Chapter 222: Second Hokage's Speed...

"Is this the legendary speed of the Second Hokage?"

"It's not just the Flying Thunder God technique—he's also unbelievably fast at handling official business. I wonder if he's just as quick in other areas…"

Link stood in the corner of the Hokage's office, watching Senju Tobirama swiftly deal with every single piece of village paperwork.

Matters like the conflict with Amegakure, the alliance with Sunagakure, the recent friction with Iwagakure, certain disputed missions, and the various demands coming from both Jōnin and different ninja clans were all piling up.

The Anbu were busy running around delivering endless reports to the Hokage's office. Tobirama took care of them, and then the Third Hokage and the two advisors handled relaying the information further.

Link couldn't even manage a few words with his master before the man was dispatched to negotiate with the daimyō and other nobles on Tobirama's behalf.

By dawn, the heads of the ninja clans had all been summoned for discussions, and Link himself was politely asked to leave.

In truth, for many years Konoha has been undergoing a process of power gradually devolving from the top. The village started out dominated by the ninja clans; naturally, high-level positions belonged to them. No one could deny the passing of power from the First Hokage to the Second, given those two brothers' overwhelming strength.

But after the founding of the Ninja Academy, the Sannin appeared. Among them, both Jiraiya and Orochimaru were not from established clans; they were ordinary civilians who became ninjas. Even Tsunade, although called "Princess," is never mentioned with a surname.

Following that, more and more civilian-born Jōnin rose within Konoha. Meanwhile, among the old clans besides Senju, Uchiha, and Hyūga, the Sarutobi clan never seemed to occupy particularly prominent positions—oddly so, considering that the Third Hokage's own son and daughter-in-law were both elite Anbu yet remained little-known figures.

Gradually, the Senju clan faded from the spotlight; the Uchiha retreated into running their own police force and detention facilities.

It wasn't until Jiraiya trained Namikaze Minato—who became the Fourth Hokage—that it became evident: all of Minato's personal bodyguards, like Shiranui Genma, Namiashi Raidō, and Tatami Iwashi, were from civilian backgrounds.

This proved how much the ninja clans' power in Konoha had been drastically diminished, and that weakening truly began under the Second Hokage.

However, after the Fourth Hokage's unexpected death, the clans took back a lot of authority.

The Hyūga clan, for instance, refused to attend Konoha's ceremony celebrating its alliance with Kumogakure. Instead, they all ran off to celebrate Hyūga Hinata's third birthday. Keep in mind that in the Third Great Ninja War, even the Hyūga main family had honestly gone to the front lines and ended up losing a Byakugan.

According to the manga's progression, the power of the ninja clans didn't continue to wane; it actually strengthened. Tsunade and Kakashi make sense, but then you have Naruto, the Hyūga's son-in-law, and afterward Shikamaru, and so on…

As for whether Kishimoto planned all this from the beginning, it's still easy to see why. Although Japanese politics may sometimes look messy, the Japanese certainly understand the dynamics of aristocrats versus commoners. The kazoku system was abolished only after World War II, and many former nobles remain active even today.

Thus, from a shinobi-world perspective, it was "absolutely correct" for the Uchiha to be wiped out if they tried to stage a coup. Nevertheless, Danzō was still punished, which would have been impossible if the clans had no influence.

The Third Hokage was already old. After he resumed the position, he relied mainly on his past reputation, but with insufficient power, he had no way to keep the clans fully in check.

Clans like Yamanaka and Aburame also had people in Danzō's camp—moderates, hardliners, all mixing into it. In that sense, it's much like modern Japan with its many factions and still-active aristocratic lines.

Link had long been aware of these realities. He understood that if he wanted to climb higher, he would either need the support of the ninja clans or he'd have to connect with Jiraiya or Tsunade.

He was still young, though, and since the Third Hokage had been momentarily rejuvenated during the Konoha Crush Plan—thus firmly holding the reins—Link decided to bide his time.

Senju Tobirama, on the other hand, was unwilling to wait.

First, he sent off Nara (who'd been serving as the Jōnin commander), then gathered the heads of the major clans for a meeting. There was no need to guess his intentions.

Having received a large amount of recovery time from Link, Tobirama spent the entire morning discussing who-knows-what with the ninja clans. Only after that did Kakashi, Sasuke, and Link get summoned.

"From today on, you two are Jōnin," Tobirama announced, not one to mince words, and immediately laid out Link's and Sasuke's new roles.

"And you," he turned to Kakashi. "Starting tomorrow, you'll be reporting here to the Hokage's office, learning and handling the Hokage's administrative duties."

Hatake Kakashi broke out in a cold sweat.

"I want to speak with that Uchiha brat alone." With that, Tobirama gestured for Link and Kakashi to step out.

From his deep understanding of the Uchiha, he was 99% sure the kid had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. A clan massacre, an older brother who awakened the Mangekyō, who also turned out to be a spy and voluntarily died by his younger brother's hand… Put all that on any Uchiha and it's almost certain they'd awaken the Mangekyō. Careful handling was called for.

Others might not know what the Mangekyō Sharingan truly entailed, but Tobirama certainly did.

Link and Kakashi found themselves out in the corridor. Kakashi heaved yet another sigh.

"Looks like you're about to become Hokage," Link teased.

"If you want, you can volunteer to the Second Hokage to trade places with me," said the famed "Konoha's First Technician," taking out his newly-published Icha Icha Paradise series book, Icha Icha Violence, as if longing to be consoled by its "heated" content.

He, of course, had no idea how certain steamy scenes in the novel had even come to be.

"How much do you know about Sasuke and Itachi?" Link changed the subject.

Kakashi closed his book and sighed again. "I only just learned yesterday that Itachi was actually—." Frankly, he was at a loss. Before, he didn't know how to guide Sasuke on letting go of hatred. Now he's discovered that Sasuke's situation is deeply entwined with the village's secret past, including the truth of the Uchiha massacre.

Had the Third Hokage not wanted him to be someone who could stabilize Sasuke—thereby forcing him to learn these complicated details—he would have preferred to remain ignorant.

Before, he'd assumed he had the proper stance to advise Sasuke to move on. But it turns out the real enemy was within the village itself. How frustrating.

"Don't sigh so often," Link said. "If you keep sighing, you'll blow away all your good luck."

Kakashi's expression grew more serious, and he stayed quiet.

"I know a bit about what happened to you back then," Link continued. "As you know, there are always a few people in the Pure Land who know things."

"That's a bunch of nosy people," Kakashi remarked cryptically. He couldn't let go of the past, but he also wouldn't let others interfere in it.

Link merely shrugged. "I specifically looked for them in the Pure Land. I couldn't find them."

"Sorry," he added softly. "Maybe they still had unresolved attachments and didn't make it there yet."

Kakashi's grip on Icha Icha Violence tightened. After a moment, his eyes, dry from sleeplessness, shifted slightly. "There's no need to apologize to me."

"Those sorts of things…" He still carried regrets, but had already accepted reality. The prospect of meeting them again after death would be enough.

He wasn't quite sure how to respond to the concern Link was showing him. After saying what he had, he simply fell silent.

~~~

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