Chapter 5: Hiruzen’s Regret
Hiruzen let out a deep sigh, turned around, and slowly approached Naruto. He raised his hand and gave a slight signal, and the black-clad ANBU in the room instantly vanished from sight under Naruto's admiring gaze. Hiruzen affectionately stroked the boy's head.
"How are you feeling, Naruto?"
Little Naruto was slightly startled by this sudden question, tilting his head thoughtfully to the side.
"Hmm… I feel better."
Hiruzen asked again in a soft tone.
"And what were you thinking about just then?"
Naruto fell silent for a moment, clenching his small fists resting on his knees.
"…Grandpa Hokage… Why does everyone hate me? Why don't I have a family? Did they abandon me?"
Naruto's eyes filled with tears, but he did not cry; he had shed so many tears over the past year that he had finally given up on crying altogether. Hiruzen remained silent, feeling a sharp ache in his heart. But he could not tell Naruto the truth. Minato had caused an absolute slaughter in the Third Ninja War. He had killed so many enemy ninjas that their families and villages would do anything to take revenge on his child. But Minato had been incredibly powerful, and so had Kushina. While they were alive, no one had dared to lay a finger on them.
Yet Naruto was completely defenseless. He was still just a little boy, devoid of any power. Even living within the walls of Konoha, he could not truly be considered safe. The village was currently going through one of the weakest periods in its history; all the ninjas were occupied, and the ANBU were constantly deployed on the field. There was a massive shortage of personnel. Today, he had barely managed to assign four ANBU members to Naruto's side, but even this small move had caused many missions across the village to be disrupted.
Hiruzen sighed with sorrow. In the Third War, they had fought against a staggering four great villages. Although they had emerged victorious from the war, they had suffered immense losses, to the point where they were forced to send young children to the front lines. He didn't know how he would face the First Hokage when he died; he could only hope that he would understand these necessities. The village had still not recovered. The Uchiha clan had been exceedingly restless lately, and his one-eyed, sullen-faced old friend was deliberately spreading rumors in the village to further provoke the Uchiha and stir up a crisis.
Faced with this grim picture, Hiruzen was caught in a state of profound indecision. One part of him said, "The Uchiha are our comrades, leave them be!" while his other side recalled the harsh warnings of his mentor, the Second Hokage, and believed that the Uchiha must be suppressed at all costs. In short, Konoha was currently in no position to handle even the slightest mishap, let alone any internal turmoil. They had neither the strength nor the courage left to face such a crisis. If a single civil war were to be triggered, Konoha would literally be dragged into a war of survival.
Hiruzen took a deep breath, suppressing the heavy regret in his heart. From the outside, he still looked wise and calm.
'I am sorry Minato, Kushina… and you, Naruto.'
"They loved you more than anything, even more than their own lives, Naruto. They sacrificed their lives for this village. For now, that is all you need to know. As for the villagers… ignore what they say or do. I am always by your side."
Hiruzen offered a warm smile. Naruto was momentarily moved by these words, and then smiled with pure joy. He was still very small, unable to comprehend much of what was happening, but there were only one or two people in his life who treated him warmly, and he absolutely did not want to lose them. Therefore, he held tightly to Hiruzen's words and pushed the questions in his mind aside for the time being. Hiruzen spoke again to change the subject.
"Naruto, lie down on the bed. I need to check something."
Naruto tilted his head to the side inquisitively.
"Why?"
Hiruzen smiled reassuringly.
"Trust me, I won't do anything bad. I just want to check if your health is in good order."
Hiruzen gestured toward the bed. Naruto obediently walked over and lay down on his back, looking a bit anxious. Hiruzen carefully uncovered the boy's belly, placed his hand over the seal area, and slowly channeled his own chakra inward. Tickled by the touch of the chakra, Naruto began to giggle, and Hiruzen joined in, chuckling along with him.
However, his mind was entirely elsewhere. Focusing his attention deep within the seal, he tried to ensure that everything was as it should be. Right at that moment, he noticed something peculiar.
'Why is the Nine-Tails so calm? I don't sense the slightest fluctuation of chakra or anger.'
Hiruzen pondered this bizarre situation for a moment but decided not to dwell on it too much; he attributed this stillness to the power of the unparalleled seal left behind by the Fourth Hokage. After spending a few more minutes with Naruto, he gathered his things and prepared to leave. Just as he headed toward the door, Naruto called out to him.
"Grandpa Hokage!"
Stopping in his tracks, the departing Hiruzen turned back around curiously.
"What is it, Naruto?"
Naruto hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to say. Hiruzen spoke once more to encourage him.
"Don't worry, ask whatever you want. Your grandpa will help you! Or have you run out of money?"
As Hiruzen said this, he quickly reached into his wallet, pulled out ten thousand ryo, and placed it on the table. Naruto, however, vigorously shook his head.
"No! I haven't even touched the money you gave me before."
Hiruzen looked at the boy in astonishment. Normal children his age would immediately spend any money they got their hands on on junk food or toys. His brows furrowed slightly, but he did not dig into the matter for now; he would later demand a much more detailed report from the ANBU ninjas at the door regarding the boy's daily life. He approached Naruto again, kneeling down to look him directly in the eye.
"Tell me, Naruto. Let your grandpa know what's on your mind."
Naruto took a deep breath to gather his courage.
"Grandpa Third… how can I win the approval and love of the people in the village?"
Hiruzen froze for a moment upon hearing this question, then let out a silent sigh. After weighing his response for a short while, he spoke.
"If you make many contributions to the village and become a great hero, everyone in the village will accept and love you."
This was actually a technically accurate observation… provided, of course, that the White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, didn't roll over in his grave. After weighing what this answer meant with his own childish mind, Naruto asked:
"So… do I have to become a Hokage like you?"
Hiruzen's reputation in the village was rock-solid. Thanks to both his personal achievements and a bit of political manipulation, everyone viewed him as a 'Ninja Hero.' The Strongest Hokage, the Professor of Ninjutsu, the God of Shinobi… these were the flamboyant titles he carried. Yet, deep down, Hiruzen absolutely despised being referred to as the "Strongest Hokage." Because he knew all too well that his power could not even match the toenail of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. In his eyes, this title was an insult.
"…Yes. If you become Hokage, everyone will know and respect you."
Naruto's eyes sparkled like stars at that moment.
"Thank you, Grandpa Third! Now I know exactly what I need to do."
After smiling at the boy's determined state, Hiruzen left the house. It took him less than ten minutes to reach the Hokage building. When he walked straight into his office, he found his three old friends already waiting for him.
What a fascinating coincidence, wasn't it? Whenever a real crisis erupted or during dangerous moments of war, this trio was always at the point furthest from peril. Yet, when there was a political and significant decision to be made at the table, their voices would ring out the loudest. It was crystal clear how much they valued their own lives, but because Hiruzen had always treated them far too softly, he had always turned a blind eye to these facts. Hiruzen genuinely believed in his heart that these three friends would sacrifice their very lives when it came to Konoha! But in reality, Koharu and Homura were tightly bound to their own interests and survival. They wouldn't show their faces during the Nine-Tails disaster years ago, nor would they appear during the devastating Pain attack in the future. Danzo, on the other hand, took things to an entirely different dimension, directly identifying his own existence with Konoha! To him, if Danzo died, Konoha would cease to exist. The famous lie that spilled from Danzo's lips—"Everything for Konoha!"—in truth meant "Everything for Me (Danzo)!"
And to absolutely no one's surprise, Danzo was the first to speak.
"What is going on? Why did the Jinchuriki suddenly lose control?"
Hiruzen's eyes instantly sharpened with an icy expression.
"That child's name is Uzumaki Naruto! You should address him by his name, Danzo! Just as you never dared to speak this way to Mito-sama back then, nor did you to Kushina!"
Hearing the names of the two legendary women who had left their mark on Konoha's history, Danzo's face darkened completely. Sensing the tension, Homura cleared his throat, attempting to soften the atmosphere slightly.
"So, what exactly happened, Hiruzen?"
Hiruzen glared at Danzo, speaking through gritted teeth.
"Thanks to a certain one-eyed individual, Naruto is constantly ostracized in the village and is enduring suffering that he should never have to experience at just three years old. HE SHOULD HAVE HAD A NORMAL CHILDHOOD!"
Unable to contain his anger any longer, Hiruzen exploded. His chosen successor, Minato, had entrusted his only child to him before he died. But what was the result? Faced with these reproachful words, Koharu merely sighed; she didn't care an ounce about Naruto. Her sole concern was that the Nine-Tails bomb in the middle of the village remained docile without exploding.
"Calm down, Hiruzen. As long as the Nine-Tails remains docile, it doesn't matter what that child goes through. Besides, Danzo was right from the very beginning; the Jinchuriki cannot just freely interact with everyone in the village. This poses far too great a risk to Konoha's security."
Homura also nodded in agreement with her.
"Koharu is right, Hiruzen. As long as the Nine-Tails stays calm within the seal, the rest is just a detail. We have much more pressing matters right now. The Cloud Village and the Land of Lightning still haven't given a clear response to our peace talks. Furthermore, a growing crisis concerning the Uchiha clan is right at our doorstep."
Following these words, Hiruzen stared long and hard at his old teammates. He could clearly see how much they had changed over the years. None of them were who they used to be; yet, with a naive faith, he still thought they all wanted what was best for Konoha… but he was gravely mistaken.
When Minato had taken power, he had mended fences with the Uchiha clan, drawing them closer to the village. Moreover, he had tried to develop Konoha by introducing numerous administrative innovations. However, Minato's modern approach to governance threatened the interests of Homura and Koharu, who fed off the status quo. This duo had immediately formed an alliance with Danzo, working under the table to suppress the young Hokage's authority. At the time, Hiruzen had thought his three friends were just old-fashioned and resisting change, so while he reined Minato in slightly, he had not fully intervened in their schemes. He trusted Minato's genius and wanted to see what kind of leadership he would display against these obstacles. But who could have predicted the cruel game fate would play—that the Fourth Hokage would lose his life before even sitting in that chair for a single year?
Hiruzen let out a sigh as he reminisced about the old days. Right then, a question surfaced in his mind.
"What happened to Kushina and Minato's inheritance records? Mito-sama had gifted Kushina the commercial area in the center back then. Minato must have also amassed a considerable fortune from his missions. Yet, I haven't seen a single financial report regarding these on my desk since that day."
Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of the trio shifted instantly, and the air in the room turned freezing cold. Noticing the change, Hiruzen furrowed his brows deeply.
"What did you do?!"
Koharu replied, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible.
"The village suffered massive destruction after the attack. We used those properties for the reconstruction efforts. For two years, the rental income from Kushina's shops has been utilized to stabilize the village's budget."
While they tried to make it look like a highly justified action as they spoke, their true objective was to funnel that wealth into the coffers of their own clans. In just two years, so much had happened that they had only managed to seize a few shops so far; they hadn't yet touched the remaining fifteen stores and twenty residences. Their plan was to keep Hiruzen entirely away from these financial matters until they were completely finished. After all, Hiruzen was so overwhelmed with rebuilding the village that he barely had time to catch his breath. Who could have known things would fall apart like this? In that moment, the trio cursed both Naruto and the damn fox under their breath.
Hiruzen's scowl deepened; the suspicion burning within him that his old friends were up to some dirty business flared up fiercely. Raising his voice, he roared authoritatively.
"Who do you think you are to have the audacity to use the personal inheritance of the Fourth Hokage and the previous Jinchuriki as you please? Especially while their sole heir is still alive! I want to see all of those records on my desk without exception! Every single one of them! The thirty-six stores, the thirty-seven residences, and the one hundred and fifty million ryo cash fortune! Not a single penny will be missing! I will send all the deeds to Jiraiya! And I will personally hand the money over to Kakashi."
The trio was utterly dumbfounded by this absolute decision. Homura protested in a panic.
"Hiruzen, don't! The village is in a dire economic situation! That inheritance can ease the village's budget and infrastructure! If Minato and Kushina were alive, they too would want their assets to be used for the village!"
Koharu chimed in with a serious tone, supporting her friend.
"Homura is absolutely right, Hiruzen! Utilizing them for the future of Konoha is the most proper course of action. When Naruto grows up and becomes an adult shinobi, he will look back on this sacrifice with understanding."
Danzo hadn't uttered a single word, but he absolutely refused to let those shops slip through his fingers! Those commercial areas inherited from the Senju clan were the most lucrative properties in the heart of the village. While Kushina was alive, she used to donate a large portion of that income to orphanages and the families of ninjas who died in battle! To Danzo, this was an unpardonable waste! With that money, hundreds of lethal, elite ninja could have been trained for Root. More than anything, he wanted that fortune to be handed directly to his own organization rather than being thrown away on orphans. He had assumed all along that Hiruzen would accept the situation and would never make the foolish mistake of leaving such a colossal income to a three-year-old child.