Master, Please Become a Hokage

“Young Master Ryo, the Hokage wishes to see you.”

That morning, an Anbu operative arrived to deliver the message.

Sarutobi Ryo nodded and headed to the Hokage Tower with Yamanaka Inoichi.

In the conference room on the first floor, Hatake Sakumo had also been summoned.

Many of Konoha's top officials were gathered.

Sarutobi Ryo even saw an unexpected onee-san figure.

“A Sunagakure ninja... Pakura of the Scorch Release?”

Chapter 17: Pakura of the Scorch Release, the Long-Legged Onee-san

The woman before him had fair skin, an alluring figure, and long legs.

She was none other than "Sunagakure's Hero, Pakura of the Scorch Release."

She was the same age as himself and Minato Namikaze and had long been famous.

Pakura was known for her Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai.

Throughout the ninja world, there were probably only a handful of ninjas who possessed Scorch Release.

Combined with the immense destructive power and versatility of Scorch Release, it could be said that Pakura was Sunagakure's treasure and a remarkable talent.

So, what wind had blown her here?

Had the Third Kazekage gone missing? Probably not.

If that were the case, the Anbu would have received intelligence about Sunagakure ninjas frantically searching for the Third Kazekage's whereabouts.

After the Second Shinobi World War, Sunagakure and Konoha had signed a ceasefire agreement. Her arrival might trigger diplomatic changes.

“You are Sarutobi Ryo?”

Seeing Sarutobi Ryo walk in, Pakura sized him up with a hand on her hip.

The Land of Wind was covered in sand.

Despite being constantly exposed to sandstorms in the vast desert, her beautiful skin remained unaffected.

This was clearly due to the effect of the Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai.

Scorch Release permanently altered Pakura's DNA, granting her resistance to wind and even heat.

After all, prolonged travel and exposure to the scorching sun would damage the skin.

Yet, Pakura was wearing a backless outfit, exposing her arms, legs, and back, fully displaying her confidence in her figure.

“Interesting...” Sarutobi Ryo sat down, facing Pakura across the table.

She seemed to have some opinions about the "Second Generation" identity.

Pakura casually placed her fair, slender arm on the table and looked at Sarutobi Ryo with her chin raised, saying, “I didn’t see you much on the battlefield during the last war... Could it be that you were squatting in the back watching the show?”

From the start, the atmosphere was tense.

Sarutobi Ryo expressionlessly sized up and admired the woman before him.

The situation in Sunagakure was also quite interesting.

Rasa... who would become Gaara's father in the future, was a disciple of the Third Kazekage.

If nothing went wrong, Rasa would be the next Kazekage.

Bloodlines, inheritance, connections, everyone understood.

But the problem was...

Pakura, a commoner, had climbed up from the bottom step by step.

“Hmph! The rules of the ninja world... survival of the fittest. Only those who survive in harsh environments are the strong...”

Pakura retorted without hesitation.

At this moment, Pakura didn't notice the changed expressions of Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered the brim of his hat, obscuring his face.

Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure had invaded the Land of Rain during the Second Shinobi World War, which was an undeniable fact.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt ashamed of this.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura felt angry. Even if it was true, you shouldn't go around saying it. jpg

Only Danzo remained silent, looking at his nose and mouth, acting as if he knew everything. That was what it meant to have thick skin.

“Survival of the fittest, huh?”

Sarutobi Ryo nodded, not intending to criticize Pakura's thoughts.

People were shaped by their environment.

People who grew up in different environments had completely different ideas.

“The environment in the Land of Wind is indeed too harsh. If the countries had agreed to give Sunagakure an oasis during the first Five Kage Summit, things might not be the way they are today...”

Pakura: “Uh...”

Sarutobi Ryo's words surprised Pakura.

She never expected such a development.

She had thought that this second-generation young master would have the face of a politician, but she never expected...

“Why has Sunagakure been at war for years? Isn’t it because the environment is too harsh? Even having enough to eat is a problem, and water is extremely scarce...”

Sarutobi Ryo began to speak great truths haphazardly.

“In such an environment, not only do the countries not give Sunagakure a piece of green land, but they also don’t allow Sunagakure to go out and fight... That doesn’t make sense...”

People were starving.

You still wanted them to abide by benevolence, righteousness, and morality.

That was clearly unrealistic.

Back then, at the first Five Kage Summit.

Sunagakure stated that they had Shukaku. That's right, both the official manga and the TV anime clearly stated that.

The First Kazekage of Sunagakure, Reto, was able to capture Ichibi himself, and Ichibi had always been properly sealed by Sunagakure, unrelated to Hashirama Senju.

Sunagakure requested not the other Tailed Beasts captured by Hashirama Senju.

But rather, they requested control of an oasis.

However, this was met with the joint opposition of the four great nations.

The Raikage, Tsuchikage, Tobirama Senju, Mizukage, even said that if Sunagakure really did that, the four great nations would unite and attack Sunagakure.

In the end, Sunagakure didn't get the Tailed Beasts, nor did they get the oasis.

As for what they did get... I don't know.

That could only be asked to the parties involved.

Fortunately, there were still witnesses from that time alive.

Such as the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki.

Such as the Third Kazekage.

That's right, although the Third Kazekage was just a child back then, he had experienced the teachings of the First and Second Kazekage after all. He understood what happened at that time very well.

Sarutobi Ryo's words left Pakura speechless.

After all, since the other party was so reasonable, it wouldn't be appropriate to give them a fierce look, would it?

“Hmph...”

So, Pakura directly turned her gaze to the Third Hokage.

“Hokage-sama, you really have a good son...”

Although there was still ridicule in her words, the appreciation within was clearly perceptible to everyone.

A tense diplomatic situation ultimately led to a peaceful negotiation.

“Then, Pakura of the Scorch Release, please tell us the purpose of your visit to Konoha this time.”

Sarutobi Ryo asked the question in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

In the blink of an eye, he had seized the initiative in the situation.

Everyone else became a foil at this moment.

The diplomatic venue became the battleground for the two young people.

“As everyone knows, the relationship between our Sunagakure and your village [Konoha] has always been quite strained...”

Pakura slowly opened her mouth.

“The Kazekage-sama wants to take this opportunity to change the relationship between the two sides.”

Cooperation and win-win?

“The idea is good, but the timing is not ripe...” Sarutobi Ryo shook his head, thinking to himself.

There was absolutely no possibility of cooperation between Konoha and Sunagakure.

It had been said many times before.

During the Second Shinobi World War, not only did the countries not suffer much loss, but they also became prosperous by plundering small countries, leading to an expansion of national power.

Under such circumstances, Sunagakure and the Land of Wind could not support too many people.

An increasingly surging military force would only drag the Land of Wind into the vortex of war.

In addition, Konoha and other countries would not agree to let Sunagakure occupy fertile land.

So... war was bound to break out again.

Of course.

The key point was that the other villages were unwilling to concede to Sunagakure.

Sarutobi Ryo had no intention of commenting on the right or wrong of this matter.

But since they had made the decision... not to give Sunagakure an oasis, not intending to try to trust them... then they should naturally be prepared to fight each other, shouldn't they?

It was still the same sentence, the path... was chosen by the leaders of each country themselves.

Ask for a hammer and you shall receive, ask for benevolence and you shall receive.

After some polite words, Pakura once again looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi: “Hokage-sama, our Sunagakure has already shown sincerity, now it's up to your Konoha...”

Chapter 18: Minato's Anxiety

“Of course, our Konoha also has the sincerity to negotiate...”

Utatane Koharu spoke first.

As soon as she spoke, Sarutobi Ryo knew she was going to cause trouble again.

Sure enough, in the next sentence, Utatane Koharu said: “We will also send diplomatic personnel to your Sunagakure...”

As she spoke, she looked at Hatake Sakumo.

“How about letting Sakumo make a trip to Sunagakure?”