Naruto: From Extra to Savior

To the ninja of Konoha, defiling the corpse of the First Hokage after death was an unforgivable crime. Even if done in the name of Konoha's interests, such a violation of ethics and morality could never be accepted.

As a disciple of the Hokage, Danzo Shimura had personally experienced multiple Great Ninja Wars. The countless battles left him severely wounded, his body barely holding together. His bandages weren't just covering his head and right eye, or binding what seemed to be a disabled right hand—these weren't only meant to hide the abnormalities caused by the implanted Sharingan and the Genes of the First. Rather, these wounds were truly debilitating, sustained from past near-fatal injuries.

Danzo Shimura's current status was not simply due to being the Hokage's student; he was truly a warrior who had risked life and death for Konoha. Leading Root, he personally trained generation after generation of elite ninja. In other words, Danzo Shimura was undeniably a meritorious veteran for Konoha.

Some might argue that he didn't show himself during the Nine-Tails Attack on the village. But according to Mizuki's investigation and intelligence, the implantation of the Genes of the First probably hadn't yet been perfected back then. Simply put, twelve years ago, Danzo was still a half-disabled man hiding in the shadows, licking his wounds, utterly incapable of saving the village, able only to send subordinates to help instead. To maintain the balance between the Sharingan and the First's genes, one can estimate roughly when Danzo implanted the First's genes by looking at when the Uchiha clan was destroyed. By the time Sasuke and Naruto entered the Ninja Academy, several years had already passed.

Therefore, it wasn't fair to blame Danzo for doing nothing as the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato died fighting—it was simply because he lacked the strength to act.

This time, during the election for the Fifth Hokage, if Jiraiya hadn't returned to the village, Danzo might have smoothly become the acting Hokage, and eventually dropped the word "acting" without issue.

But against Jiraiya—who rivaled Danzo in power and reputation while being significantly younger—and unable to reveal his true physical condition, Danzo stood little chance.

Danzo sighed and fell silent. Everything had been ready, but the moment he learned recently that Jiraiya had returned to the village, he'd already braced himself for failure. Looks like he would need to wait again for another opportunity.

What followed no longer concerned Mizuki. After going through the formalities with routine instructions, the meeting concluded.

...

"Kakashi, thanks today," said Mizuki honestly. Truthfully speaking, getting along well with the future Sixth Hokage made him feel slightly proud, giving him the pleasant illusion of having become someone of importance himself.

"Just a small favor, didn't take much effort," Kakashi replied. "From now on though, there's going to be a tough period ahead, no more free time..."

"I leave the day after tomorrow, right after the Third's funeral. Seems like I won't have much time to prepare."

"You don't really need preparation, do you? It's just a formality anyway..." As Kakashi said, the victors would parade their might, while those who failed in their ambush would surrender and submit, serving merely as a spectacle to remind outsiders that Konoha remained the preeminent power in the ninja world.

Mizuki sighed, saying, "Why isn't a single elder attending? Not even many powerful ninja are present?"

It was understandable if Kakashi and Might Guy weren't going—after all, Konoha now appeared strong externally but was weak inside, needing powerful ninja for protection.

As The Third's son, Asuma Sarutobi possessed considerable strength and was well-suited for foreign policy and diplomatic affairs. Everyone else had their own missions too, so there weren't enough personnel available to send anyone to Sunagakure. Surprisingly, the jōnin leading this mission turned out to be none other than Hiashi Hyuga, the head of the Hyuga clan.

The Hyuga clan leader certainly had the power and prestige required for a negotiation envoy. However, the Hyuga had remained on Konoha's periphery for many years, maintaining their isolationist tradition and rarely involving themselves in village affairs—a sharp contrast to the Uchiha clan's high-profile presence. Perhaps because of the Uchiha's tragic precedent, the Hyuga became even more indifferent toward Konoha's affairs. The incident surrounding Hizashi Hyuga's death several years ago left deep scars on the Hyuga clan, especially when Konoha chose compromise over justice. Therefore, the Hyuga clan seldom commented on Konoha's leadership's actions.

Yet no one could ignore the Hyuga's formidable power and long-standing legacy. This time, having the clan leader himself take charge was truly a necessity. Among those qualified with both status and availability, nobody fit better than Hiashi Hyuga.

"Kakashi," Mizuki asked, "why do you think the Hyuga clan has never attempted to pursue the Hokage position?"

Despite being marginalized at times, the Hyuga's influence made them a crucial force within Konoha. Though challenging the Hokage position would be difficult, success wasn't unlikely. So why hadn't they tried competing like the Uchiha had?

Kakashi thought briefly before replying, "Maybe because of tradition—and especially the Cursed Seal."

"That's true," Mizuki said indifferently.

In Mizuki's view, Kakashi only touched upon a small part of the truth. The deeper reason likely lay in what people called "legacy"—put simply—factions. The major clans' interests like the Uchiha and Hyuga clashed greatly with those represented by the Hokage—smaller clans and civilian ninja. Whether clan interests or village-wide concerns held more weight ultimately determined who could even approach the Hokage's seat.

...

After parting ways with Kakashi Hatake, Mizuki returned home late into the night. When he opened the door, he found the room already tidied up, with dinner prepared neatly on the table.

"It's still warm. She must've just left."

Two servings of untouched dinner sat on the table, clearly waiting for him to return—but she was already gone, having left in a rush. Mizuki couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Looks like I'm going to be busy for the next few days…"

Quickly finishing his meal, Mizuki took a hot bath and then collapsed onto the bed, too exhausted to move. His recent efforts had left him utterly drained. He had spent endless hours preparing for this day, going through every possible scenario and countermeasure—most of which turned out to be useless in the end. In the end, everything unraveled despite his plans, though the final outcome wasn't all that different.

Still troubled after resting for a while, Mizuki tossed and turned without falling asleep. Finally, he picked up the small notebook lying nearby and began flipping through its pages.

"Hmm?"

All of these were experiment records Mizuki had asked Tsubaki to make. Who would have thought she'd already gathered this much.

Flipping casually through these messy data pages, Mizuki was just randomly browsing with no particular purpose.

"They're all routine stuff. Nothing particularly useful."

Mizuki felt somewhat disappointed with the results—until he reached the very last page.

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