Hiruzen was sitting across from four children who were currently eating curry, spoons in hand.
'These kids are truly spectacular, being able to formulate a plan and execute it with precision, but…' Hiruzen said, trailing off internally as his eyes fell on a quiet Jiraiya, who seemed preoccupied with thoughts, playing with his food and not eating.
'He seems a bit discouraged; I mean, he is but a child. Seeing his teammates pull off a plan and get the bells while he sat tied to a log would cause anyone to feel a need to reflect.
Though this may be better for him, it might push him to get better.' Hiruzen thought about taking his eyes off Jiraiya.
His eyes then fell on the other three, who sat quietly eating their curry.
'However, aside from Hiruko and Tsunade, whose relationship is bordering on siblings, their relationship with each other isn't what it needs to be.
They see each other more as teammates than comrades and friends.' Hiruzen thought, to him they needed to be more than teammates; they needed the type of coordination and relationship that comes with camaraderie and friendship.
'However, with a group like this who are each prideful in their own ways, maybe I should appoint one of them as a leader? But could this mess up the type of group I'm trying to create?'
Hiruzen sighed. Tobirama really made having students look easy, but it was anything but.
"Sensei, guide me." Hiruzen whispered slightly.
"Okay, now that you guys have eaten something, we need to go over our plans going forward," Hiruzen said. After making sure all eyes were on him, he continued.
"As you three know, I am Hokage, which means I won't be able to watch after you all personally. Mondays through Wednesdays will be mission days. I'll start you off on a D-rank mission, which will be led by my shadow clone. However, as you guys showed from your performances, these missions might be useless for you guys, so in a week if you show me you're definitively ready, I'll start giving you higher-rank missions, and in 1 month I'll take you to a battlefield."
Hiruzen said, expecting the kids to be excited and happy, but except for Jiraiya, who showed a confused face, the others didn't even seem to care.
"Umm, Hiruzen sensei, I thought we had an armistice with the other shinobi villages." Jiraiya said, scratching his head confused.
Hearing this, Hiruzen sighed, 'It seems he doesn't understand the true meaning of battle.' Hiruzen thought, planning to educate Jiraiya a bit.
However, before he could, Hiruko spoke up.
"That's not how it works. Jiraiya, just because war has stopped doesn't mean battle has; all five villages have agreed to stop the war but not hostilities. Villages still want land and power, and a flimsy little piece of paper won't stop that hostility for what we have. To them, as long as they don't declare 'war,' they are still upholding the armistice. But battles and skirmishes are fair game. It's also hitting two birds with one stone; they can hide under the banner of an armistice and develop while also attacking us and limiting our growth." Hiruko said simply, his hand lazily supporting his chin.
Next to him Jiraiya cast his gaze down; he was trying to process what Hiruko said. To him an armistice was like giving your word, something you keep no matter what, but it turned out not everyone had such a mindset.
Beside him Orochimaru and Tsunade nodded along; though he was a civilian, Orochimaru long understood war, conflict, and what it entailed. Battle and conflict meant loss, while war meant death, and both were undeniable aspects of life and would continue on even in the event of an armistice.
Tsunade, on the other hand, was from a prestigious clan and the daughter of two Hokage; she understood war and battle from a very young age.
She once even heard her grandfather tell her grandmother on his deathbed that he feared war would rage on when he died.
Even though he brought over a decade of peace. Ever since then she's realized that no matter how long or nice peace was, at the first sign of opportunity it would rage on.
If not for her grandfather's overwhelming strength, the peace they had would have still been riddled with battle.
Hiruzen, noticing the dark atmosphere, glanced at Hiruko, his gaze then sweeping over Tsunade and Orochimaru. He thought,
'Understanding such concepts at such young ages—I'm sorry, sensei, it seems like your dream of allowing kids to not have to go through such thoughts failed.
But it is exactly this reason that I have to raise them young. They are each geniuses in their own right, and though I'd rather avoid war, Konoha needs them to be ready to fight. Konoha needs…warriors.
Hiruzen thought to be honest he was scared; his teacher Tobirama, Lord Hashirama, were both gone. Lady Mito was a deterrent, sure, but she didn't carry the weight of those two.
He was scared the legacy would fall and crumble on his solders that his predecessors dreams would die with him. He wants to seek peace, not war.
'I'm trying the best I can, Sensei, to protect what you built.' Hiruzen thought, but after a few moments he couldn't help but shake his head as he looked at his students.
'I need to get rid of this atmosphere.' He thought as he took a deep breath.
"As I was saying, most times you will be led by a shadow clone. In the event I can't lead you or you're on a mission outside the village, I can attend; you'll be led by someone else," he said, taking a moment to observe the changing expressions on the kids before continuing.
"On Tuesdays and Fridays you'll be taught by my Shadow clones; you'll mostly be taught jutsu or train in your specific fields.
Every two weeks, however, there will be a spar with each other, and you have the weekend off," Hiruzen said with a smile.
Noticing he was done, all four together said, "Yes, sensei."
—
Hiruko, who now sat in his room alone, his hair damp from his previous shower, sat pondering.
His eyes glancing over to a glass terrarium inside it, Hakuja, a white spider with purple dots in a circle, crawled along her webs.
Getting up, Hiruko walked over to his desk and opened it, grabbing her a jar of living bugs.
Hiruko opened the jar, walked over to the terrarium, and grabbed three of the bugs, placing them into the container.
As his hand reached in, Hakuja bit Hiruko's hand quickly before falling back into the terrarium and turning to its food.
"Shit," Hiruko said through gritted teeth, forgetting to think about how Hakuja managed to bite him when, as long as it is a normal spider, he should have had the reflexes to dodge.
"Why does it hurt so much?" Hiruko said as he went to the bathroom, grabbing bandages from it and wrapping his hand. The pain, though less than when he installed three devil fruits at once, was still a close second.
Hiruko came out of the bathroom, his hand wrapped, and lay on his bed, falling asleep almost immediately but not before he glared at the uninterested Hakuja.
Hakuja, on the other hand, continued to eat her food, only sparing one glance at her master. 'If you survive this, you have the qualifications to be our successor.' Hakuja thought internally.
On the other hand, in front of Hiruko's unconscious body, a luminescent screen appeared.
[Host, you have completed the mission.]
[You have earned Sanji's genetically modified exoskeleton.]
[Host is unconscious; reward integration will be put on hold.]