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The shogi parlor riot that day seemed to be just the beginning.
Since then, more and more people gathered in this desolate Village, only to be promptly dispersed by the heavily monitored Anbu and Uchiha Police Force.
However, both civilians and ordinary Ninja from civilian backgrounds seemed to have lost their fear of the once formidable Anbu and others. Almost every day, sounds of gatherings and conflicts could be heard echoing throughout the Village.
"Bang—"
Looking at the damage report on the table, Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed his fist down.
The middle-aged man's forehead was taut with bulging veins, and his expression was extremely grim.
"They're struggling on the front lines, and someone is still causing trouble in the rear."
"As my disciple, you're still coming to add to your teacher's troubles?"
Tobirama's granddaughter was his most beloved disciple since she was young, without exception.
However, in Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart, Tsunade now felt as if she had stabbed him in the back.
Yes.
In Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind, whether it was the sudden emergence of the Disabled Ninja Association, the Konoha Revival Society, the Civilian Ninja Federation, the Civilian and Ninja Clan Friendship Association, and so on, all of them were 'trouble' brought upon him by Tsunade.
Since she didn't have a direct armed force like Root, she naturally could only acquire power through other channels.
Anyway, that's what Sarutobi Hiruzen thought.
But, in Sarutobi Hiruzen's opinion, Tsunade should not have directly confronted him, the Hokage, nor should she have damaged his authority as Hokage with those chaotic remarks.
The Will of Fire's theoretical foundation had been painstakingly built for over a decade, and now you've suddenly undermined these theories, causing so many people to turn and follow you. Doesn't that make him, the Hokage, seem incompetent?
No matter how excessive Shimura Danzo's actions were, he hadn't touched the Hokage's sphere of influence, had he?
As an experienced politician, he had a very clear understanding of these rules of the game.
"Hmph."
Shimura Danzo, sitting beside him, looked at his pained expression and sneered softly, "Now you finally realize the threat of that foolish woman?"
"I told you long ago, you would regret it, Hiruzen."
"Now look, the businesses of several Ninja clans are almost unable to operate, and they've come to me."
"Tell me, what's the point of all this?"
Shimura Danzo's smile grew increasingly smug.
Hiruko's strategy, implemented with his unscrupulous methods, had achieved great success.
In his opinion, both these Ninja clans and civilians were disrespectful individuals.
If power wasn't displayed before them, there would always be those short-sighted individuals who would suddenly jump out and cause trouble at crucial moments.
As for Tsunade's little resistance, it was utterly ridiculous.
What kind of waves could a few civilian Ninja stir up in front of a true powerhouse?
Listening to his smug laughter, Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed to suddenly realize something. He abruptly looked up at him and said coldly,
"Danzo, I advise you to put away your petty schemes."
"Do you think I care about trivial matters like a few shops being smashed?"
"Tsk."
Shimura Danzo was now completely in a winner's posture, scoffing disdainfully:
"Rest assured."
"Those few Chunin-level mediocrities won't cause any major problems even on the battlefield."
Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen knew that Danzo had not grasped the seriousness of the issue at all.
He turned his head and said in a low voice to his old friend, "Have you ever considered whose interests our so-called Hokage faction truly represents?"
"If Tsunade gains the support of those people, will we still be the Hokage faction?"
"Just those civilian Ninja?" Danzo instinctively felt that Hiruzen, that bastard, was probably trying to fool him again.
"Just them."
However, Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was more resolute than ever: "—Therefore, no matter what, you cannot act against those people."
Danzo immediately frowned.
From the perspective of his own interests, he instinctively believed that this was because Sarutobi Hiruzen's prestige had suffered, and he was forcefully trying to suppress both sides to stop this meaningless struggle.
But he was about to win!
Several representatives from the Ninja clans had already come to discuss with him.
At a time like this, you old man come out to play favorites?
Moreover, he really felt that Sarutobi Hiruzen was making a mountain out of a molehill.
So what if a few civilian Ninja led a group of civilians in a riot?
Forget about arresting them, even if they were all slaughtered, who in this closed-off Village would know?
Root's laboratory gained so many orphans each year for spy and personnel selection, and so many test subjects for Ninjutsu experiments. Weren't these all captured from the Village and surrounding areas?
Hiruzen wasn't unaware of these things.
The more he thought about it, the stronger Danzo's feeling of being manipulated by Hiruzen became.
"..."
"What if I say 'no'?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen watched him calmly and said coldly, "Then don't blame me for taking action."
"Hiruzen…" Danzo instinctively wanted to say something.
But his voice was interrupted by Sarutobi Hiruzen, "Danzo, I am the Hokage!"
He was already able to answer preemptively.
"Hmph."
Danzo slammed the door and left without another word.
The more Hiruzen opposed him, the firmer his conviction became.
This time, no one would stop his march to victory!
After leaving the room, Aburame Ryoma, who had heard the entire conversation, asked one more question:
"Lord Danzo, what if we face those rioters later…?"
Shimura Danzo waved his hand dismissively:
"As usual."
"Understood, sir."
"..."
In the room, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Danzo's retreating back and then thought of his disciple's relentless actions, feeling increasingly heavy-hearted.
Finally, he let out a long sigh.
"The Hokage Building has posted a notice! Your family's shop was searched because of the 'Investigation Order' proposed by Lady Tsunade! Your shop was investigated because you must have been evading taxes!"
"You're talking nonsense! The Disabled Association and the Civilian Ninja Federation said in their speeches that Lady Tsunade clearly wants to investigate those experts—look, it's written clearly in this 'Konoha Civilian Ninja Newspaper'."
"How can you curse people? Can the notices from the Hokage Building and the Uchiha Police Force be fake? What's there to read in your roadside tabloid?"
"Fake is fake…"
Similar arguments could be heard in any random restaurant on the street.
However, it seemed that because the window had been opened, various Ninja riots had raised the Uchiha Police Force's psychological threshold. Such arguments, which would normally lead to arrests, were no longer taken seriously.
The Konoha Prison was only so big, and with so many people locked up recently, where would they get enough rice to feed them all?
Several Uchiha Ninja on the eaves had clearly heard it, but at this moment, they completely pretended nothing was happening and walked past.
"The people of Konoha are most inclined to moderation. If you suggest chiseling a window, they will never agree, but if you suggest tearing down the roof, they will rush to mediate and compromise, agreeing to chisel a window."
Tsunade, transformed into a different appearance, listened to the clamor in the restaurant and silently drank a cup of tea.
Sawara Kiri's words involuntarily echoed in her mind.
During this month of waiting for public opinion to take effect, she was initially very anxious, even somewhat afraid of the consequences—that the civilian Ninja they had incited would be massively suppressed, leading to many deaths.
One must know that Konoha was a standard military organization, and according to custom, those who made extreme statements in the Village were to be executed by the Anbu.
However, the consequences Tsunade feared did not happen. Instead, things developed step by step as Sawara Kiri had foretold.
"If you fight for rights, rights will exist; if you compromise for rights, rights will perish."
In the past month, they had only helped a portion of the poor Ninja disabled in the war, holding what Kiri-kun called a 'grievance meeting' among them.
Those people, for some reason, suddenly seemed to have changed their demeanor, erupting with a driving force that even Tsunade herself found unimaginable. They no longer had the difficult, burdened appearance they had at first. They began to speak everywhere like Sawara Kiri, rallying those in similar situations.
In just one short month, Konoha had gained more than a dozen large and small associations, and several new miscellaneous magazines and tabloids.
"However, this alone is completely insufficient."
"Just as Konoha's establishment came from years of bloody warfare between the Senju and Uchiha clans, the current reform of Konoha must also begin with bloodshed and sacrifice."
Tsunade sipped her tea, recalling Sawara Kiri's firm, even somewhat cold expression when he spoke those words.
It was as if he had personally witnessed similar history somewhere, predicting this very scene from the moment he uttered those words.
"Lady Tsunade, what we are doing is evil, and we are evil to the victims, but for those who come after, there is at least a barely acceptable good outcome."
"We are merely fleas clinging to this elephant, rushing out of this cage with them, for our survival."
"The pain caused by merely sucking blood provides them with a slight impetus to charge forward."
"Therefore, if you have the opportunity to lead them forward in the future, please do so with a sense of guilt and caution."
The words spoken from that youthful face, however, sounded as if they had been honed by years of hardship, creating a laughable sense of incongruity.
However, once everything he said became reality, it was no longer possible to laugh.
"Whoosh—!"
Just as Tsunade was thinking this, not far from the secluded restaurant, a Root stronghold disguised as a library suddenly erupted with deafening shouts and speeches.
In a short while, it turned into the wails of a group of civilian Ninja under attack from Root.
Hearing the sound, Tsunade slightly closed her eyes, her fists on the table clenching involuntarily, turning white.
At this moment, this woman, who had always been soft-hearted, inexplicably felt a sense of trepidation.
If, in order to avenge Kato Dan and make Shimura Danzo and those vermin pay the price, more people had to die, could she truly maintain her resolve for revenge?
However, as things had developed, it was no longer up to her.
On the cliff across the street, Sawara Kiri opened his azure pupils, which contained brilliant stars, and silently looked at the scattered corpses on the ground in front of the Root stronghold.
It was regrettable, due to the short time available for public relations and mobilization, every resolute individual among the personnel he had organized was extremely important and could not be wasted.
Therefore, these personnel were all suicide squad members he had borrowed from Yagura Karatachi.
But it didn't matter.
After these people died, no one would care whether they were civilians or spies before.
Everyone in Konoha only needed to know that this organization called 'Root' indiscriminately killed seventeen people in one go, simply because people were giving speeches in a library.
That was enough.
The blame must be firmly placed where it belongs.
Thus, while Shimura Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen were still utterly bewildered.
After a full month and a half of brewing, and countless impacts and speeches raising the threshold.
An unprecedented gathering of ten thousand people, sweeping across the entire Konoha Village, finally commenced at noon the next day, in front of the main gate of the Hokage Building.
Before the speeches, everyone waited quietly in front of the Hokage Building, surrounding the intersection so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through.
In front of the Hokage Building, the Anbu, encountering such a situation for the first time, were guarding the entrance as if facing a formidable enemy, watching the assembled crowd with cold sweat trickling down their backs.
If something really happened here, should they act or not?
Lord Third hadn't given any orders.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood in the Hokage Office on the fourth floor, looking out from the floor-to-ceiling window at the endless crowd gathered at the intersection, not even holding his ever-present pipe, his expression extremely grim.
His worst-case scenario had come true.
At the same time.
Tsunade, Sawara Kiri, and Hatake Sakumo stood behind the makeshift podium.
They were taking advantage of this time to whisper among themselves.
"Lady Tsunade, have you memorized your speech?"
"It's just a little bit, I've memorized it after a few glances. It's just, will what you wrote actually work?"
"You just have to speak. If you speak, you will win."
"What about these people? Are they all people you found?"
"No, they follow whoever wins."
"Then you still want me to..."
The faint murmurs did not reach the even noisier crowd in front of them.
Finally, when Tsunade, Sawara Kiri, and Hatake Sakumo walked onto the makeshift podium, the crowd below had not quieted down.
Most of them weren't that enthusiastic; they had merely heard that someone had been killed for giving a speech, followed impulsively, and some simply saw the large crowd, assumed there would be no consequences, and wanted to see what the excitement was about.
However, for some reason.
When they met the azure eyes of the particularly young man on the stage, and watched him seemingly murmur something, a strong, inexplicable sense of sadness and grief welled up in their hearts, as if they had been 'infected' by his emotions.
Gradually, the people below slowly quieted down.
Under the solemn response of the crowd, even Tsunade, who had been worried, couldn't help but calm down.
The atmosphere was stirred by the collective reaction.
Guided by this atmosphere, Tsunade, who was already prone to being soft-hearted and emotional, looked at the crowd and almost naturally shouted out the speech she had already memorized perfectly:
"You have probably already learned about the conflict between me and the Council Elders at the Jonin Meeting from the newspapers."
"We have always known that Lord Third Sarutobi Hiruzen, as the Hokage, had his power usurped by the Council Elders and others, who were also disciples of Lord Second, due to trust."
"However, I still did not anticipate that such a thing would happen."
"This morning, I only learned about civilian Ninja giving speeches in the library yesterday; as soon as I opened my eyes, I received the terrible news that Root had actually unleashed large-scale Ninjutsu, resulting in dozens of casualties, and Mr. Iida of the Disabled Association was among the victims."
"But I am quite skeptical of these rumors."
"I have always dared to infer the worst malice from the Council Elders, but I did not expect, nor did I believe, that they would be so vile and cruel."
"However, it has been proven true today; the evidence is his own corpse. And another, Mr. Tajima's."
"..."
Amidst this sorrowful and mournful speech, and the negligible hypnotic effect brought by Kyōka Suigetsu, the crowd standing at this intersection all quietly listened to Lady Tsunade's speech, looking up at her.
In reality, Konoha is only so big, with a total of just over two hundred thousand people.
Over a full month, various associations were active everywhere, and how could the old Konoha residents, who had lived there for many years and had extensive social networks, not know what had happened in the Village in the past month?
The front lines were still at war, but corruption among high-ranking officials was exposed in the rear, and then it was spread that it was a misunderstanding, a rumor.
All sorts of chaotic information merged into an indistinguishable mess.
Ultimately, everything drove them to try and listen to how Tsunade, as the head of the Senju Clan and one of Konoha's high-ranking officials, would explain herself in public.
Thus, Tsunade, who chose to stand directly before the crowd, unconsciously gained the right to explain.
All those who had no choice listened quietly.
In fact, who else besides them chose to listen?
Sarutobi Hiruzen in the Hokage Building was listening, the Anbu guarding the entrance to prevent riots were listening, numerous Ninja standing on the rooftops were listening, and even the clan leaders mingling in the crowd were listening.
Even Shimura Danzo, who was rumored to be the mastermind behind everything, was listening as well.
However, his expression was not so composed.
Shimura Danzo stood on a distant rooftop, staring blankly at the scene at the intersection, his single eye uncontrollably revealing a bewildered look, and his whole body inexplicably shivered with cold.
His liver and guts were torn apart.
The continuous cold sweat almost soaked his entire back.
'What is she trying to do?'
'Tsunade, what exactly is she trying to do?!'
On the other hand, Orochimaru, standing on the other side, slightly furrowed his brow, listening with interest to his classmate's speech, recalling the various signs over the past month, and seemed to suddenly understand something.
However, he understood Tsunade better than anyone.
Orochimaru knew very well that that woman did not possess such insight, innovation, or cunning.
Naturally, his snake-like eyes turned to the young man standing beside Tsunade.
As for the speech itself, there wasn't much more to say.
Even Orochimaru, who didn't understand human hearts, could see it.
From the moment Tsunade created the 'need to gather these people here,' she had already won; nothing could stop this now.
"The will of the people, is the human heart... is that it?" Orochimaru muttered softly, looking at the scene before him.
"What an extraordinary fellow."
He was not the only one who understood this point.
His teacher, Lord Sarutobi Hiruzen, who prided himself on his mastery of political maneuvering, naturally understood this point as well.
At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen listened quietly from above.
He listened as the voices below went from sorrow to excitement, and then to impassioned enthusiasm.
"Clap, clap, clap—"
Finally, the dense crowd slowly shed the mournful atmosphere and gradually erupted into deafening shouts and applause.
At that moment, he suddenly understood.
He, as the Third Hokage, had completely lost a part of the people's hearts.
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