The Third Hokage knew.
He hadn't stopped it.
Walking home that day, Kenichi Amamiya scratched his head and finally understood, a little, why Tsunade had abandoned Konoha.
Her lover and little brother had died for the village.
And her own teacher was quietly desecrating their clan ancestor's corpse in a secret lab underground.
Yeah… that would make anyone want to walk away.
If the Third hadn't died later… and if Naruto hadn't existed… Tsunade probably never would've come back to become the Fifth Hokage at all.
After putting Kenichi through some drills at the training field, Orochimaru left as usual. But before he went, he tossed out a casual reminder:
Recently, the Third Hokage seemed to be watching him more closely.
Kenichi hadn't been surprised.
With fewer "consumables" available, Root would inevitably start snatching people from nearby villages. The more people vanished, the more ANBU would notice. When ANBU noticed, the Hokage noticed.
Exposure was only a matter of time.
"Oh, and that subject of yours—the one you pulled the ribs out of," Orochimaru added before leaving, "he's dead. The medical team sent word. His lungs completely failed."
Kenichi's eyes lit up.
So, for now at least… cancer really is something even ninja healers can't handle.
As long as ordinary medical squads couldn't treat it, his Cancer Affliction Technique actually had teeth.
He would have to speed up the refinement of that jutsu.
But strengthening his ninjutsu alone wasn't enough. If he wanted real power, he needed something else.
Something bigger.
"…The First Hokage should still be in the Pure Land, right?" Kenichi muttered in his room that night. "With my current level… could I actually pull him out with Edo Tensei?"
Sage Mode.
He needed Sage Mode.
And he had no intention of learning it from Orochimaru in Ryūchi Cave. If he had a choice, Shikkotsu Forest or Mount Myōboku sounded much safer… and less likely to end with him being eaten.
But Jiraiya was away from the village.
And Tsunade was long gone.
So Kenichi's gaze naturally drifted to one other name.
Senju Hashirama.
The First Hokage's Sage Mode was ridiculous. If he could learn sage arts directly from the so-called "God of Shinobi," the synergy with his newly acquired "Sage Body" would be… obscene.
Only one problem.
Kenichi had no idea where Hashirama had learned his Sage Mode.
Rumors said Shikkotsu Forest. Some said he realized sage arts on his own. Some said "ancient contract," others mumbled about "secret Senju inheritance."
Speculation, speculation, speculation.
Reality? Nobody knew.
"Edo Tensei the First Hokage… and then ask him to teach me Sage Mode…" Kenichi rubbed his chin. "Is that… feasible?"
Orochimaru had never mastered sage arts himself. If Kenichi wanted them, he'd either have to beg to be thrown into Ryūchi Cave to face the White Snake Sage's "trial"… or get a direct teacher.
Between "spend months being poisoned and half-digested by a giant snake" and "ask a legendary grandpa in the afterlife for lessons," the choice seemed obvious.
Hashirama was famously soft-hearted. Loud, casual, simple-minded. Basically an early Naruto variant.
Surely he wouldn't crush a Konoha junior just for asking about Sage Mode… right?
Tobirama, on the other hand…
Kenichi shivered.
Calling the Second Hokage with his current strength sounded like the kind of decision that ended in a short life and a closed casket. Hashirama was risk; Tobirama was suicide.
Still, the lure of the First's Sage Mode was too strong to ignore. With his Sage Body and proper sage arts, his potential would skyrocket.
So after some thought, Kenichi made up his mind.
He was going to try.
Of course, the sacrifice was a problem. The stronger the living sacrifice, the more of the deceased's original power Edo Tensei could reproduce.
Use a jonin, and you risk summoning a near-complete Hashirama.
Use a faceless genin, and you got… discount Hashirama.
For now, a discount version was fine. Kenichi didn't plan to fight with him, just to learn.
First Hokage, resurrected at half-power and drafted as a home tutor… I'd pay to see the look on Tobirama's face if he found out.
Over the next month, Kenichi got busy.
He gathered Edo Tensei materials, quietly strengthened his own combat ability, and kept tinkering with the cancer jutsu whenever he had the chance.
One day in the lab, Orochimaru glanced up from his own project and suddenly said:
"Kenichi, I hear Uzumaki Kushina is pregnant."
He was currently dissecting a brand new test subject. A very rare one.
A member of the Kaguya clan.
Not that Kaguya—the alien rabbit goddess—but the current Kirigakure Kaguya clan, the one famous for the Shikotsumyaku, or Dead Bone Pulse. A kekkei genkai that weaponized their own bones.
Kenichi swallowed.
He really wanted to study that bloodline.
But his Three-Tomoe Sharingan research was still crawling forward. He simply didn't have the capacity to launch another major project, so he reluctantly took only a small sample of Kaguya tissue for later.
"Really? There hasn't been a word about it in the village," Kenichi replied, a little surprised.
Of course, he knew the timeline. This was exactly when Naruto should be quietly sitting in Kushina's belly.
But on the surface, Konoha was utterly calm.
No one was gossiping about the Fourth's wife. No one mentioned a pregnancy.
Which made sense.
Uzumaki Kushina wasn't just the Fourth Hokage's wife.
She was Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
And a jinchūriki's due date was the highest level of classified information. As a newly promoted chunin, Kenichi was nowhere near the clearance required to know such things.
Yes—"newly promoted."
At some point in the last weeks, Kenichi Amamiya had officially become a chunin.
No written exam, no flashy tournament arena. Orochimaru had simply recommended him, then arranged a one-on-one assessment against an experienced chunin.
Kenichi had passed.
If it had been wartime, it would've been even easier. Back then, promotions were thrown out like candy; even special jonin got bumped up after a couple of standout missions.
Now that the war was over, things had returned to "normal."
At least, on paper.
In reality, the so-called "joint Chunin Exams" between villages were still a distant dream. Relations were far too tense. If they tried to host one now, the written test would last five minutes before devolving into an international brawl.
Besides, Konoha already had more chunin than it knew what to do with. They couldn't just keep stockpiling them until the next joint exam rolled around.
So the "Chunin Exams" were really just a performance.
A spectacle for diplomacy and propaganda.
A way to compare the next generation of each village and make veiled threats about "deterrence" while eating dango together.
Right now, Kenichi thought, nobody's in the mood for a festival. And nobody wants to invite Iwa or Kumo over for tea just yet.
"Of course there's no news," Orochimaru continued, his tone light, his eyes cold. "A jinchūriki is at their weakest during childbirth. If the Nine-Tails were to slip free…"
His smile sharpened.
"Well. That would be quite a sight."
He didn't say more.
But Kenichi understood.
Sensei… you're going to be watching that night very closely, aren't you?
Power was like a drug. Once someone had tasted it, very few ever stepped down willingly.
The Third Hokage still hovered over the village like a shadow. No longer officially in charge, but his influence was everywhere. A retired king, hovering behind his successor.
Giving up control wasn't easy.
And if something did happen during the jinchūriki's labor…
What will you choose then, "Professor" Third? The village you love? The power you can't let go of? Or both?
Kenichi's thoughts drifted to the Nine-Tails itself.
The strongest of the tailed beasts. A walking nuclear bomb of chakra.
"Sensei…" he blurted, eyes gleaming, "if the Nine-Tails really does appear… do you think we could cut off a piece? Just a little bit. For research."
Orochimaru lowered his scalpel and looked at him.
For a moment, the legendary Sannin was completely silent.
Then the corners of his mouth curled up, slow and serpentine.
"Kenichi…"
He chuckled.
"…you really are my favorite student."