Naruto: Path towards Godhood

Hokage's Office;

"Hiruzen, this is enough. We can't let those people continue to slander us like this." Koharu Utatane, the old woman, stood up from her seat and harshly spoke.

"Yes, we must do something about it. Otherwise, these people will have no trust in us." Homura Mikokado nodded his head and spoke.

Originally, they didn't care much about these rumors. But because of the inaction of Third Hokage and Danzo, these rumors even began to affect them.

So naturally, they couldn't stand down like this.

Hearing their words, Hiruzen didn't say anything. He just looked at Danzo and spoke.

"Don't you have something to say, Danzo?"

"Of course, I have. I want to say let's take action against Uchiha since they are the ones releasing this rumor. But, would you agree, especially in this war period?"

"I told you before. We should sent the roots to take down those brats, but you forbid me to make any move." Danzo spoke with a cold tone.

Although he was trying to show his rage, he was happy to see Hiruzen in this condition.

After all, one of the rumors that had been spreading was that Hiruzen used him for every dirty trick he wanted to do.

That caused him to understand HIruzen even more. And it wasn't just a rumor.

Because, to a certain extent, Hiruzen was using him to do these tricks so that the position of Hokage could remain without any stain.

Hearing his words, Hiruzen clenched his fist but didn't say anything. He sighed heavily and said.

"There is nothing we can do about this rumor. The more we try to suppress it, the more problems it will cause."

"Let's just people talk about it, and they will slowly forget it. Besides, after this war, I have decided to step down as a Hokage. I am already too old for this position."

At this moment, the fire inside Danzo's heart couldn't help but rekindle. After all, becoming Hokage was his dream.

But he knew Hiruzen wouldn't let him become one. So, he planned to make Orochimaru the Hokage.

"Alright then, but what about that team?" Danzo asked.

He still wanted to get that team in his roots. But, it was clear that Uchiha might not let Ken join his roots.

So, he planned to kidnap him and forcefully brainwash him.

"Do you not understand this situation, Danzo? Even with all of those rumors going on, I can still maintain my position as Hokage. You can still maintain your position as a Hokage's Advisor."

"But, they disappear so easily, everyone will begin to suspect us. First, it will be Uchiha, then Hyuga, and every single clan, and even the civilians. All of them will point their fingers at us."

"So, even if we want to remove him, we have to do it at the right time." Hiruzen also didn't want Ken to live.

He never in a million years thought his plan would backfire like this. He was certainly very angry, but he couldn't show this anger and let that anger cloud his judgment.

Even if he wanted to retire, he wanted to retire with a positive image as the Strongest Hokage.

He wasn't the strongest because he could defeat his predecessors. He was the strongest because he had almost no bad reputation and had managed to keep Konoha strong for almost three Ninja Wars.

If he made any mistakes, it wouldn't be just him that would suffer from those mistakes. Even his family might be in jeopardy.

He had already seen the consequences through Hatake Sakumo.

Before, he didn't care much about rumors. He also didn't want Sakumo to take the throne of Fourth Hokage.

But it was only after he lost Sakumo that he realized how big that mistake was.

Konoha lost a Kage Level shinobi. If his students hadn't become so successful, this war would end in Konoha's defeat.

Thankfully, his students were successful, so even if other villages attacked Konoha, it would still stand strong.

"But, we do need to bring them here. We can not let a Uchiha make too many waves on the battlefield."

Hiruzen spoke with a cold attitude.

Then, he called for an Anbu and gave him the task.

......…..

Third Platoon Base;

"Boy, are you satisfied with the result?" Tsunade sat in front of Ken and spoke with a cold tone.

She had been controlling her anger and regretting the decision to save Uchiha after the stunt he pulled.

She never expected the day he woke up; he would write a letter to Uchiha Clan and tell them to spread rumors about his situation.

She couldn't blame him either since it was her teacher's fault.

But, doing that at this time would make the situation of Konoha unstable.

"What do you mean satisfied, Lady Tsunade? I don't care about him. I just want to make sure that nothing happens to Mito and Jenzi's family."

Ken rolled his eyes and replied.

"Do you think Old Man would do such a thing?" Tsunade gritted her teeth and asked.

Behind her, Shinku tried to shake his head as much as he could. Unlike Tsunade, he didn't regret saving his students.

But he was stupefied by what he did.

"Yeah! I am one hundred percent sure that they will do something." Ken nodded his head with a serious look on his face.

Tsunade began to rage until she realized what he said and asked.

"You don't mean Hokage but others?"

Ken sighed and went to the bed. He sat down and spoke.

"If I am not wrong, your Hokage wants to kill me at any cost. Not before, but now, for sure. I am not worried about myself. Not to mention, even if I can't win, I can run."

"If they push me too much, I have no difficulties betraying the village, zero difficulties. But the same can't be said for Mito and Jenzi. They have a childhood and families in the village."

"And, since they are my friends, I can't let them suffer. So, I asked the Uchiha clan to spread the rumors. Not only to silence those who want to take action but also to make sure Uchiha clan will protect those two families."

"After all, a genius who can kill a Jonin at the age of eight has a lot of rights to speak in the clan especially a clan where might is right."

Hearing his words, Tsunade sighed. This wasn't the first or maybe not going to be the last conversation they had about this.

And, every time she had this conversation, Ken would push everything to Mito and Jenzi's family.

But he wasn't wrong either. That's exactly why she couldn't do anything about him.

As one of the last members of the Senju clan, she knew just how the Senju clan disappeared.

Most of the family members started to take new surnames and mingled with ordinary villagers.

But, those who already had good enough reputations slowly disappeared during the wars.

She had seen the darkness of the village, but she didn't want that darkness to be the reason behind the destruction of the village her grandfather had created.

That's the only reason why she participated in this war.

Otherwise, as a person suffering from hemophobia, she had no reason to participate in this war.

In fact, she didn't participate in this war. She was only helping the village to find the antidote for Chiyo's poison.

"Lady Tsunade, I know there are some things that you don't want me to say. Somethings that will destabilize the village. But do you want to hear what I think about this?"

Ken sighed and asked.

Tsunade glared at him and didn't say anything.

"There are mainly two kinds of people in this world. Good and Bad. Every single ninja that has ever stepped on the battlefield is a bad person."

"Whether it is for a village or family, anyone who takes the life of others is a criminal. Every ninja should have that mentality."

"But, there are some people whose strong love for village and family overwhelms this mentality and thus, they start to take the path of Hypocrisy."

"At the same time, there are some people who take a different path. A path of Belief or Faith. These people do things because they believe in something."

"And, these people can be wrong or right. If they are right, even if they are criminals, they can be forgiven. But, if they are wrong, they should be punished."

"These are your normal ninjas. And, I don't hate them. If a thousand people die today, a thousand babies will be born tomorrow. Numbers don't matter."

"But, I hate people who take the first path, the Path of Hypocrisy. These people have the lowest level of morality because they think they are doing it for the greater good."

"Do you know why I didn't shut up about my situation? Because it doesn't matter if you have a good heart or bad heart."

"If you see a crime and do nothing about it, either you are a bad person or a hypocrite. I don't mind being a bad person but I will never be a Hypocrite."

"Say what you think, do what you say. This is my Ninja Way."