Hokage Tower.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, a forbidden jutsu notebook left behind by Tobirama Senju open in his hands. He read with genuine fascination.
The more he studied it, the more he understood why he had revered his teacher so deeply… and why every hidden village had once feared him.
Tobirama Senju truly had been a genius.
Summoning Jutsu: Reanimation. Flying Raijin. Tandem Paper Bombs. Soul Imprisonment Jutsu.
Each forbidden technique touching on souls and space had been crafted with astonishing precision.
Wild imagination paired with grounded structure.
He had been a true all-rounder. Master of all seven nature transformations, deeply skilled in sealing techniques. Even his conventional combat ability had been extraordinary. His mastery of Water Style had pushed both nature transformation and shape transformation to their limits.
"What a waste," Hiruzen muttered to himself, circulating his chakra as he carefully dissected the principles within. "Something this good shouldn't just gather dust."
He had a little talent of his own.
In the past, Hiruzen had focused more on learning than innovating. He hadn't created many groundbreaking techniques.
But it wasn't too late to start.
"The material requirements for Summoning Jutsu: Reanimation are definitely a major problem. As for ethics… that's secondary."
Soul and body were meant to complement each other. If the balance between them broke down, consequences were inevitable.
And an Edo Tensei body could hardly be called a real body in the first place.
"The conversion rate isn't ideal either. Still, this technique has to be perfected. It could serve as the village's final trump card."
According to Tobirama's experimental data, the current version of Summoning Jutsu: Reanimation had a clear limitation.
If an average-level Jonin was used as the material, the resurrected body's maximum chakra output only reached the level of a Chunin.
No wonder it was mostly used as a human bomb, a trigger for Tandem Paper Bombs.
But there was obvious room for improvement. Tobirama had proposed several ideas, though he had never had the chance to verify them.
"You really were a treasure trove, sensei…"
Hiruzen looked up at the portrait of the Second Hokage on the wall and smiled faintly.
When he retrieved these forbidden notebooks, he had also reviewed the village's records of forbidden technique access requests.
Orochimaru's name appeared frequently.
He had circled around texts potentially related to Tobirama's research and applied to borrow them.
Hiruzen had rejected many of those requests in the past.
After reading through the books Orochimaru had applied for, Hiruzen cross-referenced the overlapping themes.
Soul.
It wasn't guaranteed, but there was a strong chance Orochimaru had a keen interest in the concept of the soul.
"That brat… we're more in sync than I thought," Hiruzen chuckled.
Once the initial results of the "pill" research were complete, Hokage-sama planned to give Orochimaru more responsibility.
If he wanted to become Hokage, he'd better be ready to work.
In the meantime, this gave Hiruzen the perfect excuse to study these techniques more deeply himself.
Trust was one thing.
He believed he could build a relationship with Orochimaru that was part teacher, part father, part friend. But he couldn't act like a clueless sponsor who only threw money at projects.
He needed professional knowledge.
If he acted like Danzo Shimura and only pressured for progress updates, the researchers would look down on him.
He was certain Orochimaru would come to him soon enough.
After all, there was no longer any barrier between them.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The door opened.
Sakumo Hatake and Minato Namikaze stepped inside.
"Hokage-sama. Third-sama."
"You're here? Don't just stand there. Sit."
Hiruzen closed the notebook and gestured warmly. He tossed two apples across the desk.
"Biwako insisted I bring these. Help me eliminate the enemy."
Sakumo caught one cleanly, smiling. "Thank you, Third-sama. I haven't had breakfast yet."
Minato froze for half a second.
His composure was excellent, but this was his first private, small-scale meeting with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Was the Hokage always this approachable?
"Getting used to the vice minister position, Sakumo?" Hiruzen asked, picking up an apple himself and biting into it.
"That issue you mentioned before really is a problem. We'll need to stay vigilant about it." He smiled. "You report directly to me. I'll be giving you more responsibility in the future. Confident?"
Sakumo blinked.
Their eyes met. In that instant, he understood.
This was about his earlier report on Root's abnormal expansion.
Now Root had been trimmed and absorbed into the Anbu.
Danzo Shimura stood at the same vice minister rank as him.
"Hokage-sama, leave it to me."
His tone was calm, but firm.
Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction.
Born of samurai heritage, Sakumo Hatake was like a loyal blade. Worthy of trust.
This also tied into Danzo's future handling.
If Danzo performed well during the Hidden Cloud matter, Hiruzen wouldn't mind letting him serve as head of the Anbu. But personnel authority would return to the Hokage.
Appointments for vice ministers, squad captains, even team compositions would all require Hokage oversight.
An aide was meant to assist, not rule.
Danzo's abilities were useful in the right place. He just needed limits.
No independent kingdom.
"Sakumo, I have an idea regarding village security."
Hiruzen handed him a document.
"Combine the Inuzuka, Aburame, and Hyuga clans. Add the Uchiha Clan. Build a diversified defensive line."
The Inuzuka's sense of smell. The Aburame's insects. The Hyuga's Byakugan.
And the Uchiha's crimson eyes.
Together, infiltration would become far more difficult.
Sakumo thought for a moment.
"It's a good proposal, Hokage-sama. But can the village's finances support it?"
The idea wasn't new. It had always been blocked by one problem.
Money.
The village's income came from the Daimyo's funding and a cut of mission rewards.
Adding more security squads meant increased expenses.
Take the Uchiha Clan.
Each year, the village allocated significant funds to the Police Force.
You could monitor them, but you couldn't starve them inside the village. That would only justify rebellion.
"Don't worry about the money, Sakumo."
Hiruzen smiled.
"I've decided to donate part of my personal assets to the village. Supporting patrol teams of a dozen or so people for a few years won't be difficult."
"After that, there will be dedicated funding. I'll find a way."
"What matters now is ensuring the villagers' safety. We can't delay any longer."
Sakumo's eyes widened slightly.
"Won't this affect your personal life?"
"Of course it will. With better security, I can handle administrative work more peacefully." Hiruzen shrugged. "Don't you think?"
Minato, who had been listening quietly, looked at Hiruzen with open admiration.
"Don't worry about me. What does a Hokage need money for?"
"Leave a little for Asuma and Shinnosuke to get married. That's enough."
For Hiruzen, money truly meant little.
What he needed was a better village.
Sakumo was someone he intended to cultivate as a confidant.
As for Minato, the young hero who had rescued Kushina Uzumaki and defeated an elite Hidden Cloud squad at such a young age…
And his grand-student, at that.
Naturally, Hiruzen felt fondness.
If you wanted to win over a genius, the best time was before they fully matured.
"Kid, do you know what you should call me?" Hiruzen teased.
"Of course… Third-sama…"
Minato caught the hint at the last second and corrected himself.
"Great-Grandfather."
Hiruzen laughed. "Sweet talker."
"You and Kushina are doing well. Jiraiya can be a bit erratic. If there's something he can't handle in training or life, come straight to your Great-Grandfather."
Minato nodded obediently. "Thank you, Great-Grandfather."
Sakumo's eyebrow twitched.
The blond kid looked a little airheaded, but he was sharp.
Familiar type, that one.
"For the security teams, choose shinobi strong in sensory abilities, steady personalities, average combat strength. Don't waste versatile talent on patrol duty."
Hiruzen's tone turned businesslike.
"About twenty people. Rotate according to Anbu standards. Everything must prioritize practical results."
Sakumo nodded solemnly.
"Hokage-sama, please rest assured."
If the Hokage was paying out of pocket for village security and he still couldn't execute it properly…
Sakumo wouldn't forgive himself.
He was a simple man.
He loved this village because of the faint light carried by the Will of Fire.
Shinobi were not tools.
Comrades were not expendable.
As long as the Will of Fire did not fade, he would give everything willingly.
"Minato, I have a task for you."
Hiruzen's voice softened.
"Jiraiya told me you've made suggestions regarding Anbu security. Once Sakumo implements the plan, you'll conduct unannounced inspections."
"If you find flaws, I'll give you private lessons."
Minato's eyes lit up instantly.
"I understand!"
He turned to Sakumo with a grin. "Sakumo-sama, no hard feelings."
Sakumo smiled faintly. "Don't speak too soon, kid."
Hiruzen watched the scene with satisfaction.
That evening.
When Kakashi Hatake returned home, his small face was scrunched into a frown.
"Father…"
"I want to graduate. The Ninja Academy is boring. I want to become a shinobi."
Ever since that day at the training field, when Jiraiya and Sakumo had tossed him around like a toy…
Kakashi had suffered a blow.
He might still be small, but his pride was enormous.
If the gap was already this big, wouldn't it only grow if he wasted time at the Academy?
That wouldn't do.
Sakumo glanced at his son and chuckled.
Foolish child. You have no idea how blessed your life is.
Carefree days at the Academy were a luxury beyond imagination in the Warring States era or during war.
Kids these days truly didn't know how good they had it.
"There are plenty of talented brats at your school, Kakashi."
"That Uchiha boy, for one."
"There's even someone not yet enrolled who has unusual potential."
He thought of Might Duy and his son.
The calluses on that boy's hands had left a deep impression.
Kakashi curled his lip.
As if.
Then inspiration struck Sakumo.
A mischievous idea formed.
"Do you know Minato Namikaze? Blond hair."
"Yeah. Why?" Kakashi blinked. "He's strong? I've heard the teachers mention him…"
"If you can successfully land a sneak attack on him just once, I'll allow you to graduate."
Sakumo's face was perfectly serious.
"How about it?"
"Father, you said that. Deal." Kakashi crossed his arms, looking cool.
Just a sneak attack. Not defeat.
How hard could that be?
"Mm. Deal."
At the same time, Sakumo thought to himself.
Perhaps he should report the Ninja Academy situation to the Third.
Maybe it was time to raise the difficulty for these little brats.