Faced with Danzō's proposal, Tobirama Senju suddenly felt a wave of satisfaction and gave him a silent thumbs up in his heart.
As expected, it really took someone with less intelligence to step up and make things difficult for that monster Reiji Sakuhō. That would make it easier for me to gather intel on him!
With that thought, Tobirama glanced at Reiji's gloomy face with amused interest but didn't say a word.
He wanted to see—he really wanted to see—how Reiji would handle this!
Although Reiji didn't notice Tobirama's gaze, at this point…
A Hokage saying nothing? Waiting for a kid to speak?
The message couldn't be clearer.
For a moment, every eye in the office turned to Reiji.
He paused for a beat, the darkness on his face melting away, then suddenly grinned. Looking at Danzō, who refused to meet his eyes, he let out a regretful sigh while shaking his head.
"Danzō Shimura, you'll never be Hokage."
"What?!" Danzō snapped his head around, fury exploding in his eyes as if he were ready to devour Reiji whole.
The reason for his anger was simple—he desperately wanted to become Hokage!
Tobirama Senju had yet to officially name a successor. That meant Danzō Shimura was still one of the candidates for the Third Hokage.
But only Tobirama himself knew—Hiruzen Sarutobi was the only one fit to take on the title.
Danzō wasn't suitable, nor were Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, or Torifu Akimichi. As for Kagami Uchiha, while his abilities and convictions were solid, Tobirama didn't dare gamble with someone who'd be caught between the village and his clan.
Why was Hiruzen suitable? Not because of his strength, character, or skills—but because out of the six, he was the one who most resembled his big brother, Hashirama Senju.
Hearing Reiji's words, Tobirama was stunned. A bad feeling welled up inside him.
His instincts screamed to shut this guy up immediately!
But reason told him otherwise—he should let him continue. It would help him analyze this man.
For a moment, conflicting thoughts flickered in Tobirama's eyes.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a surge of joy.
Anyone who said they didn't want to be Hokage was lying.
And even though his teacher said Reiji shouldn't be part of Konoha's upper ranks—a clear sign of mistrust—Hiruzen believed in his own judgment.
Reiji valued bonds more than life itself. That made Hiruzen trust him deeply.
So he didn't want to doubt a word Reiji said.
If Reiji knew what Hiruzen was thinking, he'd be shocked.
Because the fourth proposal he had prepared for Hashirama Senju had somehow ended up in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hands!
Back in the office, Reiji watched as Danzō's fury swelled and narrowed his eyes with a grin.
"Danzō-san, do you know what the greatest weakness of human nature is?"
Danzō said nothing. Right now, all he wanted was to strangle Reiji—and maybe that little girl next to him too.
Reiji didn't expect him to answer, anyway. Instead, he affectionately patted Rie's soft little head.
"Rie, tell him—what's the greatest weakness of human nature?"
Rie glanced nervously around, then softly replied, "Arrogance."
Silence.
So quiet, it was as if even breathing had stopped.
In Tobirama Senju's mind, two faces flashed: his brother and Madara Uchiha—the arrogant Madara, and his always-smiling brother.
Kagami Uchiha thought of his clan—their eyes filled with hope for him but cold indifference toward outsiders. His heart ached with sorrow.
"So… this is what it means to have true character?"
The words slipped out of Kagami's mouth and instantly made Danzō's face burn with shame.
"What do you mean? I don't have character? That's impossible! I'm willing to bear the blame, to shoulder the darkness for the village, and you say I don't have character?"
As soon as he said it, Danzō's heart dropped.
Crap!
You're not supposed to say stuff like that out loud!
There's a reason it's called an unspoken rule. Everyone knows it—but no one says it. It's not that you can't say it, but once you do, it brings all kinds of consequences.
And now it was out there. Nailed to the wall.
Even if he didn't want to shoulder darkness and scorn—now he had no choice.
Realizing this, Danzō immediately lowered his head, not daring to show a hint of anger in front of Tobirama.
He'd lost his shot at becoming Hokage. Just now. Just because of a few words from that damn kid.
Now, he didn't want Tobirama to hate him from the bottom of his heart.
Seeing Danzō shrink back, Reiji had no intention of letting up.
Lay low? Hell no!
If you strike a snake, you better kill it—today I'm using words to bury you completely.
If you dare cross me, you'd better be ready. I've got the sharpest tongue and the coldest heart.
With that thought, Reiji's scheming smile only grew wider.
"Right, there's one more thing—"
Before Reiji could finish, Tobirama Senju raised a hand to cut him off.
"Enough. Saru, take him to complete enrollment procedures."
Hiruzen Sarutobi also felt he couldn't let this guy keep talking, so he quickly grabbed Reiji by the sleeve and practically dragged him out of the Hokage's office like he was escaping for his life.
"Don't forget to give the envelope to Amegakure at the Bounty Station—" Reiji hadn't even finished when Hiruzen yanked him through the door.
Inside the office, everyone except Tobirama let out a collective sigh, cold sweat soaking their backs.
Reiji Sakuhō—this guy was terrifyingly good at playing with people's hearts. It was scarier than any jutsu they knew.
Danzō had just tried to show off, and with a few words, Reiji had stripped him of his candidacy for Hokage—both in their eyes and in their teacher's.
Everyone silently reached the same conclusion: under no circumstances could this guy be allowed into Konoha's upper ranks.
Behind the desk, Tobirama Senju kept his calm facade, but deep down, he sighed and began compiling intel.
Name: Reiji Sakuhō
Potential: S+
Loyalty: E−
Value: S+
Personality: Overprotective of family, extremely vindictive
Recommendation: Eliminate or ignore.
Action Plan: Ignore Reiji Sakuhō. Approach Rie Sakuhō through Kyōko Senju.
...
After finishing the enrollment process, Hiruzen Sarutobi escorted Reiji and Rie to the front steps of the Hokage building. Just as they were about to part ways, he suddenly called out, curiosity finally getting the better of him.
"Reiji, why do you insist on entering the Ninja Academy?"
Reiji gave a wry smile and glanced at the well-behaved Rie by his side.
"What else? It's all because of money."
Then he launched into a full-blown complaint.
"Old man Sarutobi, you've got no idea! Forging metal is back-breaking work—at best I make two or three thousand ryo a month.
Even if I scrimp and save, I can't cut back on Rie's meals. So say I'm left with 2,000 a month. That's 240,000 a year—2.4 million in ten years.
I can't mooch off Ippongi—he's my boss—forever, right? Besides, Rie's growing up. She's not gonna be able to keep sharing a room with me!
I checked—an apartment in Konoha with three bedrooms? It costs five million ryo!
I'd need twenty years to save up that much. Even if my income rises, won't her expenses go up too?
She'll want nice dresses like her classmates. When they eat tasty food, I can't just let her sit there drooling!
I promised her mother I'd take good care of her. I can't have her living on scraps with me!
Mama mia—if I don't become a ninja and earn through missions, how am I supposed to support us?!"
By the end, Reiji fell silent, overwhelmed. Beside him, Rie burst into coordinated sobs.
You're clearly siblings!
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood frozen, staring at Reiji like he was a war-weary single father crushed by life.
He'd imagined countless reasons Reiji might give—but he never expected something so brutally grounded. It was like being hit with Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique.
"Uh… I've got a little savings. You can use it for now?" Hiruzen awkwardly fumbled a wad of cash from his ninja pouch and handed it over, hands trembling.
Seeing this, Reiji wiped away imaginary tears and looked at Hiruzen with watery gratitude.
"Old man Sarutobi, thank you! But I can't accept it."
He gave another dramatic wipe of his eyes and slyly let his true motive slip.
"Speaking of which, I'm technically a double agent for Konoha and Amegakure, right? Amegakure pays me—shouldn't Konoha be paying too?"
At that, Hiruzen could only laugh helplessly.
Damn it, I walked right into that.
And now he really couldn't bring himself to say no.
"Ahem… Wait here. I'll go ask my teacher."
Then with a Body Flicker, he vanished like he was fleeing a battlefield.
...
A while later, Reiji finally saw Hiruzen return—and received his first paycheck in Konoha: 10,000 ryo.
Noticing Reiji's discontented look, Hiruzen gave a dry smile.
"Don't complain. That's the standard monthly pay for an ANBU operative."
Saying that, he turned and walked away without looking back, afraid Reiji would start a new sob story.
Reiji patted the bills in his hand, clicked his tongue, and sighed.
"Eh, better than nothing."
Muttering to himself, he remembered he was doing one job but pulling three paychecks. His mood instantly lifted as he hoisted the giggling Rie onto his shoulder and headed home.
At the Hokage office's large window, Tobirama Senju watched Reiji cheerfully strutting off, shaking his head like an idiot.
His handsome face stretched long as he silently added a new label to the man.
Shameless.