Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 21 Hiruzen Sarutobi as a Person

"Gou?"

The word was quite novel, and Hiruzen Sarutobi paused for a moment, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"The word 'survival' is something Aokiji likes to say all the time," Orochimaru chuckled. "His main reason for not wanting to be a ninja is to live a comfortable life."

"A comfortable life?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was completely bewildered.

Aokiji spends all his time in class sleeping, isn't he living a comfortable life? He wants to be even more comfortable.

Orochimaru continued, "Aokiji said that ninjas often have to go deep into enemy territory when carrying out missions, sometimes facing a near-death experience, with a very high probability of dying in battle. Therefore, he has no interest in ninjas. In contrast, medical ninjas do not need to go deep into enemy territory; they only operate in the rear, and their lives are not in danger. I think the most likely reason why Aokiji is interested in medical ninjas is this."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was speechless.

Aokiji, this kid is so un-Uchiha-like.

In my mind, the Uchiha clan were all battle maniacs, indifferent to life and death, unlike Aokiji who was such a coward.

He looked at Biwa Lake and asked her if she had mentioned the survival rate of medical ninjas during her lectures. She nodded in affirmation.

Jiraiya also added a bit of information about Aokiji: "That's quite in line with his style. Although he's not interested in ninjas, he'll get serious when it comes to living a comfortable life. For example, last time he specifically asked me for the training method of summoning jutsu."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was taken aback. He remembered that Jiraiya had taught his disciple the art of summoning spirits. He put aside the matter of Aokiji for now. Jiraiya could teach him, which meant that he had already learned the art of summoning spirits.

He inquired about his disciple's summoning techniques, and Jiraiya gave a stammering reply: "Uh... well, that's..."

Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could continue his greetings, Tsunade asked three questions in a row:

"He wants you to learn psychic arts?"

"You also possess psychic abilities."

"When?"

Jiraiya said, "Have you forgotten? It was when I demonstrated the Summoning Jutsu last time that Aokiji came to me afterwards and said he wanted to learn the Summoning Jutsu."

Tsunade couldn't help but tease, "With your lousy skills, you dare to teach others? You're probably just misleading them."

Jiraiya, his face flushed and neck stiff, retorted, "Who said I couldn't? I was just practicing back then, okay?"

Tsunade skipped the question; she knew Jiraiya too well—he was incredibly proud: "Why would he want to learn summoning jutsu from you?"

Jiraiya said casually, "Because he's lazy. You all know his personality; all his actions are motivated by the desire to be lazy and live comfortably."

"He felt that doing things alone was too tiring sometimes, so he wanted to learn some psychic arts so that he could have spirit beasts do things for him and share the burden, such as running errands or buying groceries, simple tasks."

Tsunade was taken aback: "This is really Aokiji's style. He seems very willing to take action when it comes to living a good life, even if it's troublesome and difficult at first."

Aokiji is an excellent cook, but he disliked the village's food, so he started researching and cooking on his own. Sometimes even Tsunade has to admire his intelligence; he learns everything very quickly, and it seems like nothing is difficult for him if he's willing to learn. However, he has a very poor sense of ambition, which is his biggest flaw.

Through the students' conversation, Hiruzen Sarutobi had gained a basic understanding of Aokiji.

This is a genius who is always thinking about doing something unproductive.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his chin. Since Aokiji didn't like fighting, perhaps he could guide him towards becoming a medical ninja in the future. That would be putting his talents to good use, and it would be better than wasting his talent. Such a good talent should be used to contribute to the village.

Moreover, there was a political purpose in leading Aokiji to become a medical ninja.

As a disciple of the Second Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally sensed his teacher's wariness of the Uchiha clan through daily exposure.

Although the Second Hokage never explicitly stated it.

The Uchiha clan served as the Konoha Guard, wielding great prestige and power. Ostensibly, it was the Second Hokage's trust in the Uchiha, but in reality, it was a means of monitoring, controlling, and even subtly diminishing their strength.

The guard team was supposed to be going to some very high mountain, but in reality, they just managed small vendors and maintained basic security every day. It was rather ridiculous to have one of the strongest ninja clans in the ninja world send elites to do this; it felt like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

This is not an exaggeration. Since its establishment, Konoha Village has never been attacked. The Konoha Police Force is more of a symbol, a mascot to put it nicely, and a decoration to put it bluntly.

Making the Uchiha clan busy with trivial matters every day can squeeze out their training time and reduce their opportunities for practice. The Uchiha clan won't have any other thoughts about this, because in their view, this is the village's trust in them, and they will work incredibly hard and responsibly.

However, being too diligent can lead to strictly adhering to regulations, being incorruptible and even inhumane towards the village's small vendors, which will inevitably cause strong resentment among the villagers, thereby affecting the village's reputation and making it unpopular.

After all, blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents.

A person who is recognized by the masses may not necessarily become Hokage, but a person who is not recognized will definitely not become Hokage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's father, the head of the Sarutobi clan, had instilled political ideas in him, hoping to one day train him to become Hokage and bring the clan to the next level.

Don't be fooled by his tendency to always take the blame and seem to be at a disadvantage; he's actually quite shrewd.

There is something to do with home.

Besides, it's just a simple matter of lending a hand.

Moreover, don't underestimate this seemingly insignificant little action. A person's image is built up little by little in this way, and it can even form a kind of habitual thinking. This kind of image is the most solid and unbreakable.

Even if someone makes a mistake, people's first thought is not to condemn them, but to wonder if they have been framed. Because of habitual thinking, people subconsciously think: "This person is familiar, not this kind of person."

It was precisely through this wisdom that Hiruzen Sarutobi amassed a large number of extremely loyal followers.

Compared to this, his childhood friend, Danzo Shimura, seems far too... simple-minded.

His every word and action reveals a clear utilitarian mindset.

For example, if Hiruzen Sarutobi helps his comrades cover the rear, then Danzo will jump out and say that he also wants to cover the rear, simply wanting to compete with him.

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, this behavior was unnecessary, as it offered no benefit whatsoever.

He helped his companions out of goodwill, but Danzo did it out of competitiveness. Even if he helped his companions, others would still see it as just selfishness and a desire to win favor.

Fools sometimes have good luck.

This statement is a testament to profound political wisdom.

Danzo could not comprehend such advanced wisdom in a short time.

This is understandable, after all, Danzo lost his father and grandfather at a young age, and the Shizo family was not a united front. There were plenty of people who saw him as a rival for the position of clan leader, so no one taught him how to conduct himself. He had to figure it out on his own.

The current Hiruzen Sarutobi is no longer the child who hid in the mountains with his group, chasing after something with pure dreams.

Becoming Hokage and protecting the village is just a child's dream; adults use it as a platform to seize profits and expand their clans.

The village is important, but Yuan Fei's family is the only thing he can truly rely on.

The various ninja clans had this idea in mind long ago when they joined Konoha. Just because there is no hope now does not mean there is no hope in the future.

The only constant in this world is change; the difference lies in whether some people change earlier or later.

His life has long been painted with all sorts of colors.

Sometimes Hiruzen Sarutobi laments that he is drifting further and further away from his innocent self.

But there was nothing he could do; he wasn't from the Uchiha clan, so he couldn't just do whatever he wanted.

Not everyone possesses the extraordinary power of the Uchiha clan. For these "ordinary people" in the strictest sense, defeating those bloodline limit ninjas who are blessed by God requires more strategic thinking. Subduing others with brute force, like the Uchiha, is not something these ordinary people can do.

Moreover, conquering others with force is merely a temporary feat. True skill lies in using "love" to influence them and make them work for you.

Deep down, Hiruzen Sarutobi greatly envied the Uchiha clan, and was even mixed with jealousy.

With the Sharingan as their power, most of these people lived their own lives.

In terms of personality, they say what they think and don't hide anything, even if others might see it as a bit arrogant.

A person's talents are determined from birth.

Based on talent, it can be roughly divided into three levels.

The first level is to pray to God for food:

That is, the bottom layer. This layer has the largest number of people, which are ordinary ninjas in the conventional sense, and they do not have any bloodline limits.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also belongs to this level of ninja. Although he has great talent, his essence has not changed, and he still uses ordinary ninjutsu.

The second level is where God feeds us:

A bloodline limit ninja is born at a starting point that others can hardly reach, possessing a bloodline limit that others can only dream of.

The third level: It's not enough for God to keep feeding you; He also has to use chopsticks to pick up the food and force it into your mouth, as if afraid you don't know how to use your hands...

Super bloodline limit ninjas, the Sharingan is a typical example. Although they are all bloodline limits, their power is obviously incomparable to other ordinary bloodline limits. They can even evolve, which is simply unreasonable.

The various ninja clans, especially the ordinary ninja clans, ostracized the Uchiha clan. This was not only because the Uchiha people had problematic personalities and were not well-liked, but also because the clan's power was simply too great, which aroused jealousy.

Why is it that the Uchiha clan is born with more chakra than ordinary people, and they also have such a powerful bloodline limit as the Sharingan, while we ordinary ninjas, even after a lifetime of hard work, might not be as good as a child? It's infuriating to compare yourself to others.

All the major ninja clans were tacitly aware of this and were weakening the Uchiha's power in various ways, both openly and secretly.

Making the Uchiha clan serve as the Konoha Police Force is only the first step.

The second step was to send the best members of the clan to the Anbu for training. One must be strong to forge iron. Although the work was dangerous and life was always in danger, the ninjas who persevered all had their personal combat skills greatly improved.

With this shift in power, the Uchiha clan naturally became weaker.

Does the Uchiha clan know about this?

Perhaps, but they couldn't refuse.

Making the Uchiha clan a member of the Konoha Police Force was an extremely clever and open strategy.

Since that man suddenly attacked Konoha, and only thanks to the First Hokage's efforts to stop him did no damage occur, the Uchiha clan was naturally implicated and became increasingly disliked.

In order to change the current situation, the Uchiha clan urgently needs the support of the higher-ups.

At this point, they naturally couldn't refuse the olive branch extended by the Second Hokage.

Even though I knew it was a trap.

But you still have to jump in happily.

However, even this weakening is not enough, for no other reason than that the Uchiha clan is simply too strong, so strong that it makes people very uneasy.

This is like a pair of neighbors in real life. The neighbor next door is always sharpening a kitchen knife, making a screeching sound. Then this person tells you, "Don't worry, this kitchen knife is for keeping thieves away."

The problem is that this neighbor is easily provoked and may do some extreme things.

You're asking if you can sleep soundly? Are you kidding me?

Right now, the Uchiha are the ones holding the kitchen knife, while the other ninja clans are the ones without kitchen knives.

A kitchen knife is like a Sharingan; the act of sharpening it is like forging that Sharingan. Not to mention, sometimes this kitchen knife is sharpened into a watermelon knife. (Kaleidoscope Sharingan)

To sleep soundly, one must remove the kitchen knife, but since the knife is right above one's eye, one must find another way. The first step is to remove the whetstone so that the knife is at least a little dull and won't kill someone with a single blow.

Making the Uchiha clan members part of the Konoha Police Force is a concrete evolution of this step.

Then, we need to find a way to use the cleaver properly, to use it to slaughter pigs, and to use the pork cut up to serve the various ninja clans.

Medical ninjutsu is the embodiment of this technique. The power of the Sharingan is theoretically well-suited for medical ninjutsu. For example, when performing surgery, having the Sharingan's insight would be of great help in performing highly difficult surgeries, thus reducing casualties and preserving the fighting strength of various ninja clans.

Unfortunately, most Uchiha clan members are obsessed with power, making it difficult to achieve. However, with Aokiji as an Uchiha, it's always the first step. As long as one Uchiha takes this step, Hiruzen Sarutobi feels there's still room for negotiation and even manipulation.

This would reduce the Uchiha clan's fighting strength and also benefit the village's internal team building efforts—a win-win situation.

A good Uchiha is one that is half-dead.

Moreover, even if Aokiji hadn't awakened the Sharingan, it wouldn't have mattered much; he would have gained a medical ninja as well.

Although this guy's motives are impure, and he just wants to stay in the rear and heal others instead of going to the battlefield, it doesn't matter, as long as someone is willing to be a medical ninja.

After all, very few people are willing to become medical ninjas these days.

If someone is willing to take the job, then there's no need to be picky.

P.S.: Although some people say that the Third Hokage was a good person and talk about conspiracy theories, actually, if you think about it the other way around, anti-conspiracy theories are a kind of conspiracy theory in themselves.

such as:

Never mind, I won't say anymore. Those who know, know.

Getting back to the point, and with all due respect, Hiruzen Sarutobi's various actions are truly inexplicable without resorting to conspiracy theories.

I can only analyze Hiruzen Sarutobi by combining his background with the principle of judging by actions, not intentions.

Moreover, I need to analyze what kind of person the third generation is from the protagonist's perspective.

If the protagonist, who is a third-generation gambler, were a good person, he might get tricked and killed without even knowing it.

You agree, right, Uchiha Shisui?

Everyone understands the principle of "better safe than sorry," right?

For example, when the Second Hokage asked his disciples who would cover the rear, Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his hand without hesitation and said that he would cover the rear.

From this perspective, the Third Hokage seems very noble and great, right?

But upon closer reflection, is that really the case?

It's worth noting that the Third Hokage went directly to become Hokage after that.

So here's the question: after becoming Hokage, is it still possible for him to be the three's teacher?

That's impossible. Logically speaking, you've already become Hokage, how could you have time to be a Jonin instructor?

(He was very young when he was covering the rear in the anime, but he was a middle-aged man when he was teaching the three of them, oh wait...)

To put it another way, there's still a tiny bit of a chance between Orochimaru and Tsunade, after all, one has a special identity and the other is a genius that only appears once every ten years.

What merit or ability do you possess, Jiraiya?

Would you really let the Hokage, the head of a village, teach a commoner ninja like yourself?

Jiraiya's true talent was only revealed after he signed with Mount Myōboku.

Being able to team up with two of the three legendary ninjas is probably just a matter of choosing the best among the worst, plus the desire to avoid involvement from other forces.

The composition of the Sannin is quite interesting. Only Tsunade was born into a ninja clan, while the other two were born into commoner families. Moreover, at this time, the Senju clan had probably disbanded, broken up into smaller groups, and merged into Konoha.

Although it wasn't mentioned in the original work, the Senju clan didn't reappear later on, making it seem as if they had all died out. Surely such a powerful ninja clan like the Senju couldn't have been wiped out.

Therefore, they could only be tricked into disbanding and being merged into various families.

To put it nicely, it's about better integrating into the village, using the blood of the Senju clan as a bond to unite the village.

But upon closer examination, this is an open conspiracy. In this way, the Thousand Hands Clan will be left without a leader, and their demands for benefits will have no voice to be heard.

Then, these members of the Thousand Hands clan, who were supposed to follow their husbands wherever they went, all fought their own battles, falling into complete disarray.

Just like the red necks, why do they admire a certain king so much? Although this guy has all sorts of problems and is wrong in many ways, these red necks are not stupid. They can't replace the certain king because he is their only mouthpiece. Without this mouthpiece, they can't speak out. If you can't even speak out, you can forget about your interests and demands.

Then let's look at the benefits of doing this:

The other ninja clans eliminated the largest interest group in the village without losing a single soldier, divided the profits, and also gained the talents of the Senju clan, greatly improving the physical talents of their offspring and significantly increasing the clan's potential.

This deal was absolutely incredible!

At this point, the only remaining elder of Konoha was the Uchiha. If the other ninja clans didn't target them, who would they target? Moreover, the Uchiha's talent wasn't "hidden" like that of the Senju clan. Once the Sharingan was awakened, the Uchiha wouldn't be so generous; they would want him to marry into their family.

It seems to be far away.

To get back to the main point, Hiruzen Sarutobi could only take the three legendary Sannin as his disciples before he became Hokage.

By this time, Hiruzen Sarutobi had become the teacher of the Sannin. Given his upbringing in a powerful ninja clan, I think it's reasonable for him to realize that the Second Hokage was testing him, or even paving the way for his own advancement. (min_zuma)

There are countless real-world examples of this, aren't there?

Is it possible that Hiruzen Sarutobi's personality is simply simple? Yes, but very unlikely.

If you had been born in the Warring States period, with your simple-minded nature, you would have been buried long ago.

And even if you're naive, your family can't be naive too, right? They'll definitely give you a good talking-to about the consequences of being naive.

Do you really think everyone is an Asura, and everyone is carrying a "Goddess Child"? They're born with a predetermined nature.

Even if others mistreat me a thousand times, I will still treat them as my first love.

Isn't this Stockholm syndrome?

Moreover, that's because Asura himself is incredibly powerful, unaffected by his surroundings, and even possesses the ability to speak with his own mouth. With just a few words, he can make even a boss with a firm goal, who wouldn't even blink an eye if he killed his master, repent and start anew, even if he's already about to be reincarnated...

Only someone like Danzo, who lost his father and grandfather early on and had no one to teach him these things, would be so idiotic.

(This is what he said himself when he was covering the rear, as he recalled before he died.)

In retrospect, I think Danzo was extremely resentful.

After all, from Danzo's perspective, you've already decided on the Hokage position, are you kidding me with this?

Why is Hiruzen Sarutobi pretending to be so righteous?

Nausea!

But he cannot question or fight back.

After all, the opportunity to become the Second Hokage had already been given to him on the surface; it was his own fault for being a coward.

Those teammates were the witnesses, and they all watched with their eyes wide open.

You've already chickened out, Danzo.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was not intimidated.

It's that simple.

I gave you a chance, but you didn't do it!

I think Danzo's later obsession with becoming Hokage might have stemmed from his inability to swallow his anger at the time.

If I were Danzo to have the Three Legendary Sannin as my students, I wouldn't back down either. I'd shout louder than Hiruzen Sarutobi, with righteous indignation and solemn declaration: "No way! I'll cover the retreat today and protect the Hokage to the death! Nobody can stop me! Not even Madara Uchiha or Hashirama Senju could stop me!" (Parentheses)

(End of this chapter)