"Ahem. It's true that the Hokage should hold supreme authority over the village, but the problem is that Minato Namikaze is still so young, and he has no experience governing a village!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi truly lived up to his reputation as a seasoned political veteran who had controlled Konoha for decades. His skin was remarkably thick, and he quickly found an excuse for himself by bringing up Minato's age.
Tsunade, however, wasn't fooled.
"But you were only in your twenties or early thirties when you became the Third Hokage, weren't you, old man? You weren't much older than Minato is now!"
"Ahem! Ahem..."
Hiruzen immediately started coughing. His old face turned red beneath its dark expression, and he was left thoroughly embarrassed.
Indeed, he had been quite young when he became the Third Hokage.
He had only been in his early thirties—hardly much older than Minato was now!
Tsunade's eyes flickered as she spoke earnestly.
"So, old man, when you get right down to it, you simply can't let go of the power in your hands!"
"But how high does an official position have to be before it's high enough? Is the Hokage's seat really that comfortable to sit in?"
"You've already had your turn, old man!"
Hiruzen's face darkened, and he looked somewhat awkward.
Seeing this, Tsunade continued.
"Old man, don't be offended by my harsh words. I'm saying this for your own good! You know better than anyone how fierce the struggle is for the position of Hokage. After you took power back then, didn't you also eliminate many of the people you considered obstacles in order to consolidate your authority?"
"Now you've become those very obstacles in the eyes of others, standing in the way of the village's development. If this continues, they won't show you any mercy!"
Through her several conversations with Uchiha Ren, Tsunade knew that Ren had no intention of giving up on dealing with Hiruzen and the others.
And given Uchiha Ren's methods, Hiruzen's chances of winning were extremely slim.
Tsunade knew that if things continued like this, Hiruzen would soon be facing his death.
Although Tsunade also disliked Hiruzen's way of doing things, they were still master and disciple.
If Hiruzen were willing to retire at the Ninja Academy and stop involving himself in village affairs, Tsunade would even try speaking to Uchiha Ren on his behalf.
Hiruzen's expression became extremely unpleasant, but after thinking for a moment, he still spoke.
"Tsunade, you're mistaken! The reason I don't want to give up isn't because I can't let go of the power in my hands..."
"Isn't it because of that?"
Tsunade interrupted him before he could finish.
"Look at yourself right now. You're merely a teacher at the Ninja Academy, yet you're occupying the principal's office!"
"You've even done something like this in a place as insignificant as the Ninja Academy, and you still claim you're not unwilling to relinquish power?"
After a pause, Tsunade added,
"Don't forget, Uchiha Ren and the others are very fond of enforcing rules. Be careful that they don't seize on this point and make it so you can't even remain a teacher at the Ninja Academy!"
Hiruzen was stunned for a moment before giving a bitter smile.
"Tsunade, you've misunderstood. The principal of the Ninja Academy was originally a position I held concurrently. In other words, this office already belonged to me!"
"After I was stripped of my position as principal, the village never appointed anyone else to take over. So this office simply remained vacant."
"When I came to work at the Ninja Academy, they didn't prepare a new office for me in order to save expenses. They simply let me work here."
"As for whether this violates the regulations... don't forget that I'm still the village's Minister of Education. I'm still qualified to use this office!"
"Even if a new principal is eventually appointed, at most they'll just have to change the sign on the door."
Tsunade shrugged indifferently.
"As long as you know what you're doing. But from now on, you'd better stay right here in your little corner and stop stirring up trouble outside!"
Hiruzen immediately became anxious.
"Tsunade, why don't you understand? I already told you that I'm not unwilling to relinquish the power in my hands! I simply can't let go of the village's safety!"
Tsunade calmly replied,
"What's the difference? In your eyes, the village is only safe if it develops according to your way of thinking!"
"There's a huge difference!"
Hiruzen earnestly explained.
"As the saying goes, 'One who listens to all sides is enlightened; one who listens to only one side is in the dark.' When I was Hokage, I also listened to other people's opinions and took their thoughts into consideration! But what about Minato and the others?"
"Minato and the others simply act on their own whims. They never consider what anyone else thinks!"
"Take this expedition against Sunagakure, for example. They held a meeting, yes, but Minato and Uchiha Ren had already made the decision beforehand. The meeting was nothing more than going through the motions and assigning everyone their respective tasks!"
Tsunade didn't find anything particularly strange about that.
"Isn't that perfectly normal? It was a wartime mission, and a surprise attack at that. Timing was the most important thing."
"In a situation like that, shouldn't it be enough for the core decision-making group to reach a consensus? Homura Mitokado voted in favor at the time as well, didn't he?"
"Besides, back when you were in charge, there were plenty of matters in the village that were decided by the four of you—yourself, Shimura Danzō, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado. What was wrong with that?"
"There was plenty wrong with it!"
Hiruzen answered seriously.
"Among the four of us—myself, Shimura Danzō, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado—I was the conservative, Danzō was the radical, while Koharu and Homura occupied the middle ground."
"When something happened, the four of us represented three different perspectives from which to examine the issue!"
"By discussing matters among ourselves, we could compensate for one another's blind spots and arrive at a more comprehensive decision."
"But what about Minato and the others? They're all radicals!"
"Radicals who launch wars at the slightest disagreement!"
"I'm not saying every decision they make is necessarily wrong, but their decisions are certainly going to have shortcomings!"
"Take this war against Sunagakure again. Don't be fooled by the fact that Konoha may have gained some advantages and obtained some benefits right now."
"From the perspective of the bigger picture, this is only the beginning!"
"I dare guarantee that Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure have already learned that Konoha launched a surprise attack on Sunagakure. They may even have begun secretly forming an alliance to confront Konoha together!"
"All for a little bit of petty gain from Sunagakure, they have pushed the other shinobi villages into opposition against Konoha."
"Is that really worth it?!"
Tsunade's expression remained unchanged.
As far as Uchiha Ren and the others were concerned, they had already prepared themselves to stand against the other Great Shinobi Villages.
There was never any question of whether it was worth it.
Nevertheless, Tsunade still asked,
"Petty gain? Old man, do you know how much spoils of war Konoha brought back from the Land of Wind this time?"
Hiruzen asked somewhat disdainfully,
"How much?"
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