Chapter 465: Prosperity and loss together

"Hmm?"

Homura Mitokado revealed a somewhat surprised expression, clearly somewhat unexpected regarding Hiruzen Sarutobi’s words.

"Isn't the tactical execution on the Land of Rain side going quite well? Why still..."

Homura Mitokado hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly, but before he could finish his sentence, his tone suddenly choked, as if he had realized something.

Both were old foxes who had gone through difficult times together and stood until now; Homura Mitokado’s political sense was not bad, and he clearly had figured out the joints in it.

"This..."

"Are you worried that Hatake Sakumo will..."

Homura Mitokado’s eyes were somewhat suspicious, and he suddenly understood the deep meaning in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s words.

Regarding this, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not speak, but his expression of deep agreement had already explained everything.

"No wonder, no wonder..."

Homura Mitokado was somewhat distracted, but soon his eyes became somewhat sharp.

"In that case, it is indeed necessary to urge Orochimaru and the others."

Soon, Homura Mitokado expressed agreement with Hiruzen Sarutobi’s proposal.

"Regarding Sakumo, what do you plan to do?"

But in the blink of an eye, Homura Mitokado frowned again, his eyes flickering.

"Don't worry about that; I have my own way for this matter."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head; it seemed he did not intend to let Homura Mitokado participate too much in this matter.

It seemed that the reason Hiruzen Sarutobi told him this was just to give him a heads-up in advance; for the subsequent arrangements, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already made other preparations.

"Fine."

Seeing this, Homura Mitokado, who knew that this was not a good thing to begin with, also nodded; being able not to participate in it was also a good thing for Homura Mitokado.

Afterward, the two tacitly did not mention this matter, as if it had never happened.

Subsequently, the two just chatted about some trivial matters, and then Homura Mitokado took his leave.

After Homura Mitokado left, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat on the seat of the Hokage Office; behind him was a huge "Fire" character pattern, symbolizing the inheritance of the Will of Fire.

A trace of coldness flashed in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s eyes; no one knew that in the few words just now, he and Homura Mitokado had reached a consensus on a shady conspiracy.

And the essence of this conspiracy was exactly about the famous "Konoha’s White Fang" on the current Sand Village battlefield—Hatake Sakumo!

Someone might ask, what exactly did Hatake Sakumo do wrong to deserve Hiruzen Sarutobi targeting him like this?

After all, Hatake Sakumo had merit and no faults; he was the one who led the Konoha ninjas to defeat the Sand Village’s aggression with his own strength, making great contributions to Konoha.

Perhaps in the eyes of most people, Hatake Sakumo was a symbol of a hero, a glorious inheritor of the Will of Fire.

But in the eyes of the Hokage, especially the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hatake Sakumo was completely wrong!

His mistake was—being too excellent!

Yes, he was too excellent!

Excellent to the point that when his resources and combat power were not as good as the Sannin, he took down the Sand Village one step ahead.

Although there were factors such as ability restraint and Hanzo not using his full strength when fighting the Sand Village.

But one must know that in the eyes of the people in Konoha Village, Hanzo of the Salamander and the Sand Village’s Chiyo had just fought to a draw not long ago, which from the side showed that the Rain ninjas seemed to be opponents of similar level to the Sand Village.

Therefore, although there were various factors, most people with insufficient strategic vision could not analyze these many problems.

Hatake Sakumo defeated the Sand Village one step ahead with his own strength; in the eyes of others, didn't this mean that Hatake Sakumo was more excellent than the Sannin?

And after this battle, Hatake Sakumo’s prestige would crown the entire young generation of Konoha, surpassing the Sannin.

And once things really evolved and developed in this direction, the result was something Hiruzen Sarutobi could not accept.

The importance of the Sannin to the Third Hokage was no less than Hiruzen Sarutobi’s own limbs.

Not only was there a master-disciple relationship between them, but the most important point was: the Sannin were actually equivalent to the extension of the Third Hokage’s political prestige.

And this was something everyone in Konoha knew.

The status the Sannin had today, aside from Tsunade, the other two reaching this step today, could not be separated from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

In other words, the "Sannin" were actually a "gold-plated signboard" jointly created by Hiruzen Sarutobi and the four-person group behind him.

In the current Konoha, which was full of talent, the reason the Sannin had the opportunity to lead the army alone to fight against the famous Hanzo of the Salamander was inseparable from the full support behind Hiruzen Sarutobi.

And whenever the Sannin achieved success, did you think the people of Konoha would directly praise how excellent the three were?

Wrong.

What everyone would say first was that it was all because of the Third Hokage’s good teaching, cultivating such three excellent disciples.

So no matter what honors the Sannin received, the Third Hokage, as their master and guide, would also benefit from it.

Subtly, with the Sannin as support, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s Hokage status would only become increasingly stable.

That wasn't all; once Tsunade and the other two grew up and truly stepped into the high level of Konoha, they could also assist Hiruzen Sarutobi in suppressing major ninja clans like the Hyuga and Uchiha, forming a check and balance.

These were Hiruzen Sarutobi’s plans and the benefits he could obtain.

And from the perspective of the Sannin, it was also the same.

First, without Hiruzen Sarutobi’s kindness of knowing them, not to mention Tsunade’s wealthy family, Orochimaru and Jiraiya would probably still be unknown in some corner.

Secondly, from a long-term perspective, Hiruzen Sarutobi was now nearing fifty, and his strength had gradually begun to decline from his peak, walking downhill.

Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi was old and strong, and there were no accidents in the middle, he would hold the position of Hokage for another twenty years.

And after that? To whom should his mantle be passed?

Almost without thinking, it must be one of the three disciples who were the political extension of the Third Hokage!

Even twenty years later, the Sannin at that time would only be in their forties, still within the peak period of a ninja, fully capable of taking on the responsibility of Hokage.

In other words, from the perspective of the Sannin, as long as Hiruzen Sarutobi could sit firmly in the position of Hokage, then the position of Fourth Hokage would sooner or later be their turn.

In this way, there was no conflict of interest between the two sides.

Therefore, on the surface, the Sannin and Hiruzen Sarutobi prospered and suffered together.

It could be said that from the moment Hiruzen Sarutobi sent the Sannin as commanders to the Land of Rain to fight Hanzo of the Salamander, he had already placed all his chips on the Sannin.

And it was precisely because of this that the Sannin had people when they needed people, money when they needed money, and supplies when they needed supplies.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could be considered to have handed over the most elite foundation to the Sannin.

With great difficulty, the war situation in the Land of Rain turned from passive to active, and victory was in sight.

But at this time, the suddenly appearing Hatake Sakumo had become an existence that Hiruzen Sarutobi could not tolerate.