Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 461 Catching the Caught on the Rooftop

"Kakashi...Sensei, what are you busy with?"

A certain unscrupulous teacher, who could be seen carrying a pornographic book anytime, anywhere, was startled and almost fell off the roof. He moved the book that was blocking the light from his face, turned around, and saw Naruto standing on the rooftop looking at him, with an unusually expressionless face, as if brewing some kind of storm.

Kakashi felt a little uneasy, but he still sat up with a smile and greeted the great hero of Konoha, "Ah, the weather is so nice today, I couldn't resist coming over to soak up some sun. Are you here to visit Lady Tsunade and Lady Jiraiya at the hospital?"

"Yes, I've finished watching it."

Naruto was still looking at him, still without a trace of a smile. He felt like he hadn't seen such a serious kid in a long time. Finally realizing the seriousness of the problem, he quickly put away his little yellow book and went down from the roof.

"What happened?"

"Did you know that the Hokage Building is incredibly busy?"

Kakashi maintained his smile and said, "My current mission is to protect the Hokage's safety..."

"The advisor doesn't have the right to give you direct orders. You're the top person among the Hokage's direct subordinates, and you should take over her responsibilities after the Hokage loses her command ability. Are you handing over the right to allocate resources and interpretations after the war?" Naruto crossed his arms and tilted his head, watching how he was going to put on his act.

Well, he had certainly considered this possibility; he had witnessed firsthand the power struggles between his own teacher and the advisory board. But...

"Konoha is currently facing internal and external difficulties. The threat from Akatsuki has not been eliminated, and the impact of the invasion has far exceeded expectations. This is the most sensitive time for those advisors. In order to maintain the stability of Konoha, even making a slight concession..."

"Give way here, give way there, and in the end what? Just give up the Hokage position altogether." Naruto rarely acted so rudely; he interrupted Kakashi directly, issuing a rather serious accusation.

Kakashi's smile vanished, his expression darkened, and he said solemnly, "Naruto, the advisor also fought desperately for Konoha, which is why he has so many supporters. You can't just say things like that."

Naruto scoffed dismissively, saying, "You just said it yourself, it's 'once.' As people get older, their thinking becomes rigid, and their ideas fall behind the times. You can't deny getting old. I personally crushed many of these people's 'followers.' Weren't they all parasites on Konoha? What makes you think they're still the same as before, doing everything for the future of 'Konoha'?"

Tsunade has been purging the advisory groups in various departments under the guise of anti-corruption for quite some time now. These people have been very accommodating, jumping in one by one, with almost none of them leaving clean hands. Of course, this banner is not just empty words; if any of her own people are involved, the Hokage has never shown any mercy.

Kakashi fell silent. As a ninja, he was indeed renowned and had achieved countless honors. But as a politician, he was still too naive; witnessing things firsthand did not mean he could truly understand them.

The Hokage's concessions were all too commonplace. The Third Hokage only ever yielded indirectly; some things couldn't be witnessed by Kakashi. Minato's tenure was too short and he was too young; even with the Third Hokage's support, it wouldn't have been easy for him to gain the upper hand in the early stages. In the early years of Tsunade's rule, she didn't fully understand Konoha, and many policies did require the advisory group's oversight. However, in the last year, she has become significantly more assertive, arguing with the advisory group at almost every meeting, large or small, causing many planned initiatives to be shelved.

Knowing Tsunade's personality, this situation won't last long. She will definitely find a way to clear away obstacles and accomplish what she believes is right. As for when she will make her move? Kakashi dared not speculate.

Have you thought it through?

Naruto's words interrupted his mental train of thought, and he saw Naruto turn around and look towards Konoha. The area around the hospital was originally filled with houses, but one of Pain's summoning beasts had wandered over. Although it was killed by Sakura before it could even penetrate Konoha, the houses that had been razed could never be restored to their original state.

"In their restoration plan, the front row was requisitioned for commercial use, and the residents here, even if they survive, will be relocated to a place five blocks away. It used to be an abandoned factory area that was shut down due to severe pollution. It should have been demolished and renovated long ago, but the permits were refused due to financial constraints until last year when exploration began. This time, Payne just happened to destroy it, so it was directly converted into a residential area."

"This...this is so irresponsible towards the residents of this place. The pollution problem there hasn't been solved at all." Kakashi didn't expect to hear such words, and his brows furrowed immediately.

"Yes, just like that reconstruction, they stripped the Uchiha of their land without a word and drove them to the most remote south. The Uchiha's original clan land has now been designated as the private property of the three advisors, and Konoha's most prosperous commercial street has been built on it. Isn't that a coincidence?"

Naruto turned his head and asked him, "So, you still think everything they've done is for the benefit of Konoha?"

Kakashi remained silent, or rather, the perspective Naruto spoke of was one he had never considered before. Born a commoner, he had never been involved in the power struggles between large clans, and even when he heard of them, he had rarely witnessed them firsthand. These were things he would perhaps only notice when he himself needed to worry about maintaining balance.

But Naruto just said it out loud, revealing a secret that had long been buried in history.

How did you find out about their plans?

“I went in to take a look,” Naruto said matter-of-factly. “They’ve lost the one who had the authority to deploy troops, so they don’t have any trump cards left. Since you’re not going, I’ll have to go. We can’t expect Shikaku to control the whole situation by himself, can we?”

"...You barged into the advisors' meeting?" Kakashi was completely stunned. He suddenly realized that he wasn't even as brave as his students.

"What kind of nonsense is it for two advisors to hold a meeting behind closed doors? No matter what, there must be a representative of the Hokage at the meeting table. Kakashi... teacher, I'll say it again. If you're always trying to compromise, you'll end up with nothing."

"You should be glad that the place where the Heavenly Dao exploded happened to be right in the center. Danzo was hiding underground and did not receive the blessing of a miracle, so he unfortunately died. Otherwise, this bad move would have really been enough for us to lose the Hokage position."

"I'm still arguing with the consultant. It's up to you whether you come or not."

Naruto waved his hand, then turned into a wisp of white smoke and disappeared without even turning his head.