Chapter 234 : JinchūRiki Is Very Important To Konoha
But unfortunately, after Tsunade became Hokage, things changed. The two elder advisors no longer held the same authority as before. Most of their powers were revoked, leaving them with little more than the right to make suggestions to the Hokage.
Of course, Tsunade was able to do this thanks to the support of Jiraiya and Riku, as well as her own considerable reputation.
More importantly, she had the backing of the major clans within the village.
In fact, the major clans welcomed Tsunade’s appointment as Hokage. She was seen as a more neutral figure compared to the Third Hokage—neither as passive as Hiruzen nor as extreme as Danzo.
She was, after all, the granddaughter of the First Hokage. Born into a prestigious lineage, she possessed immense strength and an unrivaled reputation in the shinobi world.
Naturally, when she assumed the position of Hokage, it was seen as the logical choice. So when she stripped the two elder advisors of their powers, no one tried to stop her.
Not that they could. As Hokage, Tsunade truly did hold the authority to make such decisions.
Back when Hiruzen was in charge, he had delegated a significant portion of his authority to the two advisors. Reclaiming that power wouldn’t have been difficult for him either, but he genuinely believed that his two old classmates had Konoha’s best interests at heart.
They shared his ideology, after all.
So he gave them more authority than he should have.
Now, watching Tsunade govern, the two advisors noticed Riku standing quietly behind her.
They were reassured.
Riku was powerful—likely stronger than even the Fourth Hokage—but he had never shown any ambition for power. He had no desire to become Hokage and rarely involved himself in politics.
Despite his strength, he conducted himself with humility and restraint.
Both elders had come to agree with Tsunade’s belief that Riku was the best candidate to succeed her as the Sixth Hokage.
After working under Tsunade for several years, Riku would have the experience, age, and undeniable presence to command respect within both the village and the broader shinobi world.
He wasn’t anything like Danzo. In fact, he shared more in common with Tsunade—balanced, reasonable, and protective of the village.
So in their eyes, Riku was the ideal choice to eventually take the mantle.
Though Tsunade had curtailed their powers, the two elders bore her no resentment.
They understood that the Hokage had every right to restructure the chain of command. Resistance would only destabilize the village.
In truth, their stance was simple: so long as Danzo didn’t seize power, they would support anyone who was qualified to be Hokage. And Riku was clearly the most suitable.
Despite being Danzo’s former classmates, they—like Hiruzen—had allowed Danzo to handle the village’s more covert, morally gray operations, but they had never wanted him to become Hokage.
Even Hiruzen, who had tolerated Danzo’s methods for years, understood that the village needed both doves and hawks—voices of peace and voices of aggression—to balance and counter each other depending on the situation.
Hiruzen and the two advisors represented the dovish faction—moderate, pragmatic, focused on long-term peace.
Danzo, on the other hand, was a hawk in every sense—ruthless, nationalistic, and willing to sacrifice anything for the so-called good of the village.
Tsunade also leaned toward the dovish side. She had no desire to ignite another Shinobi World War.
Especially not now, when Konoha had yet to fully recover from recent losses.
If Danzo were to become Hokage now, it would be a disaster.
It might even lead to a situation like the one in Kirigakure during the "Bloody Mist" era.
Many blamed the Fourth Mizukage for that period of cruelty, but in reality, the brutality began with the First Mizukage. Yagura merely carried it out more thoroughly under Obito’s control.
If Danzo ever took power, Konoha could fall into a similar nightmare.
For that reason, despite the elder advisors supporting many of Danzo’s initiatives in the past, they would never endorse him as Hokage. In fact, they quietly worked to block his chances.
It was this knowledge—that the Third Hokage and his advisors would never allow him to become Hokage—that pushed Danzo to attempt to have Hiruzen assassinated.
He knew that as long as Hiruzen lived, his own chances of becoming Hokage were zero.
Even when Orochimaru, Hiruzen’s prized student, launched an attack, the Third was prepared to name Minato Namikaze as his successor instead.
To Hiruzen, Danzo becoming Hokage was unthinkable. If he had lived longer, he would’ve trained a younger generation to inherit the position, rather than ever handing it to Danzo.
Unfortunately, he died too soon and never had the chance to set those plans in motion.
Had things gone differently, Hiruzen would likely have named Kakashi as the Fifth Hokage within three years. He even considered stepping down and becoming a Hokage advisor himself.
His plans were already taking shape when he pulled Kakashi out of Root.
And after meeting Riku, Hiruzen refined his vision: Kakashi would become the Fifth Hokage, while Riku would continue to grow. Then, when Minato grew old, Riku would take over as the Sixth.
When Riku had just graduated from the Academy, Hiruzen had assigned him to S-rank missions specifically to test him.
Clearly, Riku had passed that test. From then on, Hiruzen had secretly chosen him as his eventual successor.
But Orochimaru’s sudden reappearance and betrayal threw all of those plans into disarray.
Still, in hindsight, choosing Tsunade may have been the better path. Kakashi at that point didn’t yet have the qualifications or recognition to become Hokage.
If this had been post–Fourth Shinobi World War, things might have been different. By then, Kakashi would’ve had the military achievements and public prestige necessary.
To become Hokage, one needed more than battlefield success—prestige was essential.
After the Third Hokage’s death, Kakashi wasn’t selected largely because he lacked that prestige. His strength capped at Elite Jōnin, and he didn’t have the influence needed to command respect from other villages.
While Kakashi had completed dozens of S-rank missions and hundreds of A-rank assignments during and after the Third Shinobi World War, his name still didn’t carry enough weight.
In contrast, Sunagakure chose Gaara only because they lacked stronger candidates. Had someone like the Third Kazekage or even Rasa still been alive, Gaara wouldn’t have been considered.
If Riku had been in Sunagakure, there’s no doubt he’d have been chosen as Kazekage.
But Konoha was not in the same position. Besides Kakashi, they still had Jiraiya and Tsunade—both solid choices for Hokage.
For all these reasons, even if the two advisors occasionally disapproved of Tsunade’s decisions, they never once considered opposing her appointment as Hokage.
Opposing her was one thing—having the means to do so was another entirely.
Still, their standing within the village did afford them a measure of influence.
If they had chosen to publicly speak out against Tsunade, even if it didn’t succeed, it would have had an impact.
But they didn’t. Despite their doubts, they stood with her.
So when they looked at her now, one of them sighed and said, "After all, Jinchūriki are the village’s most valuable assets. With Akatsuki actively hunting them down, if anything happens to Naruto, you’ll bear full responsibility."
"Not to mention, losing a tailed beast could invite aggression from the surrounding villages."
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