When Hiruzen Sarutobi first laid eyes on her all those years ago, Sakura Haruno was just a six-year-old child.
With a single punch, she had sent an older student who was bullying Naruto flying.
Times had changed. In the span of a mere decade, that unremarkable little girl had become a presence that the entire shinobi world dared not look down upon.
In a few days, she would become the Fifth Hokage.
She would not only be the youngest Hokage in Konohagakure's history, but also its very first female Hokage.
While this brought Hiruzen a deep sense of pride and comfort, he could not help but harbor a lingering worry.
She's too young. Far too young...
Youth usually implied impulsiveness. Though Sakura had always given off an aura of steady composure, Hiruzen knew exactly what kind of existence his disciple truly was.
"Sakura..."
Hiruzen called out his student's name softly.
"Yes, I'm here," Sakura replied, looking at the old man before her.
"Can you tell this old man... how do you view the Daimyo?" The aging man fixed his gaze on his disciple.
It's finally come to this...
Facing the old man, Sakura had no desire to deceive him. She could lie to anyone else in the world, but not to the man standing before her.
She couldn't.
"The Daimyo, the nobility..." Sakura spoke words that, to anyone else, would be considered absolute treason. "...they shouldn't exist."
Silence fell over the room. A long, heavy silence.
"Right now, the Daimyo is here in Konohagakure. Even if you ascend to the position of Hokage, it will undoubtedly feel as though a superior is pressing down on you," Hiruzen reasoned. "If this Daimyo decides to use the authority accumulated over a thousand years to oppose you, what do you plan to do next?"
To Sakura's surprise, Hiruzen did not try to persuade her to abandon these rebellious thoughts. Instead, he simply asked how she intended to execute them.
Hearing the old man's words, a slight flicker passed through Sakura's emerald eyes.
"He won't get that opportunity."
"Konohagakure's shinobi grow up in this village from childhood. Even if the Daimyo's authority can influence them, ultimately, shinobi obey the Hokage."
"Furthermore..."
Sakura lowered her gaze slightly and left the rest unsaid, but Hiruzen already understood.
"I'm old. Truly old," Hiruzen uttered with a bitter laugh, shaking his head.
Sakura had been capable of killing the previous Daimyo; dealing with the current one, who was not even twelve years old, would be no challenge at all. With her abilities, manipulating him would be as easy as turning over her hand.
"I will use the Daimyo's name to establish Konohagakure as the capital of the Land of Fire," Sakura continued, outlining the blueprint in her mind. "We will pool the nation's financial resources to expand the village, and then train shinobi on a nationwide scale. Once that happens..."
"Once the number of shinobi skyrockets, no matter how vast Konohagakure's wealth is, it won't be enough to sustain so many ninja," Hiruzen interjected, finishing her thought.
"Yes," Sakura nodded. "However, just because shinobi do not traditionally engage in production does not mean they are incapable of it. Take road construction, for instance—a Earth Release user can complete the workload of over a dozen ordinary people in a single day."
With the conversation reaching this point, Hiruzen completely understood her vision. Sakura did not just want the nobility to vanish; she wanted to use the power of shinobi to reshape the entire world.
"But..." Hiruzen looked at the young girl before him with a complex gaze, an indescribable sorrow creeping into his voice. "What about the ordinary people?"
If things went according to Sakura's plan, a massive number of ordinary citizens would face the harsh reality of unemployment. Left with no means of survival, they would inevitably become an unstable, volatile element. Yet, because of the overwhelming existence of shinobi, any rebellion on their part would be utterly futile.
In his mind's eye, Hiruzen could faintly envision a cruel, bloody storm on the horizon.
Sakura remained silent for a long time before she finally spoke, her voice measured:
"Ordinary people are not entirely devoid of chakra. I will have the Second Hokage create jutsu that even ordinary people can use, even if the processes are a bit tedious. It will be enough to ensure they can make a living."
"There is also Tenzo's Wood Release. I want to utilize his Wood Release to modify crop seeds, which will drastically increase food production."
Hiruzen shook his head. "These things take time."
To accomplish what Sakura was describing, even ten years would be considered a short estimate.
"I also need time," Sakura countered.
These projects required time, and it would take time for the shinobi forces to reach that grand scale. If managed correctly, the transition could be seamless.
"Sakura, you are doing something incredibly dangerous."
The girl raised her eyes to look at her master. "Becoming a shinobi is a dangerous endeavor to begin with."
Hiruzen stared at the young girl, momentarily at a loss for words. Her response caused his thoughts to drift back once again to a specific afternoon years ago.
A little pink-haired girl had stood atop the Hokage Rock, her hands raised as if she were holding up Konohagakure—holding up the entire Land of Fire. She had turned to him, her innocent face perfectly serious as she asked:
"Hokage-sama, don't you think there are too many countries in this world?"
Looking at her now, Sakura was genuinely carrying out the words she had spoken back then. Step by step, she was marching down a path to rule over the entire world.
"That little pink-haired kid from back then has already grown so big..." The old man gently patted the young girl's hand, unable to conceal the grief in his voice.
This path was destined to be a lonely and solitary one.
This girl—who usually seemed so grounded, yet possessed a streak of reckless audacity coupled with a brilliance that ordinary people could scarcely comprehend—would bear the brunt of public criticism. It was entirely possible that even those closest to her wouldn't understand her intentions.
He had watched her grow up bit by bit, and had long since regarded her as his own granddaughter. The thought of this girl walking completely alone on a path destined to be misunderstood brought a sudden glint of moisture to the corners of Hiruzen's eyes.
Loneliness. Solitude.
With no one to listen, no one to understand, and no one to confide in.
Even if she succeeded in the end and brought forth an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity, and even if everyone came to revere, worship, respect, and admire her... still, no one would truly understand her.
Thinking of this, Hiruzen could not help but weep silently.
After taking her leave of Hiruzen, Sakura glanced back at the modest residence.
Hadn't she prepared herself for all of this a long time ago? Now was the time to take the first step. There was nothing to hesitate about.
The Haruno Residence
"Sister!"
The moment she pushed the door open, a small figure rushed toward Sakura on short, chubby legs.
"Slow down," Sakura said with a helpless smile, catching Mirai in her arms and pinching her little sister's cheek.
"Hehehe~" Mirai giggled, wrapping her arms tightly around Sakura's neck like a clingy little shadow. "Where did you go these past two days, Sister? I missed you so much!"
The little pink-haired girl rubbed her cheek affectionately against her older sister's face.
"I was at work, of course, earning money to buy you snacks," Sakura replied. Supporting her little sister's weight with one arm, she used her free hand to kick off her shoes and socks, tossing them onto the shoe rack before walking into the house barefoot.
"You're back?" Mebuki Haruno looked at her eldest daughter with a worried expression. "Is everything alright?"
"Everything's fine. What could possibly happen to me?" Sakura replied lightly, easing her mother's tension. "Don't worry, Mom. I've got everything under control."
The commotion at the Hokage building had been far too massive to keep secret. Even a housewife like Mebuki had caught wind of it. But seeing her eldest daughter look so confident and composed, Mebuki could only suppress the anxiety in her heart.
Watching Sakura tease Mirai on the sofa, Mebuki opened her mouth, wanting to tell her daughter to be careful in her daily life. But her lips parted, and in the end, no words came out.
Sakura's brilliance was far beyond anything she could fathom. Her child had grown up long ago; it was no longer her place to interfere.