Chapter 616: Abdicate for the Worthy?

After the battle ended, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his group returned to Konoha in secrecy.

Because the trip was short, only a few people knew that the Hokage had left the village.

Among those who knew Hiruzen had left the village, only a handful understood the reason why.

"Sigh."

Gazing at the bustling streets of Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had returned in disguise, let out a soft sigh.

The Third Great Ninja War had ended, and Konoha, as the victor, had gained enormous benefits.

This should have been the start of Konoha reaching a new peak, but uncertainty arose because of his mistake.

"Hiruzen, go home and get some rest. As long as we're still here, Konoha will continue to prosper and grow strong." Homura Mitokado stepped in to comfort him.

He could understand Hiruzen Sarutobi's feelings.

The plan to fight Yusuke was decided by Hiruzen Sarutobi against the opposition of the other three elders, and now that such an accident had occurred, he must be filled with regret and guilt.

This time had been extremely dangerous; if Yusuke hadn't chosen to stop, most of them would have died at the border.

If not for seeing how badly Hiruzen lost, Homura Mitokado would have wanted to scold him—it had nearly caused a huge catastrophe.

"With us here, Konoha can prosper and grow strong…"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was complicated as he walked toward the Hokage building.

"It's only early afternoon—there's no time to rest at this hour. I'm going to the Hokage building to handle affairs."

Everyone else was working at this time; how could someone who had made a mistake go home and rest now?

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi was heading to the Hokage building, Homura Mitokado had no choice but to follow.

If the Hokage was voluntarily going to work, how could he, as a consultant, go home?

When they reached the floor of the consultant's office, they happened to run into Koharu Utatane, who was coming out of the office.

"Homura, Hiruzen, you're back." Koharu Utatane greeted them as usual, not seeing anything wrong with their presence in the Hokage building.

After all, their trip out of the village hadn't been a very troublesome matter, so there was no need to contact her in advance.

"What's the situation with the Ninja Sect? Did they completely break ties because of Yusuke's death?" Koharu Utatane asked casually.

In her view, Hiruzen killing Yusuke was a sure thing; the only slight concern was whether the Ninja Sect would want to go to war with Konoha because of it.

"Huh?"

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi remain silent, Koharu Utatane was a little puzzled.

"Did something unexpected happen?"

"Ahem." Seeing Koharu Utatane stepping right into a minefield, Homura Mitokado coughed lightly to get her attention.

"Koharu, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. Let's talk in the office."

If Koharu Utatane kept talking like that, Homura Mitokado feared Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

"Okay." Koharu Utatane nodded.

Although she didn't know what had happened, she wasn't stupid—she could tell something bad had occurred.

"Let's talk in my office." Just as Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane were about to leave, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke up.

"I have something to discuss with you both, anyway."

Homura Mitokado had wanted to talk to Koharu Utatane alone, so as to save face for Hiruzen, but since Hiruzen had said that, he could only nod.

The three of them then headed together to the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi pushed open the wooden door of the Hokage's office first and sat down in the only office chair, while Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane stood in front of the desk.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took out his pipe, lit it, took a deep drag, and exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke before saying, "I lost the battle."

Koharu Utatane looked extremely shocked, thinking she had misheard, and instinctively glanced at Homura Mitokado.

Seeing Homura Mitokado nod with a helpless expression, Koharu Utatane finally confirmed she hadn't misheard—this was the truth.

"Hiruzen, it's all right. After all, you're not young anymore, and Yusuke had the advantage of youth and strength." Koharu Utatane carefully chose her words to console him.

"It has nothing to do with age. Yusuke's strength is very strong, far surpassing mine," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, shaking his head.

If he had only narrowly lost, only slightly behind Yusuke, perhaps he could use that excuse to save face.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. Hiruzen Sarutobi was almost completely crushed by Yusuke; he didn't even touch Yusuke once.

So Hiruzen Sarutobi did not want to find excuses to belittle Yusuke—this would both disrespect Yusuke's strength and deny his own.

"Koharu, Yusuke is far more extraordinary than you imagine. If we must compare, only the First Hokage and a ninja like Madara Uchiha could surpass him," Homura Mitokado explained.

Koharu Utatane's pupils sharply contracted, instantly understanding the horror of Yusuke's strength.

Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were the only two universally recognized legendary-level ninjas in the ninja world. This legend was not something the so-called Legendary Sannin could rival; it was a true ninja world legend engraved in the histories of every nation.

She now understood why Hiruzen Sarutobi had remained silent on the other floors.

When your teammates think you won, but in reality you lost badly—how do you say that?

Koharu Utatane was afraid of stepping on another landmine and didn't want to speak; Homura Mitokado didn't know what to say. For a moment, the atmosphere became somewhat silent.

"I want to pass the position of Hokage to Muyue," Hiruzen Sarutobi said after a moment of silence.

He felt that he had already failed as Hokage and was no longer suitable to hold the position.

Homura Mitokado said the main responsibility for this matter lay with Danzo Shimura, but Hiruzen Sarutobi knew in his heart that even if it was Danzo's fault, he himself could not escape involvement.

If he had not been especially lenient toward Danzo Shimura before, overlooking some of his mistakes, how would Danzo have dared to do such a thing?

So Hiruzen Sarutobi planned to change his plans and pass the position to Muyue early.

However, to avoid affecting Muyue's training, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt he could postpone his actual retirement, continuing to shine at the upper levels after stepping down, sharing some of the pressure for Muyue.

"There's no need to go that far," Homura Mitokado quickly advised.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had made a mistake, but in Homura Mitokado's view, Hiruzen did not need to abdicate for such a small error.

In this battle with Yusuke, not a single ninja from Konoha died; the losses were only theoretical.

"Muyue is still too young. It would be better for him to stay in a supporting role for a few more years. Hiruzen, you cannot belittle yourself because of a single defeat."

"That's right, Konoha is at a critical stage of development. More than a new Hokage, it needs an experienced Hokage like you to steer the ship," Koharu Utatane added.

She did not want Hiruzen Sarutobi to abdicate now, both for the public good and for private reasons.

"Young as he is, Muyue has the ability to command respect. As for experience, how can one gain it without doing? Besides, we'll be watching over him," Hiruzen Sarutobi retorted.

The reason he decided to pass on the title was precisely because Muyue's performance was so outstanding—even if he passed the title now, there would be no opposition within Konoha.

"Hiruzen, you can't be willful again. You must fully consider everyone's opinions," Koharu Utatane said, a bit anxious.

This time, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not retort to Koharu Utatane but fell into deep thought.

Indeed, the battle with Yusuke was the evil consequence of his willfulness.

Would his insistence this time be correct? Hiruzen Sarutobi was not sure.

"Koharu's words are a bit extreme, but they do make sense. Hiruzen, don't make a rash decision. Think it over carefully," Homura Mitokado also continued.

Hiruzen Sarutobi showed hesitation and finally relented, saying, "I'll think it over."

Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stayed in the Hokage's office handling affairs until seven in the evening before returning.

"You're back. Good work. Let me heat up the dishes for you," Biwako Sarutobi said, standing up upon seeing Hiruzen return.

She and Asuma had already finished dinner at six.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, took off his Hokage hat and coat, and walked toward the room to get a set of casual clothes before going to the bathroom for a bath.

He was still wearing the combat suit he had on for the mission and battle.

"Left the village? Did something major happen?" Asuma heard footsteps and came over, just catching Hiruzen Sarutobi before he entered the room.

He was well aware that the Hokage needed to stay stationed in Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused in his steps but did not answer Asuma.

How could he say it: "Your old father overestimated himself and went to fight someone, and got crushed?"

Or had he, at his age, indulged in a bit of stubbornness and brought a big trouble to Konoha.

Facing Koharu Utatane, an old friend who knew the truth, Hiruzen Sarutobi could admit his mistake without evasion.

Facing Muyue, the future Hokage he had high hopes for, Hiruzen Sarutobi was also willing to tell the truth.

But Asuma was his son, a son with whom he had some minor conflicts—if he said this out loud, would he ever earn Asuma's respect again in the future?

"This is a Konoha secret." Hiruzen Sarutobi replied.

"If you couldn't say it, you should have said so earlier." Asuma rolled his eyes.

He had actually been worried earlier because of Hiruzen Sarutobi's unusual demeanor, only for the old man to say "secret" after all that buildup.

Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the door and was about to step inside when something occurred to him. He turned to Asuma and asked:

"What do you think of my performance as Hokage?"

"Not much. My suggestion is to step down early and let someone more capable take over—let Muyue-sensei be Hokage." Asuma answered without thinking.

"Is that so..."

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi actually looked like he was considering it, Asuma thought for a moment and then revised his words:

"Of course, when I say 'not much,' I don't mean you're doing a bad job. I just feel that Muyue-sensei would do better as Hokage."

From an objective standpoint, Asuma judged that Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't done poorly—if he had, he wouldn't have so many supporters in Konoha or make so many ninja sincerely aspire to become Hokage.

"Muyue has never been Hokage. How can you have that feeling?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.

He really should gather more opinions from others.

"Because Muyue-sensei does everything well—whether it was teaching at the Ninja Academy, running training programs, or serving as battlefield commander." Asuma listed Muyue's various contributions.

"Is Muyue-sensei not doing a good job as Hokage Assistant now?" Asuma countered.

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head. Of course not—Muyue seemed very experienced to him. Maybe that was what it meant to be an all-rounder.

It couldn't be that he got that experience from being a leader at the Ninja Academy, could it? That would be too absurd.

"Then there you go. If Muyue-sensei can do such a good job as Hokage Assistant at such a young age, why wouldn't he do well as Hokage?

Didn't the Second Hokage, when he was Hokage Assistant, essentially carry out Hokage duties under the title of assistant? That shows that an excellent Hokage Assistant can definitely handle being Hokage." Asuma argued with conviction.

"Those are two different things." Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a wry laugh.

Having the First Hokage handle government affairs alone would be ridiculous. Hashirama Senju had many strengths, but also no shortage of weaknesses.

"Anyway, if you ask me about the Hokage, all I can say is I would definitely choose Muyue-sensei!" Asuma stated his position.

"Then you'd better spend more time with your Muyue-sensei now. Maybe later he won't have as much time to see you." Hiruzen Sarutobi walked into the room to pick out clothes.

Asuma's eyes suddenly lit up. He quickly followed him inside and asked, "Are you really going to pass on the title?"

When it came to this topic, he was wide awake.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Asuma with a dark expression. Is your old father stepping down really something to be so happy about?

Just a moment ago, he'd said he wasn't doing a bad job.

"Don't jump to wild conclusions. Even I don't know yet, and you're already guessing." Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the wardrobe and said.

Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane had opposed too strongly; he hadn't made up his mind yet.

"Heh, if you ask me, Dad, passing the title to Muyue would be the right move. Muyue was promoted by you in the first place—that's real sharp eyes for talent." Asuma changed his attitude and praised him.

The corner of Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth twitched. That turnaround was fast—just a while ago, the kid was snapping at him.

Still, Hiruzen Sarutobi ignored Asuma, packed his clothes, and went to take a bath.

"Tch." Ignored, Asuma reverted to his normal attitude toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.

After bathing, Hiruzen Sarutobi began to eat.

Biwako Sarutobi, though not eating, sat at the table to keep him company, refilling his tea and water.

"What's your take on Muyue?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked after he was half full.

"I'd rather not voice my opinion casually. I don't know him well, but from what I know, he is a teacher highly respected by his students." Biwako Sarutobi said after a moment of recollection.

She had not interacted much with Muyue, only exchanging some polite words, but Sarutobi Biwako had a good impression of Muyue.

After being taught by Muyue, Asuma not only improved his strength faster but also became more sensible.

Besides Asuma, whose case she had personally experienced, Sarutobi Biwako had also heard about Muyue from other members of the Sarutobi clan—basically all praise.

Among those taught by Muyue, whether they were genin under ten years old or adult jonin, all held great respect for Muyue.

Sarutobi Biwako felt that someone who could earn recognition from so many people could not possibly be bad.

"Hmm." Sarutobi Hiruzen roughly understood Sarutobi Biwako's view of Muyue.

Although she did not openly praise him, for someone of Sarutobi Biwako's personality, this was already a very good evaluation.

PS:

This is yesterday's update, there will be more today.

Maybe I haven't been sleeping well lately; yesterday I was incredibly sleepy while typing, and as soon as I hit the bed, I passed out.

After waking up, I wasn't quite satisfied with the muddled content I wrote last night, so after editing and deleting two thousand words, it's now this time.

Sorry, everyone.

【Xiaoju kneels in apology】