32 Chapter – 29 The Ticking Time Bomb of Konohagakure

Hokage Building, Konohagakure

Returning back to the Hokage Building, as Hiruzen was on his way to his office, he happened to meet the two advisory elders, "Koharu… Homura…"

Elder Koharu couldn't help but question, "Hiruzen, where have you been for the entire day?" Hiruzen had been gone from his office for almost the entire day, they were starting to get a little worried. If not for the fact that they have absolute confidence in Hokage's strength, they would have already started a search operation. After all, Hiruzen did not inform anyone where he was going, which is somewhat irresponsible in their opinion.

Hiruzen looked around in silence, then asked, "Did something important happen?"

Elder Utatane took out two Scrolls from her Kimono and passed them to Hiruzen, "The first Scroll was sent by the Mizukage asking for an explanation, while Danzō received the second scroll from an undercover in Kirigakure…"

"From Kirigakure? Did anything noteworthy happen in that village?" mumbled Hiruzen with a doubtful expression as he took the scroll handed to him by Elder Utatane and started reading it after unfolding it. By the time he completely read everything, his eyes were shaken, "To think that boy has grown to this extent…"

Elder Mitokado asked, "How are we going to handle diplomacy with the Land of Water and Kirigakure from here on… things there are becoming more and more dangerous…"

Hiruzen pondered for a while, then spoke, "Let's speak in the Council Room…" and proceeded toward the Elder Council meeting room.

Elder Utatane and Elder Mitokado looked at each other wondering what Hiruzen had in mind, but ultimately chose to follow him to the Elder Council Room.

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Elder Council Room, Hokage Building, Konohagakure

"To think that Uchiha Itachi severely injured the Yondaime Mizukage… the boy is indeed not something even a Kage can handle…" mumbled Hiruzen as he looked at the two Scrolls. One of the two scrolls was sent by the authorities from Kirigakure, asking for an explanation in regards to Uchiha Itachi appearing in Kirigakure and confronting their Mizukage.

Seeing Hiruzen silent, Elder Mitokado questioned, "Should we send Anbu after Uchiha Itachi? At this rate, he is starting to become more and more problematic for the village…"

Hiruzen pondered for a moment, and shook his head, "No… most Anbu don't stand a chance against him… perhaps Kakashi would be able to assassinate him, but it's highly doubtful… it would be a waste of men."

Although the Kirigakure authorities did not describe the terrible wounds suffered by the Yondaime Mizukage, Hiruzen was aware of Karatachi Yagura's serious situation from the information sent by the undercover agent in Kirigakure. Based on this, he was able to make a rough judgment of Uchiha Itachi's current strength which is enough to give a tough time even to the likes of Kages, as such, he did not consider most Anbu capable of assassinating Uchiha Itachi.

Elder Utatane suggested, "Then what about sending Jiraiya? I think he can eliminate the threat of Uchiha Itachi…" If not for the fact that Tsunade-hime suffers from Hemophobia, she would have suggested sending both of them, it's a pity that the once famous Slug Sannin is completely useless in battle these days, so she suggested only Jiraiya.

Hiruzen pondered over Elder Utatane's suggestion for a while, but ultimately shook his head, "Forget it… Jiraiya is pursuing after Orochimaru… and he also has the responsibility of managing the spy network, so let's not disturb him…"

Elder Mitokado sighed, "Then are we going to do anything about Uchiha Itachi?"

Hiruzen shrugged, "For now we have no other option but to ignore his existence… but that's fine, I believe he won't try to harm the village…" Hiruzen knows very well that the existence of Uchiha Itachi is highly sensitive for Konoha, if they were to make any wrong move in dealing with him, they might end up making him an enemy of the village, which would be very troublesome. It's best if they don't touch him unless Uchiha Sasuke becomes capable of killing him which might take at least a decade, hopefully, Itachi won't change his stance toward Konoha by then.

Elder Utatane questioned, "Then how should we respond to Kirigakure?"

Hiruzen stroked his goatee with a thoughtful expression, then answered, "Just inform them that Uchiha Itachi is a rogue shinobi as such his personal actions have nothing to do with Konohagakure nor do we hold any responsibility for them. Also, increase the price of his head on the Bingo Book. Kirigakure can try to assassinate him if they want, and we would pay them the price on his head should they succeed."

Elder Utatane nodded, "Understood…" and asked another question, "Who should I send out?"

Hiruzen pondered for a moment, and answered, "Let Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Akimichi Chōza go… the three of them would be able to handle things… just in case, I will also add an Anbu squad to make sure that things don't go south for them…"

Elder Utatane was about to nod, but suddenly recalled something and spoke, "But hasn't the Yamanaka Patriarch gone on a Rank-S mission?"

Hiruzen smiled, "This morning I received the eagle… the mission is already completed, his squad should be returning back to the village early morning tomorrow…"

"I see… in that case, I will send the Ino-Shika-Cho patriarch to handle the diplomacy with Kirigakure and handle the mission." Elder Utatane accepted the decision.

"That would be perfect…" nodded Hiruzen with a satisfied smile.

With that matter settled, Elder Mitokado asked another question, "By the way, where were you for the entire day…"

"I went to check up on Uchiha Sasuke… it's been a year since the night of Uchiha Genocide, so I wanted to check up on him…" answered Hiruzen. There was no need for him to hide what he was doing from his closest aids, both of them knew him too well to understand the reasons for his actions.

"The last remaining member of the Uchiha Clan in Konoha and younger brother of Uchiha Itachi?" mumbled Elder Mitokado.

Hiruzen nodded, "The very same child…"

Without beating around the bush, Elder Utatane asked, "So, what's your opinion of that boy of the Uchiha Clan?"

Upon hearing Elder Utatane's question, Hiruzen analyzed his observation of the boy during the time he spent around the boy, and answered, "To describe him in simple words, the boy is very sharp for his age, and he is also very talented. I have read his answer scripts and the results of his tests, for his first year in the academy his results were very good, but nothing exceptional, however, that changed in the second year. Uchiha Sasuke's scores in the second year were the highest to date, even better than Minato's."

Namikaze Minato has held the record for the best scores in all his curriculum not only in the Chūnin Promotion Exams, but also in the academy, so for Sasuke to surpass even that score, his genius is unquestionable, and both Elder Utatane and Elder Mitokado understood this.

But Hiruzen wasn't finished, "The entire time I was with the boy, I did not feel like I was talking to an eight or nine-year-old child, rather, I felt as though I was talking to a young man in his late teens who had experienced the winds and rains of life, he is not only a genius with a sharp mind, but he has a mature mind too. Such a level of maturity and demeanor is not something expected of a child, and I see Uchiha Itachi's shadows in his eyes... The problem is, he seems to be a little different from Uchiha Itachi."

Hiruzen's words shocked both Elder Utatane and Elder Mitokado. For him to give such a high evaluation to the young Uchiha, he ought to be extraordinary, the comparison with Uchiha Itachi in itself proves this point. For such a talented child to emerge at this point in time, although his existence is a boon for Konoha as the village is in dire need of fresh talent after having suffered multiple tragedies in the past decade, the problem is that the child is an Uchiha!

Hiruzen continued with a sigh, "I had read Uchiha Sasuke's file a year ago, and I remember that the boy neither had such maturity nor such a demeanor at that time. Perhaps this is the result of going through the Uchiha Genocide…"

"If we consider the emotional impact the loss of his loved ones might have had on him, he should have awakened his Sharingan, right?" asked Elder Utatane.

Hiruzen contemplated for a moment and shrugged, "I am not certain… Based on what we have read from Tobirama-Sensei's notes, he ought to have awakened the Sharingan… but the fact is, he hasn't once used his Sharingan in front of anyone, so it is difficult to tell…" In fact, Hiruzen also recalled the words Sasuke had spoken to him while on his way to the Ichiraku Ramen, 'Besides, once I awaken the Sharingan, learning Ninjutsu would become very easy, so I don't wish to spend time on it more than necessary…' These words tell him that he hasn't awakened his Sharingan as of yet, but if he were to consider the research notes left by the Nidaime Hokage, there is no doubt that he must have awakened the Sharingan having suffered such trauma and emotional pain.

Perhaps Elder Mitokado had the same thought, and suggested, "If he is as sharp as you told us, maybe he is hiding his Sharingan…"

Hiruzen nodded, "That's indeed a possibility…" There is also the possibility of him not being aware of the fact that he has awakened the Sharingan, but Hiruzen quickly denies that possibility since the boy is too sharp to not realize such a detail, which would mean that Elder Mitokado's suggestion is correct, and he is trying to hide that he has awakened the Sharingan. Considering that possibility, Hiruzen thought to himself, 'If he is indeed hiding his Sharingan, he might be hiding other skills as well… Maybe I need to fully test his skills...'

He wasn't in a hurry, there would be some opportunity in the future that he could use to test Uchiha Sasuke, Hiruzen was certain of it. As for who would test the boy? Aren't there a lot of Anbu and Root shinobi? They have been often used for such missions, this is how he evaluated Uchiha Itachi a few years ago, so a mission to test out Uchiha Sasuke's skill would be nothing new.

While Hiruzen was contemplating when and how to test Uchiha Sasuke's skills, Elder Utatane couldn't help but question in a low whisper, "Are we sure we are doing the right thing?"

Elder Mitokado also looked at Hiruzen…

In response, Hiruzen could only sigh, "We don't really have any other option for the time being…" Honest, he is not too happy with Uchiha Sasuke's existence in the village, at the same time, he couldn't help but want to scold Itachi from the bottom of his heart. Although that boy solved the problem of Uchiha Clan by dealing with them himself, he left behind trouble for him in the form of Uchiha Sasuke.

Truth be told, Hiruzen has repeatedly considered the prospect of assassinating Uchiha Sasuke during the hours he spent around Sasuke, especially after he realized that the boy is too mature and sharp to keep around. On top of that, the boy's goal is revenge. If Uchiha Sasuke were to somehow learn of his involvement with the Uchiha Genocide, only Kami knows what he would do… perhaps he might try to harm him and the village, in that scenario, Uchiha Sasuke would become a ticking time bomb that may explode at any time, so assassinating him is the best option. Certainly, the village will lose a talented child who may grow up to become an extremely strong shinobi like Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Shisui, but at least the threat will also be dealt with, right?

But Hiruzen also knows that if he were to so much as touch Sasuke so much, the consequences would not be good for the village because Uchiha Itachi certainly wouldn't swallow that. In such a situation, Sasuke can not only be considered a ticking time bomb, but also a shield protecting Konoha from a great enemy, as such, he must be kept around.

Hiruzen who is considering both prospects is in a dilemma with bad consequences on both ends, as such, he is left with no other choice but to try to change Uchiha Sasuke's ideology and mindset such that he can be controlled. 'Certainly, the boy is very sharp, talented, and mature… ultimately, he is but a child, sooner or later he will be dealt with in an appropriate manner,' at least this is what Hiruzen would like to believe and hope that things work out the way he wants until the threat of Uchiha Itachi is dealt with by Sasuke, after which, they can deal him appropriately.

'A decade, I guess…' thought Hiruzen with a heavy sigh. He doesn't know if he will be able to hold the position of the Hokage for a decade, but he has no other choice because if he doesn't hold on, then who will sit in the position of Hokage? His older son is already dead while his younger son neither possesses the necessary strength, nor the necessary mindset to be the Hokage. The only shinobi at the moment capable of becoming the Hokage is Jiraiya, but he doesn't seem to have the intention of becoming Hokage either…

'The only option left is Konohamaru, hopefully, he has inherited my talent… otherwise, it would be difficult for him to become the Hokage…' thought Hiruzen with a sigh. But Konohamaru is only four years old right now… if Hiruzen wishes for Konohamaru to be the next Hokage, he would have to hold on not for one decade, but at least two decades!

Two decades, that's a very long period of time. If anything, Hiruzen is also worried about another Shinobi War breaking out in that period. If a war were to occur, Konoha would be in a very bad state as the village seriously lacks high-end combat power. Other than Jiraiya, Konoha has no Kage-level combat power left in the village, and even his strength has started to decline, and the Jinchuriki of Nine-tail is only a child at the moment!

How did Konohagakure fall into such a miserable state within just a decade?

A decade ago, Konoha was undoubtedly the strongest Shinobi Village, however, the same cannot be said for the current Konoha. If anything, the current Konoha is probably at its weakest!

'Sigh… I wonder what the future has in store for us…' sighing heavily Hiruzen looked through the window.

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While Sarutobi Hiruzen was having a discussion with the two elders about Uchiha Sasuke, the person in question returned to his apartment with a tired expression.

He wasn't physically exhausted; he hadn't done anything physically tiring enough today… his exhaustion was psychological. Having to spend several hours around Sarutobi Hiruzen was extremely mentally draining. Sasuke had to be on constant guard against the hypocrite Hokage in order to not give away any information that would make the old fucker suspicious of him any more than obvious. As such, every line, every word, every expression, and every reaction had to be carefully considered before speaking lest the old P might start thinking of him as some kind of ticking time bomb.

In fact, despite all the countermeasures Sasuke took, he isn't completely confident of his ability to fool that old coot. After all, Hiruzen has been the Hokage for nearly three and a half decades, just how sharp his political sense and observational skills are, Sasuke just can't compare to that level. As such, there is a very strong possibility that Hiruzen might have seen through a few things, and Sasuke doesn't know what those few things might be.

'Sigh… I am too tired to even think about what mistakes I might have made…' With a tired sigh, Sasuke changed his clothes and decided to take a rest. Because of mental exhaustion, he did not feel like doing anything for a while except laying down on the bed, and without even realizing he fell asleep only to wake up at midnight eleven o'clock in the night.

Immediately after getting up, Sasuke started to carry out preparations, it was time for him to sneak into the Yamanaka District in order to steal the Scrolls of their Secret Jutsu, after all, Yamanaka Inoichi is not in Konoha at the moment, is there any better time?

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