Young, brilliant, approachable, and tragically deceased – any Konoha ninja with a functioning brain couldn't help but mourn the death of the Fourth Hokage.
Thus, the Fourth Hokage's official funeral was a somber affair. Everyone's emotions throughout the ceremony were undeniably genuine. The ninjas of Konoha gathered in silence, waited in sorrow, and dispersed without a word… and with the conclusion of this funeral, the Yellow Flash truly became a name relegated to history.
The Third Hokage reclaimed all his authority, but this was nothing to celebrate. With Minato gone, the Third needed to reconsider the candidate for the next Hokage. However, this wasn't a particularly difficult deliberation, as everything simply reverted to the situation before Minato had been chosen… Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya – these three had always been the candidates for the next Hokage.
Originally, the Fourth Hokage would have been selected from among these three, but Jiraiya had strongly recommended his student, Namikaze Minato. After a period of observation, the Third Hokage had approved of Namikaze Minato… He had strength, popularity, a good personality, and the right connections. Thus, Namikaze Minato became the Fourth Hokage.
Therefore, the Third Hokage was not without a successor.
However, since Tsunade was currently absent from the village, the Third Hokage could only consider Orochimaru and Jiraiya. But both of his students had their own shortcomings… Jiraiya, was frivolous and irresponsible; Orochimaru, was gloomy and terrifying.
But if he had to choose the next Hokage from these two students with flawed personalities…
In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage held a pen, a piece of paper resting on the desk before him. On the paper were written the names Orochimaru and Jiraiya. The Third Hokage's pen first moved to Jiraiya's name, hovering there for a moment. Then, he shook his head and moved the pen to Orochimaru's name. After pausing for an even longer time, he moved the pen back to Jiraiya's name, and then…
He crossed out Jiraiya's name.
Orochimaru, should be a little more suitable than Jiraiya…
Right?
The Third Hokage was doubtful. He crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it into a nearby wastebasket. No, he needed to think about it some more.
......
In the Uchiha residential district.
Starting about half a year ago, or perhaps more accurately, after the Nine-Tails incident, Uchiha Itachi felt that his "big brother next door," Shisui, had become somewhat different. Later, Shisui had called upon a portion of the clan to go to the Land of Fields battlefield, and he had remained there until the very end of the war, only returning to the village after it was over. Because of this, two Uchiha ninjas had even died on the final battlefield.
This also led to many within the clan becoming dissatisfied with Shisui, this young prodigy.
After the Fourth Hokage's funeral, Uchiha Shisui finally had some free time, so Uchiha Itachi decided to talk to him.
Although Uchiha Itachi was only six years old, and Uchiha Shisui wasn't much older, perhaps because the Uchiha brain structure was different from ordinary people, these two "young" ninjas were more mature than most, each in their own way.
That evening, Itachi found Shisui.
"Shisui, do you have time to talk?"
"Itachi, of course. Those matters are finally over… Let's go for a walk."
Itachi nodded, and after Shisui changed his shoes, the two left Shisui's courtyard, one after the other.
After leaving the residential area, they walked along a small river. Before long, there was no one else around.
"The main voice within the clan now is opposition to the village's medal system. The elders believe it's a way to weaken the Uchiha's influence and glory…" Itachi suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
"With the strength of Uchiha ninjas, do they lack the confidence to earn medals?" Shisui asked.
"It's not that, but they feel that the right to evaluate and award medals is entirely concentrated in the village's hands. In this matter, the village could easily target the Uchiha clan and erase Uchiha honors."
This statement made Uchiha Shisui shake his head. If Konoha was genuinely promoting this system, ensuring its fairness would be essential. But regardless of whether Konoha was fair or not, the Uchiha would believe that Konoha was unfair.
The original "Nine-Tails Incident" should have been the trigger for the "Uchiha Clan Massacre." However, this didn't mean that suppressing the news that "the Nine-Tails rampage was caused by the Uchiha clan" would allow the Uchiha clan to live in harmony with Konoha… A trigger is just a trigger. The conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha had been ongoing for fifty years.
The Uchiha were dissatisfied with Konoha's various policies, and some among Konoha's higher-ups would be happy to see the Uchiha die off… The arrangements made by the Fourth Hokage before his death were very likely to be a futile effort.
Uchiha Shisui didn't discuss the matter of medals. He asked, "Itachi, what are your thoughts on the Fourth Hokage's passing?"
"The Fourth Hokage? I feel it's a great loss," Itachi said.
Uchiha Shisui hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to tell Uchiha Itachi the truth about the "Nine-Tails Incident."
"This… is this true?" The shocking news caused Uchiha Itachi to stop in his tracks.
Uchiha Shisui nodded. "Based on my investigation, it's almost certainly true."
"In other words, the Fourth Hokage knew who the culprit was, but ultimately chose to protect the Uchiha clan…" Itachi was still shocked.
"The crime of one person is not the crime of the entire clan. At the same time, the Fourth Hokage didn't want Konoha to fall into internal strife. I've been quietly investigating the culprit's identity, but after checking within the clan, I've found nothing. So… the bad news is that the culprit is an Uchiha. The good news is that they are very likely a rogue Uchiha ninja."
Itachi shook his head. What kind of good news was that? But he understood one thing… So, that's why Shisui insisted on going to the battlefield before?
The two suddenly fell silent. After walking along the river for some distance, almost reaching the edge of Konoha, they began to turn back.
The return journey was equally silent.
And when Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi returned to the residential area under the cover of night, Shisui, who had been silent the entire way, suddenly and without warning reached out to stop Itachi. At the same time, his eyes were fixed intently on a certain corner in the shadows.
"Who's there? Come out!"
It wasn't a gaze of surveillance or scrutiny, nor was it a look of care or concern. Uchiha Shisui had genuinely felt a chilling malice just now.
Of course, Uchiha Shisui received no response, but he couldn't rashly leave Itachi's side at this moment. Itachi hadn't even activated his Sharingan yet; even if he was a genius, he wasn't reliable in terms of combat ability.
"Itachi, did you feel that?" Shisui asked.
"Yes, it felt like a sharp gaze piercing my skin, but it was only for a flash, and now it seems to be gone," Itachi replied. This confirmed that Shisui's feeling just now was not an illusion.
Shisui nodded, and then he slowly retreated with Itachi. Once he had escorted Itachi home, Shisui immediately turned back to check the location from earlier.
How much time had been wasted in this back-and-forth? Predictably, he found nothing.
The Sharingan wasn't the Byakugan. Shisui found no clues. After checking the area several times, he had no choice but to go home.
However, the matter didn't end there.
Three days later, the Uchiha discovered that another Jonin from the clan had gone missing. Yes, "another." The Uchiha clan was absolutely furious. They lost ninjas during the war, and now they were losing ninjas after peace had been established? What was the point of peace then?
......
At the Hokage's office building, because of this incident, the Third Hokage had summoned a large group of Jonin, and Habara was among them.
"An Uchiha ninja has suddenly disappeared. Moreover, this ninja had no mission, nor did he leave the village. This ninja disappeared within Konoha, so we must find this person," the Third Hokage said.
The Hokage had already explained to everyone what had happened previously.
Then, someone said, somewhat unwillingly, "Hokage-sama, for various reasons, the Uchiha residential area is a blind spot for the village's surveillance. If an Uchiha ninja disappears within their own clan area, how can that be the village's responsibility?"
Well, that person had a point.
The Uchiha had always managed their own territory, and now they were coming to the village for help because they had lost someone… There was no logic to that… The Uchiha clan, truly, was not very likable.
"Hokage-sama, if we are to search for someone, can we enter the scene to investigate for clues?" another ninja asked.
The Third Hokage was silent for a moment, then said, "The Uchiha will investigate within their own area. You will investigate the rest of Konoha, and try to find that ninja… alive."
"…"
The Hokage had spoken, so the Jonin had no choice but to reluctantly carry out the mission.
Habara, on the other hand, had to forcefully restrain himself from slapping his forehead. He had a pretty good idea who was responsible for this; the truth was probably 80-90% certain… The words he'd spoken to Orochimaru seemed to have had too much of an effect.
The Third Hokage was too lenient with the Uchiha, which led to dissatisfaction among some of the Jonin. However, Habara thought of another question… Why not send ANBU ninjas to investigate this matter? Wouldn't this kind of mission be more suitable for the ANBU?
Or perhaps the question should be: if ordinary Jonin were carrying out the search and investigation mission, what were the ANBU doing?
The answer was self-evident.
The Third Hokage wasn't that soft. There were definitely a bunch of ANBU ninjas watching the Uchiha clan right now.
Habara's actions on the surface were meant to reassure the Uchiha, telling them that Konoha was indeed taking this disappearance seriously. However, at the same time, the Third Hokage was also sending another message to the Uchiha clan: helping them find their people was fine, but they shouldn't push their luck… This interpretation might be a bit extreme. Let's just say the Hokage was taking precautions against the Uchiha clan making a rash move.
Having received such a mission, after leaving the Hokage's office, Habara didn't bother with any investigation. He went straight for the culprit…
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