Naruto: Reincarnated As Azula, From The Same Generation As The Sannin Chapter 108 - 106: You Are Not Longer Fit To Be The Hokage

When Hiruzen stepped inside, Azula was sitting sipping tea with the sa delicate posture and the sa unhurried elegance as Mito.

She even smiled at him.

"Hokage-sama." She set down her cup. "I see word of our arrival travels swiftly."

Hiruzen chuckled, spreading his hands. "I'm the Hokage. Of course I'm aware of every movent in the village."

You aren't beating the allegations with this one, Hiruzen. Azula thought. It ans the future you did know about Orochimaru's future abduction of villagers, about Danzō's root operations, the children stolen and modified in darkness and most importantly about the Uchiha because no barrier sealed an entire district without a Hokage's awareness.

The question was never whether he knew. The question was what he allowed.

She pressed forward. "Then you're also aware of what happens beyond the village. To our allies."

The Uzumaki, their almost annihilation while Konoha watched.

Hiruzen's smile tightened. Troubleso brat.

Then sothing even more troubleso happened, because Mito spoke.

"Don't speak like that to the Hokage, Azula." Her voice was very calm, almost as if it wasn't sarcasm. "The village couldn't spare manpower at that ti. Completely understandable."

He knew that tone. Mito didn't do sarcasm—until Azula.

Corrupted. She's been corrupted.

Everyone in the village knew of Azula's hundred titles, one particular: The Queen of Sarcasm.

The woman who made the Raikage burn with impotent rage.

Hiruzen offered Mito an apologetic smile. "The world situation was complicated. Every village had ninja stationed at our borders, ready to strike. We could only prepare for the worst."

Azula's lip curled. "Since when do we care about other villages' reactions? They attack Konoha, that's what they do and that's what they've always done. So what changed? Did we beco too weak to make our own choices?"

She simply couldn't bother with him. One day he played the strong leader; the next, he bent to any wind, just spineless. And she had no use for spine.

Years ago, she would have played the ga—smiled, deferred, calculated. But she had the Uchiha now. And she stood at the limit of Kage-level strength, strong enough that anything hardly mattered.

She planned to overthrow him anyway.

So why pretend?

Hiruzen saw the open contempt, the lack of pretense. And it surprised him.

Did one year of achievent make her this arrogant?

She had always been particular, always sharp with opinions about him, but she had never been so openly dismissive."

He glanced at Mito, seeking support. Her expression, however, was stone—her gaze weighing him and finding him lacking.

It was then that Hiruzen realized that the situation was far worse than he and his advisors had imagined.

"The situation is indeed worse than you think," he admitted, delivering Azula a verbal jab. "But there are so secrets you can't access yet, all I can promise is to have been planning for a way to save the Uzumaki while protecting as many villagers as possible."

"My role is first and foremost as Hokage to protect the villagers no matter what. If I were to support Uzushio openly, Kiri, Suna, Kumo and Iwa would have attacked 'Konoha' at the sa ti, which would have started a war."

"My plan was to support Uzushio secretly while stalling ti, enough ti so that you, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Jiraya, Sakumo, Shikaku and all the rest would grow up so that the village would need to fear no one, but I underestimated you all."

He was 'sincerely' stating his thoughts.

"Hiruzen, do you know why the village was created?" Mito suddenly asked.

This surprised Hiruzen because the question appeared sowhat nonsensical, but he didn't dare to voice it.

Still, he gave it a few seconds of thought for respect toward Mito and just in case he overlooked sothing, but it didn't seem to be the case.

"I have always believed in what Tobirama-sensei said," he invoked his teacher's na for cover. "The village was created to prevent clan chaos and endless conflict, maintain order, protect the Land of Fire and protect the villagers."

Mito shook her head. "I know Tobirama's view, what I'm asking is why do you think the village was created?"

"Not only that, when you first beca the Hokage, what was your ideology, and what about now?"

She was looking at him with eyes that seed to be staring at his soul. Azula was also doing the sa.

Hiruzen rembered those eyes, they were the sa as when they had returned, when informing about Tobirama's sacrifice and how he was designated as the next Hokage.

He was also aware of her ability to sense emotions; he knew lying or so deception would simply not work here, so he could only truly contemplate her question.

Why was the village created? "Konoha, founded by the First Hokage despite defeating the Uchiha clan, wanting to end the cycle of endless wars between clans, uniting them and bringing order. Hashirama-sama is soone who doesn't like war, Konoha's creation was to end these wars."

He murmured unconsciously. Although Mito didn't agree with him – after all, her husband had told her everything – she nodded because, as Tobirama's student and being raised by the Sarutobi clan, it wasn't strange that he had such a reason for the creation of the village.

"I still rember clearly what happened and when Tobirama-sensei said word by word I would be the next Hokage, at that ti, my feeling was despair and guilt, because from the teacher's eyes, there was that resolve to die, while it was our fault because we were just a burden to him at that ti."

"But I didn't dwell on these sentints. Death is the most permanent thing in this world, and I was entrusted with a heavy responsibility. I swore at that ti I would never let such a situation happen and be a burden; I swore I would do anything to protect the village like Tobirama."

Then Hiruzen appeared helpless. "Alas, I underestimated the position of the Hokage because things weren't as simple as 'just' protecting the village; to do so, one must have the resolve to take decisions that are against his beliefs."

"All for the village," he murmured.

Does he think he is slick, that he looks wise or that what he said would make people pity him? Azula asked herself.

Hiruzen was giving her the impression of soone with a victim ntality.

Her expression suddenly beca serious, and she said sothing that almost gave Hiruzen a heart attack. "Hiruzen Sarutobi, you are no longer fit to be the Hokage."

"I may not know what quality the second Hokage saw in you that makes you superior to Kagami, Torifu Akimichi and the latter, but I'm sure the you standing here isn't soone worthy."

As if she thought of sothing, she relaxed. "Unless it's leading it to chaos of course."

Hiruzen frowned. "Azula Uchiha, you know what you're saying is enough to have you accused of rebellion, right?"

He was very displeased, but well, she was pleased with his displeasure. "Do you dare to? I don't mind waking up so people who have completely lost contact with reality."

What was even more despairing, Hiruzen didn't see a hint of a joke in her expression. And with her personality, she really wouldn't feel the slightest burden to beco a missing-nin.

Suddenly, Mito knocked Azula on her head.

"You shouldn't disrespect the Hokage like this," Then she turned to Hiruzen with her narrowing. "You should never ntion making my student a missing-nin for sothing like this, you know if she were to beco a Konoha enemy, this isn't a responsibility you can take."

She was the one who said her initial plan was to take the Uchiha clan and leave sowhere, and in fact, she has access to all Jutsu Konoha has to offer, leaving the village wouldn't matter much to her. Mito thought, knowing Azula wasn't bent to Konoha as much as Hiruzen believed.

(END OF THE CHAPTER)

Yeah, I feel 80% today, if nothing goes wrong, I should write a second chapter in four hours, as for why I published such a short chapter, I don't feel confident because this wasn't my usual writing style, I applied what I've learned in the past few days.