Chapter 15

Given some third-degree Iryo-nins who have not even a tenth of my combat abilities but proudly wear the elite shinobi vest, it looks pretty grim from any angle. The only thing unclear is the reason — I haven't met Hiruzen even once, and certainly haven't crossed him, so I shouldn't have attracted any special attention…

Though, thinking about it, that's not entirely true — the much-publicized genius of the new generation of clan warriors, one of the best remaining users of fuinjutsu (I'm still light-years away from Mito, despite all my efforts), who also runs a specialized seal shop, the personal student of the wife of the first Hokage, and a close friend of a jinchuriki, an excellent Iryo-nin, and a potential head of the Nara clan in unforeseen circumstances, not to mention a potential S-rank in ten years. Huh, after looking at it from this angle, I no longer seem as harmless as I once thought. Individually, such achievements don't stand out much among clan talents, but together…

Shaking my head, I wiped my feet with a special cloth and, putting on my favorite slippers, headed to my room to change and then take a shower. Upon further reflection, a promising individual like myself, not under the thumb of a ruler who relies mainly on strength to maintain his throne, should be quite concerning.

Currently, in Konoha, there are five top fighters capable of taking the Hokage's seat — Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sannin trio, and Hatake Sakumo, as Danzo is not worth mentioning. Uzumaki Mito is out of the picture as a non-active kunoichi belonging to a "friendly" clan, not born in Konoha despite her marriage to Hashirama, along with the too-old Senju.

Considering the potential departure of Sakumo due to some dark incident, only the Hokage's students remain, who wouldn't rebel against their teacher, as the relationship with the Master (not just an instructor provided to each new team but someone who invests a massive amount of personal knowledge into their students) is almost like having a second father in this world.

No one from the generation after the Sannin seems strong enough to claim the throne. Clan heads, both current and future, like Ikki, Fugaku, Hiashi, Shinesu, and others, are solid A-ranks but nothing beyond that. Unlike me. Minato and Kushina aren't grown up yet, though Minato will soon be taken under the wing of a pervert, and jinchuriki won't be allowed to lead the village as long as there are other options due to the excessive influence they would gain.

— Hi, Ka-chan, — I waved, catching sight of Saya drinking tea in the living room, — I'm going to take a shower.

And without waiting for a reply, I headed to my room for a stack of clean clothes and then to the bathroom, trying not to lose the thread of my thoughts. If Hiruzen is indeed eliminating competitors for his post (considering the lack of direct evidence, which would have led to his downfall long ago, and relying on indirect data from the canon, there is no absolute certainty), then I could very well fall under the threat category along with the head of the Hatake clan.

Suppose Sarutobi is indeed engaged in such cleanups and was responsible for the deaths of Nawaki Senju and even Dan Kato, as agents of the founding clan, then Hokage is not averse to preemptively removing threats but prefers to act through others or create the most unfavorable conditions for survival.

Weary from these thoughts, I rubbed my face and tried not to lose heart. I dropped the remaining clothes on the bathroom floor and, after activating a couple of shower seals with a swipe of my hand, stepped under the invigorating stream of hot water.

If my conclusions are correct, sending our team to the most unfavorable part of the front was the first attempt to get rid of me, aside from the earlier kidnapping attempt. Of course, the chances of this are slim if you don't add a healthy dose of paranoia, but they are still there.

Therefore, blocking my promotion without any visible reason might be from the same playbook. Now that the war is over, removing me directly and without arousing suspicion will be much harder. I see only three relatively reliable ways to achieve this.

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