Chapter 173: The Death of Danzō, and the Fourth Hokage!
His last Sharingan had gone blind, but Danzō didn't care. He had already won.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzō, his expression one of disappointment. "You fool!"
If Danzō truly had the ability to kill him, that would be one thing. But he was foolish and unaware, completely blinded by power, having lost his keen edge.
His body turning to mud, Danzō, who had been exultant in his victory, saw his expression change. But before he could react, his feet were grabbed, and he was pulled into the ground with a thump, leaving only his head exposed.
Hiruzen emerged from the earth, looking at Danzō, his chest heaving, his breathing heavy. Now he truly felt that his body had grown old.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke and the others leaped over, standing behind him and silently watching Danzō.
"Hiruzen, kill me," Danzō said, closing his eyes.
Hiruzen's body trembled slightly, and he closed his eyes in pain.
Danzō opened his. "It is your weakness that has created today's situation," he said with scorn. "It has already come to this. Are you planning to leave this trouble for the Fourth Hokage?"
Hearing this, Hiruzen opened his eyes. "I understand."
On a mountain nearest to the battlefield, Aloe White Zetsu emerged from the ground. "What a spectacular battle. As expected of the Third Hokage."
The masked Uchiha Tekka, holding a monocular telescope, had a cold expression. He had seen Danzō's Sharingan. It was a pity Danzō had been killed by Hiruzen; he couldn't take revenge himself. But Hiruzen was also guilty.
"That Kakuzu is qualified to be a member of the Akatsuki," Tekka said, retracting his gaze. "Keep an eye on him."
"No problem," Aloe White Zetsu smiled. "I believe his days won't be easy from now on. If we show up at the right time, I'm sure he'll be very happy to join."
"Let Nagato and the others handle it," Tekka nodded. "Let's go. There's nothing more to see here."
"Not going to make a move?" Aloe White Zetsu smiled. "With your strength, it shouldn't be difficult to take them out now. The Third Hokage is formidable, but he's old. His stamina should be nearly depleted."
"There is no meaning in killing the Third Hokage here," Tekka said flatly. "And Konoha's reinforcements should be arriving soon."
"Then let's go quickly," Zetsu said hurriedly. "That guy Kinoshita Genichi is not to be trifled with." The last time, right in front of Madara, Genichi had cut him in half.
The two of them quietly left.
On the battlefield, Shinnosuke led his men to clean up. The bodies of Danzō and the others had to be collected, as well as the fallen Anbu and Root ninja. The bodies of the Sky-nin could be taken back for research. Even the dead could provide intelligence.
By the time the battlefield was cleared, Genichi had also arrived.
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado are dead too?
Looking at the bodies laid out in a row on the ground, he was slightly surprised. "What happened?" he asked quickly.
Shinnosuke had sent men back to the village for reinforcements, but he didn't have very precise information. He only knew that Danzō had rebelled, which did not disappoint Genichi.
By now, Hiruzen had put his Hokage robes back on, but he seemed to have aged three years. "Danzō colluded with a rogue ninja from the Hidden Waterfall and the remnants of the Hidden Sky Village and launched an attack," he sighed.
"A rogue ninja from the Hidden Waterfall?" Genichi frowned slightly. It couldn't be that guy Kakuzu, could it? And looking at the scale of destruction, it must have been caused by a large-scale wind and fire jutsu.
"It should be a man named Kakuzu," Hiruzen said. "He once tried to assassinate the First Hokage. He's very strong."
As expected. Genichi understood. To be able to escape from Hiruzen's hands, Kakuzu's strength was indeed not to be underestimated. The current Hiruzen had not yet truly grown old.
"Shinnosuke, when you return to the village, immediately issue a bounty for Kakuzu," Hiruzen instructed. "And inform our allies, the Sand and the Rain, and ask for their assistance."
Shinnosuke nodded, then looked at the bodies on the ground. "How should we announce this matter?" The deaths of three Hokage aides at once was no small matter. The entire village would be shaken. After all, these three also represented many interests.
Hiruzen frowned. This was a problem he had been thinking about. With a sigh, he said, "The three Hokage aides all died in battle during this assassination attempt. They are heroes of Konoha." He chose to preserve Danzō's posthumous reputation.
As expected. Genichi was not at all surprised. What good old friends.
But if that was the case, then hadn't all his long-term planning been in vain? He might as well have just killed Danzō directly back then.
"Lord Hokage, your feelings and considerations are understandable," Genichi said, explicitly objecting, his expression grave. "But Danzō's actions were too vile, especially his use of the Sharingan. Where did he get them? The Uchiha certainly didn't offer them up willingly. This will cause the rift between the Uchiha clan and the village to grow wider and wider. Especially with a Madara Uchiha hiding in the shadows. He targeted Obito; he will definitely target others. If he incites the Uchiha to rebel, the consequences will likely be more than the village can bear."
Hiruzen's face changed.
"Madara Uchiha!" Shikaku Nara was shocked. "Isn't he dead?" He had not yet been privy to this information.
"It's very likely that he is not dead," Hiruzen sighed, "and is plotting something in the shadows."
"If that's the case," Shikaku said in a deep voice, "then we must consider the possibility Genichi mentioned, Third Hokage."
"I understand," Hiruzen nodded. "Shinnosuke, you communicate with Fugaku about this first. I will deal with it personally when I return to the village."
Shinnosuke nodded, secretly relieved. He also did not agree with concealing Danzō's actions. This was too big of a time bomb, especially with Madara not being dead. Danzō's personal mess could become a mess for the entire Konoha leadership. For the next Hokage, Tsunade, it would be an undeserved disaster.
The best solution now was for the dead Danzō to take full responsibility. Then, the abdicating Hiruzen and the deceased Koharu and Homura would bear a portion of the blame for their failure of oversight. This way, the next Hokage would not have any baggage and could better handle the relationship with the Uchiha.
The matter was settled. Shinnosuke and the others returned to Konoha, while Genichi and Shikaku accompanied Hiruzen to the Daimyō's capital.
With Danzō dead, Genichi felt a strange sense of melancholy. It was a pity that he had not died at his hands. But this was also the best outcome. Danzō was dead, and his posthumous reputation was also gone. He had died in disgrace. Perhaps it would be fun to reanimate him with Edo Tensei in the future. A dark thought crossed his mind.
It would have been truly spectacular if Danzō had directly launched a coup in Konoha. But even with his mind clouded, that guy wasn't that crazy.
Next comes a new era…
Genichi was a little expectant. At the same time, he couldn't help but think of Madara. What was that guy up to? Had he found a replacement for Obito? If so, who would it be? And had he unplugged himself from the tubes yet? If he hadn't found a replacement, would he have to act personally?
In reality, Genichi had only fought him once, and that was with a clone. It was just a taste. But in the future, he had already fought him twice. If the Nine-Tails attack still happened, the situation would be unpredictable.
Sunagakure, in the Kazekage's office.
After listening to Chiyo, Pakura frowned. "Has it already reached this point? Then, regarding the candidate for the jinchuriki, do you have any suggestions, Granny?"
"From the intelligence from Iwa, Kumo, and even Konoha," Chiyo said, "for the cultivation of a jinchuriki, the younger, the better."
"It seems you already have someone in mind, Granny," Pakura nodded.
"The Fourth's daughter and son might both be suitable candidates," Chiyo said. "But they still need to go through a strict selection process. The performance of the Iwa jinchuriki on the battlefield was astonishing. If it weren't for Kinoshita Genichi, even the Sannin of Konoha and people like Danzō would not have been able to suppress them."
The Fourth Kazekage's children… Pakura mused. She wouldn't go so far as to implicate innocent children because of their father. Even for his wife and posthumous child, she had no ill thoughts. The Fourth was dead, the leadership had been purged, and now Chiyo and her brother were following her arrangements. The Sand Village was already showing signs of prosperity.
"Then select a suitable candidate as soon as possible and make preparations," Pakura said solemnly. "The candidate must be chosen with care. If we really can't find one, we can first extract the One-Tail and seal it separately, and then perform the jinchuriki ceremony when a suitable candidate is found."
"Understood," Chiyo nodded.
After she left, Pakura thought to herself, Perhaps it's time to take on another disciple. Temari is a good choice. This was for others to see. And the village did indeed need promising young people. Baki's generation had quite a few outstanding individuals, but looking at them now, there was no one who could bear the heavy burden of being the Kazekage. As the Fifth, she had to consider the long term. Secondly, a disciple had limited potential and would find it difficult to inherit her Scorch Release. She needed someone to inherit her technique.
The Magnet Release developed by the previous Kazekage… she sighed. She had been studying the data left by the Third and Fourth, but she didn't have much confidence in mastering it herself. Earth Release was not her strong suit.
If he had these things, he should be able to master them quickly, she couldn't help but think of Genichi.
Just as she was thinking, a knock came at the door. "Come in," she said, coming back to her senses.
The door was pushed open, and Baki hurried in. "Lady Kazekage, an urgent letter from Konoha."
She took it and opened it, and her face couldn't help but change.
"Lady Kazekage, has something major happened?" Baki asked.
"The Third Hokage was assassinated," she nodded.
"Assassinated!" Baki was shocked.
"It was a rogue ninja from the Hidden Waterfall, named Kakuzu," she said, putting down the letter. "Konoha has requested our assistance in hunting this S-rank rogue-nin. Go and give the order, Baki. Tell our people to be on the lookout for this guy. Also, if they have any information, do not act rashly. This guy was able to escape from the Hokage's hands; he must be quite powerful."
"Understood," Baki nodded quickly.
In the Land of Rain, in the Hidden Rain Village, Hanzō received the letter even faster than Pakura.
"Kakuzu. It's this guy. To think that he's still not dead," Hanzō was surprised. He knew of him, of course. He had once been a famous jonin of the Hidden Waterfall, had even tried to assassinate the First Hokage, and most importantly, had survived. He had also been in Hōzuki Castle and had later escaped.
An assassination attempt on the Third Hokage. Was it the Cloud, the Stone, or the Mist? Hanzō wondered, then said, "Kuroame, keep an eye out for intel on this Kakuzu, but don't act rashly. To be able to escape from the hands of the First and Third Hokage, he must be very strong. Be careful."
Kuroame immediately accepted the order.
Two days later, even Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri had learned of the news. After all, Konoha was making a big show of hunting him; there was no need to specifically gather intelligence. In an instant, Kakuzu became a hot topic in the ninja world. Konoha had put a bounty of 100 million ryō on him.
However, despite the uproar outside, Konoha did not send out any teams to pursue him.
Genichi's group of three stayed at the Daimyō's capital for two days before returning to Konoha. Tsunade, as the Fourth Hokage, also received the support of the Fire Daimyō. The famous Princess Tsunade, granddaughter of the First and Second, student of the Third, one of the Sannin, the strongest medical-nin in the world. The moment her name was proposed, the Daimyō had nodded in agreement.
On this day, in a large conference room in the Hokage's tower, a large number of ninja were gathered. Most importantly, these were all the jonin of Konoha: Special Jōnin, Jōnin, and Elite Jōnin.
Sakumo Hatake, Kakashi, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, Akimichi Torifu, Akimichi Chōza, Fugaku Uchiha, Hyūga Hiashi, Hyūga Hizashi, Nara Shikaku… and many more.
When Genichi arrived, the seats were almost full.
"Genichi!" With a series of greetings, he greeted the jonin he knew and then made his way to Tsunade's side, sitting down next to Orochimaru. Jiraiya wasn't here; he was still on the northern border, commanding the defensive forces and facing off against the Cloud. The war was not completely over.
Plonking down in his seat, he heard Orochimaru beside him say with a smile, "Genichi-kun, you must be very satisfied with this result."
"It seems you've sensed something, Senpai," Genichi turned his head slightly. Although Orochimaru found it difficult to control Root, he was by no means a pushover. In terms of intelligence gathering, he was also very outstanding.
"What are you two talking about in riddles?" Tsunade frowned beside them.
Genichi turned back and smiled. "Nothing. We were just discussing in vitro embryo cultivation."
Orochimaru nodded in agreement. It was better not to let her know about some things.
Tsunade pursed her lips. These two guys were definitely not up to any good.
Just then, Hiruzen appeared and sat at the head table. Where there had once been four people, now there was only one. The conference room fell silent.
"The theme of today's meeting," Hiruzen said directly, "is the jonin confidence vote for the Fourth Hokage. Each jonin has one vote. If she receives more than fifty percent, Tsunade will become the Fourth Hokage. Now, let's begin. Those in favor of Tsunade becoming the Fourth, please raise your hands."
A forest of arms shot up. Not a single person abstained or objected. Hiruzen was not surprised. How many people present had not been saved by Tsunade? The Senju clan was gone, but not all of its people were dead.
"With a unanimous vote, Tsunade will be the Fourth Hokage!"
Clap clap clap~~
A round of applause filled the room. Tsunade also stood up and walked toward the head table. Next were the preparations for her inauguration, and the specific date. December 15 of Konoha Year 48 was set as the date of the ceremony, the time she would officially take office.
After the meeting, Genichi, Orochimaru, and Fugaku went to a small conference room. Hiruzen and Tsunade were already there.
"Genichi, this is a list of the Uchiha clan members who died on the battlefield this time," Hiruzen said, taking out a list.
Genichi took it and quickly scanned it. A familiar name soon caught his eye. "Uchiha Tekka?"
"Yes, he also died in battle in the Land of Grass," Fugaku said. "His body was brought back. His Sharingan is still intact. He has been buried."
Genichi nodded slightly and continued to look at the list. It included those who had died and whose bodies had been recovered, those whose bodies had not been recovered, and those who were missing but had been reported as killed in action.
And there were not many three-tomoe Uchiha who had died, only four in total. Of course, for the Uchiha clan, this was a lot. It was equivalent to losing four jonin. Especially Tekka, who was considered a genius.
In addition to this list, there was also other intelligence on these people, such as their personalities, family situations, friends, and the basic process of how they had awakened their eyes. It was very detailed. Without the cooperation of the Uchiha clan, it would have been impossible to obtain such intelligence. Clearly, Fugaku had made a great resolution.
As Genichi browsed the information, Orochimaru said, "A very puzzling question. Why would Madara Uchiha attack his own clansmen?"
"That is also what we need to find out," Hiruzen said, smoking his pipe. "The previous Obito Uchiha, according to Genichi's speculation, had great potential. And according to the information that child provided, Madara is already very old. Perhaps he is looking for a successor."
"Perhaps he is also looking for a young, potential body," Orochimaru smiled.
"Genichi-kun," Fugaku said, looking at him, "it is not that I don't trust you, but I am very curious. Why do you say that child Obito has great potential? Excluding his personality, his performance was indeed not bad, but it can't be said to be very outstanding, can it?"
"The potential I was referring to was the potential to awaken the Sharingan," Genichi looked up. "It has to do with his personality. He is optimistic and helpful. So once he suffers a blow, it will be very easy for his Sharingan to awaken and upgrade. At the same time, such a simple personality is also very easy to control once it becomes extreme."
"Control a potential Uchiha," Tsunade said. "Is his goal to get revenge on us?"
Fugaku's expression was grave. As the clan head, he was very clear about that part of history. To Madara, the Uchiha of Konoha were indeed traitors.
Genichi put down the documents and shook his head. "Don't underestimate him. For simple revenge, his own strength is sufficient. Although he is old, he has artificial humans made from the First's cells, so he can exert his proper strength. If he wanted to get revenge on the Uchiha, we couldn't stop him. My current strength is not enough. We cannot measure this person from our own perspective. Remember, he was the one who pacified the ninja world together with the First Hokage. He was once also a person who was committed to peace in the ninja world."
"I remember you said, Genichi-kun," Orochimaru's eyes gleamed, "that he had joined forces with the Rinnegan-wielding Akatsuki, also for the sake of so-called peace. So, is his goal to completely end the war? To understand his goal, I'm afraid we need to understand his ideals back then. Such a thing, perhaps only the First Hokage knew best."
"Orochimaru," Hiruzen said in a deep voice, "do not use those forbidden techniques recklessly, or sooner or later, they will backfire on you."
Orochimaru just smiled and spread his hands.
(End of Chapter)
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