Chapter 111: I, Orochimaru, Acting Hokage
"Orochimaru, have you lost your mind?!"
Nara Shikaku's eyes widened in disbelief as he warily stared at the former Konoha traitor. "You once experimented on fellow villagers, stole the First Hokage's cells for inhumane tests—you have no right to impeach the Third Hokage!"
A rogue ninja who fled Konoha returning to impeach its leader?
It was almost comical in its absurdity.
But Orochimaru's smile remained unchanged, as if everything had been prepared in advance. He replied slowly and calmly, "Your Ino-Shika-Cho clans have always been the accomplices of the Third."
"I've said it clearly: the ones who carried out human experimentation and stole the First's cells were Danzo Shimura and the Third Hokage. I was deceived by them, used to conduct their tests. When I tried to expose the truth, they framed me and forced me out of the village!"
"The ones truly devouring Konoha from the inside aren't people in the shadows—they're those basking in the sunlight!"
Utter nonsense. Twisting truth into lies.
Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his mouth, lips trembling. The accusations were so baseless, they were almost laughable.
Danzo and Orochimaru had indeed worked together on human experimentation. Hiruzen hadn't discovered it until it was already exposed. But the claim that he himself had stolen the First's cells was completely fabricated.
Just as he began forming a rebuttal, something dawned on him...
Earlier, during Uchiha Sasuke's outburst, Danzo's right arm—covered in Sharingan and embedded with Hashirama's face—had already been revealed.
It confirmed Danzo's involvement in the experiments—and showed a connection to Orochimaru.
Which meant...
his past decision to show leniency toward Orochimaru, his failure to expose and punish Danzo, now made it seem like—
Orochimaru had been forced out of Konoha by a conspiracy between the Third Hokage and Danzo!
The words caught in Hiruzen's throat.
He glared at Orochimaru—his once-prized student. He had often taken on others' blame to protect him. But this was the first time he truly understood the humiliation of being scapegoated.
Seeing Orochimaru wasn't finished, Hiruzen frowned. He couldn't let him go on.
He threw shuriken and wove hand seals. The blades multiplied into a swarm of shadowy projectiles.
Orochimaru's Substitution Technique.
Orochimaru's body was pierced through—only to slither out of his own carcass, perfectly intact. He licked the slime from his face, still smiling.
Then his voice grew sharp and piercing.
"Sarutobi-sensei, are you trying to silence me with murder?!"
"My impeachment is for the good of Konoha. Your crimes are countless—not just experimentation! You allowed Danzo's rumors to kill Sakumo Hatake, a candidate for Hokage!"
"You gave the order to stop the Uchiha during the Nine-Tails attack. They could've helped, but instead the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, died!"
"You let rumors of the Nine-Tails run wild and played the 'kind old man' while keeping the jinchūriki, Naruto, under your control!"
"When Cloud ninja tried to kidnap the Hyuga clan's heiress, you appeased them by sacrificing one of our own shinobi. Now, Konoha's clans live in fear, distrustful of the village they once served!"
"Sarutobi-sensei—you're too old. Your heart has gone numb. Your flesh is rotting. You steal Konoha's resources for personal gain. You've raised a private army under the Sarutobi name. You no longer deserve to sit in the Hokage's seat!"
One accusation after another—half truths, half lies, some twisted, others exaggerated—hung in the air, freezing the entire crowd in silence.
Naruto had clenched his fists, ready to strike the traitor who had attacked his village.
But when Orochimaru mentioned "the orphan of the Fourth Hokage," he froze.
"My… father was the Fourth Hokage?"
"I'm not… a monster?"
Naruto stared blankly, eyes as pure and deep as a blue lake. A complex emotion settled on the Third Hokage's face.
Hiruzen lowered his head in shame. "I should have told you sooner, Naruto…"
"You all knew… didn't you?"
Faced with Naruto's confusion, Hiruzen could only remain silent.
Not just Konoha—even the other four great nations treated their jinchūriki the same way.
But there was no point in saying that now.
Naruto said nothing more. He clutched the last Resurrection Coin and ran, without turning back, to his tiny apartment.
Hiruzen's expression turned grim. "These are just rumors and shadows. You'd use such lies to impeach a Hokage?!"
None of it was hard evidence. Yes, it shook confidence in his leadership—but it couldn't seal a verdict…
Clang!
Two large snakes, mottled with brown spots, slithered into view. Their bodies wrapped around two cold corpses, Sound Village headbands dragging on the ground.
"Lies? These corpses contain Wood Release cells—proof enough that they sustained the reanimated Hokage to fight off three Kage. Shall I have ANBU verify it for you, Sarutobi-sensei?"
Orochimaru flicked out his tongue and smiled widely. His plan was now complete.
"No need… Your tricks mean nothing now. It's already too late. What is it you want?!"
Now Hiruzen understood what had felt so wrong about those Sound ninja headbands.
He'd been played from the very beginning—Orochimaru's goal had always been to completely drag him down.
But why?
"Sarutobi-sensei, no need for meaningless words. I've already reported to the Daimyō. You've been stripped of your position as Hokage and will be detained pending investigation. Every one of your crimes will be exposed."
"And during that time… I will serve as Acting Hokage."
Orochimaru spoke without hesitation, eyes locked on Hiruzen, watching for any sign of resistance.
He feared his former teacher might snap and retaliate before being arrested.
"Is that so?"
Hiruzen was unexpectedly calm.
If Orochimaru had the gall to say this publicly, it meant he had already made a deal with the Daimyō.
In normal times, such political maneuvering wouldn't work. But now—Konoha was in shambles. The majority of its ninja dead or injured. With Orochimaru's careful orchestration, the Third Hokage now stood opposed to most of his village.
The outcome was inevitable.
Hiruzen sighed.
If he was imprisoned, there might still be a path to redemption. A lifelong Konoha shinobi, he couldn't imagine becoming a rogue.
The great Third Hokage—a traitor?
That would be the biggest joke of all.
"Orochimaru, if I ever discover you've harmed Konoha, I will kill you myself—even if it drags me into hell."
Hiruzen looked long and hard at Orochimaru.
Behind him, the Fire Daimyō's escort team stepped forward and placed shackles on his wrists.
Click.
That sound brought an end to the so-called Konoha Crush.
The war still raged. Konoha's border defenses had lost nearly ten thousand ninja—and still couldn't stop the erosion of the Land of Fire's territory.
Half a month later, Acting Hokage Orochimaru convened the clans for a new directive.
The Hokage title was abolished.
Replaced with "Imperial Chancellor," with Daimyō Homura Enshō personally commanding the shinobi village.
Konoha was renamed "Capital of the Fire Nation,"
the first military empire in the shinobi world ruled by a Daimyō with absolute power.
The ancient and powerful Hyuga Clan fractured.
Neji Hyuga and the branch family who broke the Caged Bird Seal rose as the new aristocracy.
Hiashi Hyuga and his loyalists fled the empire, only to be branded traitors by order of Homura Enshō.
Meanwhile, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio joined with a group of civilian ninja to break Sarutobi Hiruzen out of prison—his legs broken, tortured nearly to death.
After repelling pursuit, they founded New Konoha in the Land of Hot Water, declaring eternal opposition to the Fire Empire.
The strongest shinobi village in the world…
Was now shattered beyond repair.
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