He believed that under Mokgetsu's leadership, Konoha would reach a peak, and that the deeds he had unearthed of Mokgetsu from the Ninja Academy and from Root would be remembered through the ages.
People might forget that he taught the Sannin, but they should not forget that he uncovered the second God of Ninjas.
The achievements Mokgetsu has today are mainly due to his own talent and effort, but Sarutobi Hiruzen felt that he also deserved some credit.
If it wasn't for him bringing Mokgetsu out of Root, cultivating him more boldly, and giving him more resources, even if Mokgetsu would eventually become extremely powerful, it wouldn't have happened as quickly as it did.
Sarutobi Hiruzen knew his old friend too well, even if it was a subordinate, Shimura Danzo would first question and then doubt.
In such an environment, Mokgetsu couldn't get good resources or cultivate in peace.
Otherwise, with Mokgetsu's talent, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt he should have become famous long ago, not waiting until leaving Root to start showing his potential.
"Danzo, I will avenge you." Thinking of this, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but recall Shimura Danzo's remains.
Ultimately, Shimura Danzo was Konoha's Hokage Assistant, he shouldn't have died so unjustly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had long planned two investigation directions, but Konoha's busy war affairs had delayed them.
The first is to start the investigation with the Ninja Master Sosuke.
He didn't know what role Uchiha Madara played in Shimura Danzo's death, but one intelligence was certain, and that was that the person who killed Shimura Danzo was Sosuke, which was witnessed by Mokgetsu and many Rain Ninja.
The second investigation direction is Uchiha Madara himself, but Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't planning to expend much effort in this area.
The first reason is that Uchiha Madara is suspected to have been killed by Mokgetsu, and the second is that there is no starting point for the investigation, not knowing where to begin.
The intelligence holder, Shimura Danzo, is dead, and Uchiha Madara himself is also dead, where is he supposed to check, investigating the Uchiha Clan?
Seeing the end of the war, Mokgetsu cancelled the Woodman Jutsu and returned to the ground.
"Mokgetsu, are you unharmed?" Sarutobi Hiruzen withdrew his thoughts, showing a caring expression, and walked up to Mokgetsu to ask.
Actually, he had many things he wanted to discuss with Mokgetsu.
For example, the fact that Mokgetsu killed Uchiha Madara, and matters concerning serving as Hokage Assistant.
"Thank you for your concern, Third Lord, I am fine." Mokgetsu smilingly shook his head.
This battle was much easier than fighting Uchiha Madara.
Although the combined force of the enemy was stronger than Uchiha Madara, this time his teammates were fierce enough.
Not only were there elite ninjas from various Ninja Clans, but even Sarutobi Hiruzen had arrived at the battlefield to support.
"It's good that you're fine; you have the main credit for this battle." Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a cheerful laugh.
Although Mokgetsu didn't kill many enemies in this battle, when counting the achievements, they were numerous and astonishing.
The first major achievement was capturing a large number of Hidden Mist prisoners, causing The Hidden Mist Village to defect and stand with Konoha in the war.
The second major achievement was Mokgetsu taking on the dangerous role of bait.
After The Hidden Mist's defection, Sarutobi Hiruzen gave Mokgetsu two choices: either go along with the plan and engage in a decisive battle with Hidden Rock and the others, or return to Konoha for the best protection.
And Mokgetsu, in order for Konoha to win quickly, resolutely chose to act as bait, laying the foundation for subsequent great victories.
Then it was quickly finding a breakthrough to defeat the Kazekage and such.
"The Third Lord and the Mizukage had significant contributions too." Mokgetsu did not undermine himself, choosing to talk more about the contributions of others.
This time, there was no need to be overly humble, as the victory was indeed largely due to him, feigning humility would be too contrived.
"Truly outstanding talent at a young age. When I was of your age, Mokgetsu, I was still worrying about whether I had the ability to be a competent Mizukage Guard, while you already have the strength to defeat a Kage." The Third Mizukage said with a smile.
Since having backstabbed the Three Great Ninja Villages and given Konoha visible development prospects, the Third Mizukage didn't mind sticking with Konoha for a few decades.
Lying nearby, receiving treatment, Rasa coincidentally heard this sentence and instantly his face turned darker than that of the Third Raikage.
If he wasn't outmatched by the Third Mizukage and was injured, he truly wanted to confront the Third Mizukage.
He could already foresee the newspapers of each major Ninja World publication after today.
The headline would definitely read, "Konoha and Hidden Mist Alliance against Hidden Rock, Hidden Cloud, and Hidden Sand in Five Great Ninja Village negotiations."
Later content might touch upon Mokgetsu defeating him.
Rasa could guess the titles the editors would choose.
"Shocking! The Fourth Kazekage defeated with one punch!"
"Konoha's newcomer defeats The Hidden Sand Village's Kazekage! Is there a gap amongst the Five Great Ninja Villages?"
Thinking about it made Rasa's face even gloomier.
He thought about Hanzo, who was defeated by Sosuke.
Hanzo had dominated the Ninja World for half a lifetime and was revered as a Demigod.
The result was merely losing once to Sosuke, and his reputation was utterly ruined, with gossip everywhere about his defeat, saying that Hanzo's Water Release couldn't overpower Sosuke's Fire Release.
He worried about falling into the same predicament as Hanzo, earning the title of weakest Kazekage.
Rasa would be so enraged he'd spit blood; his teacher, the Third Kazekage, had been called the strongest Kazekage.
"This junior's talent is truly a rarity in a century." The Third Raikage nodded to acknowledge Mokgetsu's excellence.
Mokgetsu's performance on the battlefield really shocked him.
Able to compete directly against his full-force Lightning Chakra Mode with Taijutsu, unique in the entire Ninja World.
The only regret the Third Raikage had was Mokgetsu later using the Woodman Jutsu, not using Taijutsu to contest his Hell Spike.
The Third Raikage had always assumed his Taijutsu had no rivals, yet today Mokgetsu taught him otherwise.
Even the most gifted Taijutsu Ninja must train diligently; for Mokgetsu to have the Taijutsu prowess he has today, he surely underwent unimaginable cultivation.
Therefore, even as an enemy, the Third Raikage couldn't help but admire Mokgetsu.
Of course, admiration aside, the Third Raikage still wished for Mokgetsu's demise.
A non-Hidden Cloud Ninja this exceptional was simply too terrifying.
Seeing even the Third Raikage praise Mokgetsu, Sarutobi Hiruzen's smile grew even broader.
Mokgetsu could be considered half-disciple to him, often coming to him for various cultivation inquiries.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen now wasn't planning to take Mokgetsu as his disciple.
There was no longer a need; even without the status of his disciple, Mokgetsu was unrivaled on the path of becoming Hokage.
Taking Mokgetsu as a disciple now would seem opportunistic, aiming for the reputation of being his master, it wasn't worth it.
"Father, sorry." Kitsuchi lowered his head and walked to Onoki's side.
With the defeat in the battle, as a high-ranking officer, he couldn't escape blame.
Listening to the Kages praising Mokgetsu, and looking at his son, who was too ashamed to speak out loud, Onoki was infuriated.
Why was there such a difference between people?
Let alone matching Mokgetsu in ability, Kitsuchi couldn't even compare in character.
"Use title when working!" Onoki said grimly.
"Tsuchikage, sorry."
Seeing his son appear so honest, Onoki rubbed his brow and sighed, eventually choosing to offer a word of comfort.
This defeat was due to Hidden Mist's betrayal and the incomplete intelligence on Mokgetsu, unrelated to Kitsuchi.
With Kitsuchi's skill and reputation, he wasn't qualified to take the blame for the defeat.
Once the miscellaneous tasks were handled, Sarutobi Hiruzen had Mokgetsu use Wood Release to create a conference room for negotiations to discuss specific peace treaties.
Strictly speaking, this could be considered the second Five Kage Summit, the second time the Five Kage gathered simultaneously for a meeting.
However, unlike the first time, this meeting wasn't conducted with equal standing, but divided into victor and defeated village factions.
As the defeated village, Onoki and the others didn't even bring guards into the conference room this time.
After all, having just been defeated, and still being on the battlefield, bringing guards would be meaningless and unauthorized.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had Mokgetsu act as a guard and attend the meeting with him, while the Third Mizukage brought Karatachi Yagura along.