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Midorima only got the chance to meet with the Hokage late at night on his second day in the Hidden Leaf Village. Before that, the Hokage had been fully occupied with preparing for peace talks with the Hidden Sand and making the necessary arrangements for the upcoming Five Kage Summit.
These were official matters that required the coordinated effort of the entire village.
Only after handling those pressing duties did Tsunade and Jiraiya bring Midorima to the Hokage's office to meet Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Hokage's hat rested on the edge of the desk. Hiruzen had been resting with his eyes closed, but the moment the door opened he looked up and saw Midorima standing there.
"So this is the envoy from the Hidden Mist?" Hiruzen asked.
Before Tsunade could speak, Midorima raised a hand. "I am not an envoy. I am simply a shinobi from the Hidden Mist, nothing more. The Mizukage has no authority over me."
Hiruzen looked momentarily surprised. Tsunade quickly explained, "He personally witnessed Akatsuki's ambush on the Mizukage and was branded a missing-nin as a result. For a long time afterward, he lived as a fugitive. Not long ago he returned to the Hidden Mist, foiled Akatsuki's plot, and helped end the era of the 'Bloody Mist.' His current position is rather unique, but that does not mean he is unimportant to the Hidden Mist or the Mizukage."
Jiraiya, hearing this for the first time, glanced at Midorima with renewed interest. He had not investigated the young man beforehand and was unaware of these details.
"I see," Hiruzen said slowly as he rose from his seat. He gestured toward the sofa on one side of the room. "Please, everyone, have a seat."
Midorima did not refuse. He was not a Leaf shinobi, so while he would show the Hokage proper respect, there was no need for excessive formality.
"One of the reasons I asked you here is that Tsunade has guaranteed you can help resolve the Hidden Leaf's current difficulties," Hiruzen began.
Midorima glanced at Tsunade and noticed she had turned her head slightly, her brows tightly knitted. He immediately understood that Hiruzen was not being entirely truthful.
Old fox…
Midorima rubbed his forehead. "Hokage-sama, you're putting me in a difficult position. I only know about the Leaf's problems through hearsay. I don't know the people here, and I certainly hold no authority. How exactly am I supposed to solve the village's troubles? With my face? But no one here even knows who I am. That's far too heavy a burden for me to carry."
Hiruzen did not look disappointed. Instead, he picked up his teacup, took a sip, and smiled faintly. "You and Tsunade have known each other for quite some time, haven't you?"
Midorima's brows rose slightly. "Of course. Not long after I escaped from the Hidden Mist, Akatsuki caught up with me and we fought fiercely. It was Lady Tsunade who treated my injuries afterward."
"No, I meant regarding the Uchiha clan issue," Hiruzen corrected, shaking his head.
Jiraiya looked genuinely surprised.
Midorima paused, then glanced at Tsunade. She quickly shook her head.
"Don't blame her. I figured it out myself," Hiruzen continued. "Tsunade is certainly capable, but the Uchiha problem is exceptionally difficult to resolve. Yet during her time as Hokage, she did implement several measures that helped ease tensions between the two sides. Those measures were highly systematic. I suspected someone must have helped her plan them."
"You really don't trust her at all, do you?" Midorima said with a laugh.
"It's not a matter of trust. Sitting in the position of Hokage naturally limits one's freedom of action. After she left the village, Tsunade spent most of her time either drinking or gambling. When would she have had time to devise such detailed plans?"
"..."
Tsunade lowered her head in embarrassment.
Midorima had not expected the conversation to expose him so quickly.
"It was you who helped her, wasn't it?"
"I was simply repaying her for saving my life, so I offered a few suggestions. Whether she listened was up to her."
"In fact, she did listen."
"But after she stepped down, everything came to a halt," Midorima reminded him.
The current dire situation in the Hidden Leaf had a great deal to do with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen took a deep breath. "I didn't want things to turn out this way either, but do you know why they did?"
Midorima shook his head.
He had no particular desire to know.
"First, after Tsunade stepped down, there was no proper handover. I was not familiar with the plans she had put in motion. By the time I realized what was happening, relations between the village and the Uchiha clan had already become extremely tense. Second, two major incidents occurred in the interim, both of which involved the Uchiha clan to some degree. One was the death of Kimimaro, the other the death of the Kazekage. These events sharply intensified the conflict between the Uchiha and the village leadership. Third, and most importantly…"
Hiruzen drew in another deep breath. "Wasn't the plan you proposed meant to become more difficult the closer it got to completion?"
"Don't misunderstand me," Midorima said, rolling his eyes. "That plan was supposed to unfold naturally. As long as nothing went wrong in the middle, it would have succeeded. The problem is that things did go wrong in the middle."
"So I hope you can help the Hidden Leaf overcome this crisis. Akatsuki could launch an attack on the village at any moment. We don't have the time or energy to deal with the Uchiha issue on top of everything else," Hiruzen explained.
Midorima instantly understood what the Hokage truly meant.
Hiruzen was not placing his trust in him. He was simply desperate.
The conflict with the Uchiha did not need to be resolved immediately, but in the face of the Sand Village and Akatsuki, any internal instability had become potentially fatal.
In other words, Hiruzen was not looking for a genuine solution to the problem. He simply wanted to remove the Uchiha as a burden.
Either eliminate the Uchiha quietly and without trace, or ensure they behaved themselves and caused no trouble during this critical period.
Asking Midorima here was merely to hear his suggestions. If they proved useful, they would try them. If not, they could be discarded. At worst, it would only cost one night's time.
"So that's how it is… This might be quite difficult," Midorima said, shaking his head.
What the Hidden Leaf needed right now was strong medicine. It might cure the illness, but it could just as easily kill the patient.
"If you can truly come up with a workable solution, the Hidden Leaf will establish a formal alliance with the Hidden Mist…" Seeing Midorima hesitate, Hiruzen quickly raised the stakes. "Furthermore, I will give you a seat at the Five Kage Summit. As the host, I have that authority."
"Since you put it that way, I won't thank you," Midorima said, his smile fading.
"No thanks are necessary," Hiruzen replied with a slight nod.
"My answer is straightforward: there is no solution," Midorima stated.
"Are you joking?" Hiruzen asked.
"I'm not the one joking. Don't you understand the situation better than I do?" Midorima replied with a cold laugh.
Hiruzen did not answer immediately. He took a long breath to calm himself. "I had high expectations for this meeting."
"If you had placed the same expectations on the Uchiha clan, the conflict might have been resolved long ago."
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that the core problem between the Uchiha clan and the Hidden Leaf is a lack of trust. In other words, there has been almost no real communication between you and the Uchiha. How do you expect me to solve the problem under those conditions?" Midorima countered.
Tsunade nodded silently in agreement.
Jiraiya pursed his lips.
If Hiruzen had not been present, he would have given Midorima a thumbs-up.
Most misunderstandings stem from a lack of communication, and that was precisely what the Uchiha clan and the Hidden Leaf lacked most.