Chapter 583 The Choice of the Hokage

Land of Fire, Konoha Village.

To commemorate the heroes who died on the battlefield, Konoha held a memorial ceremony.

Except for the Ninja responsible for security and public order on that day, all other Ninja were forcibly required to attend.

Generally speaking, such large-scale memorial activities are only held after a war victory, but considering that this victory was significant enough, plus the fact that many Ninja had indeed sacrificed themselves before, no Ninja felt it was unreasonable.

Large numbers of Ninja stood solemnly beneath the giant Memorial Stone, with gloomy dark clouds overhead; both people and the sky were filled with a sorrowful aura.

In such an atmosphere, even Obito found it difficult to show an improper expression.

“So, the war has already led to the deaths of so many people.”

Looking at the densely packed names on the Memorial Stone, a strange emotion arose in Obito’s heart.

“They are the backbone of the Land of Fire, the pride of Konoha…” Hiruzen Sarutobi, standing in front of everyone, began to solemnly read the eulogy.

Meanwhile, Muzuki, who was below, quickly used Appraisal Technique to inspect every Ninja present.

Most of the Ninja who didn’t come belonged to special departments and had already been inspected by Muzuki in advance. He only needed to appraise everyone at the memorial event to complete the appraisal of all Konoha Ninja.

Although White Zetsu was not an Iwagakure spy, White Zetsu certainly had a motive to infiltrate Konoha.

If he could conveniently ferret out the White Zetsu among the Ninja, it would also be a good thing.

【Name: Tsunade】

【Chakra: 186000 (??)】

【Potential: SS- (Basic Talent + Six Paths Bloodline)】

【Skills: Yang Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 5500/15000), Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 2600), Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 1500), Earth Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery), Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficient), Mystical Palm Technique (Mastery)…】

After glancing at Tsunade’s panel, Muzuki felt that Appraisal Technique still had room for improvement.

Neither Yin Seal nor the Tailed Beast sealed within her body could be precisely identified by Appraisal Technique; it could only detect them when the other party used them.

As for potential, compared to Tsunade’s strength, it could be said to be a classic case of inflated potential due to bloodline.

Muzuki had only seen four SS-level Ninja so far: Shisui, Tsunade, Kushina, and Naruto. All of them had the blessing of Six Paths Bloodline, and among them, Kushina and Naruto also had the blessing of a Tailed Beast.

Among the four, Naruto had the highest potential at SS+, followed by Kushina at SS, while Shisui and Tsunade were both SS-.

“If she were willing to cultivate for a bit longer, her strength should increase quite a bit,” Muzuki thought to himself.

Although potential is not equivalent to talent, high potential does not necessarily mean one will be very strong in the future, but there is still some correlation.

If Tsunade didn’t slack off and diligently cultivated, Muzuki estimated that Tsunade’s strength still had considerable room for improvement.

However, Muzuki thought it was unlikely that Tsunade would be diligent.

Because everything Tsunade currently possessed already allowed her to live comfortably without much worry, coupled with the various changes she experienced, it would be difficult for her to regain the desire to become stronger.

To put it in Xianxia terms, her Dao heart was shattered.

“Where Konoha dances, fire will continue to burn. The firelight will continue to illuminate the Village, and allow new leaves to sprout. Let us observe three minutes of silence for these heroes who lived out The Will of Fire with their lives.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi concluded the eulogy with his summary of The Will of Fire, beginning the moment of silence.

Because most of the Ninja in the entire Village had to participate, and to avoid hindering Konoha’s normal operations, each part of the memorial ceremony was short and quickly concluded.

Ninja with missions returned to their posts, while Ninja without missions decided their actions based on their mood.

As for Muzuki, he naturally belonged to the group with missions. He followed Hiruzen Sarutobi to the Hokage Office.

“No signs of Iwagakure spies were detected,” Muzuki reported truthfully.

Among the mourning crowd, he had indeed not appraised any White Zetsu.

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression remained unchanged as he nodded slightly, a sigh of relief in his heart.

It was the best possible outcome that Konoha hadn’t detected any Iwagakure spies. This suggested that perhaps the difficulty of creating those Iwagakure spies was even greater than they had imagined.

“Muzuki, take a look at these teaching Kenbunshoku Haki plans and tell me which one you prefer.” Hiruzen Sarutobi handed Muzuki a scroll.

Muzuki took it and began to read it discreetly.

The first was to upgrade Muzuki’s nominal position in Anbu, from Special Squad Leader to Special Captain, to form a training team, and select Ninja to teach Kenbunshoku Haki.

The second was like before, with Hiruzen Sarutobi taking the lead in organizing a training activity, designating certain qualified Ninja to participate.

“Anbu Captain…” Muzuki appeared to be deep in thought.

Plan one was clearly a reward.

An Anbu Captain was no small position. When Danzo Shimura first found an excuse to establish Root, he only had the prepared by of one squad.

Of course, the current Root clearly far exceeded the strength a single squad should have.

Plan two, on the other hand, was more convenient; Muzuki only needed to teach and didn’t need to consider too much else.

“The training team belongs to a special Anbu structure. Although its rank is Anbu Captain-level, it only takes orders from the Hokage and is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Anbu General Captain or Vice General Captain,” Hiruzen Sarutobi reminded him.

“Regarding team member recruitment, you can use your own discretion. You only need to submit the final list to me for review. If needed, I can also help you transfer excellent Ninja from other departments.”

Then, Hiruzen Sarutobi said nothing more, nor did he continue to look at Muzuki, but instead took advantage of the free time to read the documents on his desk.

“What is Hiruzen Sarutobi trying to do?” Muzuki was somewhat surprised by Hiruzen Sarutobi’s words.

According to Hiruzen Sarutobi, this was practically creating another Anbu within the Anbu, and Muzuki would be the leader of this other Anbu.

If Muzuki had thoughts like Danzo Shimura, he could quickly use Anbu’s resources to develop another existence similar to Root.

It might even develop faster than the original Root, because Muzuki had a Captain-level structure.

“He wouldn’t be thinking of making me Hokage or the next Hokage’s assistant, would he?” Muzuki’s mind raced.

Anbu has always been a department directly commanded by the Hokage. Danzo Shimura was able to successfully develop Root partly because of his status as Hokage Assistant.

With Hiruzen Sarutobi’s plan, it was hard for Muzuki not to overthink it.

Because it wouldn’t be strange at all for Hiruzen Sarutobi to have such a motive.

Tsunade was the most suitable candidate to become Hokage. Whether it was her identity, strength, or achievements, Tsunade becoming Hokage was something no one could question.

But Tsunade had given up. Now, let alone becoming Hokage, she didn’t even want to be a Ninja anymore.

Jiraiya was Hiruzen Sarutobi’s top choice, but Jiraiya also didn’t want to be Hokage, and he had recently suffered a defeat.

Orochimaru, who had become cold-blooded and twisted to a certain extent, had already lost his qualification to become Hokage in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s mind.

With all three Hokage candidates out of the running, and now Muzuki performing even better than Minato, plus his relationship with Hiruzen Sarutobi through learning Ninjutsu, it made sense.

In this situation, Muzuki felt that the possibility of Hiruzen Sarutobi wanting him to be Hokage was not small.

As for the Hokage’s assistant, the reason was even simpler.

Muzuki was capable and had a good personality, making him a perfect candidate to be groomed as an assistant for the next generation. There was nothing to fault.

“Sandaime-sama, I choose the first one.” Muzuki thought for a moment and replied.

Whether it was Hokage or Hokage Assistant, Muzuki had no interest.

However, this special Anbu Captain-level structure was indeed somewhat useful to him.

In the future, if he wanted to train any skills to mastery, he could organize Ninja for training himself.

“However, I don’t think it’s necessary to add team members. During wartime, manpower is tight, and we can’t waste usable combat power on this. I can complete all the teaching work alone,” Muzuki continued.

He didn’t want to create a second Root; that would only make his life more complicated.

Muzuki’s idea was that if Hiruzen Sarutobi had a mission, he would teach. When there was no mission, he would organize training activities based on his own needs.

Although this would make him an Anbu Captain in name only, it would also give Muzuki more leisure time.

After all, if he were to become a proper Anbu Captain, where would Muzuki find the time to teach disciples, take them on missions, or gain prestige on the battlefield?

“If you think that’s fine, then so be it.” Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and said.

Since he had told Muzuki to use his own discretion, he naturally couldn’t go back on his word.

Moreover, Muzuki indeed had the ability to say this. Previously, Muzuki alone trained hundreds of Ninja without any issues.

After everything was explained, Muzuki left the Hokage Building and headed to the South Border Forest to teach his disciples.

“Muzuki, will you be a good choice?” Gazing at Muzuki’s departing back, Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into deep thought.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was now somewhat confused about the choice of Hokage, something he had never expected before.

He had three disciples: one was the First Hokage’s eldest granddaughter, another was a genius Ninja from a young age, and the third was a dead last as a child but had accumulated strength and was no worse than anyone else.

With these three disciples, how could Hiruzen Sarutobi have imagined that he would one day worry about having no successor?

“Let’s observe a bit longer.” Hiruzen Sarutobi thought to himself.

Among the Ninja of Jiraiya and Orochimaru’s generation, only the Three Sannin were qualified to become Hokage. Below them, there were Muzuki and Minato Namikaze.

Only Ninja with extraordinary strength and reputation like them could, to some extent, break the age limit.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi had not yet decided who to choose. The position of Hokage was too important to Konoha to be decided hastily.

“Perhaps in a few more years, their thoughts will change.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi still hoped that Tsunade and Jiraiya would step forward. Muzuki and Minato Namikaze were too young.

An hour later, a Ninja dressed in Anbu attire knocked and entered the Hokage Office.

“Sandaime-sama, the information you requested has been organized.” The Anbu held up a sealed scroll with both hands and handed it to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took it, briefly inspected it, then handed it back to the Anbu, “Deliver it to Muzuki.”

The Anbu nodded, left the Hokage Office, closed the door, and quickly headed to Muzuki’s home in the Main urban area.

“If you can truly develop Wood Release, that would be good.” Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, putting his pipe into his mouth and exhaling wisps of white smoke.

If Muzuki could develop Wood Release, then Hiruzen Sarutobi truly wouldn’t need to choose anymore. He would simply take Muzuki as a disciple, let Muzuki continue to earn military merits and develop Anbu, and then step down for Muzuki when the time was right.

What else was there to choose? Given Muzuki’s performance, if he cultivated Wood Release for a few years, he would at least be a minor God of Shinobi.

However, that was Wood Release after all. Hiruzen Sarutobi believed that the probability of Muzuki developing Wood Release was about the same as Jiraiya changing his mind.

…

Night.

Muzuki received a message from Danzo Shimura, so he quietly went to the Root Base.

“Muzuki, how did Hiruzen arrange for you to teach Kenbunshoku Haki?” Danzo Shimura asked impatiently.

This should have been decided at a high-level meeting.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi refused, citing the need to consider Muzuki’s feelings, saying he would discuss it with Muzuki privately.

Considering that Muzuki had just won a great victory, neither of the Advisors objected, so Danzo Shimura’s opinion naturally didn’t matter.

But this didn’t stump Danzo Shimura. If Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn’t say, he would simply ask Muzuki himself.

“The Sandaime wants me to become the captain of a special Anbu unit…” Muzuki selectively informed Danzo Shimura about the discussion content.

Becoming an Anbu Captain was something that couldn’t be hidden from Danzo Shimura. Root and Anbu were too close, and Danzo Shimura was also a Konoha elder.

“He’s quite generous to you.” Hearing that Muzuki had obtained a special Anbu Captain position, Danzo Shimura felt a surge of annoyance.

He wasn’t annoyed at Muzuki, but at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Back then, no matter how much he pleaded, he only managed to get a single squad’s structure from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

“If you ever capture such an Iwagakure spy again, you must immediately obtain their bodily tissues,” Danzo Shimura instructed.

Konoha had Muzuki, who could sense malice, but Danzo Shimura hadn’t heard of other Ninja Villages having such methods. That Transformation Technique, capable of disguising Chakra, was too difficult to expose.

Muzuki nodded.

In the future, if he encountered White Zetsu, he wouldn’t expose them, but quietly deal with them himself.

Just as Muzuki walked out of Danzo Shimura’s office, a Root Ninja happened to walk towards him.

“Lord Mu Yue.” The Root Ninja slightly bowed his head and greeted Muzuki.

Muzuki smiled in response and continued forward.

“Lord Danzo, Lord Orochimaru’s reply has arrived!”

The Root Ninja entered the office, quickly closed the door, and reported.

Danzo Shimura initially wasn’t paying much attention, but upon seeing the content of the reply, an expression of surprise quickly appeared on his face.

“That Nagato was Jiraiya’s disciple before!”

Danzo Shimura had contacted Orochimaru with a ‘just trying’ attitude, since Orochimaru wasn’t busy at the moment. He hadn’t expected to receive such important intelligence from Orochimaru that he didn’t know.

He truly hadn’t known that the young man with the Rinnegan, Nagato, now considered the greatest genius in the Ninja World, had a master-disciple relationship with Jiraiya.

“Can we perhaps use that connection with Jiraiya…” Danzo Shimura fell into thought.

He wanted the Iwagakure spy technology, but he wanted the Rinnegan and sage art inheritance even more.

PS: I still overestimated my condition.