Kakashi being in contact with Namikaze Minato was only natural.

After all, Minato was the Fourth Hokage. Even if he had grown somewhat disheartened, there was no way he would simply abandon Konoha.

Hikaru still remembered clearly how fiercely Minato had threatened him before leaving. But Hikaru had never taken that threat to heart. He understood what Minato’s real intention was.

After everything that had happened, Minato also understood that his personality was probably not suited to remaining in the Hokage’s seat right now.

There was one thing Hiruzen Sarutobi had said that Hikaru agreed with completely: a Hokage could not be someone who harbored only malice, because that would harm the village. But a Hokage also could not be someone who harbored only kindness, because that could harm the village even more.

The village was the true ruler of a nation. Hikaru had understood that clearly when he and Hiruzen had worked together to pressure the daimyō.

Even without that incident, a village that possessed diplomatic authority, military authority, and independent economic development rights was no longer just a village.

It was practically a nation.

To put it bluntly, among the Five Great Nations, aside from a few especially unlucky exceptions, the Kage were the ones truly controlling their countries.

Of course, each Kage’s level of control over their country depended on their own circumstances.

But no matter what, diplomacy and military power were firmly held by the ninja villages. They were firmly held by the Kage.

If someone in such a position were excessively kind-hearted, treating everyone well no matter the situation, then it would not be only the village that suffered.

A qualified Kage had to remain gentle when gentleness was needed.

But when ruthlessness was required, they could not hesitate in the slightest.

At the same time, a Kage had to possess schemes and depth. They could not be ignorant of what their subordinates were doing or thinking, nor could they be unaware of how to control them.

Minato could be ruthless when necessary, but when dealing with his own people, it was extremely difficult for him to take that step.

As for how deep his political cunning went, that was hard to say.

If Hikaru had to put it into words, Minato would become a good Hokage—but not right now.

Still, things had already reached this point. There was no need for anyone to keep complaining about it.

Minato borrowing Hikaru’s dark hand to step away from that whirlpool-filled stage was actually a decent choice. But his sense of responsibility still remained.

Using Kakashi to understand Konoha was another way of understanding the village—and of understanding Hikaru’s movements.

Hikaru understood this and supported him doing it. Besides, Minato was not exactly hiding the matter from him.

After all, Kakashi had always carried Minato’s kunai. How could Hikaru fail to sense the faint Flying Thunder God chakra fluctuation contained within it?

Moreover, Kakashi seemed to have learned how to summon toads now. He was also one of ANBU’s three captains, which meant he could provide even more intelligence and information.

So Hikaru was not surprised, nor did he find it strange.

As for Naruto returning, that was not a big issue either.

Naruto was a child, and children needed education.

Although Minato and Kushina could teach Naruto well themselves, they still hoped their child would grow up in a normal environment.

In Mount Myōboku, Naruto could only keep company with toads. There was not even a single normal human there.

If they wanted him to make human friends and develop normal relationships and emotional bonds, Konoha was naturally the right place.

Of course, this would also cultivate Naruto’s sense of belonging toward Konoha, because Minato and Kushina would definitely return to the village eventually.

"It’s good that he’s coming back. What kind of child spends every day keeping company with toads?" Hikaru said with a smile. "Once he returns, you’ll be busy, Kakashi."

"Well..." Kakashi’s expression stiffened at that, and he scratched his head awkwardly.

He had been avoiding this question all along, but it was something he had to face eventually.

After Naruto returned, someone would definitely need to take care of him.

Even if the boy could return to Mount Myōboku at any time with Kakashi’s help, Minato and Kushina probably would not want that.

Kakashi understood why Naruto was being sent back.

Since the goal was to nurture feelings and a sense of belonging, he naturally could not send him back every day.

And since Minato and Kushina clearly could not return yet, Naruto’s daily life would naturally need someone to look after him.

No matter how one looked at it, this job seemed most suitable for Kakashi.

As an ANBU captain, Kakashi’s schedule was actually fairly flexible. Working regular hours was completely possible.

If Naruto attended school, he would naturally leave and return at fixed times. Their schedules would not conflict.

As long as Kakashi did not overwork himself, he could handle everything.

The problem was that Kakashi truly had no intention of taking care of a little brat. He already found it troublesome enough to take care of himself.

Most days, he ate breakfast and lunch in the ANBU cafeteria. Dinner was usually a bowl of ramen, or just something simple with friends.

As a ninja—and an ANBU ninja who had experienced war—he was like Hikaru in that he had little pursuit of fine food.

As long as the food filled his stomach and had enough protein and calories to maintain his body’s needs, that was enough.

Even if such a person worked hard on duty, calling him lazy in daily life was not unfair.

Asking him to take care of Naruto was basically making him suffer while also making Naruto suffer along with him.

But the problem was that Minato really did not have many subordinates he could fully trust.

Looking around, Kakashi seemed to be the only one truly reliable enough.

That was somewhat sad, because Minato had once trusted Hikaru quite a bit too. But since he had already withdrawn, he could not be bothered to dwell on that issue anymore.

The result, unfortunately, was that Kakashi had to suffer.

He had absolutely no experience taking care of children.

"Looks like you’re pretty troubled," Hikaru said, naturally noticing Kakashi’s expression. His face was full of amusement. "Do you want me to give you some time off so you can take childcare missions?"

"I think I’ll pass..." Kakashi’s expression became even more bitter. He shook his head. "Forget it. This isn’t happening right now anyway. I’ll deal with it later."

"Suit yourself. But honestly, I’m looking forward to it." Hikaru did not mind Kakashi’s attitude at all. He smiled brightly. "I wonder what kind of shape you’ll raise that little brat Naruto into."

Kakashi sighed helplessly.

To him, this was not something worth looking forward to at all.

...

"Looks like while I’ve been away, Konoha has had quite a few incidents, but overall everything is still fine."

In a room on Mount Myōboku, Namikaze Minato smiled as he spoke to Kushina.

They had been living on Mount Myōboku for two or three years now, and they had basically adapted to life there.

Most importantly, Minato’s body had gradually recovered in this place.

Of course, this recovery was only relative to his previous state.

Hikaru’s methods had been steady. Minato’s body was recovering little by little, but if he wanted a full recovery, he still had to wait long enough.

By the time he fully recovered, Hikaru would most likely have become Hokage already. At worst, he would be one step away from the position.

After all, Hikaru could control life force. His methods were not exactly honorable, but no matter what, he had saved Minato.

Minato understood this very clearly.

He held no resentment toward Hikaru. Besides, he was living quite well on Mount Myōboku now.

Aside from the food here being a little too close to nature—not exactly within the range of what humans could normally eat—everything else was fine.

There were no tedious work duties here, no irritating struggles, and the person he loved most was by his side.

What was bad about that?

Moreover, Minato had learned many things here.

Things of great meaning and value.

Sage Mode.

This was a technique Jiraiya excelled at, and one that Hikaru had also displayed with incredible mastery. Minato had spent time here properly polishing it.

In truth, he had learned this technique before, but unfortunately, his talent in this area had seemed somewhat average.

He could indeed enter Sage Mode quickly, but his chakra and body could not sustain that state for long.

That was why he had always claimed that his mastery of Sage Mode was mediocre, despite displaying such strength while in Edo Tensei form.

Edo Tensei provided unlimited chakra and an undying body. In that state, he did not need to worry about stamina or bodily condition.

But now, after systematic training, the length of time he could maintain Sage Mode had increased.

And after two or three years of continuous training, the power of his Sage Mode had grown stronger and stronger.

If Hikaru were here and had sparred with Minato, he would probably be surprised to discover that Minato’s Sage Mode had likely reached the system’s intermediate rating.

Minato was not a cheat-user like Hikaru. He had survived in the ninja world purely by his own talent.

Reaching this level in just one or two years only proved once again how outstanding his talent truly was.

Not only that, there was one thing he had not told the Great Toad Sages, or even Kushina.

He had discovered that he could communicate with the Nine-Tails.

Before this, in his eyes—or rather, in the eyes of the entire ninja world—the tailed beasts were nothing more than beasts.

That was unavoidable. For a long time, everyone had thought this way. Once that fixed mindset took root, it became difficult to change.

But now he had a very different view, because he had discovered, to his astonishment, that the Nine-Tails had its own will.

Having a will meant having a soul.

And a creature with a soul was a typical intelligent being.

The Nine-Tails, which everyone recognized as a wild beast, was actually an intelligent being. That had truly exceeded Minato’s expectations.

After discovering this, Minato began consciously trying to interact with the Nine-Tails.

What he had not expected was that the Nine-Tails seemed completely unwilling to pay attention to him at first.

That left Minato rather helpless.

Fortunately, he had time and energy. He could slowly probe and communicate with the Nine-Tails.

Perhaps it was the Uzumaki Clan’s unique natural talent, or perhaps Minato’s sincerity really had moved the Nine-Tails.

After two years, he could already communicate normally with it.

In his eyes, the Nine-Tails was merely a fox severely misunderstood by the world—proud, arrogant, and lonely.

That mindset made the Nine-Tails extremely displeased with him, but in the end, a measure of friendship still formed between them.

"All I can say is that this world is truly insane. Who could have thought the Nine-Tails would be like this?"

Minato sighed inwardly.

At the same time, he became even more grateful that he had come to Mount Myōboku to recover.

Otherwise, he might never have learned any of this.

"Hikaru and the Third had a conflict?" Kushina asked curiously after hearing Minato’s words. "Did it affect Konoha badly?"

"Not particularly. Both Hikaru and the Third controlled the scope of the incident." Minato smiled softly. "Overall, this operation can be considered fairly good."

"Konoha infighting counts as a good operation?" Kushina blinked. "Looks like someone paid the price this time."

Kushina understood Minato very well. She immediately heard the hidden meaning in his words.

Minato simply kept smiling and did not say much. He handed the report in his hand to Kushina.

The two sides had indeed gone at each other fiercely this time, but that conflict still remained within the realm of strategy and political maneuvering.

Of course, someone had paid the price in this contest.

Shimura Danzō.

Minato had never had any good feelings toward Danzō. Perhaps that kind of person dying was actually a good thing for Konoha.

He simply found it a little emotional.

He had only been gone for two years, yet Konoha had already changed so much.

Kakashi’s reports had always been detailed, allowing Minato to understand Konoha’s situation.

Hikaru had been using Minato’s name to continuously expand his sphere of influence while steadily weakening the Third Hokage’s power.

First, he expanded ANBU.

Then he joined forces with Hiruzen Sarutobi to pressure the daimyō.

At the same time, he brought back descendants of the Uzumaki Clan.

After that, he continuously accumulated strength. During that period, he even solved the Uchiha issue that had troubled Minato for a long time.

When the timing became suitable, he acted decisively.

First, he found Orochimaru’s weakness and drove him out of Konoha.

Then he turned his blade toward the Third Hokage.

Everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

All of those operations and moves caused Hikaru’s faction and strength to nearly stand on equal footing with the Third.

"Is that kid really only fifteen or sixteen?"

Minato felt deeply confused.

Compared with Hikaru, aside from his battlefield achievements, he seemed inferior in almost every other area.

And he felt that if Hikaru were given an opportunity—if the ninja world fell into chaos again—then even his own battlefield achievements might no longer be enough to compare.

"Looks like I really wasn’t suited to being Hokage..."

...

Naruto returning to Konoha was not something Hikaru cared too much about.

He did not know Minato’s current condition, but he was certain that the Fourth Hokage had definitely not recovered.

Even if the Great Toad Sage had a way to pour the life force Hikaru had left inside Minato into him all at once, Minato’s ability to withstand it still had to be considered.

So Hikaru did not focus much attention on that matter. Instead, he was considering certain future issues.

The Fourth Raikage was making movements. Hikaru was honestly looking forward to that.

He was even more looking forward to some unlucky fool coming to Konoha to lay a trap.

That would eventually force Hiruzen Sarutobi to activate the "special mission" and hand the Hyūga Clan the choice of "one person or the whole household."

In Hikaru’s eyes, this was an opportunity.

An opportunity for him to truly walk the path toward becoming Hokage.

Judging only by strength on paper, the current Konoha did not seem to have many ways to resist the crisis from Kumogakure. Because of that, it was normal for Hiruzen Sarutobi to avoid war.

But Hikaru had no intention of letting this matter pass.

Perhaps Konoha truly would struggle to resist, but that did not mean Konoha had no way to resist at all.

"Kumogakure’s most troublesome point is that they didn’t suffer severe damage from the Third Shinobi World War. Their military strength remains intact. In addition, the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails jinchūriki are both troublesome. Konoha’s high-end combat power clearly can’t match them."

Konoha’s current high-end combat power was indeed worrying.

If Minato were still around, everything would be easy to discuss.

After all, Minato had once fought those two at the same time and forced them to a draw.

But now Minato had gone to Mount Myōboku. That was a heavy blow to Konoha.

People might think of Hikaru, the ANBU Minister, and Hikaru himself naturally had the confidence to face those two.

But the problem was that whether it was Hiruzen Sarutobi or ordinary ninja, their understanding of Hikaru’s strength was probably limited to the night of the Nine-Tails incident.

Hikaru had never truly proven himself on the battlefield.

Perhaps he had, but no one knew, because he was ANBU.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had already grown old. There was no need to expect much from his combat power.

Orochimaru’s defection, Tsunade and Jiraiya’s departure—these all cast a shadow over Konoha and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Looking at it from every angle, Konoha seemed to be at an absolute disadvantage.

But Hikaru knew Konoha’s potential was far greater than that.

Once truly pushed into a corner, Konoha had a very high chance of exploding with strength.

And Hikaru’s own power was not merely what he had shown during the Nine-Tails incident.

He had acted many times, but he had never fully displayed his true strength.

Even just the power belonging to "Senju Hikaru" had not been used very often.

Hiruzen and the others did not know that Hikaru possessed the Jōgan—perhaps they knew, but they definitely did not understand it.

They did not know about Hikaru’s Sage Mode.

They did not know that Hikaru’s Wood Release had been strengthened again.

To put it bluntly, in Jōgan Chakra Mode combined with Sage Mode and Wood Release, the destructive power Hikaru could display might not be weaker than Senju Hashirama at his peak.

Do not think that only matching Senju Hashirama was weak.

Peak Senju Hashirama was absolutely not inferior to Naruto and Sasuke.

Even though he was later casually overwhelmed by Uchiha Madara, Naruto and Sasuke had also been overwhelmed by Madara.

Especially Sasuke, who had both eyes and still could do nothing against a blind Madara, eventually getting casually stabbed through with a sword.

But that did not erase their strength. It only meant that Uchiha Madara had completely reached another level.

Hikaru had always had a relatively clear understanding of his own strength.

After all, he had too many reference points to compare himself with.

His current Jōgan Chakra Mode and Nine-Tails Chakra Mode were roughly comparable in intensity, which meant he was basically at the level of Naruto when he first unlocked his form.

But he also had advanced Sage Mode and intermediate Wood Release. These two powers could likely fill the gap and bring him close to the second stage of Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

That basically meant he had reached the level of Sasuke’s Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan—the level of Warring States period Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.

"And that’s only a pure power comparison. If we count overall combat ability, things become much harder to say."

Pure power comparisons rarely determined a ninja’s upper limit.

The use of overall combat ability was much harder to measure.

After all, ninja were like Ferraris. With careful preparation, even a genin might assassinate a jōnin through surprise.

Pakura, who now served under him, was a perfect example. Without Hikaru’s intervention, she would have died in the Land of Water long ago.

"So Konoha doesn’t actually lack high-end combat power. They just don’t know it."

Hikaru lightly tapped the desk, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Looks like this will be a new stage for my performance."

Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to avoid war, but Hikaru would absolutely not choose that option.

He needed his choice and Hiruzen’s choice to differ.

Once there was a difference, there would be contrast.

And once contrast existed, some things would become far more interesting.

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s choice would "sell out Konoha."

Hikaru’s choice would "protect Konoha and restore Konoha’s prestige."

Then Hiruzen Sarutobi’s position would face unimaginable pressure, and Hikaru could use that chance to launch the final attack.

He wanted Hiruzen Sarutobi to step down.

And he wanted the seat of the Fifth Hokage.

...

War was never a game. There were many things Hikaru had to consider seriously.

Although he had already decided to act, there were still many things he needed to think through.

For example, how great an impact his action should create this time.

How he could make himself and Konoha gain greater prestige in the ninja world.

How he could better coordinate this with his own mission.

"Actually, even without considering my personal strength, I already had other plans and ideas. But now I need to change them a little."

If Konoha and Kumogakure went to war, Hikaru could understand Hiruzen’s actions and choices if he stood in Hiruzen’s position and thought everything through.

But there was one thing he truly did not understand.

Why could Hiruzen not learn from Konoha’s experience during the Third Shinobi World War?

During the Third War, Konoha had been besieged by four villages at once.

This time, if Kumogakure took the initiative, why could Konoha not unite with other villages against Kumogakure?

As he had told Kakashi, a certain degree of military intimidation alone could force Kumogakure to hesitate.

Sunagakure was now Konoha’s ally. As long as Sunagakure gathered troops in the Land of Rivers and sent a signal that it intended to support Konoha...

And at the same time, if Konoha contacted Iwagakure and told them that merely gathering troops in the Land of Waterfall or the Land of Iron might let them obtain enormous benefits without even fighting, would Ōnoki refuse?

Both of these villages had signed ceasefire agreements with Konoha. For the sake of their own credibility, they absolutely would not dare attack Konoha within a certain period.

But they had not signed any agreement with Kumogakure.

In essence, there would be no issue if they fought Kumogakure.

And the hatred between Iwagakure and Kumogakure could be described as bone-deep. If Kumogakure invested too much energy in Konoha, Iwagakure could absolutely charge directly toward the Land of Lightning.

Moreover, in this war, Konoha did not need to worry about Kirigakure’s situation.

Hikaru had personally visited Kirigakure. He understood their current state far too well.

Under Obito’s manipulation, they probably would not dare send troops easily.

This meant that the war between Kumogakure and Konoha could, through various interest-driven maneuvers and Konoha’s coercion and temptation of Sunagakure, turn into Kumogakure fighting Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure at the same time.

"Why didn’t Hiruzen Sarutobi think of this? Is he really too old to move anymore?"

The more Hikaru thought about it, the stranger he found it.

Could it be because he was a transmigrator that he could think of such methods?

No, that was not right either.

If any transmigrator came here, they could probably do the same.

After all, this was not especially difficult. Coalition tactics and alliance maneuvering were not anything remarkable.

If he wanted to be even more ruthless, he could play wolves against tigers. That was not impossible either, given how deep the hatred between Kumogakure and Iwagakure was.

"Especially since I control the newspaper. If I really want to stir things up, it won’t be hard."

Hikaru stretched slightly.

He had basically made up his mind.

He knew how he would handle this matter.

Instigating those villages together and creating pressure on Kumogakure would also be beneficial.

It would produce two possible outcomes.

The first was that Kumogakure would decide to break through Konoha’s defensive line quickly, entering the Land of Fire to achieve its strategic objective.

The second was that Kumogakure would withdraw quickly, guard carefully against Iwagakure’s sneak attack, and ultimately enter a stalemate with Konoha.

Hikaru could accept either result.

Once those villages made their decisions, they would naturally come to observe Konoha’s war progress.

Based on Konoha’s performance in battle, they would decide whether to send troops and how much benefit they should claim after deploying.

And this was the stage Hikaru needed.

His audience would be Konoha’s main forces, as well as those observers.

Displaying his power on such a stage would be an important opportunity to greatly expand Hikaru’s personal prestige, his influence, and Konoha’s influence.

"Looks like ANBU needs to move, and I’ll have to write something in the newspaper too."

Using ANBU to discreetly contact Sunagakure and Iwagakure was a necessary preparation.

As for how to stir their emotions, naturally, that would rely on the newspaper.

Hikaru’s newspaper had not spread beyond the Land of Fire yet, but this was an opportunity.

He could completely have ANBU disguise themselves as merchants and carry these newspapers into other villages, ultimately allowing one or more editions to circulate.

That circulation would eventually create anticipation.

Then it would become easier for Hikaru to let the newspaper enter those places properly.

He was quite looking forward to seeing what kind of situation his newspaper could create through its first attempt at guiding public opinion with its content.

"Why is it that every time I wake up, you’re thinking about how to scheme against someone?"

At that moment, Little Nine-Tails’ voice suddenly rang in Hikaru’s mind.

His voice sounded lazy. Even though Hikaru could not see him, he could still imagine that languid expression.

"Why don’t you say that every time you wake up, your timing is just too perfect?"

Hikaru replied casually, then shook his head.

"Done sleeping? You really slept long enough this time."

"I did sleep long enough, but I finally absorbed all that power."

Little Nine-Tails suddenly stirred a trace of chakra, and soon an orange fox head appeared on Hikaru’s shoulder.

Hikaru glanced at the fox head, then swept his gaze across the corners of the room.

He did not need to say anything. The ANBU hidden inside the room quickly left one after another.

Hikaru did not mind certain secrets being known, especially by members of the Senju Clan.

After all, revealing some secrets could make them feel more at ease.

Or make them fear Hikaru even more.

Only after everyone withdrew did Hikaru speak.

"Do you not know there were other people in here? Doing this makes things difficult for me."

"All right, my apologies."

Little Nine-Tails’ apology did not sound very sincere, but he soon asked curiously, "I woke up because I sensed Isobu’s chakra. Does that mean..."

"You really have a dog’s nose." Hikaru chuckled and nodded. "That’s right. I used my power to nurture something. I’m just still hesitating."

"Hesitating?" Little Nine-Tails looked at Hikaru strangely. "What are you hesitating about?"

"I’m hesitating over how to handle this power." Hikaru stood up and slowly walked to the window. "For example, whether I should make it like you, or..."

At this point, Hikaru paused slightly.

He glanced at the fox head, which had also fallen into thought, then gently shook his head.

"Or whether I should try fusing that power into your body. But I can’t guarantee what the result will be. Who knows if a new life or personality might appear? If that happens, I truly won’t be able to accept it..."

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