"You let them out?"
Rengoku asked while walking, Itachi was meticulous in thought, impossible he didn't know the Jinchuriki had run out.
Itachi responded, "Sasuke and Karin wanted to go out, so Gaara followed. I was behind them the whole time."
Rengoku slightly nodded, "It's fine to see some blood. Fugaku is at home, right?"
"Yes, senior, something like this happening in the village… will it cause some kind of change?"
Rengoku hummed, "The Third Hokage, this time, might want to step down."
Itachi's expression moved, "Senior, then you?"
Rengoku slightly shook his head, "We'll talk in a moment."
———
After all the hustle and bustle, the Third Hokage did not rest.
Instead, he immediately summoned Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu to the office.
Utatane Koharu's face was full of exhaustion, the medical system was her responsibility.
This time, such a huge incident occurred. She had been busy up till now, practically falling apart from the fatigue.
Seeing the flames in the Third Hokage's eyes, "Sarutobi Hiruzen? What exactly happened?"
"Why did the explosion happen?"
The Third Hokage didn't respond right away but instead asked Mitokado Homura, "Has the casualty number come out?"
Mitokado Homura also looked exhausted, "More than two thousand civilians are dead, over four thousand injured."
"More than a hundred ninja dead, most of them from the prison."
"Over a thousand others injured."
"The people in the prison and those in the research labs are all gone."
"Yamanaka Kaze, Aburame Torune, Fujiwara and the others all died."
"Only a researcher named Shinrakuri survived because he went out to buy something."
"Now, those still alive from Root… are hardly a few. Maybe some are hiding in the Anbu."
Even the Third Hokage showed a dazed expression, who would've thought Root would be wiped out like this.
Although Danzo was killed by Sarutobi Ishishu, that was just a makeshift tactic.
But it was a fact that Konoha's top leadership strength had once again been weakened.
That Shinrakuri seemed to be in charge of Danzo's Gyuttenko plan. It was unknown how much inside information he knew. He would be interrogated later.
After a moment of thought, seeing Koharu and Homura still waiting for a reply, the Third Hokage finally said to them, "The sudden explosion was caused by the Tsuchigumo clan's secret art."
Koharu naturally knew about the Tsuchigumo clan's secret technique.
En no Gyoja had used it to destroy an entire village after his son died in the Third Ninja World War, "Why would En no Gyoja be here? Wasn't he already living in seclusion?"
Koharu pressed her throbbing head, waiting for Hiruzen's explanation.
The Third Hokage spoke, "The secret technique Danzo had been developing was similar to En no Gyoja's technique."
"So he brought En no Gyoja to Konoha."
"But why En no Gyoja took action in the village, I don't know."
"However, he was not found at the scene. He may already be dead."
Koharu and Homura both knew Danzo had been researching secret techniques.
Konoha's upper echelon had already been pushed to the cliff by Rengoku.
If the Uchiha wanted to stage a coup by force, they couldn't stop it at all.
Knowing what Danzo was doing, not only did they not stop him, they even provided a lot of help.
But now it was different. Danzo had played himself to death.
They knew exactly what kind of person Danzo was.
The Third Hokage spoke mildly, but it was obvious Danzo had tried coercion and inducement again.
The result? En no Gyoja directly chose mutual destruction.
Originally, Danzo was trying to secretly pull off something big, now he pulled off a big mess.
Danzo's entire Root organization, including its research base, was reduced to ashes. And he himself was killed.
These three had been old teammates. With the explanation so far, the other two already understood what Hiruzen had done.
It was clear the Third Hokage wanted to use Danzo's hand to deal with the Uchiha.
But Danzo, catching birds all day, got pecked in the eye by one.
And this matter couldn't be settled just because he died, many people had seen Danzo appear.
They could directly deduce this incident was related to Danzo.
The Third Hokage must also take responsibility for this.
"Hiruzen, what are you planning to do?", Homura asked, full of worry.
The Third Hokage took a puff of his pipe, then slowly exhaled, "I plan to retire."
A statement that made the others pale in shock, Koharu blurted out, "No! You can't retire!"
The Third Hokage's prosperity and their own were intertwined.
They had colluded together for so many years, even if they didn't reap as much as Hiruzen, they were still fattened with wealth.
If the Third stepped down, no matter who became Hokage next, it was impossible they would leave them with so many benefits, and they might even face retribution.
Homura quickly added, "Now that Uchiha Rengoku has such high prestige, he basically has no opponents in the Hokage election."
"If the Uchiha takes the position, how will we survive?"
The Third Hokage shook his head, "I won't let the Uchiha become Hokage."
Koharu's eyes narrowed, "You want Tsunade to take over?"
The Third Hokage confirmed, "Tsunade saved so many people this time."
"Her merits are real."
"And she has the qualifications, the experience, Rengoku is too young."
What the Third Hokage said wasn't wrong. Although Tsunade hadn't been in Konoha the past two years, her name carried weight.
All the medical ninjas in the medical department regarded her as their leading figure.
In public opinion, Tsunade was the granddaughter of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, with impeccable lineage.
Although Rengoku was strong, the public couldn't see it. Tsunade saved people, everyone saw and felt it.
The key issue was that Rengoku was too young, only 17 years old.
Although Namikaze Minato became Hokage at 23, he only held the position for about a year before dying.
And Minato had a long buildup with many achievements.
He had long competed for the position, with the Third Hokage silently supporting him behind the scenes.
There were many internal factors, Minato was easier to control, and his wife Kushina was a Jinchuriki, and he was Jiraiya's student.
Back then, his only competitor was Orochimaru.
At that time, Orochimaru was also a frontline commander with no small merit, but he wasn't controllable by the Third, so he lost.
Though Rengoku had strength and intelligence, his rise had been too sudden.
And his status within months had risen from an unknown to Honorary Elder, then to Senior Advisor, this speed was shocking.
Making him Hokage now would be hard to gain public support.
After hearing this, the other two also felt this might be the best course of action.
"What about Tsunade's side?"
Koharu meant: Can Tsunade be controlled, or will she retaliate?
The Third Hokage said in a deep voice, "I plan to retire, not die."
Mitokado Homura, hearing that, immediately made his decision, "Then when do we start building Tsunade's momentum?"
The Third Hokage slightly nodded, "You two first go to your respective units and warn those who were once part of Root."
"Danzo is already dead, tell them not to entertain other ideas."
"The sooner we build Tsunade's momentum, the better."
"I plan to hold a high-level meeting in a few days."
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