Hiruzen had long pondered the decline of Konoha’s education system.
But what he hadn’t expected was that he himself would one day be lectured by the First Hokage.
And even more surprising—how sharply the views of the First and Second Hokage diverged.
“I think that kid’s pretty good. His bottom line may be a little low, but his way of thinking is solid.”
Late at night, within the Senju clan’s ancestral ho, Senju Tobirama gave a nod as he spoke.
“It’s just… the fact that he can even get along so well with that Uchiha brat. The Uchiha clan is born evil. Aside from Kagami, the rest of them—”
“Shut your mouth, Tobirama. I’ve told you before—the Uchiha are comrades of the village!”
Before Tobirama could finish, his elder brother cut him off.
“And if it weren’t for your policies, how would they have ended up like that?”
“Hmph, and that’s my fault?”
Tobirama let out a dissatisfied snort.
“Didn’t Gen already say it? The true culprit was that Uchiha Obito. It was his hand that caused the Nine-Tails incident!”
“But Gen also said this—it was because soone in Konoha refused to trust the Uchiha. Monkey, you told it was a boy from the Shimura clan, wasn’t he your disciple?”
“Danzo went too far, I’ll admit that. But without Uchiha Obito, would things have ended this way?”
“And if Danzo had been willing to trust them, would it have spiraled out of control at all?”
Hiruzen felt his scalp prickle. The quarrel between the two Hokage was utterly unpredictable. Helplessly, he turned his head toward Tsunade.
But she showed no sign of intervening, her posture one of soone happily watching a spectacle. Forced to act, Hiruzen hurriedly tried to diate.
“Sensei, there’s no point in arguing over what’s already happened. Let’s focus on the matter at hand!”
“You’re one to talk, Monkey. What kind of Hokage are you?!”
Before he could finish, both Hokage turned their scolding on him.
“Never mind the Fourth’s death for now—if you can’t even keep Danzo in check, how do you deserve to be Hokage?”
“That’s right. And you let Konoha’s education deteriorate like this—the problem lies squarely with you!”
“Education? What’s wrong with education? I’m the one who founded Konoha’s school. You’ve got so nerve blaming for that!”
“I laid down the direction from the very beginning. If you’d followed even a little of it, Gen wouldn’t have turned out this way!”
“Your direction is long outdated! And I think he’s just fine. He’ll surely beco Hokage, and that’s exactly the kind of mindset he needs!”
“As I thought—the root of Konoha’s educational collapse lies with you, you bastard!”
Watching the two brothers quarrel again, Hiruzen could only sigh helplessly. Still, he knew how to handle it.
“Well then, it seems both of you agree that Gen is fit to beco Hokage, don’t you?”
“Mhm.”
Sure enough, the mont he said that, they both fell silent. Stroking his chin, Senju Hashirama finally spoke.
“Though his temperant is similar to Tobirama’s, he’s the most outstanding of them all. As long as he’s properly guided, there’ll be no problem.”
“Tch. He doesn’t have any problems to begin with—in fact, he’s not nearly enough yet.”
Tobirama shot his elder brother a glare. He genuinely held a favorable view of Kitagawa Gen.
After all, the boy’s thinking resembled his own, only even more ruthless.
And his abilities—so much like his own, yet surpassing him in every respect. There was no way he couldn’t feel pleased.
After all, he was one of Konoha’s own!
“If it’s him, I’ll give my full support.”
“Koharu, Homura, and I share the sa view. With the backing of you two, I think things will go much more smoothly.”
Hiruzen spoke with a smile. Seeing that Hashirama seed ready to add sothing, he quickly continued: “But Gen still has much to learn—and right now, we have more pressing matters to deal with.”
“Indeed. The Impure World Reincarnation, and the problems with Sunagakure and Kumogakure.”
Tobirama gave a nod, paused in thought, then said: “Let’s follow Gen’s idea. I don’t see any problem with it. In fact, even the application of Impure World Reincarnation could be considered.”
“Hey, aren’t you going too far?”
Hashirama couldn’t help but cut in again.
“You know full well how much trouble that technique has caused! And yet you want to keep bringing more calamity upon us?”
“What calamity? Everything I’ve done has been for Konoha.”
“Damn it, the way Gen turned out—you’re the one most to bla!”
“No, his character is exactly what makes him best suited to be Hokage.”
“Konoha’s education collapsed because of you!”
Watching the two quarrel yet again, Hiruzen could only let out a helpless sigh.
He hadn’t imagined that reviving the two Hokage would lead to them bickering over Kitagawa Gen like this.
But in a way, it was fine—it only proved that Gen was indeed a worthy choice.
...
“Ah… why hasn’t this started yet?”
Though the two Hokage had been summoned back, no word of it had leaked outside, and Kitagawa Gen’s life had returned to a calm routine.
Still, with Deidara and Terumi i constantly at his side, he couldn’t help but feel a bit bored.
All the hosting duties had fallen squarely on him—sothing Konoha had left as his responsibility.
“There’s still a wait ahead. But honestly, the people Konoha sent don’t seem all that impressive, hmm.”
Stretching lazily, Deidara rubbed his chin and said: “Naruto’s bound to be eliminated by you sooner or later. That Sasuke kid seems decent enough, but the rest? Pretty diocre. Didn’t Konoha prepare properly?”
“Deidara, maybe keep such comnts to yourself.”
Terumi i couldn’t help but chuckle. After several days together, everyone had grown more familiar, and she knew maintaining good relations was in everyone’s best interest.
“Better be careful, or he might decide to wipe out every last one of Iwagakure’s shinobi. Then the Third Tsuchikage will really be furious.”
“Tch, what’s that got to do with ?”
Deidara snorted, feigning indifference—but after a mont, he asked cautiously: “Hey, hey, hey… your Konoha isn’t really that dark, is it?”
“Depends on my mood. If I’m in a bad one, well… maybe I’ll consider it.”
Rubbing his chin, Kitagawa Gen cast a wicked grin toward Deidara.
“Either way, it doesn’t matter. After all, Konoha’s both referee and competitor here. We can do whatever we please.”
“...”
A bead of cold sweat slid down Deidara’s temple. Sothing about this felt all wrong.
Even if he wasn’t afraid of Ōnoki, handling things this way just didn’t seem right…
“Alright, let’s drop this topic.”
Terumi i wasn’t sure if Kitagawa Gen was joking or not, but she figured it was better to shift the conversation.
“I heard Sunagakure has already chosen to surrender, while Kumogakure seems to be preparing for war. What’s Konoha’s plan for that?”
“What about you two?”
Kitagawa Gen raised his brows, a faintly amused look on his face as he spoke.
“Sunagakure’s surrender was no surprise. They’ll be returning the fringe benefits around Iwagakure’s territory, and the Land of Waves seems to have been handed over to you as well."
"As for preparations for war—just follow the arrangents. Who knows, when the ti cos, we might even join forces.”
“Join forces?”
Deidara’s eyes suddenly lit up at those words!
He had been racking his brain for a way to divert Kitagawa Gen’s attention—and fighting seed like a fine choice.
His thoughts spun quickly, and after a while he suddenly spoke.
“Tell , if we launched an attack during the exam period, wouldn’t it be even better?”
“Hm?”
Hearing this, Kitagawa Gen and Terumi i both stopped in their tracks without thinking. Kitagawa Gen rubbed his chin and said: “In theory, yes. Everyone assus all matters will be postponed until after the exams.”
“So if we struck at that mont, a surprise attack would likely be effective.”
Terumi i agreed, but quickly shook her head.
“But we also need to guard against them. If they were to move at this ti, we’d struggle to respond. And besides, all the great villages are mobilizing their troops—it wouldn’t be quick for them to arrive.”
“What if… we sent out an elite squad for the strike?”
Deidara glanced around furtively before speaking in a conspiratorial tone.
“For example—Gen, you, , oh, and Terumi i. Just the three of us, wouldn’t that work?”
“Huh?”
Kitagawa Gen froze for a mont, not expecting Deidara to be so bold.
But suddenly, he felt a flicker of interest stir within him.
“This…”
Terumi i was also startled by Deidara’s suggestion. She hadn’t expected the boy to be so reckless.
But since he was Ōnoki’s disciple, she held back from scolding him.
“Isn’t that a bit too rash?”
“I actually think it might work.”
Kitagawa Gen rubbed his chin again, putting on the air of calmly analyzing.
“Deidara can fly, so it wouldn’t take long to get us there. He could launch attacks from above, which is relatively safe."
"On top of that, he’s skilled in Dust Release and explosive clay, capable of large-scale destruction. I could target their key assets directly."
"And you could provide comprehensive support with Water Release. If anything went wrong, I could use Flying Thunder God to get us out together. It does sound rather promising.”
“Uh… if you put it that way…”
Terumi i still didn’t fully trust Deidara, but Kitagawa Gen’s words she couldn’t dismiss so easily.
This was, after all, the man who had fought three Kage at once and slain the Fourth Kazekage and the Fourth Raikage. A true powerhouse.
And the more she thought about it, the more she felt the idea actually had so appeal.
“Yeah, yeah, exactly! That’s what I was thinking!”
Deidara was practically trembling with excitent, unable to hold back any longer.
“I’ll take you both there—destruction, ambushes, support—we three can definitely handle it!”
“Easier said than done. We don’t have approval from the village.”
Kitagawa Gen let out a long sigh, shaking his head slowly.
“It just seems too reckless. Even if the potential rit is enormous, the village will likely want to play it safe.”
“I think so too.”
Terumi i nodded after a mont’s thought, though sothing about this still felt off to her.
“No problem. We’ll just go quietly on our own.”
Deidara puffed his chest out and slapped it with confidence.
“As long as you get us out of Konoha, I’ll carry us there on my birds. Even if trouble cos later, I’ll take the bla!”
“...”
Terumi i glanced at Kitagawa Gen’s smiling face, then at Deidara’s expression of sheer excitent.
In that instant, she finally realized what had been bothering her.
“This doesn’t seem right.”
But before she could voice it, Kitagawa Gen let out another sigh.
“If we succeed, the glory belongs to the three of us. But if we fail… as the main instigator, you’ll be—”
“No problem, no problem, hmm!”
Deidara cut him off, shaking his head without hesitation. His tone was firm, almost stubborn.
“This was my idea to begin with. If anything goes wrong, it’s on ! If we succeed, the credit will be shared among us all. No problem, no problem!”
“...”
Terumi i fell silent. She couldn’t shake the impression that Iwagakure’s heir was far too naïve…
And Konoha’s heir, on the other hand, seed far too cunning.
“What about you? What’s your view?”
As she was lost in thought, Kitagawa Gen’s eyes turned toward her.
“I think it’s worth a try. Of course, it’s perfectly reasonable if you oppose it—it is dangerous, after all.”
“I—”
Terumi i opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Deidara ducked behind Kitagawa Gen and mouthed words at her.
‘You don’t want this bastard staying here and wiping out all the other candidates, do you?’
“...”
Terumi i was quiet for a long mont. At last, she sighed, then smiled.
“Let think on it. Besides, now isn’t the right ti to act anyway. But you can both rest assured—”
“I won’t breathe a word of this. And truthfully… part of is tempted as well.”
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I will post so extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> /TitoVillar
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