Chapter 17: Rescuing Hyūga Hizashi (Part 1)
"So you've been racking your brain over this all this time, Lord Third?"
Sakura stared at Hiruzen in disbelief. "Seriously? Is this really something worth losing sleep over? You're the Third Hokage! And you still need to consult the Elders for something like this? Even worse, you actually listened to them? What good have those old fossils ever done besides making things more complicated?"
Cough, cough… Hiruzen choked on his pipe smoke. Come to think of it, during the Fourth Hokage's tenure, he had been one of those "old fossils" on the Council too…
"You're the Hokage," Sakura said, arms crossed. "When it comes to inter-village diplomacy, no matter what anyone says, the final call still belongs to you. Just a couple of old geezers expressing disapproval, and that's enough to make you hesitate? Don't forget—more people support your stance than oppose it!"
Sakura had absolutely no respect for elders like Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. As someone who had read the original story, she knew all too well that those two caused more harm than good and had done little but drag the village down.
"But Homura and Koharu were my classmates back in the day…" Hiruzen muttered, still torn. He had grown up and trained under the Second Hokage with people like Danzo, Homura, and Koharu. No matter what they did, a part of him could never bring himself to be truly ruthless with them. Just like in the original timeline—when Danzo orchestrated the Uchiha massacre behind his back or even attempted to have him assassinated—Hiruzen had never truly punished him. He had just let it go with a sigh.
"What would the Second Hokage have done in a situation like this?" Sakura suddenly asked.
Hiruzen fell silent, taking long drags from his pipe. He knew his teacher's temperament well. If the Second Hokage had been faced with a situation where Kumogakure dared to send agents into Konoha to abduct the Hyūga clan heiress, he wouldn't have waited for their threats. Tobirama would've already assembled a battalion and marched straight to Kumogakure. And if anyone dared oppose him? They'd be lucky to walk away alive.
"I think when Lord Tobirama created the Elder Council, his intention was simply to allow the minor clans a voice in Konoha's political discussions—not to interfere with decisions already made by the Hokage," Sakura said plainly.
Just compare it with Kumogakure's Elders—under the Fourth Raikage, they didn't even dare breathe when he slammed tables and barked orders. Meanwhile, Hiruzen treated his Council members with kindness and courtesy, and what did he get in return? They just kept overstepping.
"Tobirama-sensei…"
Hiruzen's eyes glazed over in nostalgia. When did the Elder Council lose its way? Probably the first time he compromised with them. From that moment on, no matter what decision he made, they always wanted a say. Even back when they were choosing the Fourth Hokage, if not for Jiraiya's fiery support and Minato's solid reputation—being Kushina's husband and having good relations with the Uchiha—he suspected the Elders would've seized that decision too.
He set down his pipe in silence. Maybe he had gone soft over the years. But once, people had called him the "Professor of Shinobi"—not just for mastering all five chakra natures, but also for his decisiveness and iron will.
"Yu," he called out at last. "Send word to Shikaku. Tell him to draft a response to Kumogakure demanding an explanation for the attempted kidnapping of the Hyūga heiress. And they'd better prepare reparations. If not—we'll send them a declaration of war."
His voice was sharper than it had been in years. So what if it led to war? Konoha had stood alone against entire alliances before. Kumogakure was just one village. There was nothing to fear.
"I think we should go inform the Hyūga clan right away," Sakura reminded him. If the Hyūga elders made the same decision they had in the original timeline and forced Hizashi to die in Hiashi's place, everything she'd done would be meaningless.
"Agreed," Hiruzen said with a firm nod as he stood up. He knew well the Hyūga's reputation for stubborn pride. And since this involved their clan directly, it was only right to inform them immediately.
Under Sakura's Mischievous Whim, the Third Hokage Drifted Through the Sky on a Pink Cloud.
"Tell me, Sakura," Hiruzen asked with a sigh, "why exactly do I have to ride a cloud?"
He sounded a bit bitter. Deep down, he'd really wanted to fly through the sky standing atop a long, gleaming sword—it would've looked so much cooler. But Sakura insisted on the cloud. According to her, if he wielded a Ruyi Jingu Bang (like the one his summoning, Enma, could transform into), then he absolutely had to have a Kintō'un to match. And to add insult to injury, the cloud wasn't just any color—it was pink. A full-grown old man floating on a bright pink cloud... even he found the image painfully ridiculous.
"Because only a Kintō'un is worthy of the Golden Staff!" Sakura giggled, covering her mouth with one hand. She'd deliberately used the Reality Stone to conjure the fluffy pink cloud. After all, Hiruzen's nickname was 'Monkey,' and his weapon was the transformed body of the monkey king, Enma—how could she not give him a Kintō'un? Without it, she felt like the universe was fundamentally wrong.
"And don't you think, Grandpa Third," she added slyly, "that standing on a cloud gives you this mystical, sage-like aura?"
"…But why does it have to be pink?" Hiruzen asked, expression tight with frustration. If anyone who knew him saw him like this… who knows what kind of jokes they'd whisper behind his back?
"Because a pink cloud shows that deep down, Grandpa Third has the heart of a young girl!" Sakura burst out laughing, eyes squinting into slits as she tried to hold it in.
"Sigh…" Hiruzen exhaled heavily. He felt like he was about to tarnish his legacy forever. But they were already halfway to their destination, and there was no turning back now—especially not with all the ANBU who had clearly seen him like this. There was no salvaging his dignity anymore.
That day, many Konoha ninja looked up to witness an absolutely surreal sight: a glowing sword and a pink cloud streaking across the sky. Standing atop the sword was a dainty, porcelain-skinned girl. And on the pink cloud—was that… the Third Hokage?!
Thanks to their keen eyesight, most ninja could clearly see what was happening. Especially the Uchiha clan—those with Sharingan had dynamic vision sharp enough to catch every detail. This bizarre incident would later become one of the subtle reasons for growing tensions—perhaps even one of the many petty grievances that festered before Danzo led the Uchiha massacre, while the Third remained silent. (Silencing witnesses, perhaps...?)
Soon, the two of them arrived at the Hyūga Clan compound. They gently descended—hovering about half a meter off the ground—until they floated to a stop in front of the clan's grand gate.
"Talk about rich…" Sakura thought to herself, her heart aching a little. The Hyūga estate was massive—undeniably luxurious. Their wealth was practically stamped into the land. In the original story, when Naruto and Hinata got married, Sakura had always assumed the house they lived in must've been Hinata's dowry. Otherwise, how could Naruto—who grew up dirt poor—ever afford such a high-end standalone house?
Just look at her—Haruno Sakura, a top-ranking member of the Konoha elite, married to Uchiha Sasuke—and she was still paying off a mortgage! A full-fledged, Kage-level kunoichi, crushed under housing debt to the point of fainting from the stress. And she had been the head of the entire Konoha Medical Corps, too! Yet even she couldn't escape decades of home loan repayments.