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According to Konoha's ninja data, Kurenai Yuhi's strength is considered acceptable; however, from Tobirama's perspective, the stats of modern ninjas are far inferior to those of his era, and it feels like the ninja of today are steadily getting weaker. But then again, not everyone can be a monster like his elder brother or Uchiha Madara, and geniuses like Tobirama himself are undeniably rare.
So when he assessed the strength of the village's ninjas, he used Kakashi's level as a standard since Kakashi, classified as an Elite Jōnin, possesses excellent stats, whereas most other ninja data unfortunately falls short. Currently, the only ones in the village who meet the Elite Jōnin standard are Kakashi and Might Guy, the latter having once claimed he could kick Uchiha Madara away when opening the Eighth Gate—a testament to his terrifying potential.
But this highlights a deeper issue, because if people like Guy and Kakashi define the Elite Jōnin standard, then others like Sarutobi Asuma—yes, the Third Hokage's youngest son—though officially called Elite Jōnin, clearly fall short. His strength is decent and he's skilled in Wind Style, but he's still not on the level of Guy or Kakashi, qualifying at best as an ordinary Jōnin. And if this is the benchmark, then even Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chōza, and others also qualify as Jōnin, though they're clearly not Elite, which suggests Konoha's ninja rankings need serious reclassification.
As for Yuhi Kurenai, Tobirama had reviewed her data—average across the board, except for a perfect score in Genjutsu, though even then, he acknowledged that the Uchiha clan excelled more in illusionary arts. So when Kakashi commented that Kurenai, though listed as a Jōnin, might lose her status due to Kitahara Hitoshi's plan to re-evaluate ninja ranks and merge the 800 Cloud Shinobi into Konoha, Tobirama agreed, since strength should speak for itself, and Kurenai's Jōnin status might soon be revoked.
Kakashi noted rumors spreading in the village—800 Cloud Shinobi joined Konoha, and during the Chūnin Exams, they eliminated Orochimaru's top seed candidate, and Kakashi reminded everyone that Tobirama had already announced a reassessment. That's why many ninjas were panicking, and based on power rankings, Kurenai's placement at 757 is indeed precarious, though not everything was set in stone.
Kakashi mentioned that Kurenai had gone to the Fire Temple, which Minato questioned, prompting Kakashi to explain—the Fire Temple's head monk, Chiriku, is Asuma's friend, and both had once been part of the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire's daimyo. Chiriku's special ninjutsu style, taught to Asuma, was likely what Kurenai went to learn, and she had been sent with a document delivery mission, probably using it as a chance to request training from Chiriku.
Tobirama paused, and for a moment, he was stunned.
"Kakashi… what did you just say?" he asked, as Kakashi clarified—Asuma once rejected his father, the Third Hokage, and left the village to serve as a bodyguard for the daimyo, which infuriated Tobirama. Hashirama commented helplessly, but Tobirama exploded.
"Sarutobi is insane. He couldn't even control his own son. Asuma—Hokage's son—goes to serve the daimyo? Ridiculous!"
Kakashi added that only Asuma and Chiriku remained from the original Twelve Guardians, and that Asuma later returned to the village, claimed to have found his own path, and became a JĹŤnin, now teaching a team, but Tobirama was still fuming.
Hashirama asked why he was so worked up, and Tobirama snapped, "How could I not be? This is unacceptable! Just like how Sarutobi treated Naruto, the son of the Fourth Hokage. That behavior brought nothing but harm."
He ranted on—"When the village was founded by my brother and Uchiha Madara, it was based on the idea of unifying the country through the village. The core must always be the village. The village supports the country, not the other way around. The Land of Fire exists because of Konoha."
"Yet now, the Hokage's own son abandons the village to serve the daimyo? It's shameful!"
"Are you telling me that key Hokage decisions must still be reported to the daimyo?"
Minato hesitantly confirmed it, explaining, "The Hokage candidate is chosen within the village, then presented to the daimyo for confirmation, followed by a vote of approval from over half the JĹŤnin."
Hashirama muttered that something felt off, and Tobirama barked, "Of course it's wrong! This model is reversed. I gave them face back then, but now the Fire Country comes before the village? Outrageous!"
"And that scarf Asuma wears, with the fire symbol—it's the mark of the Twelve Guardian Ninja?"
Jiraiya chimed in, "From that angle, yes, it's questionable."
Tobirama's anger peaked.
Might Guy, a respected JĹŤnin and close friend of Kakashi, also knew Asuma, and he tried to speak on Asuma's behalf, but Tobirama cut him off.
"No excuses. If it were just a mission, fine—ninja take money and complete the task. But Asuma abandoned the village willingly. Sarutobi didn't stop him. Neither father nor son took responsibility. It's an embarrassment to Konoha."
In the private group chat, Tobirama remained his usual irritable self.
Meanwhile, outside—
The group arrived at the Fire Temple, and Kurenai Yuhi's mission was the same as Kitahara Hitoshi's—deliver important documents.
Kitahara Hitoshi had randomly chosen a B-level leisure mission, mainly focused on traveling and dating, but Red Yuhi seemed different.
She handed the envelope to the host Dilu.
"It's a little tricky," Dilu said, "It's not that I don't want to give it to you, but Laiying Senju Killing isn't something just anyone can learn. I gave it to Asuma before, and even he needed a long time to master it."
"And you want to get it done in a week? That's really tough."
Dilu was a young monk, and though he wore a cassock, he also had a symbol with the word fire pinned to his waist; in the past, he had been one of the Twelve Guardians of the Daimyo, and only he and Asuma remained after the group fell apart due to internal conflict.
He received a letter from Asuma via Kurenai Yuhi, and Asuma had asked Dilu to pass it to her along with the scroll for Senju Killing, which reflected Asuma's character—though he had learned the technique, he hadn't passed it on, because he felt it belonged to the monks and not his to teach.
But it seemed that caution was for nothing.
"Really..." A visible disappointment showed on Kurenai Yuhi's face.
Kitahara Hitoshi and his team had already submitted their mission documents but hadn't left yet, so they happened to witness the moment.
Hinata stood silently, and as the Hyuga clan's heiress and someone close to Kitahara Hitoshi, she didn't feel the same pressure. She had already reached Chūnin at her age — that was quite impressive.
But Yuhika was different.
She had been promoted to special JĹŤnin in the Third Hokage's era because of her illusion skills, but in real combat evaluation, she lacked the strength to back it up. She was skilled in illusion, but not top-tier; she didn't have any powerful moves, and even her professional ninja knowledge base wasn't strong enough, so there was a high chance she would be rejected.
If that were all, it wouldn't matter, but the issue was — she would be demoted publicly from Jōnin, which would be a humiliation, and a blow to her confidence.
"Is that so... How upsetting..." Yuhi sighed softly.
"If I fail the selection... maybe it's time to step down as a JĹŤnin instructor."
"We had just started working together..."
"Sorry, little Sakura, Kiba, Shino. I might not be able to be your teacher," she said with a sigh.
"Ms. Yuhi!" they all exclaimed.
This female ninja isn't bad; at first I thought she was just feeling down because she wasn't strong enough, but she's actually upset that she might not be able to guide her students.
Honestly, she's probably not fit to be a JĹŤnin instructor anyway; guiding JĹŤnin doesn't require being a top-tier fighter, but illusion is her only specialty, and not many people are gifted in that area.
The Inuzuka clan uses ninja dogs, and Aburame Shino's family uses insects—there's not much she can really offer them.
I think it's better if she steps down from teaching.
Kakashi, be polite. Sometimes you need to think about others' feelings.
I'm just telling the truth.
How should I put this—sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who can be friends with Kakashi, because besides me, no one else seems able to handle his bluntness.
I grew up getting beaten by him.
Huh?
So I've fallen so far that I'm being lectured by Guy about emotional awareness?
I think Kakashi really doesn't get how people feel.
Even Hashirama didn't respond—maybe he also felt Tobirama wasn't exactly one to talk about understanding emotions.
Speaking of which, among the Konoha ninjas who feel inadequate... Kakashi is one of them too.
Outside the chat group, Kitahara Hitoshi glanced at the downcast Yuhi team and suddenly remembered something.
"Kakashi-sensei came to consult me too... but I forgot to follow up."
I'll go... He only just remembered me?
Kakashi almost teared up; too many things had happened lately—the Sage of Six Paths, the brother of the Sage, Uchiha Madara, the Ōtsutsuki clan's Kinshiki and Momoshiki.
Kakashi wasn't someone who held grudges, and he understood the situation, but still... even though Kitahara had been his disciple, he, the teacher, was always remembered last.
Kakashi quietly thought about how to define the words "master," "disciple," and "apprentice."
And now he was even being called weak?
I think Kakashi's strength is more than enough.
After all, we're lifetime rivals, aren't we? I know his power and talent better than anyone!
So... is he going to give up the Sharingan that Obito gave him?
Kakashi went silent.
Outside the chat, Hinata felt a little uneasy watching Yuhi's discouraged expression, and this scene was delicate.
In the original timeline, Hinata was Yuhi's disciple, but her current strength and status were completely different—she hadn't been treated as a failure by Hiashi. So in this version, Hinata and Yuhi had no real teacher-student relationship.
Yet for some reason, she still felt worried about her.
Kitahara Hitoshi noticed Hinata's reaction.
"I think it's fine," he said.
"If the strength of the village's ninjas isn't enough, it's okay, because the other villages are in the same state."
"The number of elite ninjas is always low. Most ninjas are ordinary. If we exclude them, it harms the growth of the village."
That makes sense.
When I was building Konoha with Madara, we thought the same—tasks had to be categorized and assigned to ninjas with different skills.
We had to make sure everyone had work—to let everyone survive.
Then Hashirama heard Kitahara Hitoshi's next words—the solution.
"Yuhika-sensei," Kitahara said, "My advice is simple."
"If you're not strong enough, work harder."
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