Will of embers

Chapter 3

Name: Hiruzen Sarutobi

Age: 55/76

HP:100%

Chakra: 100%

Strength: 8

Speed: 8

Stamina: 8

Intelligence: 9

Charisma: 7

Ninjutsu: 8

Taijutsu: 8

Genjutsu: 8

Fuinjutsu: 8

These numbers still meant nothing to Hiruzen. He didn't know if his stats were low or high without referencing what Max could be. Maybe if he could see others' stats, he could take reference. But part of him feared that he might look into another's shinobi's stats and find them in hundreds. At that point, he probably would give up.

"Father," Hiruzen's thoughts were interrupted by his son's voice. "You haven't eaten anything yet."

Hiruzen looked at his plate, still full, and then back at his first son, Kazuki Sarutobi. Hiruzen smiled fondly at the man in his middle twenties as he remembered that he named him in hopes he would bring peace to the world. Kazuki means the hope of peace, after all. It was weird to have two sets of memories now, especially when both had feelings attached to them.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought," Hiruzen replied, trying to sound authentic. "Don't mind me and eat up."

"It is about your job, isn't it?" Asuma slammed his chopsticks on the table and looked at Hiruzen angrily.

"Asuma, calm down," Kazuki tried to calm down his little brother.

"No, I've had enough of this! All you do is think of your duties and put your family aside," Asuma was fifteen years old and acted his age, but Hiruzen couldn't blame him. "It is because of you that Mother is dead. It should have been you. Mother was the only one who cared about us."

Asuma stormed off after that. With a nod, Hiruzen let Kazuki chase after his little brother. The first dinner with his family seemed to end in a disaster, but he couldn't blame Asuma. After all, he had just lost his mother, and his father was too busy with his work to help his son grieve. If his life wasn't in danger at every moment, Hiruzen might have felt more guilty.

Yet, firstly, he wasn't the real Hiruzen. Secondly, he would have made the situation far worse if he tried to talk with Asuma before, as he had only recently gained memories of his family. He didn't even know his first son's name before, as he wasn't mentioned in the story. Still, he did feel bad for his family. And only could he be thankful that his sons were already grown men and didn't need him much.

"Ding!!! Asuma Sarutobi is having doubts about his duties as a shinobi. Please clear his doubts so he can choose the right path. Ding!!!"

'That weird.' At first, Hiruzen thought it was another mission as the annoying sound of the bell rang in his head. But reading it carefully, it sounded more like a request. It didn't even mention that it was a mission. Something fishy was going on with this system, and Hiruzen didn't know if he liked it. But he guessed as long as it made him stronger, he had no choice but to depend on it.

"Sorry about that, Father," Kazuki returned when Hiruzen thought about what was happening.

"I should talk with him," Hiruzen said, standing from his table.

"I don't think it is the right moment."

"There might never be a right moment, and I might not have another chance to do so."

It was better to deal with this now. Strike the iron while it is hot, and so on. And he didn't know when he would have time for this, as he knew he would be busy doing his duties as a Hokage and training his ass off to improve his strength. Then he also will have to deal with Danzo and Orochimaru, and who knows when Obito will show up to ruin his day.

Yet with all the resolve in the world, Hiruzen still stopped at Asuma's room door with his hand lifted, but he couldn't bring himself to knock. What would he even say? Apart from his family memories, he didn't know much about them. He had no experience dealing with something like this but guessed he would have to swing it.

"Are you inside Asuma?" Hiruzen asked as he knocked on the door.

"What do you want?" Asuma asked as he opened the doors. His eyes were bloodshot.

"To apologize for being a lousy father," Hiruzen said as he found no better words. "I am sorry for not being with you when you needed me the most. It might sound like an excuse, but I can't ignore my duties as a Hokage. And I am sorry that I prioritize my duties over you."

"Does the village mean more to you than your own family?" Asuma asked, still angry at Hiruzen.

"Look at yourself. You are already taller than me." Instead of answering, Hiruzen compared his height with Asuma's. "You grew up so fast. Already a chunin."

"Answer me!" Asuma didn't take Hiruzen's answer too kindly.

"It is true that if I want to be an effective Hokage, I need to look at the village as my family," Hiruzen gave the best answer he could think of. "But the reason why it might seem I care about the village more than you, Asuma, is because I trust you not to fall apart the moment I turn away, unlike the village. You are a strong man now."

"Strong?" Asuma asked, seemingly getting angrier. "Then why was I ordered to take shelter while the others fought to protect the village from the demon fox? Do I not fit the criteria or something? And don't give me a half-assed reason like it wasn't our time yet."

"What could you have done against it when even most elite shinobi could do nothing?" Hiruzen asked, locking his eyes with Asuma. "You are strong and will only grow stronger. But at that moment, it wasn't your fight. Like everyone else your age, you are the future of the village. The buildings can be destroyed, but not you and your friends, Asuma. You are the village, and it is our duty to protect you."

"Your answer is useless as you are," Asuma slammed his door in Hiruzen's face.

'Well, it seems I failed.' He didn't have the wisdom of the real Hiruzen. He could only come up with so much bullshit, and it didn't seem like Asuma bought it. There was no sound of the system announcing that he failed or succeeded. He didn't know what to think, so he left it to be. He could do nothing to change Asuma's opinion of him, but he hoped that Asuma wouldn't hate him too much.

…

"Ding!!! New mission: The Daimyo of the Land of Fire is coming to Konohagakure. Convince the Daimyo that the village is still strong and capable of defending the Land of Fire. Ding!!!"

Hiruzen wanted to bash his head on his table. He was already frustrated when he read the letter that the Daimyo was coming to visit the village. But now the system started to annoy him too. He had never smoked in his previous life, but he couldn't help but take a few puffs of the smoking pipe he found in his pocket. It calmed him down a bit.

What could he even say to the Daimyo? He couldn't even talk with a fifteen-year-old boy. Hiruzen didn't think telling the Daimyo everything was okay would cut it. It was a Daimyo, after all. Probably the most important person in this country. He would need to be careful with his words, or who knows what the Daimyo will do.

'I am fucked.' Hiruzen wasn't ready for such a meeting. His calm and collective act might fool the others, but he knew nothing about the Daimyo and how he should act around him. And it wasn't like he could ask anyone for help as it would be suspicious. Taking another puff from the pipe to hide his nervousness, Hiruzen managed to calm down.

Ultimately, it was just a report to his superior or something like that. He only needed to prepare a report about the losses the village experienced and the forces that were left. Hiruzen knew that if the Daimyo was coming on his own, then it meant he was concerned, so he would have to bullshit his way to alleviate his concerns and convince him that he had nothing to worry about.

"Bring me Jiraiya," It will never not be weird to talk one moment to an empty room and, at another moment, receive a response.

"Understood, Hokage-sama," A man with a monkey ANBU mask jumped out of the shadow and knelt before Hiruzen before disappearing again.

'Yep, it is still creepy.' Hiruzen had no idea how they were doing this, and even though he was already used to it, he still didn't like how they just appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared. He would think they were messing with him if he didn't know any better. And those masks didn't make them look friendly either.

Hiruzen continued contemplating the impending meeting with the Daimyo as he awaited Jiraiya's arrival. The smoke from his pipe curled around him as he watched in amusement. He didn't know what kind of tobacco he was smoking, but he didn't mind the taste. Maybe he will get used to this life soon, too. After all, it didn't seem like he had any other choice.

It wasn't long until the doors to the Hokage office slid open. But it wasn't Jiraiya who came in to HIruzen's dismay. It was Dazno with his right eye bandaged. Now, Hiruzen was quite concerned about how short he was compared to others. He could excuse Jiraiya as he was a giant, but even Danzo was taller than him and by quite a bit. He could blame only his bad luck in the end for being stuck in this body.

"Do you have something for me, Danzo?" Hiruzen asked, putting down his smoking pipe.

"I received reports from my operatives that foreign shinobi are trying to get into the Land of the Fire," Danzo informed Hiruzen and presented the reports to him. "The news of the Demon Fox attack has been leaked."

"It is sooner than I expected," Hiruzen replied, glancing over the reports. "But it was only a question of time before it would have happened, so it isn't surprising."

"Iwagakure will not let this chance slip," Danzo warned Hiruzen. "Once they confirm the information, they will strike, thinking we are weakened. And without the time to recover, even if their strike fails, we will lose too much."

"Then we need to buy some time," Hiruzen summarized their situation and what they needed. "Instead of trying to keep the information of the Demon Fox attack a secret, we should confuse them. Try to leak false information and spread rumors that Konoha entered a civil war. That Nara clan has defected. That Madara has returned. That the Hyuga clan lost their sight. That Uchiha had rebelled."

"With so many rumors spreading, nobody will have any idea what is truly going on," Jiraiya commented as he entered the office.

"Indeed, it will take time for them to confirm anything," Danzo agreed, seeming pleased with Hiruzen's plan, and left the office, passing through Jiraiya. "I will see to it then."

"Ding!!! Hidden Quest completed. Congratulations host. You have cleared Danzo's suspicion that you are not in the right mind to lead the village. Ding!!!"

"Ding!!! By completing a hidden quest, you received a random taijutsu skill. Ding!!!"

"Ding!!! You have received Shurikenjutsu advanced level. Ding!!!"

Taijutsu skills: Shurikenjutsu (advanced level).

Hiruzen tried his best to ignore the bells ringing in his head as he watched Danzo leave his office. The system confirmed his suspicions about how Danzo approached him. From what he knew, Danzo could have taken care of it by himself and didn't need to discuss it with Hiruzen. Danzo was probably looking for weakness and wanted to use it against Hiruzen.

"You called me sensei?" Jiraiya waited until Danzo left before addressing Hiruzen.

"Yes, I have a mission for you," Hiruzen replied after a pause as he finished reading the system's messages. "I want you to bring back Tsunade."

"You want me to do what?" Jiraiya looked shocked at Hiruzen. "We both know that impossible."

"I am counting on you," Hiruzen didn't expect such a reaction, but he still pushed it on Jiraiya.

"I won't do it."

"There is nobody else I can trust with such a mission," Hiruzen stood up as Jiraiya backed away, fear lingering in his eyes.

"What you are asking is insane!" Jiraiya raised his voice, and now it truly confused Hiruzen.

"I am not asking," Hiruzen replied as he narrowed his eyes, trying to remember why Jiraiya would react that way.

"It is a suicide mission!"

"Then prepare for death!" Hiruzen couldn't help but raise his voice back at Jiraiya.

"You lost your mind!"

"Aren't you a bit dramatic today?" Hiruzen had to stop and ask because he was at a loss for words.

"She will beat me up," Jiraiya almost seemed about to cry. "Don't you remember what happened to me after I tried to stop her from leaving? She told me she would kill me next time."

"Calm down, you idiot," Hiruzen almost slammed his head against the window behind him. "She won't kill you. At worst, she will take one good hit at your empty head."

"That will kill me."

"We need her," Hiruzen stopped joking around and looked at Jiraiya seriously. "I know she doesn't want to get involved with Shinobi World anymore, and I won't ask her. The village needs her presence. She can drink and gamble as much as she wants, but she must to it the village. Her name alone will deter many and reassure even more."

"Fine, I get it," Jiraiya still didn't seem like he wanted to do it. "But if things go south, I will blame everything on you."

"Just go," Hiruzen sighed but couldn't help a small smile emerging from Jiraiya's antics. "I want her back as soon as possible."

Jiraiya only nodded before leaving. Hiruzen sat down as his nerves were all over the place in the past ten minutes. Lighting up his pipe, Hiruzen looked up at his new taijutsu skill. He was surprised that Shurikenjutsu fell under the Taijutsu tree. From that, he concluded that all weapons mastery fell under Taijutsu skill. But what did advance mean?

Was it a level above the beginner or below the expert level? Even though he was thankful for getting another skill, it only filled Hiruzen's mind with more questions, and the system didn't seem willing to provide him any answers. He didn't know how helpful Shurikenjutsu would be for him, but with shadow clones, he at least had something to defend himself with.

A.N. Sorry, I couldn't finish the chapter last week. I just couldn't find the time to do so. If everything goes according the plan, I should write one more chapter this week. I hope you like it.

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.