From Pirates to the Strongest Death God in Soul Society

Chapter 344: Ben: I am just a spirit beast, what truth are you telling me?

When in the Ryuchi Cave, Bane also heard Orochimaru mention things about the Senju clan.

After all, if you want to know about the ninja world, you can't avoid the Senju clan.

According to Orochimaru, ever since the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, died on the battlefield, the entire Senju clan adjusted their family strategy and no longer continued to go deep into the Konohagakure, but instead turned their guns and entered the entire aristocratic system of the Land of Fire.

From the current perspective, the Senju clan is no longer just a simple ninja family, but a noble family.

Tsunade, the eldest daughter of the Senju clan, was named the Princess of the Fire Country by the Daimyo of the Fire Country when she was young. In fact, there were already signs of this at that time.

This is also one of the reasons why she was later called "Tsunade-sama, Tsunade Princess" by many ninjas.

Since the death of the Second Hokage, Tsunade is the only one of the Senju clan who is still active in the Konoha Village.

At first, Bane wondered whether the Senju clan disappeared in Konoha Village because they had suffered some kind of attack or persecution just like the Uchiha clan.

It was not until he talked about this with Orochimaru that he realized that this was simply not the case. The Senju clan was doing very well. There were only a few of them left in the Konoha garrison. Most of them had moved to the capital of the Land of Fire to become nobles.

If you think about it, this is actually reasonable. If the Senju clan was really persecuted, how could Tsunade be promoted so smoothly? After she was promoted, wouldn't she retaliate?

In short, it must be said that the strategy of the Senju clan is still very powerful. In comparison, the "pattern" of the Uchiha clan, which is also one of the largest clans in the ninja world, is indeed not that good.

Think about it carefully, if at the same time, the Uchiha clan also chose to retreat while the country was at its peak and followed the example of the Senju clan, perhaps the result would be completely different. The poor guy Uchiha Sasuke might now be a noble young master eating, drinking and having fun in Daimyo Castle, and he wouldn't have so many national hatreds and family feuds.

But thinking from another angle, I feel that this is impossible. The Senju clan retreated because they really had reached the pinnacle of Konoha, and it could be said that there was no room for improvement. If they continued, it might cause conflicts that were far more difficult to resolve than those of the Uchiha clan.

Even though they have basically withdrawn from Konoha's ninja system, no longer interfered in the affairs of the ninja world, and entered the national-level aristocratic system, their influence on Konoha is still far-reaching to this day.

This can be seen from the inheritance of the Hokage lineage.

If you don't have any connection with the Senju clan, there is no way you can become Hokage.

You’re not qualified to know, right?

There is no need to say much about the first and second generation Hokage, the direct descendants of the Senju clan. The later Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was also the direct disciple of the Second Hokage. Without this identity, it would have been difficult for him to become the Third Hokage.

Looking back, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was a true commoner, but he was handsome and talented.

He is handsome and gentle, and married the hot pepper Uzumaki Kushina. Who is Kushina? The direct descendant of the Uzumaki clan, a relative of the Senju family, after coming to Konoha, he was loved by Konoha's "Queen" Uzumaki Mito, who brought him to her side and taught him personally for a long time.

If he only relied on this, Minato Namikaze would still be a little short of becoming Hokage, but the key point is that he learned from Jiraiya, one of the Sannin.

Jiraiya is the direct disciple of Sarutobi Hiruzen, and his master is the second Hokage.

He was of good family background and excellent talent. At a young age, he became one of the best ninjas in the ninja world. He also made great contributions in the war and became famous.

From a conspiracy theory perspective, he was born into a commoner family, and although his wife's family was distinguished, they had fallen on desolate ground. Overall, there was no strong force supporting him. In this case, and given Jiraiya's reflex of not wanting to be Hokage, he was obviously the favorite successor to the 'old pervert' Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Not to mention these conspiracy theories, the fifth Hokage Tsunade, let alone him, once again reflects the influence of the Senju clan on Konoha.

As soon as Tsunade agreed to the position that Danzo had always dreamed of, everyone in the village was overjoyed and excited, and they insisted on inviting her back to be Hokage.

Later figures like Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto, all of them have a good family background, either they are disciples of the previous Hokage or the sons of the previous Hokage.

In the final analysis, they are all passed down from the Senju clan.

Even the two Hokage here, Danzo Shimura and Shikamaru Nara, both have extremely close relationships with the Hokage lineage.

Danzo Shimura is identical to Hiruzen Sarutobi, both being direct disciples of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

And Nara Shikamaru, the last Hokage, was able to break away from his ties with the Senju clan after several decades.

On the surface, he is not the direct descendant of the Hokage lineage. He is the head of the Nara clan. His teacher has never been a Hokage, and he has never married into the Senju family or the families of successive Hokage.

But what is the truth? In fact, his teacher is the son of the Sandaime Hokage!
This relationship is strong enough!
Looking further down, those people who shouted that they wanted to be Hokage but ultimately failed to become one also had to have a certain foundation to be able to say that.

Kato Dan, logically speaking, he is not qualified to be Hokage, but he is Tsunade's lover. If these two get together, and Kato Dan has not died in the battle, then if he really shouts that he wants to be Hokage, then he has a chance. On the contrary, the chance is very high.

Thousand Hands Rope Tree is the direct descendant of the Thousand Hands clan, so needless to say.

Even Uchiha Obito was actually qualified. After all, if he had continued to develop normally, he would have become the disciple of the Fourth Hokage and would have been "qualified to run for election."

From this perspective, Uchiha Obito was actually the most likely person to become Hokage among the Uchiha clan at that time, but unfortunately he failed. In a word, the position of Hokage of Konoha seems to be democratic and open, and is elected by the people of the village.

But in fact, we cannot say that it has nothing to do with the public opinion in the village, but it is true that if you don’t have the right connections, you won’t even be qualified to run for election.

They say that you can become Hokage not by becoming Hokage but by being recognized by everyone. But if you have no relationship with the Hokage, and without the help of the Hokage to promote you, why would everyone recognize you?

In comparison, although the Uchiha clan is also one of the largest clans, its influence in the village is pitifully humble compared to that of the Senju clan. It is no wonder that they are so obsessed with the position of Hokage.

Come to think of it, as a person of the same level, if there is no Hokage in the family, would they have the nerve to retreat behind the scenes like the Senju clan?

I'm afraid I won't be willing to accept that.

Perhaps it was because of this subtle influence and atmosphere that eventually forced the entire Uchiha clan into having no way out.

Back to the story, after a brief moment of surprise, Jiraiya quickly calmed down and said, "I will inform the Third Hokage of your intention, and he will probably discuss it with the Kato clan, but I cannot guarantee you the final result."

"It's okay, you can think of it as a deal, and I'm willing to pay some chips." Bane nodded without minding.

In his opinion, if Konoha is happy to hand over the spiritual secret technique to him, then everyone will be happy. If Konoha is unwilling to give it, then he will not give up. It is just a matter of changing the means.

This is the margin of freedom that comes with being a strong person. I can reason with you and discuss cooperation, but it does not affect the final result I get.

In comparison, Konoha actually has no extra choices at all.

Jiraiya was very clear about this point. Given Ling Zun's strength, if he took it by force, no one in Konoha could stop him.

Being willing to talk to you about this is already a big honor for me, right?

After saying this, the atmosphere seemed a little awkward. Jiraiya wanted to start something, but didn't know where to begin. Fortunately, Bane seemed to be in a good mood today. Although he was turned away by that bastard Death, he still wanted to go to the hot spring and enjoy it.

So at this awkward moment, Ben took the initiative to ask: "Do you want to go to the hot springs and enjoy it?"

"Hahaha, if you say that, I won't be sleepy anymore." Jiraiya was delighted when he heard that and said happily.

Half an hour later, Jiraiya sat in the hot spring pool and said with a somewhat resentful expression: "What a waste of good time, Rei-zun, how can I take a private bath in the hot spring? If I want to take a private bath, can't I just take a bath in my own bathhouse? Since I came to the hot spring, I must go to the public bath, right? That's the only way to experience the charm of the hot spring!"

"Ah?" Ben looked at Jiraiya in surprise, and asked with a hint of expectation: "Could it be that this hot spring hotel has mixed bathing services?"

"Well, there was some in the early years, but it disappeared later." Jiraiya mentioned this with a slightly unnatural expression.

"Why is it gone? How could such a good tradition be abandoned?" Bane said somewhat unwillingly.

Looking at Ling Zun's appearance, Jiraiya inexplicably relaxed a lot, and even felt that the distance between himself and Ling Zun had shortened.

"I don't know, maybe it's because the store's service is not good?" Jiraiya said with some memories in his eyes: "At that time, my teacher, the Sandaime, often took me to the mixed bathing place, but I don't know why, but I was disliked by everyone. Every time I went there, I didn't even soak for a while, and the store owner kicked me out. It was really hateful."

Hearing this, Ban looked at Jiraiya's 'wronged' look and was speechless. It could be seen that both this guy and that Sarutobi Hiruzen really had no idea about him.

Perhaps feeling that the relationship between him and the Spirit Master had become a little closer, Jiraiya suddenly asked, "Spirit Master, if you are from the Ryuchi Cave, do you know Orochimaru?"

"Orochimaru?" Bane calmly soaked in the bathtub and said softly, "Of course I know him. I have a good relationship with him. He told me a lot about ninjas."

"Is the relationship pretty good?" Jiraiya murmured.

After a moment, he asked again: "Then Spiritual Venerable, will you respond to Longdidong's spiritual communication technique?"

"I haven't encountered this situation yet, but maybe." Bane said casually.

Hearing this, Jiraiya's heart tightened and he hesitated for a moment, but he couldn't help but said: "Although it's not good to say these things behind his back, Orochimaru is a very dangerous person. What he is going to do..."

But before Jiraiya could finish his words, Ban raised his hand to stop him and said, "Jiraiya, whether it's justice or evil, whether Orochimaru is safe or in danger, it doesn't matter to me. What do the conflicts, interests, and relationships between you ninjas have to do with a 'summoning beast' like me? I am not interested in what you said."

Bane called himself a 'summoning beast', which made Jiraiya so depressed that he opened his mouth but couldn't find any words to refute.

Take Manza for example, he also followed Orochimaru to do many evil things, but everyone has always blamed Orochimaru, and no one has ever been against Manza, right?

I am just a spirit beast, why are you telling me these great principles? According to the contract, I will do things for whoever summons me. Every grievance has its perpetrator and every debt has its creditor. You should talk to the summoner about these great principles.

Even if Orochimaru brought enough sacrifices, invited me, the spiritual master, out, and destroyed Konoha, that would be Orochimaru's responsibility. What does it have to do with me?
Pain's Six Paths had so many summoned beasts running rampant in Konoha, but in the end, wasn't all the blame put on Nagato?
(End of this chapter)