When Jiraiya revisited that section, he no longer dared to treat it as simple humor.
Every offhand remark could be hiding sothing deeply important beneath the surface.
And among those remarks was one that ntioned him—Intel Jiraiya.
Why specifically emphasize intel when referring to him?
Did that an that in the future, he would suffer a major setback because of insufficient intelligence?
Jiraiya frowned, puzzled. While it was true that battles between shinobi were ultimately battles of information, soone at his level shouldn't be crippled by a lack of intel. At the very least, he could probe carefully and gather what he needed.
With his strength, even if he wasn't invincible across the entire shinobi world, escaping should never be an issue. There was no one who could guarantee stopping him completely.
In that future vision, Naruto, the Seventh Hokage, appeared to be at least thirty years old. That ant the events were still seventeen or eighteen years away.
And yet, at that point, Naruto would encounter so kind of catastrophic incident.
Konoha would then be forced to urgently select an Eighth Hokage, only to find itself without a suitable candidate, ultimately choosing Nara Shikamaru from the sa generation instead of following the usual practice of promoting soone from the next generation, such as Sarutobi Konohamaru.
Jiraiya knew Konohamaru well. He was the Third Hokage's only grandson, still just a mischievous little kid.
And yet, in the future, he would actually beco a candidate for Hokage?
The problem, however, wasn't his age—it was his strength. That ant Konohamaru would already be in his twenties by then. Based on his current age, Jiraiya could roughly estimate when these future events would take place.
A sense of helplessness crept over him.
If things truly reached that point, he might not be able to do anything.
He was already fifty. No matter how well he took care of himself, there were limits.
If this all happened twenty years from now, he would be the sa age as the Third Hokage was now. There was no guarantee he would even live that long. And even if he did, whether he could still maintain Kage-level strength was another question entirely.
Without realizing it, Jiraiya had already begun using the "Kage Level" classification Kaede Kitahara often referenced to gauge strength. In the past, he hadn't thought much in those terms, at most comparing soone to the strength of a village's Kage.
"So Konoha really ends up selecting an Eighth Hokage?"
Tsunade shared the sa doubt.
According to Kaede's diary, the Konoha Crush Plan would occur within the next year, after which she herself would beco the Fifth Hokage.
From that point until Naruto took over as the Seventh Hokage, at most twenty years would pass, yet within that span, the title would change hands three tis.
The turnover was absurdly fast.
"This damn Hokage position really is a short-lived job," Tsunade muttered.
Thinking about it, aside from the Third Hokage, none of the Hokage she knew had held the position for long.
That led her to an unpleasant thought—would her future self also die?
The idea made her head ache even more. Otherwise, why would the position pass to the Sixth Hokage, Hatake Kakashi?
"So I really do beco the Sixth Hokage…"
Hatake Kakashi let out a quiet sigh. He had suspected it before, but now it was confird.
What made it worse was Kaede's comnt about the "weakest Hokage in history," as if that title would have been pinned on him if not for Nara Shikamaru.
The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Was it just because he wasn't Kage Level?
Did Kaede really need to keep poking at it like that?
As if Kakashi needed the reminder.
No, he absolutely had to find a way to break through in his Hatake swordsmanship. Otherwise, how was he supposed to live with this?
Kaede Kitahara was infuriatingly sly. To his face, he was all polite "Kakashi-senpai," but behind his back, it was nothing but "Mr. Fifty-Fifty," with zero respect.
How had this sohow turned into him being labeled a disgrace among Hokage?
Was it really just because he lacked Kage-level strength?
Even so, Kakashi couldn't help but feel concerned.
The future Seventh Hokage, Naruto, was without question the strongest Hokage Kakashi had ever seen.
And he had seen them all.
From the Third Hokage to the Fourth, the Fifth, and even himself as the Sixth, along with the First and Second Hokage summoned by Orochimaru, Kakashi had a clear understanding of their abilities.
There was no denying it—Naruto truly deserved the title of the future's savior. His strength was terrifying.
And yet, sothing still happened to him?
What could possibly bring soone like that down?
Even worse, it affected Uzumaki Boruto as well, forcing him to beco a missing-nin. Even if it was said he had no choice, the severity of the situation was undeniable.
By that ti, Kakashi himself would likely be around the sa age as the current Sannin. Perhaps his role as Hokage was rely transitional, paving the way for Naruto.
When he read Kaede's remark that Naruto had never received proper training, Kakashi found himself nodding in agreent.
Calling Naruto reckless was putting it mildly. At tis, it felt like there was nothing in his head at all.
When Naruto first graduated from the academy, he couldn't even pronounce "chakra" correctly.
Back when Kakashi had taken over Naruto's training, he had genuinely wondered if this was really Minato-sensei's son.
Had there been so kind of mix-up at birth?
In what way did Naruto resemble the genius Minato he rembered?
And yet, reality proved otherwise.
Not only was he Minato's son, he would one day beco the savior of the world.
Did that make sense?
Not even a little.
"Kakashi-senpai really does beco the Sixth Hokage…"
Uchiha Itachi calmly filled in the previously blank entry for the Sixth Hokage in his notebook with Hatake Kakashi's na. Beneath it, he added another: the Eighth Hokage, Nara Shikamaru.
He knew Shikamaru—Sasuke's classmate, soone who would one day outwit the troubleso, immortal Hidan using nothing but intelligence.
It matched Itachi's understanding of the Nara Clan perfectly. Their intellect was unmatched, and they traditionally served as the Hokage's assistants or jonin commanders, forming the core inner circle of the Third Hokage.
If the Advisory Council could be considered the Hokage's partners, then the Ino-Shika-Cho trio—especially the Nara Clan—were the Hokage's most trusted confidants.
Even so, in terms of raw strength, those clans were far inferior to the great noble clans, including the Sarutobi Clan. They were mid-sized families at best, known for consistently producing jonin-level elites but never Kage-level powerhouses.
And yet, it was Nara Shikamaru who beca the Eighth Hokage.
A trace of resentnt stirred in Itachi's chest.
Even Kaede Kitahara had pointed it out—Konoha had already reached its Eighth Hokage, so why had the Uchiha Clan, one of the village's founding families, never produced a single Hokage?
No matter how deeply Itachi embraced the will of fire or how much he sacrificed for the village, how could he not have his own hopes?
Those hopes had always rested on Sasuke.
Itachi himself, as a missing-nin, had no chance. But Sasuke did.
Especially since Sasuke had beco Hatake Kakashi's student, which was crucial.
Kakashi ca from the Hokage's direct lineage, with the legacy of the White Fang of Konoha behind him. Being under his tutelage ant Sasuke had a legitimate path toward becoming Hokage.
Even soone like Nara Shikamaru, who wasn't directly part of the Hokage lineage, still had deep-rooted ties through the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance and generations of Hokage's assistants.
If Sasuke were to return to Konoha carrying Itachi's head, he would be hailed as a hero for eliminating a notorious S-rank missing-nin.
That alone would be an enormous contribution.
With further achievents, even the position of Hokage would not be out of his reach.
After all, what Konoha's leadership truly feared was the Uchiha Clan as a whole—their overwhelming strength and potential for rebellion. But when it ca to an individual Uchiha, that fear didn't apply in the sa way.
On the contrary, the rarity of the Sharingan would make them valuable assets, even desirable allies.
That had been Itachi's original plan for Sasuke.
So where had it gone wrong?
Sasuke had defected under Orochimaru's influence.
That single stain on his record disqualified him from ever becoming Hokage, no matter what he accomplished afterward—even if he beca a savior. And besides, there was more than one savior.
What Itachi had never expected was that this would carry over into the next generation—affecting his niece, Uchiha Sarada.
She should have had a once-in-a-lifeti opportunity. Her greatest rival, Uzumaki Boruto, had been forced to defect and was even placed on Konoha's wanted list.
Wasn't that a reversal of Naruto and Sasuke's generation?
This ti, it was the Uzumaki who left, and the Uchiha who remained.
It was the perfect opportunity.
Even if Nara Shikamaru served as a transitional Hokage, it wouldn't matter. He was only a placeholder. Sarada could still compete for the position of the Ninth Hokage in the future.
According to Kaede's diary, her talent was exceptional—far beyond her peers. From her relatively easier path to awakening the Sharingan to the formidable abilities she gained upon awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, she stood at the very top of her generation.
She had every qualification to inherit the Hokage position.
And yet, that possibility had been shattered.
The root of the problem lay with Sasuke.
His history as a defector not only disqualified him but also cast a shadow over the next generation's chances.
Itachi had never imagined that the Uchiha Clan would finally produce soone capable of contending for the Hokage position—his own beloved niece—only for her path to be blocked by political scrutiny.
The clan's long history of rebellion and defection had beco a crushing burden, one that fell squarely on Sarada's shoulders.
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