of both leaders.
Hiruzen was forced onto the throne far earlier than anyone anticipated.
He suddenly found himself steering the enormous ship that was Konoha through the chaos of the ninja world.
Given those circumstances…
Some questionable decisions were perhaps inevitable.
Ryan couldn’t help comparing him to historical rulers who inherited impossible situations.
Sometimes…
Simple incompetence was the greatest original sin.
After a moment, Ryan asked another question.
“There’s something else I’ve always wondered.” “What do you think about Hiruzen almost never fighting on the front lines after becoming Hokage?” “It seems like once he took office, he rarely went to the battlefield.” “But the leaders of the other villages often fought personally to protect their people.” “A lot of people online think he became afraid of war.” “They say he was too scared to fight…” “And that’s why Konoha eventually handed over Hizashi Hyuga’s corpse to appease the Hidden Cloud.” Tsunade rolled her eyes.
“Do you even understand what a Kage represents to a village?” “If a Kage dies…” “No one can predict how much chaos will follow.” “Staying away from the battlefield was the correct decision.” “The reason other Kage fought personally wasn’t because they enjoyed it.” “It was because if they didn’t…” “Their villages had no chance of winning.” “They had no choice.” “Their villages lacked enough powerful shinobi to defend the rear while they directed the war.” Ryan let out a thoughtful hum.
That actually made sense.
From the audience’s perspective, Konoha was the protagonist’s village.
Its supply of geniuses never seemed to run dry.
Hashirama Senju.
Tobirama Senju.
Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Shisui Uchiha.
Jiraiya.
Orochimaru.
Tsunade.
Sakumo Hatake.
Kakashi Hatake.
Might Guy.
One Kage-level ninja after another emerged from Konoha.
The other villages weren’t nearly so fortunate.
What did the Hidden Sand Village have?
Besides the Kazekage throughout the generations…
There was Lady Chiyo.
Her brother.
Pakura.
Beyond them…
Who else?
Ryan couldn’t think of anyone.
The Hidden Stone Village wasn’t much different.
Apart from the Tsuchikage, it mainly relied on the Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchūriki.
They finally produced someone as talented as Deidara…
Only for him to defect to the Akatsuki.
The Hidden Mist Village was in even worse shape.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist sounded impressive.
Yet four of them were killed by Might Duy.
The survivors either fled or became missing-nin.
The entire village descended into chaos.
Under those circumstances, how could the Mizukage possibly remain behind the front lines?
The only village in relatively good condition was the Hidden Cloud.
Even then, its true powerhouses were limited to the Raikage, the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, and the Two-Tails Jinchūriki.
Below them, there were very few shinobi who could truly stand alongside a Kage.
Compared to them…
Konoha overflowed with talented fighters.
It was hardly surprising that Hiruzen could remain safely behind the lines instead of risking his life on the battlefield.
Unfortunately…
He simply wasn’t capable enough.
And under his leadership, even a village overflowing with talent gradually weakened.
Ryan asked another question.
“What about Naruto?” “What’s your opinion on how Hiruzen treated him?” “Do you think he was raising Naruto like a loyal dog?” “Minato Namikaze was the Fourth Hokage.” “Surely he left behind some savings.” “So why was his own son forced to survive on expired instant noodles and spoiled milk?” Tsunade looked increasingly irritated.
“Why are you asking me all these questions?” “How should I know what the old man was thinking?” “Maybe…” “Maybe he genuinely believed that treating Naruto that way was for the boy’s own good.” Then she immediately changed the subject.
“More importantly…” “When are you finally connecting us to a new world?” “I can’t stand staying here another day.” Ryan snorted.
“Stop rushing me.” “You think I want to stay in this place either?” To readers, the Naruto world was a land filled with incredible supernatural powers.
Wood Release.
The Sharingan.
The Byakugan.
Susanoo.
Sage Mode.
The Tenseigan.
The Rinnegan.
Every ability looked more spectacular than the last.
But from the perspective of a transmigrator like Ryan…
It was actually an extremely unwelcoming world.
If someone’s soul transmigrated into the body of a native, that was one thing.
But for someone like Ryan, who had crossed over with his physical body intact…
He could practically forget about ever learning chakra or ninjutsu.
After all…
The humans of the Naruto world might look identical to ordinary humans from Earth.
But biologically…
They were probably not the same species.
After all…
What kind of human naturally possessed 130 chakra cells inside their body?
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