Chapter 464: Hokage Candidates

Today Obito woke up very early, because he had become a jōnin. According to Kakashi and the others' experience, Muyue would give him a jōnin gift.

Obito was very much looking forward to this, as he also wanted a summoning beast with great potential.

At the same time, Obito was a bit worried. Muyue had previously said that he temporarily didn't have any ninja beast eggs on hand, which meant Obito's jōnin gift might not necessarily be a ninja beast egg; it could be another gift.

Although Obito would be happy with any gift from Muyue, if Kakashi had something he didn't, Obito would still feel a bit upset inside.

Watching Muyue approach, Obito cast an expectant gaze.

When Obito saw Muyue coming to him empty-handed, his heart was a bit uneasy.

He looked left and right at Muyue's body, and it didn't seem like he could be hiding a ninja beast egg. After all, the ninja beast eggs Muyue had given out were all quite large, making it quite difficult to hide them on his person.

Seeing Obito seemed a bit disappointed, Muyue moved his mind and took out a ninja beast egg from the system backpack. A large egg suddenly appeared in Muyue's hand.

"Obito, congratulations on becoming a jōnin." Muyue showed a warm smile and handed the Pokémon egg, which only Obito could hatch, to Obito.

The disappointed expression on Obito's face faded, replaced by an indescribably delighted expression.

"Muyue-sensei, thank you for your gift. I will definitely hatch the ninja beast properly and train it to become the strongest summoning beast!" Obito said excitedly, clenching his fists.

Although he had previously said things like "It's not that great" and "I don't really like summoning beasts," that was just momentary anger, not Obito's true feelings.

The protagonist of a ninja usually has a fierce and cool summoning beast, generally a fierce tiger or a majestic lion, or a flying dragon. Obito also wanted to have a cool and ferocious summoning beast like a protagonist.

"Mm, I believe you." Muyue smiled and nodded.

[You gifted a disciple a Pokémon egg. Due to the disciple's immense gratitude, a great crit reward was triggered. Obtained reward: Water Release: Heavenly Weeping (Proficient Level)]

Along with the reward notification popping up, a large amount of cultivation experience related to Heavenly Weeping appeared in Muyue's mind.

Actually, Muyue had come across Heavenly Weeping during class before, but only twice, so his proficiency was still at beginner level. Now it's directly at proficient level, which is pretty good.

Unlike water release ninjutsu like Water Dragon Bullet, Heavenly Weeping is a water release that breaks a point with a point, focusing on speed and penetration. Moreover, because its form is like a fine needle, it is also relatively difficult to detect.

Holding the hard-won ninja beast egg in his arms, Obito couldn't help but reveal a silly grin. He was imagining how tall and mighty the ninja beast that hatched from his egg would be.

Even after Kakashi and Shisui arrived, Obito was still happily hugging his ninja beast egg.

Kakashi walked past Obito with a calm expression. He had obtained his ninja beast egg earlier than Obito, and his beast had already hatched.

"Kakashi, how did you know I was promoted to jōnin?" Obito couldn't help but say upon seeing Kakashi.

Kakashi: ...

Who asked you?

"Being promoted to jōnin isn't anything special. Look at Shisui; he became a jōnin at age eight. That's something worth mentioning." Kakashi retorted unceremoniously.

Because of the great difficulty of the Unthinking Slash, Kakashi hadn't made much progress. Originally, he wanted to focus on training and ignore other things, but since Obito wanted to bring trouble upon himself, Kakashi wouldn't be polite.

"Uh, Shisui..." Obito was speechless, momentarily not knowing how to refute.

Logically, becoming a jōnin at age ten already made him one of the youngest in Konoha, but compared to Shisui's eight years old, it was indeed a bit lacking.

"If you're too idle, then train more. Otherwise, you won't make it past the second round in the next inner tournament. Shisui has also mastered the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode." After speaking, Kakashi entered his training state.

He wasn't entirely saying this just to annoy Obito. Shisui's breakthrough had indeed put considerable pressure on him.

Kakashi thought that if the disciple inner tournament started immediately, he didn't have a 100% assurance of defeating anyone.

Might Guy was an opponent he definitely couldn't beat, and Kakashi wasn't very confident against Shisui or Obito as opponents either.

Among them, Kakashi felt that his chances of winning against Obito were greater than against Shisui.

Obito was speechless, holding the egg. Kakashi had said both the good and the bad, and he couldn't even refute anything.

"So now Shisui has one more technique than me, Armament Haki." Obito scratched his head with his left hand while holding the egg with his right.

Although Obito's Flame Breathing was still stronger, it wasn't strong enough to make up for the gap of one Armament Haki secret technique.

The only thing Obito was thankful for was that their chakra was currently limited. If Shisui used Flame Breathing Chakra Mode in battle, then he would inevitably find it difficult to keep chakra for Armament Haki.

If Shisui used Armament Haki first, then the fire release he could unleash with Flame Breathing Chakra Mode later would be reduced.

Obito could only reluctantly put the ninja beast egg in a safe place and then begin training.

Consistently being at the bottom of the inner tournament was truly painful. It wasn't just a matter of face; the punishment was also hard for Obito to accept.

The training continued until 5:30 PM.

At 6:00 PM, just as Muyue had finished preparing the meal and was about to eat, suddenly his door was knocked on.

Muyue did not open the door immediately. He activated his Byakugan and looked toward the entrance, discovering that the person knocking was actually Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Then Muyue walked to the door at a normal person's pace and opened it. After seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi, he put on a surprised expression, as if amazed that the ever-busy Third Hokage would appear at his doorstep.

"Lord Third, please come in." After snapping out of his surprise, Muyue quickly invited Hiruzen Sarutobi inside.

Hiruzen Sarutobi saw the steaming dishes on the table and showed an apologetic smile, saying, "I'm terribly sorry. It seems I've interrupted your dinner, Muyue."

"Not at all. Have you eaten yet, Lord Third?" Muyue used the classic opening line.

"Not yet. There've been many matters to handle lately. I just left the Hokage building." Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head.

"If I had the time, I would have long since called you, the hero of the Eastern Front battlefield, to the Hokage building for a talk." Hiruzen Sarutobi used a joking tone to hint at how much he valued Muyue.

"Not at all. Lord Orochimaru is the real hero on the Eastern Front." Muyue said seriously.

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke nicely, but he couldn't accept all the credit. The greatest merit definitely belonged to the highest-ranking commander.

"If you wouldn't mind, Lord Third, why not have dinner here? I know a little about cooking."

"Then I'm looking forward to trying your cooking, Muyue." Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled and agreed.

There were several reasons why he chose to visit Muyue's home in person. One of them was to improve Muyue's impression of him.

Previously, Hiruzen Sarutobi's image in Muyue's eyes was more that of a good Hokage and a good teacher. Today, he intended to set aside his status and act as an ordinary elder for Muyue. Having a meal together was a good start.

Of course, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't agree to eat just because Muyue "knew a little" about cooking. As the Hokage of one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, what delicacies hadn't he tasted?

During wartime, Hiruzen Sarutobi was indeed very busy, but even the shinobi world didn't have war every year. During peacetime, the Hokage's life was quite comfortable.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been unconcerned, changed expression after taking the first bite of stir-fried meat.

With his extensive vocabulary, Hiruzen Sarutobi was at a loss for words to describe such deliciousness. In a daze, he felt as if he had become a beast running across a vast grassland, with a sense of unrestrained freedom surrounding his heart.

When he came back to his senses, Hiruzen Sarutobi's look toward Muyue had changed.

If not for his own terrifyingly solid foundation in ninjutsu, Hiruzen Sarutobi might have thought he was under a genjutsu.

But he was very clear that he hadn't been under any ninjutsu just now. That immersive feeling was entirely an illusion caused by the overwhelming deliciousness of the food.

"Muyue, you really need to fix this habit of being too modest. This is not 'knowing a little' — this is unparalleled in the world." Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, savoring the indescribable taste.

He retracted his earlier words — he had indeed never eaten such food before. A single dish could produce such a miraculous effect.

"You flatter me, Lord Third. The shinobi world is so vast — the word 'unparalleled' is an exaggeration." Muyue said modestly.

"Oh, you. If only Jiraiya could be blended with you a bit." Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a helpless smile, then his hand unconsciously reached for the dish in another plate.

After that, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to enter a world of culinary delights. He didn't bring up any topics unrelated to the food until the meal was finished.

Only after finishing the meal did Hiruzen Sarutobi remember his purpose.

"It's fine to talk in this kind of setting. In the Hokage's office, there wouldn't even be a place for you to sit." Hiruzen Sarutobi joked.

"Relax, Muyue. I'm not here to discuss any major matters. Just treat me as an ordinary elder at home. Let's chat casually."

The expression on Muyue's face softened considerably, as if moved by Hiruzen Sarutobi's words.

"Asuma has been training fairly hard recently. He's mastered quite a few Wind Release and Fire Release techniques..."

As if he truly only wanted to chat about family matters, Hiruzen Sarutobi talked about Asuma's training.

"That boy Asuma has actually always been quite diligent. Although he sometimes seems rebellious and disrespectful toward you, Lord Third, deep down he has always wanted your approval."

Muyue went along with Hiruzen Sarutobi's topic, incidentally helping to mediate their father-son relationship.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed slightly. Having been Hokage for so many years, could he not see what was on his son's mind? But sometimes he worried that Asuma would become complacent and lower his own standards.

Then Hiruzen Sarutobi and Muyue talked about many things, from small matters like Asuma and the Ninja Academy work, to larger topics like the battlefield situation and the shinobi world's political landscape.

"Muyue, which ninja do you think is most qualified to become the Fourth Hokage?" Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly asked.

After all, Muyue was a ninja born from the Root. Although Hiruzen Sarutobi had observed and judged that Muyue probably preferred the life of an Academy teacher and an ordinary ninja, he knew something about what kind of training Root ninjas underwent.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could not rule out the possibility that Danzo Shimura would use this to make Muyue support Orochimaru to become Hokage.

Before Muyue headed to the eastern battlefield, Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn’t worried about this, but now Muyue has practically become a second Minato Namikaze—not only is he powerful himself, but he also wields considerable influence in Konoha.

Add in Shimura Danzo’s and Orochimaru’s own factions, and Hiruzen Sarutobi feared that if things continued to develop this way, the election of the Fourth Hokage might lead to something he didn’t want to see.

Muyue put on a thoughtful expression, as if seriously considering candidates in his mind.

"I think Lord Orochimaru, Lord Jiraiya, and Lady Tsunade are all qualified to become the Fourth Hokage," Muyue said, as though he found it hard to choose.

Actually, the best reply in a situation like this would be "this is too important for me to evaluate," but since Hiruzen Sarutobi had said it was just a casual chat, Muyue couldn’t very well decline that way.

Hearing Muyue’s words, Hiruzen Sarutobi nearly got mad with laughter—he had asked which ninja, and Muyue rattled off three, naming all three of his students.

Still, Hiruzen Sarutobi had more or less achieved his goal. Since Muyue had that kind of political savvy, he probably wouldn’t be fooled by Shimura Danzo into blindly supporting Orochimaru.

"Then what qualities do they have that make you think they’re qualified to be the Fourth Hokage?" Hiruzen Sarutobi continued asking.

As long as Muyue didn’t ramble nonsense, Hiruzen Sarutobi could glean a bit of Muyue’s specific leanings from his words.

"Lord Jiraiya is extremely powerful, has rendered outstanding military service to Konoha on the battlefield, and is gentle-natured…" Muyue praised all three Sannin without changing his expression.

Muyue didn’t want to get involved in the Hokage succession dispute. Whoever Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to be Hokage, let them be—Muyue just wanted to earn more rewards and improve his strength.

Who became Hokage didn’t make much difference to Muyue, because he had good relationships with all of them.

Tsunade was both a teacher and a friend to Muyue; in Jiraiya’s eyes, Muyue was an outstanding ninja on par with Minato Namikaze; Orochimaru thought highly of Muyue and wanted to groom him as a trusted subordinate; and Minato Namikaze was a very close friend of Muyue’s.

No matter who became Hokage, it wouldn’t have a negative impact on Muyue.

Even if Shimura Danzo became Hokage, it would only benefit Muyue, because in Shimura Danzo’s perspective, Muyue was still one of his capable subordinates.

"The qualities you mentioned—they have them, but they also have plenty of shortcomings," Hiruzen Sarutobi said. He couldn’t tell whether Muyue had no preference or was afraid of saying the wrong thing and offending people; he simply didn’t sense Muyue leaning toward any particular person.

Muyue didn’t respond to that sentence. It was fine for Hiruzen Sarutobi to say it as their teacher, but as a rising star, Muyue certainly couldn’t join in talking about the seniors who had become famous throughout the ninja world since the Second Great Ninja War.

After that, Hiruzen Sarutobi dropped the topic of the Hokage and instead shifted to talking about Muyue’s training, explaining some insights on practicing combination jutsu.

"Muyue, if you have time, please spare a moment to go and instruct Asuma. That kid only listens to you," Hiruzen Sarutobi said before leaving.

"I’ll go check on his training results tomorrow," Muyue nodded in reply.

Even though there was no reward, Asuma was practically half a disciple to Muyue, so Muyue tried to teach him whenever he could.

However, what Muyue hadn’t expected was that shortly after Hiruzen Sarutobi left, information from Root arrived.