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Chapter 100+ on patreon.com/dzeref887
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[Filial Black Zetsu]: How did Kitahara Kaede discover Danzo's Sharingan arm so quickly?
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Why though...
[Tobirama]: Isn't it obvious from the analysis?
[Tobirama]: Big Brother, I told you to seriously read the system explanation.
[Tobirama]: Read the system's explanation yourself.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Eh??
[Tobirama]: Hurry and read it. Didn't the Mizukage herself show up earlier? Doesn't that explain everything?
[Future Mizukage - Mei Terumi]: Hehe...
[Tobirama]: I wasn't praising you.
[Future Mizukage - Mei Terumi]: Yes, Second Mizukage-sama.
[Tobirama]: Don't call me that!
[Coward - Ōnoki]: …
Ōnoki thought Mei had guts for speaking like that. Everyone knew Tobirama was already furious over Danzo and the Sharingan, and now she was provoking him?
Was she relying on someone?
She used to be just as scared as him...
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: …
Hashirama quickly brought up the system's description to increase his word count:
[This group chat links the past, future, and present. Time and space are ignored.]
"…"
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: So, Little Kaede might be from the future?
[Tobirama]: Looks like you're not entirely stupid, Anija.
[Tobirama]: And even if he's not from the future, the potential he holds was enough to get such a high evaluation from the group system…
[Tobirama]: What does that tell you?
[Tobirama]: Even if the entire building collapses—or has already collapsed—if we have Kitahara Kaede, we can still rebuild.
[Coward - Ōnoki]: …
[Coward - Ōnoki]: I see now.
Ōnoki finally understood.
That's why Mei dared to speak out.
She wasn't aiming to curry favor with the Second Hokage—she was going for Kitahara Kaede from the start.
And now she had secured a positive relationship with Kaede.
So she dared to speak up—because she had Kaede backing her.
Which meant… Mei had long seen that the new era of the ninja world wouldn't revolve around Hashirama and Uchiha Madara anymore—but around Kitahara Kaede.
"…"
Indeed, with that kind of power, he couldn't stand against him.
Not even the Third Raikage—or the current Fourth Raikage—could handle him.
Damn it!
Damn it all.
Ōnoki just realized… Mei made her move early!
[Minato Namikaze]: So Kaede-kun is from the future?
[Minato Namikaze]: I can accept that theory.
[Minato Namikaze]: And if we go by the Third Hokage's way of doing things… then what kind of future would my little Naruto have?
[Minato Namikaze]: Even if he ultimately reached his goal and became Hokage… the hardships he must've endured o(╥﹏╥)o must have been countless.
[Minato Namikaze]: So right now, if you told me Kaede-kun is my Naruto's future… I'd believe it.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: I see…
[Tobirama]: Tch.
[Tobirama]: Hiruzen is hopeless. Danzo… equally so. And considering Koharu and Homura stuck by their side all these years, they're not reliable either.
[Tobirama]: So… we really need someone younger.
[Tobirama]: Kakashi, what if I appoint you as the Sixth Hokage?
[Kakashi Hatake]: Huh? Me??
Kakashi was stunned.
[Tobirama]: I'd like to name Kitahara Kaede as the Fifth Hokage, but I'm afraid he'll reject it due to all the responsibilities.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Eh? Being Hokage has that many responsibilities?
[Tobirama]: Shut it, Big Brother. You ran off all the time when you were Hokage, and I had to keep dragging you back.
[Tobirama]: When I took over as Hokage, I divided everything into categories. With how things have evolved, the amount of work has only increased.
[Minato Namikaze]: I can attest to that. When I was Hokage, the paperwork alone stacked as high as three Kakashis.
[Tobirama]: Right? So Kakashi, I'm leaving those tasks to you. I'm 99% sure Kitahara Kaede will refuse.
[Tobirama]: And his reason will be exactly that—being Hokage involves too much paperwork.
[Kakashi Hatake]: Uh...
Kakashi finally understood what was going on.
[Kakashi Hatake]: So… I'm basically being handed all the chores?
[Tobirama]: Then just call yourself the secretary. Two Hokage coexisting in a single village is strange. Even when the Third and Fourth Mizukage overlapped, it was the Third who had the final say. What happened to Minato was a waste.
[Kakashi Hatake]: …This...
[Kakashi Hatake]: Ah… this is…
Kakashi realized he was this close to becoming Hokage… and also this close to losing it.
[Tobirama]: You don't have a choice, Kakashi. Don't forget you once tried to assassinate the Third Hokage. You almost became a rogue ninja.
[Kakashi Hatake]: Ugh...
[Kakashi Hatake]: Wait a second—didn't you say earlier you weren't going to hold that against me?
[Tobirama]: That was then. This is now. Even if you'd succeeded in killing Hiruzen… with someone like Danzo next in line, Konoha might've ended up in an even worse state.
[Kakashi Hatake]: Ah, this…
Tobirama had just rejected not only Hiruzen but also Danzo.
[Filial Black Zetsu]: …
Black Zetsu's mouth dropped open. He was speechless.
He originally just wanted to shift attention away from his fake identity as Moonlight Hayate, but after just a few lines, everything escalated?
It turned into a scene of entrusting the nation to a new generation like at Baidi City.
Kitahara Kaede being the Fifth Hokage was basically confirmed?
"..."
Black Zetsu was seriously beginning to suspect that Kitahara Kaede had read the script.
Because things were progressing too fast.
Like the matter of Danzo having a Sharingan arm… Black Zetsu knew that already.
After all, Danzo probably scavenged it back when the Uchiha Clan was wiped out.
Calling it scavenged was accurate—Black Zetsu had seen an entire wall of Sharingan in Obito's collection.
Three-tomoe, two-tomoe, even Mangekyō.
Not just the one-tomoe and two-tomoe trash that Danzo had exposed.
And since the chat group confirmed Kaede possessed the Rinnegan, seeing through the Sharingan under Danzo's bandage would be easy.
But… wasn't Kaede's Sharingan only recently awakened?
And wasn't it related to the Rabbit Ninja—that is, Lady Kaguya?
So using the Rinnegan to discover Danzo's secret doesn't add up. He probably knew way earlier.
Wait a second—did Kitahara Kaede really read the script?
As awkward as it was to say, Black Zetsu had one sudden thought:
If Kaede really came from the future… then could he tell Black Zetsu when Kaguya would finally be unsealed?
A thousand years had passed—even Black Zetsu was starting to feel the wait.
So if he encountered a prophet… he might just go ask.
Because he's been playing this solo game for a millennium now.
But for now, he needed to focus on his mission.
Filial Black Zetsu didn't take Moonlight Hayate's identity just to investigate Kitahara Kaede—what he needed most was to confirm whether Kitahara Kaede's Rabbit Ninja… was really his mother.
For Black Zetsu, who had worked for a thousand years to free his mother's seal, he was the most devoted child who hadn't seen his mom in a millennium.
So…
Now that Kaede's position was livestreamed in the chat, he had to take the chance to avoid him and go find his mother.
Yes.
Black Zetsu's second big goal in Konoha: Find Mom.
But to stay safe, he still waited for a chance to avoid Kaede.
Because if Kaede realized Kaguya's identity and imprisoned her… Black Zetsu knew he couldn't win.
The difficulty level would become SSS+ instantly.
Meanwhile, the livestream in the chat continued.
Kitahara Kaede had been located by the real ANBU—Yamato—and brought to the office. Soon, the Third Hokage, Danzo, Koharu, and Homura all began moving too, heading toward the Valley of the End.
And all along the way, Kaede never mentioned being intercepted by Moonlight Hayate.
This only made Black Zetsu more certain that Kaede had seen through him.
So if this attempt failed, he might not get another chance to meet his mother.
[Tobirama]: Looks like Hiruzen really made his choice.
[Tobirama]: Then I'll carry out my plan.
[Tobirama]: Kakashi.
Tobirama's voice was low, and Kakashi knew this was serious.
[Tobirama]: Once the Chūnin Exams are over… carry out the mission to assassinate Hiruzen.
[Kakashi Hatake]: Uh…?
[Kakashi Hatake]: Second Lord… what did you just say?
[Tobirama]: You were manipulated by Danzo before, which means you must have had lingering doubts in your heart.
[Tobirama]: But we've spent time together now. According to Kitahara Kaede's Illusion Library, we've known each other for sixty years.
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Chapter 100+ on patreon.com/dzeref887