[Konoha Year 37, Konoha Village]
Sarutobi Hiruzen, in his prime, stood atop the Hokage Rock, overlooking the prosperous Konoha Village below.
He had only recently assumed the position of Hokage. The village was recovering from the First Great Ninja War and developing rapidly.
He listened carefully to the evaluation on the Sky Screen.
"The peak that ordinary people can reach…"
Prime Hiruzen nodded.
"I don't have a Kekkei Genkai. So receiving such an evaluation is indeed rare."
A Kekkei Genkai—if you weren't born with it, it was very difficult to obtain one later in life.
The Sharingan of the Uchiha clan, the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan—these were innate. Ordinary shinobis could only rely on hard work to catch up.
Prime Hiruzen had a clear understanding of his own strength. He had indeed reached Kage-level, and among the Kage of the Five Great Nations, he wasn't weak.
But to call himself the strongest?
He was still far from it.
At the very least, he knew that Kumogakure's Third Raikage and Iwagakure's Ōnoki were no weaker than him.
"However…"
Prime Hiruzen's brow furrowed.
"Orochimaru is going to defect in the future?"
This was the information that concerned him most.
Orochimaru was his most prized disciple, with talent exceeding even Jiraiya and Tsunade.
If even such a disciple would defect, how much of a failure would that make him as a teacher?
"And, in the end, I went soft and didn't kill him."
Prime Hiruzen muttered to himself.
"I wonder what my future self was thinking?"
After all, if it were now, he would not hesitate to strike down Orochimaru with his own hands.
He also thought of the current Orochimaru; although he seemed cold on the outside, he was still a kind-hearted young man at heart, filled with the Will of Fire.
"This must be changed."
Prime Hiruzen made up his mind.
"Beyond stabilizing the village's situation, I have more to do... I must teach Orochimaru well, find out the reason for his future defection, and then resolve it."
---
[Konoha Year 50]
Minato sat at his desk, his hands crossed under his chin, his blue eyes fixed intently on the Sky Screen.
Kushina sat across from him, but she was clearly uninterested in the content, her mind preoccupied with worry about Minato's term lasting only one year.
"A+, Peak Kage-level."
"A very reasonable ranking. Lord Third has indeed reached the pinnacle of conventional Ninjutsu."
Minato fell into thought. What concerned him even more was the information about Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru is going to defect?"
"When does it happen? Based on the timeline, it should be within the next few years."
He reflected for a moment.
According to ANBU reports, Orochimaru's recent activities had indeed been somewhat suspicious—he frequently went out for long periods, and the entry logs for his laboratory were also abnormal.
But because Orochimaru was the Third Hokage's disciple and one of the Sannin, no one dared to investigate deeply.
'Do I die during Orochimaru's defection?'
Although Orochimaru had strong survival abilities, could he actually pose a lethal threat to him…
Minato considered this possibility, then shook his head.
He had a clear understanding of his own strength.
The Flying Raijin made him virtually unbeatable. The Rasengan provided powerful offensive capability. Add to that Sage Mode and sealing techniques… he didn't think Orochimaru could kill him.
'But… what exactly is the reason for Orochimaru's defection?'
Minato frowned.
'Human experimentation? Forbidden Jutsu research? Or something else?'
He knew that Orochimaru had a morbid pursuit for Ninjutsu, but to what extent would that pursuit lead to defection?
'Still, he hasn't defected yet, so I can't take action against him.'
Minato made his decision.
"It seems I'll have to ask Lord Third to investigate. According to the Sky Screen, his current self can still easily kill Orochimaru."
He planned to visit the Third Hokage's residence after the Sky Screen finished broadcasting.
---
[Konoha Year 1 · Cliffside outside the village]
Hashirama and Madara stood side by side. Both wore somewhat subtle expressions.
"The peak that ordinary people can reach…"
Hashirama rubbed his chin.
"This evaluation is very interesting. In other words, that young man Hiruzen reached the peak of Kage-level through his own efforts, without relying on any Kekkei Genkai or Tailed Beasts."
He turned to look at Madara.
"It's quite remarkable, isn't it? It proves that even without innate advantages, one can reach great heights through effort."
Madara just snorted.
"But it also proves that his limit is right there. 'Lacks a decisive killing move and breakthrough power'—that's the tragedy of not having a Kekkei Genkai. No matter how hard you try, you cannot break through the ceiling of your innate talent."
"Madara, you can't be so harsh…"
Hashirama tried to retort.
"I'm stating facts."
But Madara interrupted him.
"Look at the Sky Screen's evaluation: 'difficult to deal with threats that exceed standard scales.'"
"What are these threats? The Nine-Tails? Or something even more powerful?"
"Without a Kekkei Genkai, without a Tailed Beast, relying solely on conventional Ninjutsu, it's indeed very difficult to deal with disasters of that magnitude."
Hashirama fell silent. He knew Madara had a point.
He himself had Wood Release. Madara had the Mangekyō Sharingan. Their strength had long since surpassed the realm of conventional Ninjutsu.
"But at least he worked hard, and he achieved great success."
Hashirama said finally.
"And as Hokage, strength is only one part. The ability to govern the village, to nurture the next generation, to maintain peace… these are equally important."
"Hmph, say whatever you want."
Madara turned his head away.
---
[Another timeline]
Deep within the Land of Lightning, Tobirama was also deep in thought.
"Kage-level… A+…"
He muttered to himself.
"It seems later generations developed a complete system for evaluating strength. From the description, this so-called 'A+' should be the best among Kage-level shinobis, but there are probably higher levels above that."
He thought of Hashirama's Wood Release and Sage Mode, of Madara's Susano'o…
Those abilities likely fell outside the scope of this ranking.
"I wonder what level my brother and Madara would be according to this system."
"As for myself… I should be stronger than monkey."
He had a clear understanding of his own strength.
Though not as strong as Hashirama or Madara, he was stronger than other Kage-level shinobis.
But what caught his attention was the evaluation that Sarutobi Hiruzen "ranks at the bottom among successive Hokage." That meant the later Hokages were most likely maintaining a decent level of strength.
"That's also a good thing."
"If each generation of Hokage were weaker than the last, then Konoha would truly be in danger. At least from what I've seen so far, future Hokages should all be above the passing line in terms of strength. That's enough!"
Of course, other Shinobi Villages in the various timelines of the world still highly recognized Hiruzen Sarutobi's strength.
The only thing that worried them was: just how strong were Konoha's future Hokages going to be?