Chapter 844 : Another Student?

A few hours after Sun rose, Hiruzen strolled into the Hokage Building. Unlike the previous times, he was completely relaxed. He thought, ‘It's been so long since I didn't have many responsibilities. I got a short respite when Minato succeeded me. It's a shame that it ended so quickly…’

Even though he was far weaker and in tremendous pain, not having the pressure of what came with the seat relaxed Hiruzen. He walked into his old office calmly. Looking at his student buried in paperwork brought back some of his memories. Luckily, he could afford to smile this time since he didn't have to do them.

His peaceful smile annoyed Tsunade. She thought, ‘He sure is enjoying life after burying me in paperwork!’
He said, “You seem to be recovering well, Sensei. Are you missing your old job?”

Realizing his thoughts were being read, he coughed and said, “I'm just happy to see you in this chair. Even though it's much later than I hoped, I'm glad it happened.”

As he spoke, Hiruzen thought, ‘The injuries and retirement have affected my mental state. I am too relaxed, making it far easier to read me. I need to work on this before working on my chakra control.’

Needless to say, his words didn't fool Tsunade. Unlike others, she knew Hiruzen too well. She turned her attention to a file in front of her and said, “You're losing your game, Sensei. Anyway, I need your help with this. It's so messed up that I don't have any idea of how to approach him…”

Hiruzen was surprised. He walked forward and sat on the chair Shizune placed opposite Tsunade. He picked up the file and muttered, “Uchiha Sasuke? Why was he admitted?”

Tsunade answered, “Yoshi found his mental state off and forced him to be admitted. His suspicions were correct. This kid is a complete mess. Then again, it ain't surprising…”

Hiruzen became serious. Considering how Itachi had sacrificed, he couldn't let his brother suffer. However, he was confused and wondered, ‘That's strange. Wasn't he doing well? He also picked up Kakashi's Chidori and improved his Taijutsu drastically… Could it be Orochimaru's curse seal?’

He looked at Tsunade and asked, “What do you mean it isn't surprising? Is the seal out of control?”

Tsunade asked in surprise, “You don't know?”

She immediately realized, ‘That's right. Fujin never ran into Itachi and hence never mentioned him. Since Sensei is still recovering, others haven't burdened him with the messier stuff…’

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow and asked, “What happened?”

Tsunade informed him about Itachi and Kisame's visit to the village and their encounter with Naruto, Sasuke and Jiraiya. Hiruzen's expression became even more serious. Placing his elbows on the desk and resting his chin on his palms, Hiruzen entered into a deep thought.

He analyzed, ‘Itachi visited… Hmm, he must be warning Danzo and others from making a move on Sasuke since my status was unknown. However, why would he harm Sasuke to such an extent? He should know that his actions would only push Sasuke to do something drastic like accepting the darkness and seeking Orochimar…’

His eyes widened as it suddenly clicked in his mind, ‘Wait, that's it… He's pushing Sasuke to become faster quickly. This means…’

Tsunade noticed his reaction and asked, “Did you figure out something, Sensei?”

Hiruzen sighed, “No, it's just a pity to see Sasuke suffer so much. Let me read Yoshi's report first.”

In order to not make Tsunade suspicious, he opened the file and read while his thoughts were in a different place. Hiruzen sighed internally as he realized, ‘Itachi’s illness must be worse than what he reported. If he doesn't have a long time to live, his actions would make some sense, though I still don't agree with it.

In a way, this is not only a message for Sasuke, but also to me. He increased Sasuke's thirst for strength and hopes I satisfy it so that Sasuke can avenge the Uchiha clan before Itachi succumbs to his illness.

If I can't, he wants Sasuke to pursue Orochimaru's help. Of course, it'll be very risky, but Orochimaru must have been forced to change his body by now. Itachi must believe that Sasuke would have the strength to kill Orochimaru by the time he can change his body again…’

While Hiruzen understood Itachi's confidence in his younger brother, it didn't change how risky the whole thing was. Hiruzen's current state was due to none other than Orochimaru. Unlike Itachi, he had no confidence in Sasuke killing Orochimaru. Naturally, he preferred to let Sasuke get stronger in Konoha's safe environment.

He thought, ‘I can only ask Kakashi to quicken up Sasuke's trainin… hmm?’

Hiruzen felt troubled. Just as he decided to let Kakashi increase Sasuke's training, he read in Yoshi's report that Sasuke didn't think of Kakashi as capable enough to teach him.

Hiruzen analyzed, ‘There is no doubt that Kakashi is the best person to teach Sasuke. Be it the Sharingan, Lightning nature or Kakashi's vast array of jutsus and expertise. He's even more suitable than me to teach Sasuke.

Unfortunately, due to his loss against Itachi, Kakashi's image has drastically fallen in Sasuke's mind. He won't be satisfied if I force him to keep training under Kakashi. However, who do I appoint to train Sasuke?’

Even though Kakashi was the optimal candidate, Hiruzen understood Sasuke's emotions perfectly. He realized forcing Sasuke would have a negative result. Unfortunately, there weren't many options.

Hiruzen thought, ‘The only ones with a greater prestige than Kakashi are Jiraiya, Tsunade, myself and Fujin. Jiraiya's teaching style doesn't suit Sasuke. Neither does Tsunade's style. I could train him, but in my current state, he might respect me even less than Kakashi. That only leaves Fujin… However…’

Hiruzen felt another headache. Normal missions were one thing, but asking Fujin for personal favors was very expensive. Hiruzen didn't want to have such a conversation with Fujin so quickly after waking up. He wasn't sure whether his soul could handle such an intense battle. Though he could let Tsunade handle it, he had a feeling he would regret not aiding her.

Hiruzen thought, ‘I've to be there. Anyway, should I do that?’

Hiruzen fell even deeper in thoughts. For some time, he forgot everything around him, focusing entirely on this troublesome matter. He didn't turn the pages in the file for several minutes.

“You've been thinking for quite a while, Sensei. Is everything alright?” Tsunade asked. She knew that Hiruzen was still suffering tremendously and was concerned for his health.

Hiruzen turned his gaze towards Tsunade. The look in his eyes surprised Tsunade. Never before in her life had she ever seen Hiruzen being so unsure. She could see the intense struggle happening inside him even though she didn't know what it was. Hiruzen, the man who didn't hesitate to become the decoy to let his comrades and sensei escape, hesitated long and hard before coming to a decision.

He let out a long sigh and muttered, “Shizune, bring Jiraiya here.”

Shizune was surprised but followed immediately. Hiruzen softly said, “You guys, secure the office.”

Tsunade's Anbu Guards flickered out of the room and activated all the seals. Before Tsunade could ask, Hiruzen said, “There's something you should know. But, let's wait for Jiraiya to come here.”

Tsunade nodded. The two waited in silence for Jiraiya to come. The confusion in Hiruzen's mind slowly faded away during this time. He became more sure of his decision. When Jiraiya returned, Hiruzen asked Shizune to stay outside.

Jiraiya asked, “Is everything alright?”

Hiruzen replied, “It is, but there's something you should hear too. Take a seat.”

Jiraiya grabbed a chair and became comfortable as he and Tsunade wondered what Hiruzen wanted to say. As Hiruzen began speaking, surprise appeared on their faces. In the next few minutes, their surprise changed to shock, which quickly changed to disbelief and by the end, they were completely stunned. Hiruzen could only see the grim expressions on his two students.

Jiraiya and Tsunade stayed silent for a long time, unable to digest the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre! Even in their wildest dreams, they didn't imagine something like this would have happened when neither of them were in the village.

Finally, Jiraiya muttered, “To think things deteriorated to such an extent… You should have called me, Sensei.”

Hiruzen sighed, “That was my plan. With you in the village, the Uchiha Clan would have been more careful and that would have bought me the time to negotiate with the Uchiha clan. Unfortunately, Danzo went around me and influenced Itachi to do something so drastic.

Not that it reduces my fault. I completely failed to handle this matter properly. It was the greatest mistake I committed during my tenure. With Fujin's recent findings, it's almost certain that we were wrong to suspect the Uchiha clan. If true, this was a colossal failure on my part.”