Reborn in a Daimyo's court in Naruto

Part 7

Chapter 7

HIRUZEN SARUTOBI

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of the village hidden in the leaves, found himself once more in the capital of the land of fire.

His visits had become rather rare over the last few years because of the ongoing war, and as he watched the people, the regular people, walk around the capital, laughing and celebrating as the war neared its end, he found himself content at what the cost of this peace had been.

This war was being called the Third Great Ninja War, yet in truth, it was not that. It was simply a continuation of the Second War, a war which had been going on for the last decade now, a war that had taken a heavy toll on everyone.

And though the treaties were yet to be signed, it was largely expected that an accord would be reached between Konoha and Iwa, the two main villages engaged in this war, for Kiri still recovered from the losses it had taken in their assault against Uzumaki island, and the retaliation Konoha had shown.

As for Kumo, they were stubborn, yet they had lost their Raikage and had pulled back their forces ever since, with Iwa the only other village left. Though Iwa was often stubborn by nature, even Ohnoki was not blind to favorable terms being offered to them for peace and what rejecting those terms would mean for them.

Konoha had been on the back foot for most of the war, barely managing to engage two of the great five villages by itself, yet in the end, the will of fire had held true. And in its hour of need, a new beacon of hope had emerged in the form of Minato Namikaze, Konopha's Yellow Flash.

Jiraiya's student had emerged as a symbol of hope for their village, his very name now caused fear to bubble in their opponent's heart, and in him he saw someone embellished with the same will to change the world as the first Hokage, Hashirama-sama.

And so he found himself sitting against the fire daimyo, Katsugawa Hirayoshi. The once towering and fear-inducing man had now become a shell of his old self, tainted with disease and loss; the man was thin and frail and coughed quite frequently.

The relationship between a Hokage and a daimyo was rather unique, both operated rather independently of one another, with the daimyo being the head of a nation and the Hokage the head of its military, and though the rank of a Hokage was essentially nothing more than an advisor, the Hokage was afforded much more freedom and power because of the nature of his position.

Him and Katsuagwawa Hiroshi had worked together for two decades now, and it had been a fruitful partnership, yet it seemed that it was about to come.

"You seem rather hale for a man who wishes to retire," the man said with a smile, as they both sat in his solar smoking their pipes, and Hiruzen smiled.

"And you look rather ill for a man your age," he replied and he saw the man's eyes still as the light in them vanished.

He then took a large puff and replied in a mournful tone.

"Death tends to do that to you," he said before he turned to face him.

"You would know so as well," he said and Hiruzen nodded, he was well aware of that as he recalled his own lost son, and the toll his death had taken on him and his family.

"Indeed, and in that regard, you have my gratitude for accepting Asuma as one of the guardian twelve, it was magnanimous of you," he said and the man waved it off.

"It was nothing," yet it was not that to him. And though this had cost him his relationship with Asuma, it had at least saved his life and prevented his son from losing his life in an unsuccessful attempt at revenge over his dead older brother.