However, if commoner ninjas could advance courageously after becoming ninjas, step by step crossing the class divide and eventually surpassing many of the clan ninjas, this dream would not be drowned by reality.
On the contrary, nurtured by these setbacks, the obsession in the hearts of commoner ninjas to become "Hokage" would only grow stronger.
Sakumo Hatake was a good example of this.
A ninja who had risen from the bottom, his love for the village was in no way inferior to that of a clan ninja.
In fact, they loved the village even more than the clan ninjas.
Clan ninjas had their own clansmen in addition to the village.
But commoner ninjas truly only had the village!
"You've figured it out, haven't you?"
Seeing the calm expression gradually return to Tsunade's face, Li Anshi knew that she had emerged from her previous entanglement.
"Yes."
Tsunade took a deep breath and stretched.
"Konoha is everyone's Konoha."
"After a period of growth, a commoner ninja can also become Hokage."
"Anshi, I really like what you said."
"It's not that you gain everyone's recognition because you become Hokage."
"It's that you can only become Hokage because you have gained everyone's recognition!"
"This time, after Master Hiruzen steps down, I will compete fairly and squarely with Sakumo Hatake for the position of Fourth Hokage!"
"Very good."
Hearing Tsunade's spirited and ambitious declaration, Li Anshi nodded.
"Tsunade, I hope you can always maintain this mindset."
"After all, your opponent this time is no simple character!"
In the current Konoha, after Li Anshi had given up on entering the official ninja sequence, Sakumo Hatake was the only one recognized by Hiruzen Sarutobi and many other ninjas as the next Hokage.
An ordinary person, even Danzo Shimura, did not have his kind of appeal and influence.
Even the current Tsunade had not reached a level where she could threaten his position.
Indeed, Tsunade was the princess of Konoha, respected and loved by both the common people and the ninja clans.
However, she was still too young.
Although the ten-year-old Tsunade had already been recognized by Hiruzen as an independent ninja, if she were to actually succeed as Hokage, no one would consider the current Tsunade.
In the ninja world, even the youngest "Kage," the future Fifth Kazekage Gaara, had become Kazekage at the age of fifteen.
In the three years after the death of the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, although the Sand Village was centered around Gaara, the acting Kazekage was Baki.
The savior of the ninja world, Naruto Uzumaki, even after saving the entire world, had not immediately become Hokage after Tsunade stepped down. Instead, Kakashi Hatake had become the Sixth Hokage, and it was only after Naruto turned eighteen that he officially became the Seventh Hokage of Konoha.
It was important to remember that at that time, Naruto was already the strongest in the ninja world, having defeated Rinnegan Madara and the Rabbit Goddess Kaguya Ōtsutsuki with Sasuke Uchiha.
But even so, he had not been able to become Hokage immediately.
From this, one could see just how strict the ninja clans of Konoha were about the succession of the Hokage.
Of course, this might also have been a test of Naruto by the ninja clans.
After all, at that time, Naruto was already invincible in the ninja world. But because he had lost his right arm in the battle with Sasuke, if he had wanted to do something, it was not impossible that the five great villages would have united to encircle and kill him.
Tsunade had the background, the ability, and the potential to become Hokage.
But at present, she was simply too young.
The commoner ninjas might choose her because of her status, but among the many ninja clans, no one would.
"Hahaha, if the position of Hokage came too easily, I wouldn't feel much of a sense of accomplishment!"
Tsunade laughed heartily.
Indeed, although she was young now, and the ninja clans and many Jonin would not see her as the successor to the next Hokage, as she grew, the last vestiges of the "Senju" clan's influence would eventually fall upon her.
At that time, as long as her performance was not bad and she showed a desire to become Hokage, she would still have a large number of supporters.
"So, have you thought about how you're going to compete with Sakumo?"
Seeing her like this, Li Anshi couldn't help but ask with amusement.
The current Sakumo Hatake, under the name of "Konoha's White Fang," was the second after Little Li's Flying Dagger to be recognized by the ninja world as an existence against whom one could abandon a mission without it being considered a failure.
Furthermore, since his debut, he had not failed a single mission.
It could be said that Sakumo Hatake himself was the most perfect ninja in the hearts of many.
Especially after Hiruzen had promoted him to be the Anbu Commander, many ninjas had pretty much understood his intentions.
After getting along for these past few years, everyone had come to understand Sakumo better.
They all believed that after Hiruzen, if Sakumo were to succeed as Hokage, there would not be much change in Konoha.
After all, from his chakra, everyone could faintly sense his "will."
This was not something that could be faked.
When the Sage of Six Paths had separated the chakra and established the "Ninja Sect," the purpose of chakra was to connect everyone's hearts, so that they could understand each other from their own perspectives, to resolve disputes and eliminate war.
Although, after hundreds of years of evolution, chakra had been used by ninjas as a tool for slaughter, its most basic ability to connect people's hearts still remained.
Look at the future Naruto Uzumaki, clashing fists with the Nine-Tails, with Sasuke, with Nagato, with Obito, with Minato...
In just an instant, the chakra containing his will would convey his thoughts to others, letting them know what he was thinking.
This could also be considered a return to the original ability of chakra, as the Sage of Six Paths had intended.
However, under normal circumstances, people would not use this ability.
After all, no one wanted others to analyze them.
But even so, everyone could still get a slight sense of what kind of person the other was from their chakra.
Like the future Minato Namikaze, even as an enemy, they felt his chakra was as warm as a small sun.
Sakumo Hatake's chakra, on the other hand, gave people a feeling of being upright and unyielding.
Personality could be faked, and actions could be suppressed.
But the chakra that contained a person's will was something that could not be changed no matter what.
Sakumo had never hidden the will within his chakra.
A ninja with even a slight sensory ability, even without clashing fists, could faintly sense it.
For Tsunade to compete with him, the difficulty was not ordinary.
Being asked this by Li Anshi, Tsunade was a bit stumped.
"Anshi, why don't you just publicly support me!"
Tsunade put on a pitiful, weak look, trying to appeal to his sympathy.
Little Li's Flying Dagger never misses its mark!
Soul-chasing and life-reaping, a cycle of life and death!
If there was anyone in Konoha who could sway the Hokage election, it would be none other than Li Anshi.
If you were not a ninja, you looked at him like a frog in a well looking at the moon.
After becoming a ninja, especially a Kage-level powerhouse, only then would you know just how terrifying it was to face his daggers directly.
It was as if your decades of training, in his eyes, were worth nothing more than a dagger that cost less than a hundred Ryo.
If he were to intentionally interfere in the election, then without a doubt, no one could ignore his opinion.
Had they not seen that ever since he had said he would take Danzo's life if he appeared within a hundred meters of him, Danzo had become a plague in Konoha that everyone avoided?
Although he had later been reinstated as the captain of an Anbu division and had his status as an elder restored, becoming the training instructor for the Root, which supplied talent to the Anbu, none of the major clans had taken the initiative to strengthen their ties with him.
It could be said that in the current Konoha, there were two families that were vaguely ostracized and targeted by everyone.
One was the Uchiha clan.
That went without saying. Madara had launched one rebellion, and Setsuna Uchiha had launched another...
Once may be an accident, twice may be a coincidence, but a third time cannot be tolerated!
All the ninja clans knew that if the Uchiha showed any signs of starting a third rebellion, they would be decisively wiped out by Konoha!
Therefore, most of the clans did not want to be implicated with them, and thus did not have deep ties.
The second was the Shimura clan.
Because of Li Anshi, Danzo spent most of his time living in a dark, sunless basement.
The entire Shimura clan seemed to have been influenced by him and had begun to walk a dark path.
It seemed that Danzo had already implanted his ideas about the "Root" in the minds of the Shimura clan.
That dark chakra made people shrink back in fear.
"No deal!"
Li Anshi directly refused Tsunade's proposal.
He was not unaware of his influence in Konoha.
However, he did not want to use it.
Deterrence could indeed make the world develop according to the future he envisioned.
But his dream was not to change the ninja world, but to live freely.
Was he so bored that he would go and start a revolution?
He could offer his opinions, but he would not lift a finger in the actual execution.
This was the future of the entire ninja world, not his future.
A turbulent world had its own charm.
A peaceful world also had its own brilliance.
Li Anshi had never seen himself as a savior.
"Tsunade, I can't support you directly."
"However, I can give you some advice."
"Aren't you already quite accomplished in medical ninjutsu?"
"Then, strengthen your influence from that aspect."
"First, you can propose to the Third Hokage to establish a hospital in the village."
"The medical ninjas who study under you, they don't have to join ninja squads. Instead, they can enter the hospital to become doctors, treating the injuries and illnesses of the villagers and ninjas for a certain fee."
"At the same time, the hospital can also be like the Ninja Academy, taking in children with the potential to become medical ninjas and teaching them."
"When the number of medical ninjas reaches a certain level, you can then propose to the Third Hokage that every ninja squad must have one medical ninja to treat their injured comrades during or after battle, to reduce the casualty rate."
"At that time, you can then form a medical corps, and you will be the head of it, truly standing on the same level as Sakumo Hatake."
"I think that if you stand up and announce your desire to compete for the position of Hokage then, the number of people who support you should not be less than those who support him."
"And, more importantly, Tsunade."
"This time, those who support you will be because of your contributions to Konoha, not because you are a member of the Senju clan."
"I'll do it!"
Perhaps motivated by his last sentence, Tsunade slammed her palm on his table and said excitedly.
"Thank you, Anshi!"
"When I become Hokage, I'll thank you properly!"
At this point, ignoring his pained expression, she went directly to his worktable, opened a drawer, grabbed a large handful of money, and rushed out.
"Hey, Tsunade, at least leave me some money for the mission commission and a new dining table..."
Li Anshi reached out and shouted after her.
But unfortunately, with the money in her hand, Tsunade completely ignored his calls, and in a few moments, she had disappeared into the crowd, out of his sight.
"Sigh..."
Seeing this, Li Anshi shook his head.
"Forget it, I brought this on myself, I brought this on myself..."
After comforting himself for a few moments, he got up, swept the pieces of the dining table that had been shattered by Tsunade into a pile, and threw them into the trash.
…
War was not the main theme of the ninja world.
Whenever there was great chaos, there would always be wise and far-sighted people who would stand up and restore peace to the world.
After more than two years of turmoil, the small ninja villages of the world also gradually ceased their hostilities and began to recuperate.
In these two years, because the five great villages had been enjoying the dividends of the war and had not paid too much attention to or exploited the small villages, some of the new generation of ninjas had gradually lost their reverence for them.
Especially the Land of Rain.
After these few years of campaigning, the leader of the Hidden Rain Village, Hanzo, had already made a name for himself among the small villages.
His summon, the salamander, was extremely poisonous. Once it appeared, the battlefield would be littered with corpses.
To this day, Hanzo had never seen a ninja who could survive the poison mist of his salamander.
When the Rain ninjas went into battle with him, they had to wear gas masks.
But most of the time, he would go into battle alone, to avoid harming his own ninjas.
This was because Hanzo had undergone physical modification as a child, and had had the poison sac of a salamander implanted in his body, making him immune to its poison.
But because of this, he also wore a gas mask most of the time.