Chapter 7: How to Handle the Hokage
In Konoha, even ordinary people had the opportunity to request a meeting with the Hokage. However, because the Hokage was incredibly busy, a commoner would have to fill out a mountain of paperwork and then wait for the Hokage's Office to review it and send a notice. In most cases, such applications vanished without a trace. But Akiyama Makoto was completely confident he would get to see the Hokage.
The reason was simple: in the simulation, the Third Hokage had shown immense interest in Makoto's The People of the Uchiha Clan series. Makoto had repeatedly reviewed that specific part of the simulation, and combining that with his knowledge of the original story, he was certain he had grasped the Third Hokage's mindset.
As it turned out, Makoto was right. He only had to wait in the reception area of the Hokage's Office for a single morning before a ninja came to notify him.
"Akiyama Makoto, right? Please follow me. Lord Hokage is waiting for you."
Inside the Hokage's Office, Sarutobi Hiruzen flipped through the file in his hands with great interest. It contained everything about Akiyama Makoto. Not just the life stories of his parents and Makoto's own thirteen years of existence, but even the details of the incident a dozen days ago where he was assaulted by Miyoshi Kazuya and subsequently rescued by Team Guy.
Looking at this utterly ordinary civilian resume, Sarutobi Hiruzen truly couldn't figure out how Makoto could have written The Biography of Uchiha Madara. The most critical part was that while most of the plot points in the book were fabricated, the Third Hokage had found it to be a fascinating read. This made him realize where Makoto's talent lay.
He made up his mind: he had to meet this boy.
The moment he saw Akiyama Makoto, Sarutobi Hiruzen's increasingly weary eyes lit up slightly. He could tell the boy was not wealthy, yet his spirit and presence seemed no weaker than that of a child from a typical ninja clan. Could it be that his recent brush with death awakened some kind of talent?
Sarutobi Hiruzen placed his pipe on the desk, put on a benevolent smile, and said, "Makoto, is it? Did you write this book? It's very well written, but it has many errors and omissions."
"Can you tell me why you wrote this book?"
Hiruzen got straight to the point. He was confident he could see through all of Makoto's thoughts, so there was no need to beat around the bush.
Makoto lowered his head slightly, pretending he didn't dare to look Hiruzen in the eye, yet the words that came out of his mouth were utterly treasonous.
"I miss the days when the Uchiha clan was still around. If they were managing Konoha's security, I probably wouldn't have been attacked, would I?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's smile froze for an instant. He could tell this was a child complaining about the injustice he had suffered, but a flicker of anger still ignited in his heart. Since when could a mere child critique the affairs of Konoha? If Danzō were here, Makoto would already be death.
Outwardly, however, Hiruzen's smile grew even kinder. "Come, sit down. Let me hear your thoughts."
"Can you tell me where you learned the story of the Uchiha clan, and why you think things would be better if they were still here?"
After sitting down, Makoto seemed to take encouragement from Hiruzen's tone. His expression relaxed considerably as he said, "I heard from the grandpas and grandmas in my neighborhood that when the Uchiha clan was still around, those ninja, who didn't understand social graces, only ever acted according to the rules."
"Those with bad character only dared to complain about the Military Police Force in private; they never dared to break Konoha's laws."
"But now... some people have lost their reverence for the Konoha Military Police."
Makoto's words quickly answered all of Hiruzen's questions. The Hokage immediately adopted the proper attitude, reassuring him, "I have already received the report on your case. The two individuals who attacked you will receive the punishment they deserve."
Upon hearing this, Makoto put on a look of surprise and gratitude, thanking him profusely.
Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled with satisfaction, then steered the conversation back to the book itself.
"So, what is your understanding of Uchiha Madara?"
It seemed like a casual question, but Hiruzen had just posed a problem that was more than enough to get someone killed. In Konoha's official history, Uchiha Madara defected from the village after its founding, fought a great battle with the First Hokage years later, and was ultimately killed by him. The First Hokage was also severely injured in the battle, leading to his own early death.
Therefore, even if Madara's power was on par with Hashirama's and his accomplishments were well-documented, as a citizen of Konoha, one could not show any admiration for him. This was Hiruzen's test for Makoto. The details in the story could be wrong, but the ideology it expressed had to align with Konoha's current needs. This was the prerequisite for Hiruzen's support. If it didn't, the fact that he hadn't arrested Makoto on the spot was already a sign of his lenient nature.
What Sarutobi Hiruzen never expected was that the key insight Makoto had gained from the simulation details lay precisely here. To showcase his ideological awareness, Makoto had even deliberately written the current manuscript of The Biography of Uchiha Madara to be full of factual errors, all to highlight the correctness of his political thinking.
Now that the opportunity had finally arrived, Makoto naturally wouldn't miss it.
Without a second thought, he gave the answer he had prepared long ago. "In my eyes, Uchiha Madara was an arrogant and untamable man."
"He believed only in strength, not in comrades. He thought he could solve everything by himself, but he didn't understand that a hero who doesn't know the hearts of the people can only inspire fear."
"In fact, it seems many people from the Uchiha clan had this problem; his was just the most severe case."
Makoto scratched his head. "Lord Hokage, this is just my imagination. If there's anything wrong with it, you can point it out directly. You don't need to spare my feelings."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes shone. How could he possibly think Makoto was wrong?
What Makoto said was absolutely right!
In the current era, where all the great nations had established their own hidden villages, an individual's strength no longer decided everything. Only someone who could be trusted and followed by the majority could become a worthy Hokage! Someone like him... ahem, someone like the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, Konoha's former hope, whose smile was as radiant as the sun. A pity he sacrificed himself for the village.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed softly. This was a truth that more people needed to understand. If it was just him lecturing them, the adults wouldn't listen, and the children would just get annoyed. But if it was written into a story by a talented person like Makoto, then everything could be different.
Hiruzen was becoming more and more tempted, but he remained calm on the surface.
"It's no matter. It's just a setting in a novel, I understand. It doesn't matter if it differs from reality."
"Makoto, if I were to support you in continuing to write, how do you plan to write the story of the Uchiha clan from here?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen had just posed another potentially fatal question.