Chapter 6: The Will of Fire, an Utter Joke
He saw the leader of the Root as a man blinded by rage, but as Hokage, he had to consider the bigger picture.
Kumogakure's first move had already backed Konoha into an impossible corner. As it stood, they had only two options.
One: Assemble their forces and prepare for a bloody war with the Cloud.
Two: Sacrifice Hyūga Hiashi to appease them.
To reignite the flames of war would mean the deaths of many, many people. While Konoha had been weakened in recent years, its foundation was still strong. It was entirely possible they could win a conflict with Kumo, but the cost would be grievous. Furthermore, if the other great villages saw an opportunity and decided to attack, Konoha would be overwhelmed.
But the most crucial point was that Kumogakure had given them another option.
Hand over the body of Hyūga Hiashi.
This choice held the Hokage hostage, and it held every clan in the village hostage with him.
Human nature is to seek advantage and avoid harm; it is fundamentally selfish. As long as their own interests were not at stake, the other shinobi clans of the village would not cut off their own flesh to fight for the Hyūga.
A heavy silence hung in the council room. After everyone had their fill of second-hand smoke, and as Shimura Danzō's face grew darker and darker, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally spoke.
"The village needs time to heal and grow strong. We cannot afford another war."
As his words fell, the expressions around the room varied.
Shimura Danzō let out a cold snort, the word 'displeased' all but written on his face.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu could only let out resigned sighs.
Nara Shikaku's face remained an impassive mask from beginning to end. He knew Hiruzen Sarutobi all too well. The Third Hokage had spent his life seeking stability, to the point where he sometimes appeared weak and indecisive. This decision was exactly what Shikaku had expected. He cast a helpless, pitying glance at Hiashi, whose face was now as pale as a sheet of paper.
Hiruzen continued, his voice calm. "Of course, the Hyūga are our precious comrades, and the village will never allow a comrade to be sacrificed... We will set this matter aside for now. The village will enter into negotiations with the Cloud, and rest assured, we will argue our case with all our might."
When the Third Hokage finished speaking, the room fell into a deathly silence.
Hearing this, a flash of fury broke through the pallor of Hyūga Hiashi's face. Hiruzen's words, while seemingly defending the Hyūga, had already made his choice clear.
He was going to sell him out to quell Kumogakure's anger.
The Cloud Village was a place where power was supreme; they were not people who listened to reason. That was the one thing everyone in the room had already agreed upon. To hope for a resolution through negotiation was completely unrealistic.
Hiruzen was just playing politics, trying to keep his own hands clean.
He was the Hokage. If he actively prepared for a war with Kumo, the village would inevitably suffer heavy losses. When that time came, Hiruzen would be held responsible, and he would likely be forced to resign in disgrace once again. At the same time, he couldn't openly force the Hyūga clan to hand over Hiashi's body, as that would tarnish the honor of the Hokage.
"The Will of Fire... What a complete and utter joke!!!"
With a roar, Hyūga Hiashi slammed his hands on the table, flipping it over. He rose to his feet and stormed out of the council room without a single look back, his face a mask of cold fury.
Neither Homura, nor Koharu, nor even Danzō admonished him for his disrespect.
In truth, Danzō had guessed before the meeting even began that Hiruzen would allow Hiashi to be sacrificed. But to actually hear those words come from Hiruzen's mouth still filled him with a profound sense of disappointment and sorrow.
Konoha was the strongest of the hidden villages. It once was, and it still was. But now, its leader, the Hokage, was tacitly agreeing to sacrifice a comrade in exchange for peace.
In his eyes, Hiruzen had grown old. He had lost his edge. He was no longer the same Hiruzen Sarutobi he once knew.
As the meeting dispersed, Danzō looked at Hiruzen, his voice laced with disappointment. "Hiruzen, our sensei died to protect his comrades. If he were here, he would never have made a choice like this."
Hiruzen kept the pipe in his mouth, slowly closing his eyes. As he saw it, Danzō was blinded by a momentary fit of anger and humiliation, unable to see the larger strategic situation.
"You're right, Danzō," he said softly. "Our sensei would have sacrificed himself to protect us. He would never betray a comrade. But I am forced to. Because I do not have our master's strength. Do you understand?"
"You will regret this, Hiruzen."
"Do not do anything rash, Danzō. I am the Hokage!"
Bang! Danzō slammed the door behind him.
Soon, only Hiruzen remained in the council room.
He turned and looked at the Hokage Rock, his gaze resting on the second face carved into the mountain. He murmured to himself, "You never know how difficult it is until you've walked the path yourself."
"Sensei... I have spent my life walking on thin ice. Do you think I can ever reach the heights you did?!"
Swoosh.
A white-haired shinobi suddenly appeared in the room.
"Hokage-sama, why?"
Kakashi was a member of the ANBU directly under Hiruzen's command and was held in high regard. Hiruzen had specifically arranged for him to listen to the meeting from the shadows.
Kakashi had thought that his years in the ANBU, carrying out the village's dirtiest missions, had made him accustomed to the darkness. But he never could have imagined that the Hokage himself, the man who spoke of the Will of Fire at every opportunity, would bow to the unreasonable demands of the Cloud.
"Kakashi. Come, sit here."
Hiruzen removed the pipe from his mouth, pulled Kakashi over, and gently pushed him down into the chair he had just vacated.
Kakashi's body went rigid, taken aback by the honor. This was the Hokage's chair.
Hiruzen refilled his pipe with tobacco as he spoke. "You are the Hokage now. You must think like a Hokage."
"Tell me, Kakashi," he began, his voice low. "If you choose to go to war with the Cloud, and when the war is over, the old women of the village come to you asking for their sons, the women asking for their husbands, and the children asking for their fathers... what will you tell them?"
"..."
Kakashi was stunned into silence, unable to answer.
Hiruzen pressed on. "If by sacrificing one person, you can save thousands of shinobi, would you, as Hokage, refuse?"
Kakashi closed his eye, forcing the words out from his throat, one by one.
"If the one to be sacrificed... were me... I would not hesitate for a moment."
He spoke with the conviction of a true shinobi. And Hiruzen believed him. He knew Kakashi had the resolve to sacrifice himself for peace.
"But if the one to be sacrificed," Kakashi continued, his voice hardening, "were my respected sensei, or my precious comrades... I would never allow it."
Hearing this, Hiruzen thought of Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin, who had died in the last war, and of Minato and Kushina. Their successive deaths had plunged Kakashi into an endless darkness, one he had yet to climb out of.
"But if the one to be sacrificed," Kakashi finished, his voice barely a whisper, "...were anyone else... I... cannot find a reason to refuse."
"Exactly," Hiruzen said softly. "You see, Kakashi? This is the better choice."
Kakashi was silent for a long time before finally, slowly, nodding his head. He looked as if all the life had been drained from him, leaving only a withered husk.
A moment later, a thought seemed to strike him. "Hokage-sama," he asked, "what about the Will of Fire?"
Hiruzen's expression soured. He turned his back to Kakashi.
"You're tired, Kakashi. I'm giving you a month's leave. Get some rest."
Kakashi's brow furrowed. He had avoided the question.
Clearly, the Will of Fire and the sacrifice of Hyūga Hiashi could not both be right. And what could he do about it? Nothing. He could do nothing. Just like when his father had been driven to his death by those people all those years ago.
And back then... what role did the Hokage play in my father's death?
The thought was terrifying. Kakashi shook his head, a wave of exhaustion washing over him. "Hokage-sama... during my leave, I would like to look after that boy, Naruto."
Hiruzen was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Very well. You may go. But remember this: he is the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki first, and Minato's son second."
"I understand."