As Kiseki disappeared into the crowd, he did not realize that Itachi Uchiha, the most filial son in the shinobi world, had been watching him leave.
"Strange... why did I feel a faint malicious intent coming from that boy?" Itachi wondered. He did not know Kiseki, and as far as he remembered, the two of them had never spoken before. However, when he lowered his gaze and noticed the Uchiha Clan symbol on his clothes, he quickly began to understand what the reason might be.
The Sharingan.
The Uchiha Clan's bloodline limit was capable of controlling the Nine-Tails, and although there was still no public evidence directly blaming the clan for the attack, that fact alone was enough to create suspicion.
"He probably thinks the Nine-Tails' attack was caused by the Uchiha too..." Itachi lowered his gaze slightly. "The villagers were already afraid of us before, but now, after the Nine-Tails' attack, it isn't just fear anymore. They hate us... and maybe it's becoming something even worse than that."
The more Itachi thought about it, the more serious his expression became.
Far away, Kiseki continued walking without knowing exactly what was going through Itachi's mind. Still, simply remembering the young Uchiha caused him to start thinking as well.
Itachi had been praised by Hiruzen's generation as a child with one of the strongest Wills of Fire and, above all, someone who supposedly possessed the "mindset of a Hokage."
Ironically, from a certain point of view, that was actually true.
"Itachi really does have the mindset of a Hokage... he'd even sacrifice his entire clan for the supposed good of the village."
Kiseki let out a bitter laugh.
"But Hiruzen..."
In Kiseki's eyes, the current Hiruzen Sarutobi would never be willing to apply that same philosophy to his own people. Maybe during his first years as Hokage he had been different, but the old man he had eventually become was another person entirely.
Kiseki even believed that if the Sarutobi Clan itself ever attempted a coup, Hiruzen would probably find some way to ignore part of it, justify what happened, or use the situation to increase his own family's influence.
"If he could, he'd probably make his eldest son Hokage and keep the position inside his family."
That was how corrupted Kiseki believed Hiruzen had become.
But as he continued walking, Kiseki began to realize that the problem was much bigger than a single person. Maybe the real issue came from the mentality of the shinobi world itself.
From childhood, ninja were trained to become tools. They were taught how to follow orders, infiltrate enemy territory, fight, and kill. An exceptional shinobi could become a perfect assassin, a formidable commander, or an incredibly efficient weapon.
But problems began when that same shinobi reached a leadership position that required much more than commanding soldiers and killing enemies.
Governing meant managing resources, maintaining an economy, understanding the population, planning for the future, negotiating, developing territory, and making decisions that could not simply be solved with a kunai.
And many shinobi had never been taught any of that.
"They're excellent assassins... but that doesn't mean they know how to govern."
Kiseki began remembering different examples he knew from the future. Hiruzen Sarutobi had mainly become corrupted during the middle and later stages of his life. Ōnoki, on the other hand, had hardened and become corrupted much earlier, although in his final years he at least seemed genuinely concerned with finding a new generation capable of continuing to protect Iwagakure.
Kumogakure was not much better.
"They practically turned the position of Raikage into a family matter."
Sunagakure was hardly any different. Just thinking about Rasa made Kiseki shake his head internally.
"Pakura was probably the only S-rank ninja besides Rasa in their generation, and instead of making her his right hand or using someone that powerful to strengthen the village, they decided to sacrifice her."
Even Hiruzen, despite all his flaws, had maintained a relationship for years where Danzō handled the dirty work while he governed publicly. As horrible as that system was, it at least showed that Hiruzen understood the value of keeping an extremely capable person beside him instead of simply getting rid of him.
Examples like that could be found throughout the shinobi world. Great warriors, great assassins, excellent tools, but once they obtained too much political power, many of them simply had no idea how to use it properly and eventually became corrupted in one way or another.
Still, Kiseki did not blame the shinobi completely.
"In reality, all of this started long before them..."
The daimyō and nobles had helped create that entire system. For generations, shinobi had mainly been used as soldiers and mercenaries. They were expected to learn how to fight, complete missions, and kill, not how to study economics, agriculture, administration, territorial development, or how to properly improve the lives of ordinary people.
That was why, even though many of Hiruzen's plans seemed ridiculously simple from Kiseki's perspective, within the shinobi world they could already be considered fairly sophisticated. When most leaders thought primarily in military terms, someone capable of using politics, manipulation, and intrigue already possessed a major advantage.
And that was exactly where Danzō stood out.
Kiseki hated many things about the man, but there was one thing he could not deny.
Danzō was incredibly talented at those kinds of games.
Intrigue, manipulation, obtaining resources, building secret networks, and creating systems that operated beneath the surface. He had even managed to make Root generate a significant portion of its own resources without depending completely on Hiruzen, something Kiseki considered clear proof of his ability.
"Maybe if Danzō had become Hokage..."
Kiseki remained silent for a few seconds.
He did not believe Danzō would somehow become a good person just because he wore the Hokage hat. He would still be ruthless, paranoid, and willing to sacrifice almost anything for his goals.
But Kiseki had a suspicion.
"Maybe he wouldn't have become corrupted in the same way Hiruzen did."
A Konoha ruled by Danzō would probably be much harsher and more authoritarian, but Kiseki also believed it would be far more difficult for other villages to take advantage of it.
"Konoha would probably be much stronger against external enemies..."
Kiseki immediately remembered several of Hiruzen's decisions.
"...and hopefully not so overwhelmingly ruthless only toward its own people."
He shook his head slightly and continued walking toward home. After all, these were only thoughts. For now, the only thing that truly mattered to him was keeping his family as far away from all those political games as possible.