Outside World – Konoha Village
More and more Konoha shinobi arrived, surrounding Sarutobi Hiruzen as reinforcements poured in.
In addition to the Anbu forces, the civilian ninjas and the clan shinobi had also gathered. The streets of Konoha were flooded with combat-ready forces, their eyes burning with rage as they took their positions.
Inside the Chat Group
Golden Lion Shiki: This is the strongest shinobi village in the Ninja World? What a joke! If I were still alive, I could conquer this place on my own.
Senju Tobirama: Konoha has weakened significantly. I don't see many strong ones here. There are a lot of shinobi gathering, but barely any Kage-level ninja.
Pirate King Roger: Agreed. Maybe they're not particularly weak, but they're definitely not impressive. Shouldn't Konoha have at least one powerhouse to act as its figurehead?
Lucas: Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara were anomalies—far beyond the standard. For ordinary shinobi, the Kage-level is the limit. The old man across from me? He's a Kage-level ninja.
Whitebeard: Kage-level? Hmph! From what I see, their strength is comparable to Marine Vice Admirals or the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Maybe they could put up a fight against an Admiral, but they'd lose quickly.
Senju Hashirama: How many Kage-level ninjas does Konoha even have now?
Lucas: Konoha's Kage-level count? About three and a half.
Senju Hashirama: Three and a half? Who are they?
Lucas: One is Sarutobi Hiruzen. One is Uchiha Itachi. Another is Uchiha Fugaku, the Uchiha clan head. And the "half" is Shimura Danzō.
Fire Fist Ace: Wait… so Konoha only has three and a half Kage-level ninjas, and two of them are Uchiha? Shouldn't the Uchiha clan win if they ever fought Konoha?
Lucas: No. Even though the Uchiha technically have more top-tier fighters, that half a Kage-level difference won't win a war. While the Uchiha have the advantage in high-tier combat, they're outnumbered in both mid-tier and low-tier combat forces.
Golden Lion Shiki: Why does mid-tier or low-tier even matter? If the top fighters clean up the battlefield in minutes, isn't the fight already won?
Lucas: No, and that's the key difference between the Ninja World and the Pirate world. Shinobi may have devastating attack power, but their bodies aren't superhuman. Unlike you guys, even Uchiha Madara could be killed by an ordinary iron weapon.
Golden Lion Shiki: Wait… stabbed to death by a normal iron weapon?!
Lucas: Yes, exactly what you're thinking. Even an untrained civilian could kill a Kage-level ninja under the right circumstances.
Pirate King Roger: That's insane! When we grow stronger in the Pirate world, our bodies also become tougher. Doesn't that happen here?
Roger wasn't wrong.
In the Pirate world:
Garp could take an axe strike from a Marine Captain in his sleep and only get a small scratch.
Whitebeard survived a magma punch through the stomach, fought with half his head blown off, and still managed to say his final words.
Zephyr was riddled with laser holes from Kizaru yet still shattered the ground with his punches.
But if Uchiha Madara (without Hashirama Cells or Six Paths power) suffered the same injuries, he would die instantly—despite being strong enough to devastate entire battlefields.
Lucas: The training system in the Ninja World is different from the Pirate world. Here, very few people focus on body strengthening. Their raw strength has no direct connection to their physical endurance.
Uchiha Shisui: That's precisely why weaker shinobi have a chance to kill stronger ones. Even a Kage-level ninja could be taken down by a Jōnin, Chūnin, or even a Genin if caught off guard.
Golden Lion Shiki: If that's the case, then the importance of top-tier fighters is much lower in this world. You can't build an empire with just one powerhouse like in the Pirate world. The entire system is different.
Senju Tobirama: Forget that for now. What I really want to know is—why does Konoha have so few Kage-level ninjas? A massive village like this should have more than three and a half! Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzō are practically fossils already.
Lucas: Konoha should have more Kage-level ninjas… but thanks to Sarutobi Hiruzen's disastrous decisions, they don't. Without his incompetence, Konoha would have at least four more Kage-level ninjas.
Senju Hashirama: What happened to them?
Lucas: The first was Hatake Sakumo, the former head of Konoha's Anbu forces. On a critical mission, he prioritized saving his comrades over completing the mission, which caused Konoha to suffer massive losses. When word spread, the villagers turned against him, branding him a disgrace. Unable to bear the shame, he committed suicide.
Senju Tobirama: ???
Senju Tobirama: Are you kidding me? How can a Kage-level ninja be so fragile that a little gossip pushes him to suicide? That's impossible.
Namikaze Minato: Second Hokage-sama, it's true. They say Hatake Sakumo was deeply ashamed of his actions. Because his decision caused Konoha massive losses, he felt he had no choice but to take his own life to atone.
Senju Tobirama: What kind of nonsense is that?! If he truly felt guilty for causing a loss to Konoha, he should have lived and worked to make up for it. Suicide doesn't fix anything! What exactly was this "huge loss" he caused, anyway?
Namikaze Minato: Eh… I'm not sure.
Senju Tobirama: You don't know? Then the Konoha villagers sure as hell didn't know either! They had no clue what the mission was or how it even failed, yet they still scolded Hatake Sakumo into death?
Doflamingo: Fufufufu~ Isn't that how people work? If a commoner suddenly gets a free pass to insult someone powerful, they're not going to waste it. They don't care if the criticism is justified—they just enjoy the moment.
Senju Hashirama: Young man, you have a very negative view of people.
Doflamingo: No, First Hokage. You're just too idealistic about people. You think ordinary people are kind and simple, but that's because you're not one of them. You've always been above them, looking down from your high position. They don't dare show you their true nature.
Doflamingo: But if you were one of them, you'd see their ugly side. Ordinary people may act humble and obedient in front of the powerful, but amongst themselves? They'll tear each other apart. If they ever get a chance to vent their frustration on someone superior, they won't hesitate.
Senju Tobirama: Enough of that! What I care about is how the villagers even learned about Hatake Sakumo's failed mission. He was the captain of Anbu—his assignments were supposed to be classified!
Lucas: Didn't you already guess? That's why I called it Sarutobi Hiruzen's dirty trick.
Senju Tobirama: You're telling me Sarutobi Hiruzen saw Hatake Sakumo as a threat? But the Hatake clan isn't even a major family…
Lucas: It wasn't about his clan. It was about his potential. He had too much power, too much respect, and lacked the "Will of Fire" that Konoha's higher-ups wanted.
Senju Hashirama: I understand the part about strength and prestige, but what do you mean by "Will of Fire"? Hatake Sakumo wasn't a traitor—why wouldn't he have it?
Lucas: First Hokage, you misunderstood. I'm not talking about your "Will of Fire"—I'm talking about the Will of Fire required by Konoha's higher-ups and Hokage.
Senju Tobirama: Explain.
Lucas: It's simple. Recommending someone for Hokage? Just say they have the Will of Fire. Rejecting someone for Hokage? Just say they don't have the Will of Fire. The Will of Fire is just a tool—it means whatever they need it to mean at the time.
Senju Tobirama: …Are you saying Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others thought Hatake Sakumo wasn't qualified to be a Hokage, but were afraid of how much power and respect he had?
Lucas: That's my guess.
Senju Tobirama: Then tell me—what are the actual requirements to be a Konoha higher-up or Hokage?
Lucas: Let me put it this way… in the future I see, every single Hokage is one of your disciples or their descendants.
Senju Tobirama: ???
Senju Hashirama: Wait, so besides me, the rest of the Hokage are all somehow connected to Sarutobi Hiruzen?
Lucas: Yes!
For the first time, both Senju brothers were speechless.
They had accidentally turned Hokage into a family succession system—but Sarutobi Hiruzen had taken it a step further.
He turned it into a master-apprentice succession system, ensuring only those trained in his ideology could ever sit in the Hokage's chair.
Lucas: You don't need to feel bad. The later Hokage are still connected to you in some way. Even Tsunade becomes Hokage.
Senju Hashirama: Sigh… This is not the Konoha I wanted.
Lucas: Don't worry. It's not the Konoha I want either. That's why I'm going to remake it. But first, let's deal with the situation outside.
Senju Tobirama: Wait! Why isn't Danzō here? Shouldn't we wait for him?
Lucas: Don't worry. Danzō's not coming.
Senju Tobirama: What? You wiped out his entire family, and he's just staying put?
Lucas: Think about it. His clan is gone, and there's nothing he can do to bring them back. So why would he rush here? Even if he does come, he won't fight himself—he'll let Sarutobi Hiruzen handle it. If Sarutobi suffers heavy losses, that increases Danzō's chances of becoming Hokage.
Senju Tobirama: …Are you telling me he's still fighting for power after his entire family was wiped out? Is something wrong with his brain?!
Lucas: It's not about logic. He believes he has a higher purpose. In his mind, Konoha needs him more than it needed his family.
Doflamingo: Fufufufu~ "Giving up everything for a dream?" Now that's funny. Even I can't claim to do something like that.
Lucas: Exactly. He thinks he's sacrificing everything for Konoha, but really, it's just an excuse to justify his own power-hungry nature.
Lucas paused before adding,
Lucas: Danzō didn't act during the Nine Tails Rebellion, and he's not acting now. He's not wasting his resources unless he's certain he can benefit. He won't move unless he's sure he can win. That's how he operates.
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