Nara Shikamaru took a deep breath.
He remembered his father once saying that the Fourth Hokage was an exceptional leader, a classmate of his dad's no less! Shikamaru had even seen a photo at home of his father with the Fourth Hokage and his wife, the man's bright yellow hair standing out like a beacon.
And after enrolling in the Ninja Academy, his father had told him, "Some things you don't just listen to—you go see for yourself. Naruto Uzumaki isn't some 'demon fox kid.' He's the heir of a hero!"
Even back then, Shikamaru had pieced it together—Naruto Uzumaki was likely the Fourth Hokage's orphan!!!
But the way Naruto had been treated all these years? It was downright outrageous!!!
This was how Konoha treated the heir of a hero? It was chilling!!!
And now, Shikamaru had a gut feeling that whatever Ito Hirofumi was about to say next would be earth-shattering, words that could reshape the future of Konoha!
Hirofumi gave the group a moment to process and discuss before continuing.
"I know you're probably wondering why I'm saying all this today!
We're just a bunch of nobodies, right? But who's to say today's nobodies won't shake the ninja world tomorrow?!!
You all know my deal—I got reverse-summoned to some place, and yeah, I might have a tiny shot at becoming a decent ninja someday. But even so, I've already got a target on my back!
Even Danzo, an elder of Konoha, didn't hesitate to come after a mere Ninja Academy student like me!!!
What exactly is this Konoha burning for?! Is it burning up new sprouts like us just to keep those old, gnarled branches lit?!!
In this ninja world, strength is truth!!!
And that truth has to be in our hands! Only then can we take control of our lives! Only then can we bring the change we want to Konoha!!!
Decades ago, the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, and the Demon of the Ninja World, Madara Uchiha, stood on this land and founded Konoha!
They brought us peace, brought us stability!!!
But today, decades later, we have to face a brutal reality: Konoha is still far from true peace!!!
The First Ninja World War, the Second, the Third—they all happened right before our eyes!!!
The graves of ninja who died in those wars are staring right at us!!!
The other four great nations are scheming, their desire to destroy Konoha never fading!
One ninja world, five great nations! Isn't that division?! Isn't that a betrayal of the First Hokage's vision?!!
All we can do is end these wars in our generation!!! Let our generation bring true peace to the ninja world, so our descendants don't have to live in constant fear like we do…
You might think I'm being reckless with these words, but this is what I truly believe!
The Third Hokage is old!!! The new era has no ship to carry him!!!
Think about the messes he's made. Today, Elder Danzo came after me, and what? He faces no punishment! He's still sitting high and mighty, still holding all that power!!!
It's time for new voices to rise in Konoha, and we are those voices!!!
So… please, everyone, I'm counting on you!!!!"
Hirofumi's speech set the Konoha 12's hearts ablaze with passion!
And now they all understood their friend's ambition—this brother of theirs wanted to rebuild Konoha's order!!!
Of course, Hirofumi wasn't planning to act right away. Sure, he was strong, but he was nowhere near his peak.
And the Konoha 12? They were even further off…
It'd take years for them to become ninja who could stand on their own, but with Hirofumi around, that timeline would shrink fast!
Sometimes, Hirofumi even wondered if the big shots in his summoning space would help him out. If they did, he could probably become Konoha's next Hokage right now.
But those guys had their own minds and agendas. Madara Uchiha was just as ambitious, Hashirama Senju was kind to a fault, and Tobirama Senju was always suspicious of him!
So, getting those powerhouses to help him anytime soon? Yeah, that was a pipe dream.
If you want to forge iron, you've got to be tough yourself!
Without your own strength, even if you had those legends backing you, being Hokage would feel hollow!
Meanwhile, inside the summoning space…
Tobirama Senju was shouting his head off!
"Look at this! Look at this!!! This conniving guy!!! His ambitions are out in the open now!!!
This Ito Hirofumi is clearly manipulating these kids!!! I'm starting to think if he decided to betray Konoha right now, these brats would follow him without a second thought!!!"
Madara Uchiha shot Tobirama a cold glare…
"Tobirama Senju! You're just throwing a tantrum because you're powerless!!! If it weren't for Ito Hirofumi, you'd still be a flickering soul flame! Who are you trying to act tough for?!
And tell me, what's wrong with what Hirofumi said?!
Forget the fact that three Ninja World Wars broke out in just a few decades—look at Konoha now!!!
Does this Konoha look anything like the village from back then?! Does it have that same strength?!
I'm starting to wonder if Konoha could even survive another war!
And didn't you hear him? It's not just our Uchiha clan that's gone! Your Senju clan is gone too!!! All thanks to your precious student!!!
What a great disciple, huh? Managed to wipe out his own teacher's clan!!! Absolutely brilliant!!!"
Tobirama had heard Hirofumi's words earlier, but he hadn't taken them seriously. After all, he'd been the one to push for the Senju clan's integration into civilian life.
With his student in charge, surely there'd be some pure Senju bloodlines left, right? There's no way they'd all be gone!
So Tobirama hadn't thought much of it. In fact, he'd even thought Sarutobi Hiruzen had done a decent job.
But Uchiha Fugaku, standing nearby, seemed to see right through Tobirama's thoughts…
"Lord Second Hokage, you don't seriously think the Senju clan still has living bloodlines, do you?!"
Tobirama froze at those words.
"What do you mean?! Isn't it normal for the Senju clan to still have bloodlines?!"
Hearing Fugaku's words, a bad feeling crept into Tobirama's heart…
Even Hashirama Senju, who'd been pacing around Madara, stopped dead in his tracks.
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