Faced with Danzo's suggestion, Senju Tobirama suddenly felt refreshed and silently gave Danzo a thumbs-up in his heart.
As expected, I still need someone with a lower IQ to step forward and make things difficult for the monster that is Shokata Rinto. That way, it will be easier for me to gather information on him!
Thinking of this, Tobirama glanced at Rinto, whose face had darkened, with great interest but chose not to express any opinion.
He wanted to see—really wanted to see—how Rinto would deal with this!
Although Rinto didn't notice Tobirama's intrigued gaze, the meaning was clear;
The Hokage wasn't speaking—waiting instead for a child to respond?
The message couldn't be more obvious.
For a moment, all eyes in the office focused on Rinto.
Rinto was briefly stunned. The gloom on his face vanished, replaced by a wide grin. He sighed regretfully, shaking his head as he addressed Danzo, who refused to even look at him.
"Shimura Danzo, you can't be Hokage."
"What?!" Danzo's head snapped toward Rinto, fury flashing in his eyes as if he wanted to devour him whole.
The reason was simple—he desperately wanted to become Hokage!
Senju Tobirama had yet to make his intentions clear regarding the next Hokage. This meant Danzo was still in the running for the position.
However, only Tobirama himself knew the truth—Sarutobi Hiruzen was the only viable candidate.
Shimura Danzo wasn't good enough. Mitokado Homura wasn't good enough. Utatane Koharu wasn't good enough. Akimichi Tofu wasn't good enough.
As for Uchiha Kagami, he had both the ability and the right beliefs, but Tobirama couldn't ignore the risk. If Kagami became Hokage, he would be caught between the village and his clan—a scenario Tobirama dared not allow.
As for why Sarutobi Hiruzen was suited for the role? It wasn't because of his strength, personality, or abilities.
It was simply because, among the six of them, he was the most like Senju Hashirama.
Hearing Rinto's words, Tobirama was stunned. A sudden, ominous premonition gripped him.
His instincts screamed that he couldn't let this guy keep talking!
But his rational mind told him otherwise—he should let Rinto continue, as it would help analyze him further.
For a moment, conflicting thoughts flickered in Tobirama's sharp eyes.
Meanwhile, Sarutobi Hiruzen was delighted.
If he claimed he didn't want to be Hokage, he'd be lying.
More importantly, despite his teacher's orders to keep Rinto away from Konoha's upper echelons—clearly out of distrust—Hiruzen believed in his own judgment.
Rinto was someone who valued bonds more than his own life. This made Hiruzen optimistic about him and willing to trust him.
Had Rinto known what Sarutobi was thinking, he would have been shocked.
Because his fourth plan—the one he had shown to Senju Hashirama—had actually been seen by Sarutobi Hiruzen!
Back in the office, Rinto looked at Danzo, whose anger was growing, and smiled, narrowing his eyes.
"Mr. Danzo, do you know what the greatest weakness of human nature is?"
Danzo remained silent. At this moment, he only wanted to strangle Rinto on the spot.
Yes, even the little one standing beside him should be strangled.
Rinto didn't expect Danzo to answer. Instead, he reached out and gently patted Rie's soft head, his expression filled with affection.
"Rie, tell him—what is the greatest weakness of human nature?"
Rie timidly glanced around before responding in a soft voice: "Arrogance."
Silence followed.
A silence so deep it seemed even the air had stopped moving.
Tobirama's mind conjured two faces—his brother, Hashirama, and Uchiha Madara. The arrogant Madara and his elder brother, who always greeted everyone with a foolish smile.
Uchiha Kagami thought of his clan, their hopeful gazes when they looked at him, yet their indifference toward outsiders. His heart ached.
"So, this is what magnanimity is?" Kagami's subconscious murmur made Danzo's face burn with shame.
"What do you mean? I lack capacity? Impossible! I'm willing to bear infamy and darkness for the sake of the village! How could I not have the capacity?!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Danzo's heart dropped.
He had made a mistake.
Carrying the darkness—how could he have said that out loud?!
Unspoken rules were called unspoken for a reason. Everyone understood them, but no one voiced them. Once spoken, they had consequences.
Now, there was no turning back.
Even if he didn't want to bear the darkness and infamy, he had to.
Realizing this, Danzo immediately lowered his head, not daring to show even a flicker of defiance before Tobirama.
He had already lost the right to compete for Hokage—just now, in those few words spoken by that damn brat.
Now, his only hope was that he hadn't completely lost Tobirama's favor.
Seeing that Danzo was cowed, Rinto could have let things go.
But that wasn't his style.
If you don't kill the snake, you at least need to break its spine.
Today, he was going to completely crush Danzo—with words alone.
Just as Rinto was about to speak again, Tobirama raised his hand, cutting him off.
"Enough. Monkey, take him to complete his enrollment procedures."
Hiruzen, sensing danger, immediately grabbed Rinto's sleeve and dragged him out of the office as though escaping from disaster.
"Don't forget to send the envelope to Mosu at the gold exchange…" Rinto shouted, his words cut off as Hiruzen pulled him away.
Everyone in the office let out a sigh of relief, their backs drenched in sweat.
Sakuta Rinto—this guy was terrifying.
He played with people's hearts better than the most dangerous ninjutsu they knew.
Danzo, just because he wanted to show off, had been stripped of his status as a Hokage candidate.
Not just from their minds, but from their teacher's heart.
The conclusion was unanimous—
This man must never be allowed into Konoha's upper echelons.
Tobirama, still seated behind his desk, remained expressionless.
But inwardly, he sighed, summarizing the data:
Name: Sakuta Rinto
Potential: S+
Loyalty: E-
Value: S+
Personality: Deeply values family, extremely vengeful
Suggestion: Eliminate or ignore.
Solution: Avoid direct engagement with Rinto. Approach through Sakuta Rie via Senju Kyoko.
---
After completing the enrollment procedures, Hiruzen walked Rinto and Rie to the entrance of the Hokage building.
Before they could leave, he called out, looking puzzled.
"Rinto-kun, why do you insist on going to the Ninja Academy?"
Hearing this, Rinto sighed, glancing at the well-behaved Rie beside him.
"What else? Money."
Then, he launched into a passionate rant about the cost of living.
By the end, Hiruzen was speechless.
"…I have some savings. You can use it," he finally offered, pulling out a wad of cash.
Rinto teared up. "Uncle Sarutobi, thank you! But I can't accept this!"
Then, with a sly grin—
"By the way, shouldn't Konoha be paying me too? I'm technically a double agent now."
Realizing he'd been played, Hiruzen coughed and vanished to ask Tobirama.
Soon, he returned, handing Rinto his first paycheck—10,000 ryo.
As he walked away, Rinto smirked, pocketing the cash.
Three salaries for one job. Life was good.
–-------------------------------
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