Onoki didn't like the fact that Konoha had more competitors in the finals of the Suna chunnin exams than Iwa. He especially didn't like it when a young man in Hokage robes took a seat next to him.
"Tsuchikage-dono." The brat greeted him. He couldn't be any older than 18.
"Who's Saru going to give the hat to when you die, a toddler?" he sniped.
The upstart had the audacity to smirk at him. "It's nice of you to care about Konoha's leadership. You don't have to worry though, I already have a successor in mind and he is already a chunnin." He glanced at him. "What about you? I've heard that your granddaughter wishes to take your office after you retire."
The air was instantly chilled with Onoki's killing intent. "Was that a threat?" he growled.
The brat, who didn't even budge under his killing intent, blinked. "No. Why would you think that?"
Onoki dropped his killing intent. "You aren't very smart, are you?"
He heard a snort from their side. The source turned out to be young Konoha kunoichi, who was acting as the Hokage's gaurd.
"Gomen, Hokage-sama.". She mumbled.
Surprisingly, the Hokage didn't even look annoyed, just long suffering.
"Girlfriend?" Onoki guessed.
"Fiancé, actually." He was answered.
Onoki discreetly looked at the kunoichi again. She was pretty enough. At least, the brat had a good taste in girls.
The young Hokage, didn't try to start a conversation again and Onoki concentrated on the matches. After 3 of them he noticed a pattern.
"Your genin aren't even attempting to go for the kill." he commented.
"That's because I told them not to, unless their life is in danger." The brats sharingan was activated as he observed the match.
"Why? To show the client how noble you tree-huggers are, after your Yondaime slaughtered hundreds of children of Iwa in minutes." He hissed.
The Hokage turned towards him, face devoid of any previous light heartedness.
Onoki realised this was the first time he was seeing the real Godaime Hokage.
"The clients already know Konoha is the least brutal of all Ninja Villeges. If they didn't, the chunnin exams in Konoha with zero casualties, six months ago was sufficiently advertised. I told my genin to avoid killing, because I don't want another war."
"What do you mean?"
"Wars start because of resentment among the villages. This is how resentment starts, doesn't it? Killing when there is no need to. That's why you resent Konoha so much. Because you think that the Yondaime didn't need to kill those genin. Yes, genin, not children. No matter how young they were, they were ninjas you sent to war."
"But he didn't need to kill them, did he? There was no point in killing them. He could have easily escaped with his hiraishin. " Onoki's face was red with rage.
"His team was sent to destroy the Kanabi Bridge, to end the war. It's destruction was not a happy coincidence. They weren't expecting such large forces there. He was protecting his team, three of his students, 13 years of age, one of whom was lost that day."
Onoki took that in slowly. He didn't detect any lie from the young man in front of him.
"His team..." he murmured. That was the reason. Konoha nin did anything and everything to protect their comrades, didn't they? Years of anger and resentment he had built up against the dead man, suddenly left him, leaving him drained.
He looked at the young Hokage in front of him. "You said you didn't want another war, as if you know it." He couldn't have been more than 5 during the war. Konoha, despite having its prodigies, didn't send them to war this young.
"Not as you do. I was four when my father took me to the Kusa front to show me the realities of being a Ninja. That was the day I decided to change that reality."
Onoki must have been smoking something because when he looked at the young man in front of him, he actually believed he could do it.
"Send me your diplomats when you get back." he grumbled, arching his back, trying to get rid of the ache. Maybe it was time to pass on the hat to Kurotsuchi. She would definitely be flexible enough to deal with the possibility of this new alliance with Konoha.