Chapter 465: Hokage Selection
Obito woke up unusually early today.
He had already become a jonin, and based on Kakashi and the others' experience, Teacher Mugetsu would give him a jonin gift.
Obito was looking forward to it more than he wanted to admit. He wanted a nin beast with huge potential.
At the same time, he could not stop a small worry from creeping in. Mugetsu had mentioned before that he temporarily had no nin beast eggs, which meant Obito's jonin gift might not be an egg at all. It could be something else.
Obito would be happy no matter what Mugetsu gave him, but if Kakashi had something he did not, Obito would still feel a sting in his heart.
When he saw Mugetsu approaching, Obito fixed him with an expectant gaze.
Then Obito's heart tightened.
Mugetsu was walking over empty handed.
Obito glanced left and right again, like he could will a hidden egg to appear, but Mugetsu did not seem to be carrying anything. The eggs Mugetsu had given out before were not small. Hiding one on his person would be difficult.
Seeing the disappointment flicker across Obito's face, Mugetsu moved with a casual thought.
A large egg appeared out of nowhere in his hand, pulled from the system backpack.
"Obito, congratulations on becoming a jonin." Mugetsu smiled warmly and handed over the Pokemon Egg that only Obito could hatch.
Obito's disappointment vanished instantly, replaced by a joy so intense it almost made him dizzy.
"Teacher Mugetsu, thank you for the gift!" Obito said, fists clenched in excitement. "I will definitely hatch this nin beast and train it to become the strongest nin beast!"
Before, he had muttered things like "whatever" and "I am not even that interested in nin beasts." Those were only words he spat out when he was frustrated. They were not his true feelings.
In ninja novels, the protagonist always had a fierce, cool companion. A savage tiger, a majestic lion, a soaring dragon.
Obito wanted one too.
A powerful, intimidating nin beast that made people's eyes widen the moment it appeared.
"Yes. I believe you," Mugetsu replied with a nod and a smile.
[You gifted a Pokemon Egg to your disciple. Due to your disciple's immense gratitude, you received a great critical reward: Water Release: Heavenly Tear (Mastery Level).]
As the reward text appeared, a flood of training experience for Heavenly Tear surged into Mugetsu's mind.
He had actually encountered Heavenly Tear twice before while teaching, but his proficiency was still only at the beginner level. Now it had jumped straight to mastery.
That was an excellent gain.
Unlike Water Release techniques like Water Dragon Bullet, Heavenly Tear focused everything into a single point, piercing through defenses with speed and extreme penetration. Its needle thin shape also made it difficult to notice, even for experienced shinobi.
Obito hugged his hard won egg to his chest, grinning like a fool as he imagined what kind of tall, imposing nin beast would hatch from it.
He was still hugging it proudly when Kakashi and Shisui arrived.
Kakashi walked past Obito with a calm, indifferent expression. He had gotten his egg long before Obito, and his nin beast had already hatched.
"Kakashi, how did you know I got promoted to jonin?" Obito could not help asking when he saw him.
Kakashi: …
Who asked you?
"Being promoted to jonin is not anything special," Kakashi shot back without mercy. "Look at Shisui. He became a jonin at eight. That is worth talking about."
No Thought Strike was still too difficult. Kakashi had not made much progress lately and wanted to focus on training, but since Obito insisted on provoking him, Kakashi was not going to be polite.
"Uh, Shisui…" Obito went quiet, unsure how to respond.
In Konoha, becoming a jonin at ten was already among the youngest, but compared to eight, it did feel a little weak.
"If you have so much free time, then train more," Kakashi continued. "Otherwise you will not make it past the second round in the next internal battle. Shisui has also mastered Flame Breathing Chakra Mode."
With that, Kakashi entered his training state.
He was not only saying it to irritate Obito. Shisui's breakthrough had genuinely put pressure on him.
Kakashi believed that if the disciple battle started right now, he would not be fully confident against any of them.
Might Guy was someone he definitely could not beat.
And against Shisui and Obito, Kakashi did not feel secure either.
If he had to choose, he believed his odds were better against Obito than against Shisui.
Obito stood there holding the egg, speechless.
Kakashi had said everything he wanted, and Obito could not even refute it.
"So now Shisui knows one more Armament Haki than I do," Obito muttered, holding the egg in his right hand while scratching his head with his left.
Even though Obito's Flame Breathing was still a bit stronger, it was not enough to cover the gap created by an extra Armament Haki secret technique.
The only thing that comforted Obito was that their chakra was limited right now.
If Shisui used Flame Breathing Chakra Mode in battle, it would be hard for him to save chakra for Armament Haki.
If Shisui used Armament Haki first, then the amount of Fire Release he could pour out afterward would drop.
In the end, Obito could only place the egg somewhere safe, then begin training as well.
Always being at the bottom of the internal battles was miserable. It was not only about pride. The punishment was even worse, and Obito could not accept it.
Training continued until 5:30 PM.
At 6:00 PM, just as Mugetsu had finished preparing dinner and was about to eat, there was a sudden knock at his door.
Mugetsu did not immediately open it. He activated his Byakugan and looked toward the entrance.
The person outside was none other than Hiruzen.
Mugetsu walked over at a normal pace and opened the door. When he saw Hiruzen, he displayed a perfectly reasonable look of surprise, as if he truly had not expected the busy Third Hokage to appear at his home.
"Sandaime sama, please come in." Mugetsu quickly invited him inside.
Hiruzen noticed the steaming dishes on the table and gave an apologetic smile. "I am sorry. It seems I have interrupted your dinner, Mugetsu."
"Not at all." Mugetsu used his classic opening line. "Sandaime sama, have you eaten yet?"
"Not yet," Hiruzen shook his head. "There have been too many matters recently. I just left the Hokage Building."
Then he added with a teasing tone, "If I had time, I would have already invited you, the great hero of the eastern coast battlefield, to the Hokage Building for a proper talk."
Mugetsu's expression turned serious. "Not at all. Orochimaru sama is the true hero of the eastern coast battlefield."
Hiruzen's words sounded pleasant, but Mugetsu could not accept all the credit. The greatest merit naturally belonged to the highest commander.
Mugetsu glanced at the table again. "If Sandaime sama does not mind, would you like to eat here? I know a thing or two about cooking."
"Then I will look forward to it," Hiruzen agreed with a chuckle.
There were several reasons Hiruzen had come personally.
One of them was to improve Mugetsu's impression of him.
Previously, Hiruzen's image in Mugetsu's eyes was that of a good Hokage and a good teacher. Tonight, he wanted to set aside his status and act like an ordinary elder for once. Sharing a meal was a simple way to do that.
Of course, Hiruzen was not agreeing just because Mugetsu said he knew a thing or two. As the Hokage of one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, what delicacies had he not tasted?
Even during wartime, the Hokage was not starving. And in peacetime, the Hokage's life could even be called comfortable.
But after Hiruzen took his first bite of stir fried meat, his expression changed.
For a moment, his vocabulary failed him.
In a trance, it felt as if he had become a wild beast sprinting across an endless grassland, an unrestrained freedom washing through his heart.
When he came back to himself, the way he looked at Mugetsu was different.
If not for Hiruzen's terrifying foundation in ninjutsu, he would have thought he had been caught in genjutsu.
But he knew it clearly.
There had been no technique.
That immersive sensation was a pure illusion born from the food being too delicious.
"Mugetsu, you truly need to correct your habit of being humble," Hiruzen sighed while savoring the taste. "This is not merely knowing a thing or two. This is unmatched."
He took back his earlier confidence. He had never tasted anything like this. A single dish could produce such an unbelievable effect.
"Sandaime sama, you flatter me," Mugetsu replied modestly. "The ninja world is vast. Unmatched is too exaggerated."
Hiruzen smiled helplessly. "If only you and Jiraiya could balance each other out, it would be wonderful."
Even as he spoke, his hand reached for another plate almost on its own.
After that, Hiruzen seemed to fall into a world of food.
Until he finished eating, he did not bring up any subject beyond cooking.
Only after the meal did Hiruzen finally return to the reason he had come.
"This is the right kind of place to talk," Hiruzen said, half joking. "If we were in the Hokage office, there would not even be a proper place for you to sit."
Then his tone softened.
"Mugetsu, relax. I am not here to discuss something heavy. Treat me like an ordinary elder in your family. Let us chat casually."
Mugetsu's expression eased, as if touched by the words.
"Asuma has been training diligently lately," Hiruzen began, speaking as if he truly wanted a normal conversation. "He has mastered many Wind Release and Fire Release techniques…"
"Asuma has always been hardworking," Mugetsu replied smoothly. "Even though he acts rebellious and speaks roughly to you sometimes, Sandaime sama, deep down he has always wanted your recognition."
As he spoke, Mugetsu also quietly helped patch the cracks in their father son relationship.
Hiruzen sighed. He had been Hokage for many years. How could he not see his own son's thoughts? Sometimes he simply feared Asuma would become complacent and lower his standards for himself.
The two of them continued talking.
Small topics like Asuma and the Ninja Academy.
Large topics like the battlefield situation and the state of the world.
Then Hiruzen suddenly asked, "Mugetsu, which shinobi do you believe is most qualified to become the Fourth Hokage?"
Mugetsu had originally come from Root. Based on Hiruzen's observations, Mugetsu seemed to prefer the life of a teacher and an ordinary shinobi, but Hiruzen still understood what Root training could do to a person.
He could not rule out Danzo pushing Mugetsu to support Orochimaru for Hokage.
Before Mugetsu went to the eastern coast battlefield, Hiruzen had not worried about this.
But now Mugetsu had clearly become a second Minato. Powerful, and influential.
If Danzo and Orochimaru's forces were added on top of that, Hiruzen had to consider the possibility of an outcome he did not want when the time came to select the Fourth.
Mugetsu showed a thoughtful expression, as if carefully weighing his words.
"I think Orochimaru sama, Jiraiya sama, and Lady Tsunade are all qualified to be the Fourth Hokage," Mugetsu answered, sounding as if he could not choose.
The safest answer would have been to say it was too important to comment on. But Hiruzen had already said to treat it as casual conversation. If Mugetsu refused too politely, it would feel forced.
Hiruzen nearly laughed in exasperation.
He had asked for one person.
Mugetsu had calmly listed all three of his students.
But Hiruzen had still achieved his purpose.
Mugetsu had enough political sense to avoid being cornered, which meant he would not be easily swayed into blindly supporting Orochimaru.
"Then what qualities do they have," Hiruzen continued, "that make you believe they are qualified?"
If Mugetsu did not speak nonsense, Hiruzen could still sense a preference through the way he described them.
"Jiraiya sama is powerful, has achieved great merit for Konoha on the battlefield, and is kindhearted…" Mugetsu praised each of the Sannin evenly, expression unchanged.
He did not want to be involved in the Hokage succession struggle.
Whoever Hiruzen wanted as Hokage could become Hokage.
Mugetsu simply wanted more rewards and more strength.
To him, it made little difference who sat in that chair. His relationships with all of them were good.
Tsunade was both teacher and friend.
In Jiraiya's eyes, Mugetsu was an excellent shinobi similar to Minato.
Orochimaru valued Mugetsu highly and wanted him as a confidant.
And Minato was Mugetsu's close friend.
No matter who became Hokage, it would not harm Mugetsu.
Even if Danzo became Hokage, it would only benefit Mugetsu. From Danzo's perspective, Mugetsu was still his capable subordinate.
"They do have the strengths you mentioned," Hiruzen said slowly, "but they also have quite a few weaknesses."
Hiruzen could not tell whether Mugetsu truly had no preference, or whether he was simply avoiding offending anyone. Either way, Hiruzen could not sense a lean.
Mugetsu did not respond.
It was fine for Hiruzen, their teacher, to acknowledge such things. But Mugetsu was a rising star. How could he casually comment on the flaws of seniors whose names had shaken the ninja world since the Second Great Ninja War?
After that, Hiruzen did not return to the Hokage topic.
Instead, he shifted the conversation to Mugetsu's training, and even shared insights on training combination techniques.
Before leaving, Hiruzen added one more request.
"Mugetsu, if you have time, please guide Asuma a little more. That child only listens to you."
"Tomorrow, I will go check his progress," Mugetsu nodded.
There was no reward attached, but Asuma was half a disciple to him. If Mugetsu had time, he would teach him as much as he could.
What Mugetsu did not expect was that shortly after Hiruzen left, a message arrived from Root.
.....
[Check Out My Patreon For 50 Advance Chapters On All My Fanfics!]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]