“What do you mean, ‘Lord First only had power and no brains’?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s brain short-circuited for a brief moment.
People in Konoha, and indeed the entire shinobi world, held the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, in absolute respect and awe, if not outright worship.
And the children of the Leaf, especially those born in the village, grew up under the monumental legacy of Hashirama Senju—the legendary figure who had pacified the chaotic era and brought an end to the Warring States Period.
Every single one of them was filled with admiration for the First Hokage.
“Little Hinata, Lord First was a legend who ended the chaos of the Warring States Period, transitioning the shinobi world from the era of warring clans to the current era of shinobi villages.”
“He is a hero worthy of our deepest admiration.”
“Why do you think of Lord First as a brainless brute who only possessed raw power?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Hinata, thoroughly bewildered.
He wanted to know why Hinata’s evaluation of the First Hokage was so low.
Even if Hinata highly esteemed the Second Hokage, she should have naturally extended some of that admiration to his older brother, Hashirama Senju.
Furthermore, Hiruzen intended to correct what he saw as a flawed perception of the First Hokage in Hinata’s mind.
Walking alongside Hiruzen by the lakeside, Hinata responded to his words by pointing a small finger at herself.
“I read it in the school textbooks,” she said.
“The books say that Lord First founded Konoha so that children would never have to go to the battlefield again.”
“But the village has already been through three great wars, and so many children have died on the battlefield.”
“The village’s shinobi generally graduate at twelve years old, and at twelve, they have to go to war.
And then there’s Kakashi, the genius of the village—he went to the battlefield before he was even ten.”
“Shouldn’t Lord First be considered a failure?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression froze.
Aside from the First Shinobi World War, it was he who had commanded Konoha through both the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars.
Hinata’s words were practically a hair’s breadth away from pointing a finger directly at his nose and scolding him.
“But that had nothing to do with Lord First.
All of this…
is this old man’s fault…” Hiruzen shook his head, his expression a complex tapestry of guilt and sorrow.
Shinobi generally graduated at twelve to become Genin, but did turning twelve mean they were no longer children?
One had to remember that the standard for adulthood in the shinobi world was twenty.
“No, this isn’t Grandpa Hokage’s fault either.” Hinata shook her head, her pure, clear eyes shifting toward the base of a nearby tree.
“Look.”
Pointing at a patch of dirt beneath the tree, Hinata jogged over. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Confused, Hiruzen followed her over and looked down along the line of her gaze.
There, at the foot of the tree, a swarm of ants was locked in a fierce battle.
“There are two colonies of ants fighting under the tree,” Hinata said, crouching down and pointing at them.
“To protect their own colony from harm, they’ve deployed everything they have.
Whether they’re big ants or little ants, they all have to fight the other colony.”
“And the other colony is doing the exact same thing, because if they don’t, their home will be destroyed.”
“If their home is gone, both the big ants and the little ants will die.”
“That’s why Grandpa Hokage, who only wanted to protect Konoha, isn’t in the wrong.” Hinata looked up at Hiruzen, who had also crouched down beside her to watch the ants.
Hiruzen’s heart stirred slightly at her words.
To be honest, during his administration, there were indeed certain individuals who attacked him precisely because children were sent to the battlefield.
Their most powerful weapon was the very ideology upon which the First Hokage had founded Konoha.
Hiruzen had no counterargument for them and could only choose to selectively ignore it.
He never expected that a six-year-old Hinata could see through to the core of the issue based on mere fragments of text in her schoolbooks.
Hiruzen couldn’t help but feel deeply moved.
As expected of the heir to a great clan.
It was true for Itachi Uchiha back then, and it was true for Hinata Hyuga now.
At seven years old, Itachi Uchiha had been praised by Hiruzen for possessing the mindset of a Hokage.
Looking at it now, a six-year-old Hinata Hyuga was not a single bit inferior.
“If that’s the case, then what does it have to do with Lord First?” An encouraging warmth shone in Hiruzen’s eyes.
He wanted to hear exactly why Hinata depreciated Hashirama Senju so heavily.
“It’s very simple.
Once upon a time, Lord First was the biggest, strongest ant in the entire swarm,” Hinata spoke in her crisp, youthful voice, pointing at the warring ants.
“He could have easily made those two ant colonies into a single colony, completely preventing conflicts that could have been avoided.”
“But he didn’t do it.”
Hearing this, Hiruzen’s face remained impassive, betraying none of his inner turmoil.
He simply did not know how to refute her words.
The truth was exactly as Hinata had described.
Back then, if Hashirama Senju had chosen to rule over the entire shinobi world, using his absolute power to suppress any discord, countless conflicts could have been avoided.
Across three consecutive world wars that engulfed the entire shinobi world, Konoha, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure had lost countless lives.
If only Hashirama Senju had unified the world…
If only Hashirama Senju had possessed that grand ambition…
Unfortunately, there were no ‘ifs’ in history.
And these were words that Hiruzen Sarutobi could not, and must not, ever utter aloud.
“So then, Hinata, why do you highly esteem Lord Second?” Sensing that this line of conversation was growing dangerous, Hiruzen deftly shifted the topic from Hashirama Senju to Tobirama Senju.
“Because Lord Second was incredible!” Hinata’s answer was direct and unequivocal.
This brought a faint, amused smile to Hiruzen’s face.
If his master knew that even years after his sacrifice, he still had such a little fangirl, he would probably be grinning from ear to ear.
“Without his god-like strength, Lord First wouldn’t have been able to achieve anything.
But Lord Second could achieve so much, even without overwhelming power,” Hinata continued.
“Take his famous Flying Raijin Jutsu and the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, for example.
He invented all of them himself.”
“The books also say that the Academy was established by Lord Second, while Lord First merely held the honorary title of the first principal.”
Looking at the young Hinata before him, Hiruzen was utterly speechless.
He could find absolutely no grounds to argue.
“Uh, but it’s not like Lord First was completely useless,” Hinata added, scratching her head as if realizing she might have bashed the First Hokage a bit too hard, forcing out a mild concession.
“At least…
At least his philosophy resonated with a lot of people.
That’s how Konoha was able to be founded in the first place.”
Hiruzen let out a quiet sigh in his heart.
Philosophy?
No, it was the First Hokage’s power.
With only a philosophy and no absolute power, the Konoha of back then could never have been established.
Yet, he now understood perfectly why Hinata held the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, in such high regard.
As a member of the Senju clan who didn’t possess his older brother’s peerless, world-defying strength, nor an innate talent for all five nature transformations like Hiruzen himself, Tobirama could have easily lived out a peaceful life under his brother’s protection.
Instead, relying entirely on his own brilliant intellect, he became a top-tier powerhouse second only to Hashirama Senju within the clan.
This was the fastest shinobi of his era—the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.