Journey to the West: Life Simulation of Sun Wukong

After visiting Naruto, Sarutobi Hiruzen returned to the Hokage building and summoned Mito Menyan, Tenshin Komatsu, and after some thought, also called Danzo over.

"Hiruzen, what's the matter?"

Danzo pushed open the large door to the office, "Did you change your mind…"

Before he could finish saying "ma," he saw Tenshin Komatsu and Mito Menyan were also there, meaning Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to discuss some important matter.

"That matter is not up for discussion." Sarutobi Hiruzen negated Danzo first before bringing up the issue of the ninja village's missions, "This time I called you over to consider whether to add a new E-rank, or even an F-rank mission to our list."

"E-rank?" Danzo scoffed, "Is there anything easier than picking up trash in the riverbed?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen ignored Danzo's mockery and said with utmost seriousness: "These are not tasks for official ninjas, but for ninja academy students."

"Like what?" Tenshin Komatsu asked quietly about the kind of tasks.

"For instance, delivering fresh vegetables and fruits to Naruto Uzumaki," said Sarutobi Hiruzen, "Naruto's diet is poor, and even with money, he can't buy proper food. I was helpless before, but now that I've come up with this idea, I naturally want to make improvements."

"Moreover, having ninja academy students deliver to him allows Naruto to interact more with them, form bonds, and not be so lonely."

Tenshin Komatsu wondered, "Would that really work? That kid is known for…" he likes to play pranks, and the villagers don't like him much."

Mito Menyan frowned, "To establish an E-rank mission specifically for Naruto Uzumaki? I can't agree with that."

Danzo didn't say anything, he just thought Sarutobi Hiruzen might be going crazy.

Huh?

Does this not mean there might be a chance for him to become Hokage?

Good news!

"Of course not, I'm just giving an example," Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head, "Konoha has so many orphans, not just Naruto. They all feel rather inferior and lonely. With similar E-rank missions, we can let the orphans feel the warmth of Konoha and deepen their recognition for the village. Isn't that good?"

Tenshin Komatsu was startled, exchanged a look with Mito Menyan, and thought Sarutobi Hiruzen's proposal made a lot of sense and was worth trying. Besides, these E-rank and F-rank missions were only intended for ninja academy students, and the payment shouldn't be high, right?

"I called you here hoping you could come up with a charter that can provide a better experience for the academy students," continued Sarutobi Hiruzen, "Danzo, what do you think?"

"I disagree!" Danzo refused.

"Why?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone became stern as he questioned.

This plan definitely could increase orphans' recognition of Konoha, and the benefits outweighed the downsides.

But—

Who is the person proposing this now?

Sarutobi Hiruzen!

Who will be leading this matter in the future?

Sarutobi Hiruzen! For a better reading experience, visit M(VLEMPYR).

And after those orphans grow up, who will they recognize?

Still Sarutobi Hiruzen!

Danzo could guarantee that once this was accomplished, Sarutobi Hiruzen's prestige would surely rise to a new level; he might even hold the position of Hokage until death.

It didn't matter if Hiruzen died of old age, but if Hiruzen died of old age, how many more years could he, Danzo, live?

There was absolutely no way he could agree!

"Simple, because you are acting out of self-interest, not for the sake of Konoha," Danzo declared confidently.

"Then tell me, Danzo, which of the missions we take on from the Land of Fire isn't done with self-interest?" Sarutobi Hiruzen said emphatically, "Ninja villages take on missions without minding the content, earning compensation is only natural."

"Should our funds be used for such matters?" Danzo asked coldly: "What if other ninja villages were to attack?"

"We don't need that little bit of funds for such a scenario," Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at Danzo, "Even if I have self-interest, Naruto Uzumaki is the Fourth Hokage's son, a hero's child. His identity cannot be exposed. It is our fault already, letting him have a better life, I don't see anything wrong with that."

"Konoha was saved by the Fourth!"

Tenshin Komatsu and Mito Menyan glanced at each other and bowed their heads in agreement.

Danzo silently cursed the two for their turncoat behavior, thought for a moment, and then spoke, "Fine, Hiruzen, decide for yourself, but I don't have any suggestions. Let the two advisors come up with a plan."

Watching Danzo slamming the door as he left, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't know what to think, but he ultimately sighed and said to Mito Menyan and Tenshin Komatsu: "You draft the details of the missions first, and then I will review them before we implement them. It really wouldn't hurt for the ninja school children to get a taste of missions. Even if they don't meet the graduation standards in the future, when they recall their school days, they will have something to remember fondly."

Perhaps he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, didn't have the same power as the First and Second, but he was sure that in the current situation, he was indeed a qualified Hokage.

Sometimes, Sarutobi Hiruzen also pondered why the original First Hokage didn't conquer the entire ninja world but instead chose to distribute the captured tailed beasts to others. He didn't know the specific reasons.

But from his political perspective, the reason might be one: the Land of Fire had fertile land, while other places were less favorable—the Land of Wind was a vast desert, the Land of Lightning was mostly highlands, the Land of Water comprised of oceans and islands, and the Land of Earth's conditions were slightly better than the Land of Wind's.

Even if those places were taken down, there would be no need for them, and at that time, Konoha was just established and simply did not have enough people to manage them.

Of course, the most important aspect is that warfare amongst ninjas must not involve the daimyo.

Generally, even if they are ninjas from different countries or even rogues, they would not strike against the daimyo of another country under normal circumstances. This is a written rule, as otherwise, they would become the sworn enemies of all ninjas and the daimyo of the nations.

Having held the position of Hokage for many years, Sarutobi Hiruzen surmised that perhaps the daimyo of various nations might actually be the cause of wars.

No matter what condition the five Great Ninja Villages ended up in, the daimyos always remained unscathed.

The primary source of funding for the ninja villages—the daimyo—was the key factor determining whether Konoha could emerge victorious and sustain itself during times of war.

Unfortunately, even if he could guess this much, Sarutobi Hiruzen was helpless to do anything about it.

Because they were ninjas and what they were always best at wasn't politics, but assassination and combat.

"If Konoha could earn its operational funds independently, there would be no need to look to the whims of the daimyo. Unlike now, becoming Hokage still requires the letter of appointment from the Land of Fire's daimyo," Sarutobi Hiruzen thought a lot until Tenshin Komatsu and Mito Menyan handed over the drafted plan, which brought him back to his senses.

"Is it ready?"

After receiving the plan, Sarutobi Hiruzen carefully reviewed it three times, crossed out some parts he deemed unreasonable, and then said, "This should be sufficient."

Then, Sarutobi Hiruzen personally went to update the mission...

...

Meanwhile, Uchiha Itachi wandered aimlessly around the village, his eyes constantly observing the passersby, trying to detect if any of them were from the 'Akatsuki' organization.

"Damn it! Not a single clue!"

Uchiha Itachi suddenly realized that he had been way too rash; he had not even secured a way to contact the leader of the 'Akatsuki' organization. Now, he could neither find its members nor contact their leader.

"This is inexcusable; did I make such a mistake because I felt fear from sensing that incredibly powerful chakra, leading me to overlook this critical piece of information?"

Perhaps that was the answer.

As Uchiha Itachi contemplated how to find members of the 'Akatsuki' and whether his reaction at the time had caught their attention, a figure caught his eye.

A black mask, silver hair.

The Copy Ninja, Kakashi.

"What is this guy up to?"

In Itachi's eyes, Kakashi seemed to be sneaking around, and given that he wasn't on a mission, why was he stopping and looking around on rooftops? This was behavior typical of a freshly-graduated Genin, not something an experienced Jonin would do so conspicuously.

Considering that the leader of the 'Akatsuki' had once disguised himself as Kakashi and had identical chakra, was this Kakashi the real one?

Itachi decided to test him.

Kakashi was watching Haruno Sakura's house, pondering over something: "Neither parent has pink hair, so why does the daughter? Is she adopted? Or could it be recessive genes? Besides, both parents are quite ordinary in ability, so how did they have such an outstanding offspring? I guess I should go to Konoha's hospital to check the identity records, but that's troublesome and might even require an application to the Hokage... Come to think of it, do I really need to do this? Any oddities with Haruno Sakura, the Hokage would likely be the first to notice, especially since she has a decent relationship with Naruto."

"Senpai Kakashi."

Itachi's voice broke into Kakashi's thoughts.

Looking at the genius young man before him, similar to his own past self, Kakashi managed a smile that the other couldn't see, "Yo, hello there, Uchiha Itachi."

This sense of desolation—

This guy must be the real deal, but why is he acting so sneakily?

"What are you doing? Is it a mission from Lord Hokage?" Itachi asked, masking his emotions.

"Eh? Oh..." Realizing that his behavior might seem suspicious, Kakashi knew others might not mindful his actions, but the ninja of the Uchiha clan—especially one like Itachi—did not think the same way as ordinary ninja.

What a bother! Now being questioned by this young whippersnapper.

"It's not that, just curiosity, investigating something that caught my interest," Kakashi said after a moment's thought, choosing his words carefully. He certainly didn't wish for Uchiha, especially Itachi here, to get involved with six-year-old children, particularly those connected to Naruto Uzumaki.

"This guy, he's changing the subject!" Itachi thought secretly, his eyes slightly intensifying, a faint smile appearing on his lips as he asked, "Can you tell me? If it's not a mission, maybe I can help."