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IUTT: Ch. 48
🕑 Added 2025-05-12 15:04:53 +0000 UTCHiruzen always felt conflicted about Shin. His teacher's order was that the boy was not allowed to train in ninjutsu and should live an ordinary life as a civilian.
But there was one thing he overlooked: That was the fact that Hiruzen had just assumed the position of Hokage, suddenly stepping in after Tobirama's unexpected death. His prestige was low, and his position unstable, so he needed to rally authority and bolster legitimacy.
The best way to stabilize the situation was to firmly support and fully implement all of Tobirama's commands. In this process, some overcorrections were bound to happen.
Tobirama likely never expected his disciple to go so far as to expel Shin from the Ninja Academy, from the Uchiha clan itself, and even assign an ANBU team to monitor him 24/7.
This led Hiruzen to feel that the cost of monitoring Shin was too high and thus considered eliminating him. But as Shin began to show more and more value, he grew increasingly reluctant to kill him.
Now, with Shin demonstrating even greater worth, Hiruzen also felt that he was become an even greater threat.
Yet all of this was based on the assumption that the conflict between Shin and them was irreconcilable. But what if he knew nothing about any of this? Then how could he be a threat?
What if he was still part of the Uchiha clan? Maybe then Hiruzen would still be concerned. But Shin had already been expelled from the Uchiha clan long ago, they had nothing to do with each other anymore, only hostility.
Then there was Tsunade, his own student. With her as the bridge, why wouldn't Shin be manageable? Even if Shin eventually learned the truth, that would be blamed on the Second Hokage.
On the contrary, Hiruzen could assert firmly to Shin that he never intended to harm him, that he had been protecting him in secret all along.
Because… that was the truth!
There was only one thing that he was slightly concerned about, the fact that not long ago, Mito and Tsunade had stepped in to protect Shin. But thinking about it now, it must have been because Mito noticed something and acted for the sake of her granddaughter's happiness.
He believed Mito had the ability to perceive such things. But she would never tell Shin the truth. After all, she was also afraid that telling the truth might scare Shin away, and Tsunade would lose her husband.
Besides, Shin was someone who deeply valued kindness and always repaid gratitude, that was evident from the way he treated his adoptive parents and younger brother. And based on analysis, Shin wasn't someone who held grudges over every little thing.
If he really were that kind of person, with his strength and teleportation abilities, would Koharu still be alive after all these years of mistreating him?
But he endured it all, never turned against her, never attacked, just showed displeasure. So, as long as the kindness was delivered correctly, why worry about not winning him over?
Thinking of this, Hiruzen suddenly felt much clearer.
"Hokage-sama!" Shin suddenly spoke up at this moment, "Can I… can I ask why you've always had people watching me? If I did something wrong when I was young, I'm willing to change, I really am!"
Seeing his earnest and aggrieved expression, Hiruzen immediately formed a plan. "Sigh!" he sighed and said, "This matter is tied to a past event in Konoha's history."
"Huh?" Shin looked extremely surprised. "Does this past event… have something to do with me?"
"Have you ever heard of Madara?" Hiruzen didn't answer directly but instead asked.
"Hiruzen, that's enough!" Danzo immediately interrupted. "Let the past stay in the past!"
"I just want this child to know the truth," Hiruzen said righteously. "It's been over seven years, it's time to make some changes."
"You're disregarding explicit instructions!" Danzo said angrily.
"Throughout my life, I have faithfully executed our teacher's directives," Hiruzen replied with conviction. "But for the welfare of the village, I'm prepared to accept responsibility for this single exception."
What self-serving nonsense, Danzo thought bitterly.
If breaking with Tobirama-sensei "for the village" counts as taking responsibility, who would criticize you? It only enhances your reputation while potentially tarnishing his legacy.
I never expected this from you, Hiruzen, using even our teacher as a shield for your political maneuvering.
Your shamelessness is truly remarkable.
And Shin is someone I had my eye on... now you position yourself to claim his loyalty before I can.
"This path has significant consequences, Hiruzen," Danzo said with a low voice. "Some of which may not be immediately apparent."
"All paths do, which is why such decisions rest with the office I hold," Hiruzen said firmly, playing the "good cop" role to win more favor from Shin, while solemnly reminding Danzo of his authority.
"You—" Danzo's composure finally broke. Unable to continue, he simply flicked his long sleeves and stormed out of the Hokage's office.
"Hokage-sama, you don't need to go to such lengths for me!" Shin's eyes were welling up with tears, deeply moved.
"You misunderstand my motives," Hiruzen shook his head solemnly. "My actions aren't for any individual, everything I do is for Konoha."
Shin was utterly stunned by both Hiruzen's actions and his words. It was as if a wave of passionate background music suddenly started playing in his mind. A beam of light shone from behind Hiruzen, making him appear radiant and sacred, too dazzling to look at directly.
Is this what righteousness and virtue look like?
Damn, this is fun!
"Hokage-sama…" His voice choked up; for a moment, he didn't even know what to say.
"That's enough," Hiruzen said, genuinely pleased with how the exchange was unfolding. "No need for that."
"It's time you understood the full context," he continued. "Madara was the first leader of the Uchiha after the clan joined Konoha. He and the First Hokage were once close allies. At that time, the village had just been founded. Everything was in ruins, but with everyone's efforts, it steadily improved, becoming more prosperous and stronger."
"I was just a child then, much younger than you are now," he said with a smile. "Back then, I often thought: If only the village could stay like this forever… But there are always those who can't live peacefully, who have to stir up trouble."
"Was that person Madara?" Shin asked, playing along perfectly and encouraging the story.
"Yes, that's right." Hiruzen continued explaining, "As the village flourished, everyone was happy, but he resented not being made Hokage. So he tried to persuade the Uchiha clan to leave Konoha with him, to build a new village, one where he could be the Kage."
"And… did anyone go with him?" Shin, fully immersed in the story now, asked with curiosity.
Hiruzen shook his head with satisfaction and replied, "No, not a single person. Because the Uchiha wanted to live good lives too, who would want to go back to war and hardship?"
"And then?"
"Then he left alone. But even after leaving, he couldn't let it go. Eight years after Konoha's founding, he came back alone, declaring he would destroy the village."
"How could he do that?" Shin immediately became angry and voiced his disapproval.
"Exactly, how could he do that?" Hiruzen echoed with righteous indignation. "Many people have asked the same question. But… it really happened."
