Night had fully fallen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen watched as the Senju shinobi filed out of the reception hall one by one. When the last of them departed, the vast chamber felt unnervingly empty. The faint chirping of crickets drifted in from outside, stirring a quiet unease in his chest.
Just moments ago, Uzumaki Mito had dismissed everyone.
Now, only the two of them remained.
Hiruzen studied Mito's expression carefully. Her face was calm—no trace of the fury she had displayed earlier. It was almost as though that thunderous outburst had been deliberately restrained, sealed away.
"Lady Mito… about my earlier insolence, please don't take it to heart. I only—"
Hiruzen hesitated, then decided he should say something to salvage his standing in her eyes.
"Enough. Sit. I know what you're going to say."
Mito waved him off, cutting him short and gesturing for him to take a seat.
Hiruzen moved to a nearby stool and sat down—though only halfway, his posture tense, as if ready to rise at any moment. He still couldn't read Mito's intentions and kept himself on edge.
Seeing his cautious stiffness, a faint trace of amusement flickered through Mito's eyes. Her expression softened, the kindly demeanor of an elderly grandmother returning to her face.
"Monkey brat," she said lightly, "your performance just now made me look at you differently. You're not as ordinary as I thought. You possess a few qualities that rise above the norm."
She spoke with blunt honesty.
Over the long years of her life, Mito had seen far too many heaven-favored geniuses.
Her husband, Senju Hashirama.
Her brother-in-law, Senju Tobirama.
The Uchiha—Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Izuna.
They had been the brightest figures of their era.
Compared to them, the talent Hiruzen displayed was as unremarkable as a roadside stone—hardly eye-catching at all.
Yet Hiruzen's character was sound. Tobirama's guidance had not been wasted. The Will of Fire had been properly passed down to him.
"You flatter me, Lady Mito," Hiruzen replied humbly. "I only did what I should have done."
With Mito now looking every bit the gentle grandmother once more, none of the earlier ferocity remaining, Hiruzen finally felt a measure of tension ease from his shoulders.
"No need for empty modesty," Mito said. "Among your generation, you are indeed above average. But tell me—do you truly believe you are worthy of the Hokage's seat?"
The question extinguished the small spark of pride that had just kindled in Hiruzen's heart.
Am I worthy?
He wanted to say yes.
From the moment he became a shinobi, becoming Hokage had been his dream—a vow that had survived countless brushes with death.
But reality was unforgiving.
He wasn't worthy.
At least… not yet.
"I will do everything in my power to become a qualified Hokage," Hiruzen answered at last. Saying outright that he was unworthy was something he simply couldn't bring himself to voice.
"Hmph. At least you possess some self-awareness."
Mito rose slowly to her feet and turned her gaze toward the Konoha emblem hanging on the wall. Her eyes deepened with distant reflection.
"In Konoha, there are many more suitable candidates for the Third Hokage than you. For example, me. Or my son, Senju Tōma."
"Even that Uchiha Kagami from earlier would be more suitable than you. Power sufficient to suppress the entire village, prestigious lineage, a formidable clan backing—none of those belong to you."
"I've thought about this for a long time, yet I still can't understand why Tobirama chose you as his successor. That bastard managed to leave me nothing but trouble even in death—just like his brother Hashirama."
She snorted softly.
"I always thought he was the one who caused me the least worry."
Mito spoke to herself, her voice heavy with age and memory. The burden of protecting Konoha now rested squarely on her shoulders—heavy enough to steal her breath.
Hiruzen remained silent, not daring to interrupt.
She had just casually scolded two Hokage.
This was not a topic he had any right to intrude upon.
"Even though I don't understand why Tobirama passed the Hokage's seat to you," Mito continued, turning back toward him, "I will still help you. That was his final will, after all."
"I only hope I've misjudged you—and that you possess qualities I've yet to see."
Those words made Hiruzen's heart pound violently. A surge of joy nearly broke through his restraint.
"Lady Mito, I will do my utmost."
"Don't celebrate too early," Mito said coolly. "I only said I would help you. I didn't say I would guarantee you the Hokage's seat."
"You are still far from possessing what it takes to stand in that position."
Hiruzen nodded.
He understood his own shortcomings better than anyone.
Even so, this was already far more than he had dared hope for. Mito's willingness to support him was nothing short of a lifeline.
"Originally," Mito went on, "I intended to conceal Tobirama's death first, suppress the clans, and only announce the news after everything was stabilized."
"But unfortunately, the Uchiha are never something you can afford to lower your guard against. Tobirama's death has already spread throughout Konoha."
"And the story of you abandoning Tobirama and fleeing back to the village has become common gossip."
Her eyes fixed steadily on Hiruzen.
"You should prepare yourself. Your reputation is about to suffer badly."
"Lady Mito, we—we didn't abandon Lord Tobirama on purpose. It was—"
Hiruzen sprang to his feet, instinctively trying to explain. On the battlefield, a shinobi's duty was to obey orders—even when those orders conflicted with personal conscience.
And this had been the Hokage's command.
They had never been in a position to defy Tobirama.
Mito raised a hand, signaling him to calm down.
"I know. There's no need to explain. Tobirama always made absolute decisions, especially in battle. Once he decided something, all you could do was obey."
"But the villagers won't understand that. And with the Uchiha steering the narrative from behind the scenes, you must be mentally prepared."
She was offering guidance.
There were ways to mitigate the damage.
The Hokage sacrificed himself to embody the Will of Fire—protecting the newborn leaves of Konoha.
With Tobirama's final appointment and sufficient moral positioning, the damage to public opinion could still be repaired through careful maneuvering.
After all, the opinions of powerless civilians could never truly determine who became Hokage.
That authority rested in the hands of Konoha's shinobi clans.
"I understand, Lady Mito," Hiruzen said sincerely.
Without her support, the villagers' scorn alone would have drowned him—let alone any chance of standing on the Hokage's platform.
And tonight, at least—
He had been given the opportunity to stand at the threshold.
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