Another chapter here because the previous one was a side chapter.
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Seeing that Shin was completely captivated by his words, Hiruzen continued, "In the end, the First Hokage and Madara fought for three days and nights at the Valley of the End. In the end, for the sake of the village, he held back his tears and, with no other choice, killed this once dear friend."
Seeing Shin's shocked expression, he nodded inwardly. It seems my Will of Fire can influence him. I will achieve a feat no one before ever has, I will beco the greatest Hokage in history.
"But…" Shin scratched his head and said, "This has nothing to do with , right? Don't tell … I'm Madara's descendant?"
"Ah!" Hiruzen sighed deeply in sorrow. "You're not his descendant. In fact, the unfair treatnt you've suffered all these years is because the Second Hokage… believed your potential wasn't any less than Madara's. He was afraid you'd beco the next Madara…"
"Hiruzen, that's enough!" Homura suddenly stood up and scolded him. "How can you speak ill of our teacher?"
"I'm rely telling the truth!" Hiruzen replied. "Do you all rember how, after announcing as his successor, he spoke to privately for five minutes?"
"He told you…" Homura's tone imdiately weakened.
Hiruzen nodded.
Of course, he was lying. Tobirama had only once addressed how to deal with Shin in front of all the disciples; he never spoke to Hiruzen privately about it.
But who would know whether Tobirama did or didn't say anything?
He is no longer around. If I use his na to stabilize a talent for the village, it's not really against his will… right?
"All my life, I have obeyed his instructions without question." he continued righteously, "So I had Shin monitored for a full seven years. In these years, I've co to fully understand his character. He absolutely will not beco the second Madara. If that's the case, why continue making things hard for him? Tobirama-sensei was the person I admired most in my life, but he wasn't omniscient, so things were beyond his foresight."
"So it's ti Shin learned the truth and lived freely. If his spirit still watches over us, then let shoulder his disappointnt!"
Holy crap… this guy can really act! Shin was truly impressed.
If it were anyone else, they'd probably be moved to tears by this speech. No wonder Hiruzen stayed in power for so many years, even though his leadership in his later Hokage years was riddled with blunders and led to Konoha's decline. He still had so much support.
His skill at winning people over was so good, even Winston Churchill would give him props.
"Hokage-sama…" Shin continued the act, playing along with Hiruzen, "You really…"
"Say no more!" Hiruzen quickly waved his hand. "I only did what a Hokage should. I believe anyone in my position would have done the sa. From now on, I'll lift the surveillance on you. You can start your training."
"You an, I can learn ninjutsu now?" Shin asked excitedly.
"My word is my bond!"
Since he had decided to bestow this favor on Shin, Hiruzen intended to go all the way. After all, Shin had already mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, keeping him under surveillance was pointless. He might as well fully win him over.
Seeing Shin moved to tears, he felt very pleased.
After all these years, this tactic never failed. So many had fallen for it, how could an inexperienced young man resist?
"Rember, Konoha is my ho, and it's your ho too. We both have a duty to make it better," Hiruzen finally said, pointing at Shin. "Alright, you may leave now!"
"Uh… it's just that…" Shin seed to suddenly rember sothing, hesitating to speak.
Hiruzen smiled, "Do you have sothing to say? Speak freely!"
"Then I will… please don't bla Sakumo. Even though he sotis fell asleep while spying on , and I saw him do it, he must have just been tired. Please don't hold it against him."
Seeing Shin fake a plea while actually tattling, Hiruzen couldn't help but smile. Was this guy using the opportunity to get back at Sakumo for spying on him for so long?
Still, wasn't the tactic a bit too clumsy? But ironically, the more obvious the ploy, the more reassured he felt about Shin.
Such a naive sche wasn't sothing to be concerned about.
Perhaps Shin was just another Kagami.
Hiruzen didn't know if what he said was true or not. But since he already held so dissatisfaction toward Sakumo, this was a good opportunity to give him a little warning, and while he was at it, he could also earn so goodwill with Shin.
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After walking out of the Hokage's office, Shin chuckled coldly in his heart.
Hiruzen had been acting the entire ti.
Fortunately, he had already developed a decent understanding of Hiruzen's personality.
Over the years, he had dissected every action Hiruzen had taken, analyzed them repeatedly, then pieced them together for an overall assessnt. In the end, he fully grasped how this man thought and operated during this period.
So, he predicted Hiruzen's prediction.
Everything went just as he expected, no surprises.
"Shin!" Tsunade rushed up as soon as she saw him co out and asked, "How did it go?"
"We'll talk at ho," Shin said as he took Tsunade's hand and walked lightly toward their ho.
About a hundred ters out, she curiously looked back and scanned the surroundings with her senses, surprisingly, no one was following them. She was montarily a bit unaccustod to the feeling.
"You're free?" she asked in surprise.
"Yeah. Completely free now." Shin exhaled in relief. Being watched constantly had been truly suffocating.
For years, he had suppressed his burning desire for research. Now, at last, he could turn the flood of ideas in his mind into reality.
Glancing gratefully at her, he gently stroked her cheek with his finger, causing her to blush furiously and imdiately slap his hand away.
"We're in the middle of the street! That's too much…"
"Hey!" After calming down, she suddenly looked serious. "Shin… thank you."
"Huh? What for?" Shin asked, confused.
"I know you've been holding yourself back… all for . I told you I didn't want Konoha to fall into chaos, and in the end, it was you who bore the burden." This guilt was no longer the manipulated sha she'd felt before, this ti, it was genuine, from the heart.
He looked surprised. "What are you talking about? I just couldn't bear to part with Orochimaru."
"Go die!"
Even though she knew he was joking, she was genuinely mad. She grabbed him and started roughing him up.
The heavy feelings between them eased considerably.
While Shin and Tsunade were feeling happy, Sakumo, on the other hand, was nervous.
He had just been suddenly inford that he no longer needed to monitor Shin.
Now, he stood silently in the Hokage's office, head bowed, feeling both anticipation and anxiety.
"There's sothing I'd like to confirm with you," Hiruzen finally spoke after a long silence.
"I heard that during your surveillance of Shin… you were caught napping from ti to ti. Is that true?"
"Uh…" Sakumo was stunned at Hiruzen's question.
He had dozed off a few tis, after all, he was the only one monitoring Shin, with no one to take shifts.
He still had to eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom, didn't he?
The assignnt had been unreasonable to begin with. It was one of the reasons why he had reached his limit. But then, he imdiately realized, was this Shin's sche?!
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