Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess

Danzo stared at Riku for a moment before finally releasing a long sigh.

"You truly seem certain... I just hope you can keep your word."

With that, he turned and walked slowly out of the room.

The two Hokage advisors turned their eyes to Riku. For some reason, when they looked at him now, they felt a strong sense of déjà vu—like they were seeing the Fourth Hokage all over again.

No... it wasn’t just a resemblance. At this moment, Riku had already surpassed the Fourth Hokage in terms of strength.

Back then, their admiration for Minato Namikaze had stemmed not only from his talent, but also because he had been part of their political faction. He was someone they had supported and helped rise to the position of Hokage.

Minato had always been seen as the most ideal Hokage—flawless in both strength and character.

Of course, some of that might have been an exaggeration, since Minato had only held the title for a single year.

Still, as a shinobi, both Hiruzen and the two advisors had considered him a perfect ninja.

Now, as they looked at Riku, they stood and spoke with calm solemnity.

"Even though we don’t fully understand what you’re thinking... we believe you have the potential to surpass the Fourth Hokage. You could become the Sixth Hokage."

With that, they too left the room.

Even though this was technically their office, they rarely came here anymore.

Hearing their words, Riku felt a bit helpless.

"I don’t want to be Hokage either..."

But Tsunade was visibly pleased. Although the two advisors had long respected Riku’s strength, they had never before openly expressed any desire for him to become Hokage.

Today, they had acknowledged it without hesitation.

Even if their approval might not seem that important on the surface, it still carried some weight.

After all, when a Hokage dies in battle, these two have the authority to recommend candidates for the position.

That authority only applies in the absence of an active Hokage, of course—but it’s still significant.

In fact, over in Sunagakure, Chiyo had once acted in a similar capacity as Kazekage advisor. After the Third Kazekage disappeared, it was Chiyo who selected Rasa as the Fourth Kazekage, based on his strength.

So gaining approval from Konoha’s Hokage advisors was no easy feat.

No one really knew what moved them to speak so directly today.

Tsunade might often scoff at those two old relics, but even she held a measure of respect for them.

Yamato glanced at Riku, pleased.

Back then, he’d simply thought Riku was a gifted, interesting kid.

Who would’ve thought he’d come this far... maybe even become Hokage.

Shizune was stunned as well.

She never expected those two old men, who usually kept everything to themselves, to open up like this.

And as fate would have it, Shizune herself would become one of Konoha’s Hokage advisors someday.

Tsunade stood up, looked at Riku, and smiled.

"After I step down, Konoha will be in your hands. You’ll be the Sixth Hokage. Those two old coots might be stubborn, but they still hold influence."

"With their support, if you ever choose to take up the mantle, there won’t be any resistance."

Riku offered a bitter smile.

"Why is everyone so obsessed with me becoming Hokage? I’ve told you—I’m not the right person for that."

Tsunade’s gaze grew serious.

Seeing that, Riku quickly backpedaled and tried to pacify her with a smile.

"Alright, alright. Who knows what the future holds? Let’s talk about it later."

"Now that those two have agreed, Naruto should be free to return to Konoha."

"Captain Yamato, I’ll need you to keep a close eye on Naruto while he’s out. I’ve reinforced the seal on him, but I didn’t completely seal the Nine Tails. I still want Naruto to learn to control Kurama’s chakra. Once he does, he’ll become a true pillar of Konoha."

"And in case he loses control, use this seal."

Riku handed Yamato a sealing tag imbued with his chakra.

The chakra stored inside the tag could suppress Kurama’s influence. Yamato’s Wood Style naturally had some suppressive effect on the Nine Tails, and with Riku’s chakra integrated into the seal, it would be even more effective.

Even if Naruto entered his Six-Tails form, this seal should be able to subdue him.

Yamato tucked it away with a reassuring smile.

"Don’t worry—I’ll keep a close eye on him."

Tsunade added,

"Don’t just watch Naruto. Keep an eye on the shinobi Danzo sends, too. That old fox is definitely plotting something. Be wary of the ninja under him."

Yamato nodded firmly.

"Understood."

Then, with a puff of smoke, he vanished.

Tsunade walked to the window, resting her arms on the ledge as she gazed out.

"Right now, we still don’t know Akatsuki’s ultimate goal with the Tailed Beasts. And with the power those members possess, it would be difficult for any of the Five Great Nations to withstand a direct assault."

"So far, we know of Uchiha Itachi, Kisame Hoshigaki, Deidara, and Sasori. Now that you’ve taken out Sasori, that’s one down—but the others are all Kage-level threats. And who knows how many more powerful ninja they have hidden in their ranks."

For most hidden villages, having three or four Kage-level shinobi is already impressive.

In Konoha, the current Kage-level shinobi included Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Riku.

Danzo didn’t count—he hadn’t seen combat in years. At best, his current strength could be considered quasi-Kage level.

Sunagakure was in worse shape—not even one Kage-level shinobi.

Gaara, the current Kazekage, was still only at elite Jonin level. But his talent was undeniable. Within a year, he was likely to break through to true Kage-level.

He was already well-rounded, with his only real weakness being taijutsu.

...But he had recently started training under a taijutsu expert to strengthen that area.

By the time of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Gaara who fought Uchiha Madara had undoubtedly become a true Kage-level powerhouse.

As for the traditional military powerhouses—Iwagakure and Kumogakure—they remained formidable.

The Fourth Raikage, Darui, Yugito Nii, Killer Bee... they had no shortage of Kage-level ninja.

And in terms of military and economic power, Kumogakure remained the strongest of the Five Great Nations.

Iwagakure was close behind. While they only had Onoki and his son Kitsuchi at Kage-level, their overall strength rivaled that of the Cloud Village. Currently, they ranked second.

That left Konoha.

In terms of current overall strength, Konoha ranked third. And that was only thanks to Riku’s presence. Without him, the balance of power might’ve tipped much further.

Riku had enough raw power to tilt the outcome of any battle on his own. Like a walking weapon, he could singlehandedly turn the tide of war and ensure Konoha never lost.

But neither Riku nor Tsunade had any intention of waging war against other nations.

So even though Konoha had a trump card, it was still ranked third overall in the current balance of power.

Riku smiled faintly.

"No matter how many Kage-level shinobi Akatsuki has... as long as I’m here, nothing will happen to this village."

That was the extent of Riku’s confidence now.

There wasn’t a single person left in the shinobi world he couldn’t defeat.

Not even the Sage of Six Paths himself—or Uchiha Madara at full power—could claim victory over him.

And Riku knew it.

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