Sixteen Years Old, The Fourth Generation of Mizukage

When the Ninja School students, instructors, and guards of the Konoha exchange group returned to the training hall, a piece of news that could not be said to be a bolt from the blue, or at least a blow to the head, reached the ears of all of them——

The first Hokage, Senju Hashirama, was reincarnated from the underworld by Kirigakure using the forbidden technique of the second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, and was recalled from the underworld, and will continue to stay in the human world for some time to come.

This kind of rolling thunder is full of crazy and bizarre news from every angle, making the Konoha ninjas in the entire academy unable to help but boil. These ninjas who were born in different periods of Konoha They poured into the room that Jiraiya and Tsunade temporarily arranged for Senju Hashirama, wanting to see the appearance of Konoha's most legendary ninja, and also wanting to get something from him that they had always been curious about. The answer to the matter.

Obviously, such an event would be indispensable without Uchiha Itachi.

However, considering his current small arms and legs, he rationally waited until everyone who came to visit Senju Hashirama was rushed away for dinner, then he held a notebook filled with various questions and politely Knocked on Senju Hashirama's door.

"Um, is the First Generation here?"

"Oh? Are there any such young children in this exchange group?"

Although he was surrounded by dozens of Konoha ninjas asking questions all afternoon, Senju Hashirama still looked energetic. He looked in the direction of the door, and then greeted him kindly. Uchiha Itachi waved, indicating that he could come in.

Uchiha Itachi walked into the room politely, bowed to Senju Hashirama, and then sat opposite him. Senju Hashirama first looked at Uchiha Itachi's well-prepared notebook. , then looked at the red and white Uchiha family crest of the Uchiha clan on his clothes, and said with bright eyes:

"Are you a child of the Uchiha family?"

"Well, yes, Shodai-sama, I am Itachi Uchiha, I am six years old this year..."

"Oh, the Uchiha clan is so powerful. No matter what era, there are always such outstanding geniuses."

While Senju Hashirama was sighing at the great scene of the Uchiha clan having numerous geniuses from generation to generation, he pushed a plate of snacks that he asked Kakashi to help buy in order to entertain the younger Konoha students in front of Uchiha Itachi, showing concern. asked:

"Is it because you didn't come here with the children from other families in the village because you don't have a good relationship with them?"

"They thought I was too young and I thought they were too childish, so that was it."

Uchiha Itachi did not deny this, but spread out his notebook, preparing to raise his doubts to Senju Hashirama one by one in the order he had planned, while Senju Hashirama looked at Uchiha Itachi and him Her young face was totally different from being withdrawn and arrogant. She sighed softly, then held her face with her hands and asked him calmly:

"Then, are the Uchiha clan still as out of tune with other people in the village as they were when the village was first established?"

Uchiha Itachi's fingers stopped flipping through his notebook.

"Sigh...Whether Madara is here or not, Uchiha's arrogance remains the same as before."

Senju Hashirama pressed his eyebrows and couldn't help but feel troubled by the overly troublesome character of the Uchiha clan. Uchiha Itachi stared at Senju Hashirama closely and asked in a cold voice:

"Did someone tell you about the Uchiha clan, Shodai-sama?"

"The boys in the village are all quite smooth. They wouldn't go out of their way to mention something like this when they meet me face to face for the first time, which will only make the atmosphere colder," Senju Hashirama sighed helplessly. , pointed at Uchiha Itachi, whose expression changed slightly, "I just see from you the arrogance of the Uchiha clan that has never changed from the past to the present."

"The Sharingan is one of the strongest blood inheritance limits. Its uniqueness is destined to engrav the arrogance of the Uchiha clan in their souls and blood. It's just that some people wear it on their faces, and some people are smart. I just know how to hide it deep in my heart... Kaguya Rei's evaluation of you is really quite appropriate."

"You have met the Fourth Mizukage... That's right. Only with his permission and attention, you don't need to worry about everyone in Konoha getting upset because of your return to the living world."

Uchiha Itachi lightly patted his forehead, flipped through the first two pages of the notebook, then pointed to the question written crookedly on the third page, and asked Senju Hashirama:

"Well, now that you have met the Fourth Mizukage, do you think he...is a person worth trusting?"

"Why would you ask such a question?" Senju Hashirama was a little curious.

"Because... I am very concerned about some of his words and actions."

Uchiha Itachi bit his lips lightly and said with a complicated expression:

"He said that the major ninja villages are all zombies still living in the Warring States Period. After hearing such outrageous words, Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama, who have been famous in the ninja world for many years as the Sannin of Konoha, who are they? There was no rebuttal.”

"Then, he set up an elective course for himself in the ninja school that he reformed. The goal of this course was to restore and study the past history of the ninja world, and it did not involve ninjas at all. The improvement of personal strength..."

"But you passed that exam, right?" Senju Hashirama recalled that when Jiraiya explained to Tsunade how he was reincarnated from the dirty earth, he mentioned the topic in passing, and asked with enlightenment. .

"Yes." Uchiha Itachi nodded, and then said with a confused expression:

"I know that the Fourth Mizukage must have a deep meaning in doing this, but I don't know what the deep meaning is... Jiraiya-sama is worried that I am too young and have insufficient experience. If I study with the Fourth Mizukage, I will He was too deeply affected by him, and then gradually lost his own thinking, but everything he himself experienced seemed not enough to prevent him from being affected by the unconstrained thoughts of the Fourth Mizukage."

"So I would like to ask you, who has more experience and has creatively proposed the idea of ​​a Ninja Village... Should I attend the course he created?"

"Well, this question is really difficult to answer..."

After Senju Hashirama touched his chin and thought for a long time, he asked again:

"Before I give you a specific answer, Itachi, please tell me first, why would a child of your age want to participate in such an exchange event that heirs from other families would avoid? Or should I say? , why do you have a particularly deep obsession with Kaguya Rei?"

Uchiha Itachi was silent for a moment, and then with some emotions that he couldn't explain, he said confusedly: "At the beginning, it was probably just that he wanted to find out why he could make people who once loved the family and the village deeply Brother Uchiha Shisui, betrayed the village and family without any hesitation and became a member of Kirigakure."

"But now...I want to know even more what he wants to do."

"Well, if you think so, then I think it would be a good choice to join the course offered by him." After listening to Uchiha Itachi's speech, Senju Hashirama took a deep breath and said slowly :

"For a child like you who is full of confusion and has a blank slate at the same time, he doesn't have much need to deceive you. He only needs to put some clues that only he can connect in front of you, and then tell you how to go. Finding the truth is enough to attract you to him without even realizing it."

? ? ?

Three big question marks clearly appeared on Uchiha Itachi's young face.

"Sir, are you being manipulated by someone?"

"I think should not be?"

"Then, why would you, why would you say something like this, which is almost equivalent to pushing me to side with Kirigakure and the Fourth Mizukage?"

"Oh, so you are struggling with this..."

Senju Hashirama tapped the palm of his hand as if he suddenly understood, and then said with a grin:

"Because this is inevitable. With the rise of Kirigakure, Kaguya Rei's ideas and thoughts will inevitably spread to every corner of the ninja world through various channels and forms, let alone Konoha, even Iwagakure and Kumogakure, who are now openly hostile to Kirigakure, and Sunagakure, who remains neutral, will become targets for him to spread his ideas, no matter how hard they guard against it."

"Since it is inevitable that some people will come into contact with Kaguya Rei's unconventional ideas that transcend the times and lead them down an unknown path, then it is imperative to learn and understand his way of thinking as soon as possible."

"Although talented young people like you are easily attracted by him in the process of learning, you also have the thought of truly understanding and absorbing Kaguya Rei, and you are better than others and come up with your own ideas. The possibility of thinking and innovation.”

"And this possibility of being better than others is the key to truly defeating Kaguya Rei."

Listening to Senju Hashirama's majestic, even can be said to be a method of winning at any cost, Uchiha Itachi couldn't help but take a deep breath, and then asked in a low voice with a very negative attitude:

"Then, what if there is no one among us who can surpass him at the ideological level?"

"No? Doesn't that prove that he is the most correct person? Since he is right, then you don't need to worry about anything else and just follow him with peace of mind."

Senju Hashirama waved his hand freely, smiled and said to Uchiha Itachi who looked worried:

"Having the right person to change the status quo of the ninja world cannot be considered a bad thing no matter how you think about it... No matter if this person is Rei Kaguya of Kirigakure, Uchiha Itachi, Jiraiya, or Kakashi Hatake of Konoha, Or maybe it’s a ninja from Kumogakure or Iwagakure, it doesn’t matter.”

"As long as the ninja world is moving in a better direction and our descendants can live in a better world, there is nothing wrong with Konoha even if it means making Konoha a stubborn stone that has been rolled over by the wheel of history."