"If you want to become Hokage, your greatest resistance will come from Konoha's ninja clans. And the first one among them is the Uchiha."
Hiruzen nodded.
The news of Teacher Tobirama's death had been leaked by the Uchiha. Since he believed Kagami was not the one who leaked it, then that meant the Uchiha had their own intelligence channel.
It was even possible that they had known in advance that Tobirama-sama's negotiations would be attacked this time.
The Uchiha's desire for the Hokage's seat had never been concealed.
Even during Tobirama's time as Hokage, radical voices within the Uchiha still existed, voices that openly spoke of overthrowing Tobirama's rule.
However, people like that would always end up dying for perfectly reasonable reasons during some mission or another, or in the middle of some war, and the Uchiha Clan could never find the slightest trace of evidence linking their deaths to Tobirama.
After several extremists died, the Uchiha became wary and quieted down quite a bit.
On top of that, Tobirama handled affairs fairly. Not a single bit of the benefits owed to the Uchiha was withheld, and over these years, the other ninja clans of Konoha had all prospered under his rule, fully recognizing Tobirama as Hokage.
Unfortunately, Teacher Tobirama had died unexpectedly during these negotiations, which had handed the Uchiha an enormous opportunity to reach for the Hokage's seat.
"As for the Uchiha, I actually have confidence in dealing with them. They've always been the same. They listen to whoever has the bigger fist. Back then, Hashirama defeated Madara, and when Madara left Konoha, the Uchiha Clan did not follow him."
"And right now, there isn't a single Uchiha in Konoha who is my match. Unless they've truly gone insane and are willing to throw away everything by sending all their elite forces at me, then perhaps they could kill me."
"But they don't have the guts for that."
Mito changed her tone, her voice full of confidence.
At present, no one in Konoha was her match. Mito was already incredibly powerful on her own, and with the Nine-Tails inside her, she was practically a walking natural disaster.
Hiruzen looked at Mito's confident expression, his heart stirred by the presence of one of the older generation's true powerhouses.
He had already experienced Mito's strength for himself earlier.
It was strong enough to make people suffocate.
"The Uchiha are something I can deal with. But they aren't the only clan standing in your way."
"The Senju Clan is just as unwilling to let you become Hokage."
Mito let out a sigh.
The real crisis did not come from the Uchiha outside the family.
It came from her own clan, the Senju.
Hiruzen's eyes widened.
Because Mito supported him, he had unconsciously assumed that the Senju Clan was on his side as well.
"You don't actually think I can represent the entire Senju Clan, do you?"
Mito looked at Hiruzen's expression and spoke slowly.
"Under normal circumstances, my identity lets me act however I want within the Senju Clan. Even Tobirama had to give me face. But now Tobirama is dead, and the position you're fighting for is Konoha's Third Hokage."
"Two Hokage have already come from the Senju. The Senju Clan enjoys that honor. They've grown used to the benefits that come with the Hokage's position, and they've already taken it for granted that the Third Hokage will also come from the Senju."
Mito spoke slowly, giving Hiruzen time to absorb it.
How to persuade the Senju Clan to accept Hiruzen was the thing giving Mito the biggest headache.
The Senju had founded Konoha.
Two Hokage had already come from the Senju.
And both of them had died in the position of Hokage.
That brought enormous prestige.
Not only that, during the First Shinobi World War, no clan in Konoha had contributed more than the Senju.
Their clan head had been Konoha's Hokage, which meant the Senju were often the ones sent to the most dangerous fronts.
The Senju had never hesitated to give their lives for Konoha.
Nearly the entire Senju Clan believed that the Third Hokage would still come from the Senju.
Some of the more extreme members even believed that the Senju Clan itself was Konoha.
Now the war was almost over, and the fruits of victory were finally about to be harvested.
The blood of the Senju's sons had nearly run dry.
And now, after all that, a Sarutobi clan that used to trail behind them picking up scraps was going to come in and pluck the fruit?
Mito did not even dare imagine just how much resentment that would provoke.
Those old Senju relics who had survived from the Warring States Era still had not all died yet. Every last one of them valued the clan's future more than their own lives.
Some of them were even older than Hashirama, with seniority above him by two or three generations. They had dedicated their whole lives to the Senju Clan.
If one of them slapped Hashirama in the face, Hashirama would probably still smile and say,
"Great-Uncle, did your hand hurt? I won't do it again."
Mito could already picture what kind of furious chaos would erupt the moment she said that Tobirama had passed the position of Third Hokage to Hiruzen.
Even if Tobirama were alive, those elders would probably curse him into the dirt.
Not to mention her.
One sentence alone would be enough to choke her speech off entirely:
"You, an Uzumaki, what right do you have to meddle in Senju family affairs?"
These old men, once pushed far enough, would say absolutely anything.
Even though Mito possessed unmatched strength, she could not use force against them.
And besides, those old men were no longer afraid of death. They would probably stretch out their necks and let Mito cut them down herself, so long as she could guarantee that the Third Hokage would still be a member of the Senju.
"Mito-sama, I..."
Hiruzen could not finish his sentence.
If the Senju opposed him, then he truly had no solution.
He could not do anything to his teacher's clan.
He could not beat them by force, and morally speaking, he had even less footing.
"The old men within the Senju Clan have already fixed their sights on the candidate for the Third Hokage."
"That person is Senju Toma."
"He is Hashirama's son. His strength is among the best in the Senju Clan, and his merits in this war are outstanding. As the commander of an entire front, he held back the pressure from the Stone Village."
"He's already on his way back to Konoha and will return very soon."
Mito looked at Hiruzen with a measuring gaze.
She could help him bear some of the pressure coming from the Uchiha.
But when it came to the pressure from the Senju Clan, she could do nothing for him there.
Remaining neutral was already her absolute limit.
And beyond that, Senju Toma was still her son.
From childhood, he had looked up to his father Hashirama as his example, dreaming of becoming Hokage and protecting Konoha.
Helping an outsider beat her own son?
Mito was not that selfless.
"If you want to become Hokage, then you must defeat Toma. You must defeat him openly and fairly in front of the Senju Clan. Only then will I have a chance to persuade them."
Mito continued.
This was already the limit of what she could do.
She had seen with her own eyes how much Toma had given in pursuit of becoming Hokage.
Tobirama, you bastard.
You're even worse than Hashirama.
You really know how to leave me with impossible problems.
Mito felt tangled inside.
At that moment, she almost wanted to drag Tobirama back from the Pure Land just to beat him up.
"Mito-sama, I understand. You've already done more than enough."
Hiruzen's voice was full of gratitude.
Mito had already been selfless enough.
Senju Toma was her son.
She had deliberately avoided leaning on that identity just now.
Mito-sama had already been fair enough.
(End of Chapter)
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