Although Kushina's innocent smile remained, Shikaku no longer dared to treat her as a naive girl who knew nothing about politics.
If he had felt a bit suspicious while she was making her request, her last sentence made him certain that she knew exactly what she was doing.
"Minato? A close friend? Who in Konoha doesn't know that you completely ignore him? Maybe the young ones believe it's a love story born from persistence, but all the high command know that you completely dislike him and that Minato has no chance at all.
Did you know that even your veteran fans usually advise young blond haired boys not to get too close to you so they won't annoy you?" Shikaku complained in his mind, though he did not dare say it out loud or show it on his face.
However, at the same time, he thought about her request. At first glance, it seemed like she only wanted to help at the Kumo front, but with her strength and reputation, if she went there, then Minato would not only be overshadowed with no chance to stand out or gain fame, but he would even be known as someone Kushina had to help.
Naturally, since both of them were competitors for the Hokage seat, such a situation would basically hand Kushina the victory at once, and unless something happened to Kushina, it would be impossible for Minato to become the Fourth Hokage.
On the other hand, Kushina's concerns were correct. The Kumo front was in serious trouble due to the current situation, so sending someone qualified, who could arrive before the others and be far more useful, was completely within Shikaku's authority.
Now the question was whether Shikaku would side with her and allow it, or deny her request.
"Isn't the answer obvious?" Shikaku smiled.
"Of course, your help will be very useful, and your comrades are there, so of course you have permission to join," Shikaku replied.
Since the discussion had started, it had been a kind of test. The moment Shikaku spoke formally and Kushina did not correct him, it not only proved that Kushina knew what she was doing, but also that she was acknowledging Shikaku as someone beneath her and as part of her faction.
With the opportunity right in front of him, Shikaku did not waste it.
"In that case, I'll leave immediately," Kushina said, disappearing from the place.
"I couldn't even see her movement," Shikaku sighed, acknowledging that her strength had long since surpassed his.
At the same time, Shikaku quickly spoke with Inoichi Yamanaka and Choza Akimichi, the other two leaders of the clans that formed the Ino Shika Cho trio, asking them to handle the situation and lead the army they had brought back, while he returned swiftly to Konoha to inform the Third Hokage.
During the conversation, Choza Akimichi questioned Shikaku's intentions.
"Are you sure about letting Kushina go? The Third Hokage's orders..."
"Don't worry about that," Shikaku interrupted him. "The Third Hokage cares greatly about his image, always being scheming but never showing it in public, so even though his orders included not allowing Kushina to gain more influence, he never said it clearly. This is something he can use to give orders without showing his true personality, but I can also use it to not obey them, claiming ignorance."
Choza knew all this, but he still hesitated.
"But... the duty of the Ino Shika Cho trio..."
"The duty of the Ino Shika Cho trio is to stand by the Hokage, no matter who it is," Shikaku added meaningfully.
"Then... do you see Kushina as the future Hokage?" Inoichi Yamanaka asked, who was usually silent.
"Yes. With the current situation, the owner of the seat is already decided. Even if I hadn't let her go, it would only have delayed it a little, especially because Kushina is someone with a straightforward and powerful mindset."
Although he did not finish explaining, both Choza and Inoichi understood what he meant.
Someone direct and firm in her decisions, with strength and the will to keep moving forward, exactly the opposite of the current Hokage.
Clearly, to Shikaku, the current Hiruzen was no longer worthy of being Hokage, and he preferred someone with a completely opposite personality, which showed how unworthy he believed Hiruzen was of the position, at least the current Hiruzen, completely different from his youth.
---
Hiruzen did not take long to learn about the situation. Shikaku took four days to return, taking more time since it was not that urgent, but only a few hours to create a detailed report.
And, of course, with his intelligence, Hiruzen immediately understood Shikaku's choice.
"It seems there is no way to change the current situation. I've completely lost," he sighed regretfully.
The reason he reacted like that was that he was not really losing that much. Normally, when a Hokage steps down, he should lose most of his authority, becoming an honorable figure without real power.
Hiruzen wanted to change that by raising his own successor and instilling his ideas into them, ensuring not only that Konoha would continue as he wished, but also that his authority would continue even after retirement.
And although he failed, he knew Kushina was not a bad person or someone who held grudges against him, so he was not truly angry.
It was like a rich person making a bet and ending up with exactly the same money. They might feel frustrated for not winning, but knowing they were still richer than most made the defeat less bitter.
However...
Crash!
"Hiruzen!"
"...Danzo, I'll start adding the doors to your account if you keep breaking them when you come in," Hiruzen said, already guessing that his old friend had come to complain.
"This is not the time to be calm. You know the situation on the battlefield, you know how dangerous Kushina is," Danzo snapped.
"The Tsuchikage was in an extremely weak state because of Tasogare, and the Jinchūriki weren't even Jinchūriki anymore after Tasogare stole their tailed beasts.
Although Kushina is dangerous, she is at most at the level of a Kage with special abilities. It's not as exaggerated as you think. At times like this, we should worry about Tasogare instead of creating internal problems."
"Not that exaggerated? Ten thousand men with a single attack. Don't tell me you seriously believe the Tsuchikage was weakened just because his limbs were disabled," Danzo mocked.
"And what do you suggest? No matter how strong Kushina is, she is still a Konoha ninja. Having a powerful ninja is not a reason for concern," Hiruzen said.
"But you don't know when she might lose control. Hand her over to Root and I'll make sure she is completely loyal to the village," Danzo said.
"Alright."
"W-what?" Danzo, who had been shouting just moments before, froze at Hiruzen's positive response.
"Danzo, you're not stupid, and you know that Kushina is almost certainly the Fourth Hokage..."
"That..."
"Don't interrupt me!" Hiruzen said coldly, surprising Danzo, who was not used to him getting angry. "You know as well as I do that the only reason you're still free is because I cover for you. But with Kushina's personality, she will not tolerate your actions. Your freedom will end the moment she sits in the Hokage seat.
So I allow you to try to control her or get rid of her first. Take it as a final act of charity for our years of friendship. Of course, do not mention me."
Danzo listened in silence for a second before exploding in rage.
"Hiruzen! 'My actions'? You clearly cooperated and agreed with everything, but now they're just my actions?
Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You just want to use me to clean your name, hoping Kushina will kill me and erase all the hidden things you have. Whether I die or Kushina dies, either option benefits you."
Hiruzen smiled at that. He even took a puff from his pipe and exhaled the smoke straight into Danzo's face, showing how little respect he had for him.
"So what?" he sneered. "With your actions, once Kushina becomes Hokage, you will lose all your freedom.
Your only option is to go all in and try to kill her. You're between a rock and a hard place, Danzo."
Danzo glared at him with clenched fists before disappearing from the room, slamming the door so hard that it broke.
"Add the door to Danzo's account," Hiruzen said calmly to an ANBU in the shadows.
At the same time, he kept staring in the direction Danzo had gone.
"It seems you've exhausted all your usefulness, my old friend," he sighed.
Hiruzen had always known about Danzo's ambition to become Hokage. He even allowed him to create his own force, Root.
However, he never took it seriously. Although they had once been friends, the moment their interests clashed, that friendship ended.
Hiruzen allowed Danzo to act with almost absolute freedom in the village. In doing so, Danzo not only became Konoha's darkness, but also absorbed Hiruzen's darkness. Every action Danzo took was not only for his ambitions, but also served Hiruzen's interests.
By always maintaining his image as a good person on the surface, now that Hiruzen was about to retire, Danzo also had to go so that that image would not be tarnished.
Along with his death, Hiruzen's crimes would also die. After all, even if Danzo wanted to speak, no one would believe him. What Danzo had done was an open secret, but no one would accept his accusations against the honorable Third Hokage.
That was the importance of reputation.
From beginning to end, Danzo was nothing more than a scapegoat used by Hiruzen. Even now, he would serve one last task that benefited only him.
Of course, if he could kill Kushina, that would also be good, but Hiruzen believed Danzo's chances were below ten percent.
Danzo also knew all of this. However, he had always believed that with his plans and experiments, he would someday surpass Hiruzen and turn the game around.
He never expected the game to end abruptly because a pawn stopped following the rules.
______________________________________
Hey, I just published the first chapters of a new fic: To Love Ru: Chaos.
If you're interested or want to support me, go read it and leave some Power Stones.
But it's literally the complete opposite of this series, so I recommend reading the 'Before You Read' section to see if you'll like it.
+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)