Seeing Jiraiya rush in, Tsunade waved her hand, signaling the Anbu to withdraw.
"Jiraiya, you're back. What are you planning to do?"
Tsunade asked, her voice calm but tinged with tension.
Jiraiya didn't answer immediately. He looked around, taking in the subdued atmosphere of the Hokage's office.
"Tsunade… what exactly happened in Konoha while I was gone?"
Tsunade's expression hardened.
"Hasn't it already been announced? The upper echelons of Konoha, led by Sarutobi Hiruzen, have committed treason. As of now, I am the new Hokage."
Jiraiya's face contorted in disbelief.
"No… the old man was our teacher. The Third Hokage. He'd never betray the village."
His voice shook with emotion. In Jiraiya's heart, Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't just a Hokage—he was sensei. Someone he respected deeply.
"Lady Tsunade," Minato Namikaze, standing beside him, interjected, "Is there a misunderstanding here? I can't believe the Third would turn against Konoha."
"Misunderstanding? Do you think this is a misunderstanding?"
Tsunade snapped, throwing a thick folder onto the desk in front of them.
Both men looked down at the document. As they flipped through the pages, their eyes grew wider.
"What… what is this?" Jiraiya murmured.
"This can't be real…"
The pages contained records, intelligence reports, and evidence compiled by the Uchiha clan—authenticated by several other clans—detailing Sarutobi Hiruzen's secret actions. Assassinations. Suppression of dissent. Orchestrated village-wide surveillance.
"Everything in there is true," Tsunade said grimly.
"I didn't believe it either at first. I launched an independent investigation. But what I found out… Sarutobi's actions were worse than what's documented."
Jiraiya and Minato stood frozen, stunned beyond words. Their ideals, their loyalties, their understanding of Konoha—all of it was crumbling.
Outside the window, the sound of tools echoed against the Hokage Rock. Workers were dismantling the stone visage of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
A traitor's image had no place alongside Hashirama, Tobirama, or Minato.
"...You've both just returned from your mission. Go get some rest," Tsunade said gently.
"I still have official documents to handle."
Neither Jiraiya nor Minato replied. They turned and silently left the office, their steps heavy with disbelief.
That day, everything they believed in collapsed.
Meanwhile, in the Land of Grass — Kusagakure
The village had been completely overtaken. Once weak and politically irrelevant, Kusagakure had now become a base for the exiled Sarutobi clan, along with the remnants of the Mitokado and Utatane factions. The original villagers had been eliminated or driven out.
Sitting at the center of the newly-established stronghold, Hiruzen Sarutobi sipped tea as he looked over a map of the Fire Country.
"What's the current situation in Konoha?" he asked Utatane Koharu.
He still held onto hope. In his mind, Konoha was unstable. A power vacuum should have formed after his ousting. If Byakuya tried to claim the title of Hokage, Hiruzen expected civil unrest—his chance to return.
But Koharu shook her head, her expression grim.
"There's no unrest in Konoha. None at all."
Hiruzen's hand froze mid-air.
"What did you say?"
Not hearing the answer he expected, Sarutobi Hiruzen was momentarily stunned.
As the former Hokage, no one knew the intricacies of Konoha Village better than Hiruzen. The village housed countless ninja clans, each with their own pride and influence—it was never easy to control them. Especially for a newly appointed Hokage, gaining real authority required more than a title.
Even during his own early days as Hokage, Hiruzen had struggled for years to fully consolidate power. Without Danzo's covert maneuvering and the political support of elders like Homura and Koharu, it would've been impossible to gain control over the entire village.
So to hear that there was no unrest in Konoha following their forced departure... it didn't make sense.
"Could it be… Byakuya used sheer force to suppress all the clans and declared himself Hokage?" Hiruzen muttered, deep in thought.
"No," Utatane Koharu shook her head. "Byakuya didn't become Hokage."
"What? Then who is Hokage now?" Hiruzen asked sharply.
"It's Tsunade… Senju Tsunade is the new Hokage," Mitokado Homura replied. "Also… they've begun dismantling your stone face on the Hokage Monument."
"What? Tsunade!?" Hiruzen's voice trembled with rage. "Damn it! How could this happen!? That damned Uchiha clan…"
He clenched his fists. The implications were clear. If Tsunade had returned and been installed as Hokage, it could only have happened under the Uchiha's influence.
"Sarutobi," Danzo growled, his voice low and cold. "We cannot let this stand. The Uchiha have overstepped. We must take back Konoha… and eliminate them."
"Do you have a strategy?" Hiruzen asked without hesitation.
"We'll need outside help," Danzo responded grimly. "The few of us can't stand against Byakuya's power alone."
"Help...?" Hiruzen echoed.
"What about appealing to the Fire Daimyo?" Koharu suggested. "His personal guard may not be strong enough to face Byakuya, but politically—"
"No," Danzo cut in. "That won't be enough."
"Then… what are you suggesting?" Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.
"We contact the other Hidden Villages," Danzo said bluntly. "The Raikage, Tsuchikage, even the Kazekage... They all fear Uchiha power. They won't tolerate Konoha becoming a Uchiha stronghold."
"That's treason!" Koharu objected. "We are Konoha shinobi! You want us to work with outsiders—former enemies—to fight our own village!?"
"And what is Konoha now!?" Danzo snapped. "A village where the Uchiha rule through fear? If we don't act, there won't be a Konoha left to return to!"
Silence fell. For the first time, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not immediately refute him.
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