Meanwhile, over by the crystal ball…
“Kakashi, Chiba…”
The Third Hokage took a deep puff of his pipe and muttered.
Today, feeling guilty as usual, he was peeking at Kakashi through the crystal ball, only to witness this scene.
“Third, if you plan to move against them, I won’t hesitate to put family duty above blood,”
Tsunade said, suppressing her anger and trying to remain calm.
She, a true direct lineage of the Hokage, could see through the reasons for White Fang’s suicide at a single glance.
She could not forgive the man before her for tarnishing the Village her grandfather had left behind.
The Third Hokage took another deep puff from his pipe, another wrinkle seemingly carving itself into his face.
“They are both comrades of the Village, and Chiba is a genius with the mindset of a Hokage at eight years old.
How could I ever harm them?”
“Heh.”
Tsunade sneered coldly, her voice dripping with deep sarcasm, as if asking: And what about White Fang then?
How do you explain that?
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
Tsunade had more important matters to attend to now and didn’t feel like wasting another breath on this old man.
“Sigh…
White Fang.”
The Third Hokage didn’t overthink the child’s vigilance; having reclaimed his will of fire, he would handle these matters.
What truly pained his heart was White Fang’s death.
It was not only a loss of strength for the Village, but also a deep scar in his heart.
…
Chiba got beaten up.
Chiba, who was originally thrilled because Kakashi’s favorability toward him had jumped significantly, was caught and pummeled by Tsunade as soon as he got home.
“A genius with the mindset of a Hokage at eight years old?”
Tsunade scoffed coldly.
“Who!
Who dares insult me like that!”
Chiba was furious.
Isn’t that the title given to the Weasel?
What does it mean to compare me to him?
No matter how crazy I am, I wouldn’t massacre my entire family!
“You weird kid, is that an insult?
Remember to act more meek in the future.
Who are you showing off all that intelligence to?
That old man?”
Tsunade was rendered speechless by the kid’s values.
After giving him a good warning, she left; communicating with him was far too exhausting, but given his sharpness, he would get the point.
“Smart?
The old man Tsunade mentioned?
That’s…
Oh mama!”
Chiba broke into a cold sweat instantly, practically crying in anxiety.
He had just said that the Third Hokage and the higher-ups lacked the will of fire, and they found out in the blink of an eye?
“It must have been done using that crystal ball…”
Chiba quickly covered his mouth.
This was definitely not something to be spoken aloud.
In the future, he had to be cautious, extremely cautious.
Seriously, White Fang has been dead for days.
Doesn’t he have anything better to do than watch Kakashi all day?
Chiba complained secretly in his heart again.
“Still, I need to be careful next.
The Third Hokage’s foolish and senile era is about to begin.”
Looking at the entire story of Naruto, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, could be considered a mediocre Hokage.
His contributions were few and far between.
Taking charge in a time of crisis after the Second Hokage died to stabilize Konoha was one; training the Legendary Sannin of Konoha was another…
Wait, no, Tsunade didn’t need his teaching, while he needed Tsunade as a disciple to consolidate his position as Hokage.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya were indeed geniuses, but the vision and resources the Third Hokage gave them greatly accelerated their growth.
Especially Orochimaru—without the Third, Orochimaru wouldn’t have had such a brilliant performance later on.
And after that…
there was basically nothing else.
Anyone could follow the Second Hokage’s plans, anyone could sit on the Hokage’s throne for decades doing routine work, and winning the Second Shinobi World War didn’t prove much either, given how thick the foundation left by the First Hokage was.
In the upcoming Third Shinobi World War, where Konoha had to fight four enemies at once with comparable strengths, if he could play a decisive role, Chiba might hold some respect for him.
Unfortunately, he didn’t.
It was Minato Namikaze who terrified Iwagakure and blocked the A-B Combo.
He was the one who turned the tides!
And his faults?
Innumerable!
The death of White Fang right now was just the beginning!
It was a stain he could never wash away in his lifetime—a Kage-level powerhouse committed suicide during his term!
Other ninja Villages would laugh themselves awake from dreams.
Think about it: even a major ninja Village like Konoha only had around 100 Jonin.
A Kage-level ninja could easily kill several Jonin, and defeating a Kage-level powerhouse required at least a dozen Jonin.
Don’t be fooled by the many Kage-level powerhouses in the distant Fourth Shinobi World War; that was due to Edo Tensei.
Sunagakure only had Gaara, and the Hidden Mist only had Mei Terumī.
The Konoha high-ups who allowed this to happen, alongside the Sunagakure high-ups who sent Pakura to her death near the end of the Third War, were truly the two ultimate brain-dead moves in Naruto!
Out of sight, out of mind.
He couldn’t even compare to a single strand of hair on Tsuchikage Ōnoki!
Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, didn’t get along with Ōnoki either, but Ōnoki didn’t do anything to him; Roshi could go wherever he pleased.
If Iwagakure faced danger, would Roshi really not return?
If the Akatsuki Organization hadn’t popped up, Iwagakure might have produced four or five Kage-level figures by the Fourth Shinobi World War!
Ōnoki, Four-Tails Jinchuriki Roshi, Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han, Deidara, Kitsuchi (his feats were insane, definitely Kage-level).
This was one of the Third Hokage’s major sins, something he could never dodge responsibility for, and it laid the groundwork for Konoha’s exhaustion in the Third War.
The Third Shinobi World War was arguably Konoha’s hardest war, because as it went on, Konoha ended up fighting four nations simultaneously.
Everyone knows the final outcome: Konoha won a pyrrhic victory.
The immense exhaustion of the lower ranks forced the Third Hokage to end the war under the laughable condition of demanding no reparations whatsoever.
Just as mentioned earlier, without Minato turning the tide, Konoha might very well have lost.
And this situation could have been avoided!
First, if White Fang hadn’t committed suicide, having one more White Fang would mean having another Kage-level combatant on the battlefield, which would greatly reduce the casualties among Konoha’s ranks, preserve more strength, and give Konoha more leverage in war reparations.
Second, the Third Hokage himself!
Throughout the entire Third Shinobi World War, the Third Hokage never set foot on the battlefield!
Did he never consider how much difference his appearance on the battlefield could make?
Perhaps he had, but he couldn’t do it.
He had to stay in Konoha to oversee the big picture and maintain a fragile balance.
No one in Konoha besides him could do it; those two fence-sitters were useless, and it was already a blessing that Danzo didn’t seize power in the meantime.
But these were no excuses.
Having already gone through the Second Shinobi World War, did the Third Hokage still not understand?
Chiba currently only saw an incompetent Hokage—a Hokage who couldn’t even maintain stability in Konoha if he wasn’t personally present, a point where he couldn’t even compare to Sunagakure, the weakest ninja Village.
And the ultimate result of all these reasons was naturally Konoha’s pyrrhic victory.
The Third Hokage’s move to end the war without demanding reparations conflicted with the interests of too many people, forcing him to step down.
At the same time, under the devastating toll of the Third War, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, truly transformed from a Hero of Shinobi into a retired old man.
Tsunade left the Village—a matter of fate—and this old man could change nothing.
Jiraiya wandered off in confusion due to the prophecy, and the old man was helpless; Mount Myōboku was beyond his control.
And Orochimaru got involved with the Foundation.
One was his disciple, the other his close friend.
What could he do besides ache with sorrow?
Both sides were precious to him.
The Nine-Tails Rampage altered things once more.
Minato died, and Konoha’s foundational strength suffered another massive blow.
The old man grieved bitterly yet was helpless.
Danzo was the Foundation and could not become Hokage, so in a moment of crisis, the old man summoned his remaining spirit to take up the position of Hokage once again.
By then, the old man underwent another transformation, becoming a weak political old man!
The Fourth Hokage’s original intention was for Naruto to master the Nine-Tails and become a perfect Jinchuriki, yet under this political old man, Naruto grew up as a malnourished, severely bullied child.
Perhaps in the eyes of this political old man, the Nine-Tails was far too terrifying.
As long as it stayed sealed in the child’s stomach, that was enough.
He never considered making him a perfect Jinchuriki; the child was merely a tool to contain the Nine-Tails.
Tools only needed to be obedient and filled with the will of fire.
Health?
That was a trivial matter.
Danzo’s assassination attempt?
The political old man didn’t care; he thought Danzo was just showing off his Wood Release.
Orochimaru defected from Konoha, and the political old man weakly let him go because he was his favorite student.
Kumogakure coerced Konoha over the Byakugan, and the political old man forced a comrade to die to settle the matter.
After all, it was just a Byakugan from a branch family—there were as many as they needed, entirely inconsequential.
The massacre of the Uchiha clan was simply the result of a weak political old man failing to stop his comrade’s ambition.
Yes, that was all.
A clan passed down for a thousand years, descendants of the Six Paths Sage’s eldest son Indra, was reduced to a mere handful of survivors.
The end of such a weak political old man was, nevertheless, quite dramatic.
Orochimaru still loved Konoha and loved his master.
During the Konoha Crush Plan, he allowed this weak old man to sacrifice himself as a hero, setting the long-rotted Konoha into motion once again!
Reflecting on the Third Hokage’s life, Chiba made his decision: the older the man got, the more aggressive you had to be!
He was too soft; he would endure it.
That’s right, just like Danzo!
Danzo—a man in Konoha who couldn’t be ignored.
Whatever evil Konoha committed, blaming it on him was guaranteed to be accurate.
Just like this time, the spark for White Fang’s suicide was lit by him, because White Fang posed too big of a threat to his ambition for the Hokage seat.
How could that be allowed?
Throwing some dirty water would do the trick.
As a result, things blew out of proportion, and after that, he completely let himself go!
Discovering the Rinnegan, coveting it, causing Nagato’s hatred toward Konoha, and directly leading to Konoha’s future destruction was all the personal work of Lord Danzo.
Pitting Yakushi Kabuto and his adoptive mother Yakushi Nono against each other, causing Kabuto to lose control and indirectly triggering the Fourth War, was also something Lord Danzo did in passing, nicely satisfying his sick, twisted desires.
Naruto’s painful childhood was leaked merely because Lord Danzo wanted to test Naruto’s capacity.
One must remember that to protect the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina’s secret as the Jinchuriki was known to only a few Konoha high-ups back then.
Yet with Naruto being the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the entire Village knew about it.
How was that protecting him?
With such a vast discrepancy, Chiba couldn’t fathom what this brain-dead move was for—was it to vent his hatred toward Minato for stealing the Hokage seat from him?
Then came his most famous feat: driving the Uchiha to rebellion and then disposing of them in passing.
Who knows if Uchiha Kagami, who saved his life multiple times in the past, would flip his coffin lid if he knew.
When the Third Hokage died, staying put could be understood since no one went to save him, but for Danzo to be completely absent during Pain’s invasion was truly astounding.
If Naruto hadn’t succeeded with Talk no Jutsu to bring everyone back with the Rinne Rebirth, Konoha would have been genuinely wiped out.
With only a few stray cats left in Konoha, even if you became Hokage, what good would it do?
The main reason Danzo was so unhinged was probably the Second Hokage’s designation of succession in a crisis back then.
At that time, he always believed he was just one step behind Sarutobi, which cost him the Hokage seat, so he pursued becoming Hokage at all costs.
However, Chiba always believed that was just Danzo’s self-delusion.
He lacked the courage to sacrifice himself!
Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi had been a step slower or hesitated a second longer, Danzo would still have done nothing but stew in internal conflict!
He was merely a clown indulging in self-righteous tragic heroism.
Perhaps this clown could only summon a bit of willpower to indulge his self-delusion when he was truly facing death.
Chiba’s summary: a total crackhead, avoid talking to him to prevent brain damage.
White Fang was someone Chiba had compromised his conscience by not saving.
Giving Kakashi a hint could only be considered compassion toward a powerhouse.
Of course, even if he had tried with all his might, he might not have succeeded, but standing by and doing nothing still felt uncomfortable for someone raised on compulsory education.
“Chiba, pull yourself together.
This is the Ninja World; you must learn to be rational!”
Indeed, Chiba’s decision not to save White Fang was the result of rational calculation.
He had no golden finger, nor was he the protagonist.
To survive to the very end in this world dominated by bloodlines, he had to learn to be rational, even ruthless!
By way of comparison, what benefit would a living White Fang bring him?
The only benefit was having another Kage-level backer behind him, but he didn’t really need one.
Who was he?
A Senju descendant.
All of Konoha’s political resources lay right behind him.
As long as he acted as a propaganda kid shouting about the will of fire every day, good positions in Konoha would not miss him, and with enough strength, climbing to the upper management would be simple.
He didn’t lack protection from Kage-level powerhouses either.
Tsunade was still in the Village; didn’t she come to lecture him just now after he said a few crazy words, terrified that he might be in danger?
The ties of blood were something Tsunade couldn’t sever.
If an outstanding Senju descendant like him didn’t feel safe in Konoha, Tsunade’s eventual departure would be delayed indefinitely!
The White Fang Sabre Technique, which terrified the Ninja World, was useless to Chiba anyway.
Their paths of development were different—he focused on Ninjutsu and Taijutsu.
As for the drawbacks?
There were plenty.
Konoha would be stronger, preserving more power after the Third War, and after the future Nine-Tails Rampage, White Fang could very well become the Fifth Hokage—and an extremely secure one at that!
That wouldn’t do!
What Chiba needed was a Konoha that posed no threat to him, a Konoha where he could easily become Hokage!
Although Chiba disliked such a troublesome job as Hokage, controlling the Village’s power was necessary to better help himself become stronger.
It couldn’t be helped—there were too many good things in this Village!
Hashirama cells, Tobirama’s forbidden jutsu, Byakugan…
Researching these with the collective power of the whole Village could at least elevate his strength to Beyond Kage level.
In the future Fourth War, having Beyond Kage strength would let him take a seat at the main table.
If Ten-Tails Jinchuriki Obito can sit there, and Madara can sit there, why shouldn’t I, Chiba, be able to?
We’re all descendants of the Six Paths Sage—fairness is key!
It’s not that I haven’t considered having White Fang help me, but considering what he would do after taking power, I’d be lucky if he didn’t oppose me.
These guys who blindly adhere to the will of fire conflict with what I might do in the future; it’s better for him to be dead.
Of course, all of the above was the most ideal scenario.
If, after the Nine-Tails Rampage and the Uchiha massacre, he still couldn’t rise up when Konoha was at its weakest, then he was nothing special either, and he’d just flee to join Uncle Snake.
If Ninjutsu can’t make me reach Six Paths level, then I’ll just have to rely on science!