"Hoo…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen drew in another deep breath from his pipe, then slowly exhaled a cloud of pale smoke.
He walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked down.
Below, beneath the shade of a tree beside the Hokage Building, the Uchiha Grand Elder and Uchiha Mikoto were talking quietly while waiting for Yagami.
"Yagami."
Hiruzen removed the pipe from his mouth.
"What do you think of the Uchiha clan?"
Yagami paused slightly.
"The Uchiha clan?"
He looked at Hiruzen's back with a trace of surprise.
If it had been someone else, they might not have thought too deeply about the question. At most, they would assume the Third Hokage was dissatisfied with the Uchiha clan's pride and arrogance.
But Yagami was different.
He knew the future. He knew the hidden tensions between Konoha and the Uchiha.
For Hiruzen to ask him something like this now, there had to be a deeper meaning behind it.
"The Uchiha are one of Konoha's strongest clans," Yagami said after a moment. "Their strength is real. No one can deny that."
He looked down at the village below.
"But there are also many among them who are proud to the point of arrogance. Some of them look down on shinobi outside the clan and act as if the Uchiha name alone puts them above others."
Since he still did not know what Hiruzen was truly trying to ask, Yagami chose to answer from the surface.
Hiruzen listened quietly.
"Mm."
His gaze moved away from the two figures below.
Yagami's answer was fair.
He had not praised the Uchiha blindly because of Mikoto, nor had he deliberately slandered them because of past conflict.
That alone made Hiruzen's eyes soften slightly.
What Yagami said was indeed the current state of the Uchiha clan. Of course, because of the previous conflict with Yagami, the clan had been much more restrained recently.
After a brief silence, Hiruzen spoke again.
"Then let me ask you something else."
His voice became lower.
"If, one day, the Uchiha clan tried to start a coup against the village…"
He turned his head and looked directly at Yagami.
"Or if they chose to betray Konoha, what would you do?"
The wind over the rooftop seemed to grow still.
Hiruzen's eyes remained fixed on Yagami's face, watching every change in his expression.
Yagami's recent rise had been too fast. His strength had already reached a level where even the village elders could no longer ignore him.
But because of his relationship with Uchiha Mikoto, Hiruzen had no choice but to worry.
If Yagami leaned toward the Uchiha because of her, then no matter how talented he was, Konoha's leadership would never allow him too close to the village's center of power.
Yagami understood almost immediately.
So that was it.
Because of Mikoto, they were afraid he would side with the Uchiha clan in the future.
"Does that even need to be asked?"
Yagami answered without hesitation.
"I would stand with the village."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And Mikoto?"
Yagami looked at him.
"If the Uchiha clan and the village truly reached that point, what would you do about her?"
Yagami let out a faint, helpless breath.
"Mikoto is Mikoto. The Uchiha clan is the Uchiha clan."
His tone was calm, but firm.
"I won't confuse the two."
He glanced toward the tree below, where Mikoto was still waiting.
"If Mikoto and I end up together in the future, then she won't be Uchiha Mikoto anymore."
Yagami looked back at Hiruzen.
"She'll be Yagami Mikoto."
Hiruzen stared at him for a few seconds.
Then the old Hokage chuckled softly.
"I see."
The tension in his eyes finally eased.
Yagami was not lying. At least, Hiruzen could not see any hesitation or falsehood in his face.
To Yagami, the Uchiha clan itself clearly did not matter much. The only people within that clan who had any real connection to him were Mikoto and the Grand Elder.
As for the rest?
They had nothing to do with him.
That answer was enough.
Yagami's strength was rising too quickly. It was almost frightening. He had already reached the point where one person could influence the course of a war.
Once this war ended, his name would undoubtedly spread throughout the shinobi world.
In the future, as long as Yagami remained in Konoha, the other villages would have to think carefully before starting another war against the Land of Fire.
That was precisely why Hiruzen, as the Third Hokage, had to be cautious.
"Hokage-sama," Yagami said with a faint smile. "If there's nothing else, I'll head down first."
Hiruzen nodded.
"Go."
Yagami could feel it now.
Hiruzen's concern had been real, but so was the village's value for him.
That was not a bad thing.
Before, without enough strength, Yagami had never seriously considered aiming for the Hokage's seat.
But now things were different.
He had power.
And if the village's higher-ups already held such expectations for him, then there was no reason for him not to compete for that position.
After all, his system was called the Strongest Prestige System.
In all of Konoha, was there any position with more prestige than Hokage?
Of course, there was another reason too.
Power itself was tempting.
"Then I'll take my leave, Hokage-sama."
Yagami smiled.
"You should rest as well. You fought through the night."
Hiruzen gave a quiet laugh.
"You're telling me to rest now?"
Yagami stepped off the rooftop.
Using the Flying Technique, he descended lightly toward the ground below.
Hiruzen watched him land near Mikoto and the Grand Elder, then let out a soft sigh.
"Youth really is something."
He tapped the ash from his pipe, then turned and walked back toward the stairs.
Compared to the heavy steps he had taken when he came up, his footsteps were much lighter now.
Below the Hokage Building, Yagami landed smoothly in front of Mikoto and the Grand Elder.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Mikoto looked at him and smiled faintly.
"It's fine."
The Grand Elder glanced toward the rooftop, then back at Yagami, but did not ask anything.
Yagami also had no intention of explaining.
"Let's go."
The three of them left the Hokage Building and walked toward the Uchiha compound.
Because of his age and status, Sarutobi Hiruzen had not assigned any missions to the Uchiha Grand Elder. Naturally, there was no report for him to give either.
So the three of them simply left together.
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