Chapter 130: Hiruzen Sarutobi's Tour of Konoha
"Is this Konoha?"
The moment he heard Kei's words, Hiruzen felt his heart stir. A faint suspicion had already begun to form in his mind.
"So you didn't kill me back then?"
"Mmm."
Kei answered calmly, "In terms of status, you were my teacher. Since you had already been declared missing, there was no need for me to kill you."
"As for now, as you can see, I have become Konoha's Third Hokage."
"I see…"
Hiruzen let out a slow breath and barely managed to steady his emotions.
"Then what do you intend to do now?"
"I do not intend to do anything in particular."
Kei's voice remained soft and even. "The war is over. Konoha is at peace. You can go home now, Teacher Hiruzen."
"Your family is still waiting for you."
At the mention of his family, Hiruzen's expression shifted at once.
He truly missed home.
He had been gone for years, and to the outside world, he had remained a missing person the entire time. He had no idea how his family had fared during all those years.
"Go back and have a look," Kei said. "From now on, you are free. You may do whatever you wish."
"As for everything else, it will not be too late to come find me in a few days."
"Alright."
Hiruzen took a deep breath, then slowly nodded.
A moment later, under Kei's guidance, he walked out from that hidden place.
Yet the instant he stepped through the gate and entered Konoha, he was left stunned by the sight before him.
Towering buildings stretched out in every direction.
Streetlights stood in neat rows, each one glowing with a faint, steady light. Construction teams moved everywhere, and workers bustled from place to place in unending streams. The entire area was filled with vitality and noise, flourishing with life.
This no longer looked like a shinobi village.
It looked more like a prosperous city.
Was this really still Konoha?
Hiruzen stared blankly at the scene around him. Only after a long while did he finally confirm that he was indeed standing in Konoha.
It was just that the changes were far too immense.
"Was I really only asleep for three years?"
He glanced at the dramatic transformation around him, unable to hide his confusion.
Although three or four years was certainly not a short time, for a place as large as Konoha, it should not have been enough to produce such earth shaking changes.
And yet the reality before his eyes was exactly that.
Everywhere he looked, he saw prosperity.
Crowds of people streamed through the streets. Many young people gathered by the roadside, laughing and talking. Compared to the Konoha of the past, the flow of people was far greater.
That was only natural.
The old Konoha had remained in a long militarized state. Its total population had only been a few hundred thousand at most.
But the current Konoha was no longer merely a military center. It had become something much closer to the capital of the Land of Fire.
As the entire Land of Fire gradually fell under Konoha's control, the number of people entering Konoha every year had grown enormously.
The people settling here came from all kinds of backgrounds. Some were former nobles of the Land of Fire, who had relocated in large numbers after their territories were taken over by the village. Some were local residents from newly incorporated regions, absorbed into Konoha as its influence expanded, eventually becoming proud citizens of the village. Others had come because of Konoha's growing reputation, seeking opportunities for work and advancement.
As Konoha continued to grow more prosperous, opportunities here multiplied as well.
Especially after industrial development began, Konoha's factories and expanding industries created an enormous demand for labor.
That in turn attracted even more people.
Nowadays, large numbers of outsiders came to Konoha every year, some searching for work, others hoping to start businesses of their own.
These people not only created huge demand, but also sharply increased Konoha's migrant population.
In just a few short years, Konoha had transformed into a massive city with nearly a million inhabitants.
For this era, such a city was more than enough to shock anyone.
Walking along the roadside, Hiruzen felt as though everything around him was new.
The streetlights alone were already remarkable enough, and the public toilets that appeared from time to time were even more surprising.
Many merchants lined the streets, carrying out promotions while shouting loudly to attract customers.
Hiruzen stepped closer to observe. After watching for a while, he could not help sighing.
"It really is different now…"
"So this is the capability of a true successor?"
He had always known that Kei was extraordinarily talented.
Back then, Tobirama had praised Kei's ability in governance more than once. That was also why he had deliberately arranged for Kei to become Hiruzen's student, hoping he would one day assist him.
But to turn the entire Konoha into this in only three or four years was still far beyond Hiruzen's imagination.
And the more he saw, the deeper his understanding of the current Konoha became.
"The Land of Lightning has already signed a truce agreement with Konoha, and even the Raikage has yielded?"
"The Uzumaki Clan also lowered their heads and agreed to merge into Konoha?"
As he listened to these pieces of news one after another, Hiruzen was repeatedly left speechless.
The Third Raikage's reputation had already been immense even before he officially took office. In the Ninja World, he was known as the Strongest Spear and the Strongest Shield.
And yet such a person had actually yielded to Kei.
Judging from the details Hiruzen heard, he had even been defeated by Kei head on.
As for the Uzumaki Clan, they possessed unique Sealing Techniques and had long stood as one of Konoha's most important allies. Their value to the village had always been extraordinary.
Yet even under Tobirama, the Uzumaki Clan had always maintained an independent stance. They had consistently remained aloof toward Konoha's invitations.
And now, under Kei's leadership, they had actually chosen to bow their heads?
These were all obvious political achievements.
Whether it was defeating the Raikage or bringing the Uzumaki Clan into Konoha, either one alone was enough to greatly elevate the prestige of a Hokage.
Hiruzen had to admit that even if he himself had inherited that position back then, there was a high probability he would not have achieved what Kei had.
What stunned him even more, however, were the changes in the Land of Fire itself.
Ever since Kei took office, Konoha had undergone one reform after another, to the point where the village now gave off the sense of standing above even the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
For a traditional shinobi like Hiruzen, that was almost unimaginable.
Most shinobi in this world were like that. Even though they held power far beyond ordinary people, they still instinctively revered figures like the Daimyo and did not dare offend them lightly.
Yet now, under Kei's leadership, Konoha had already turned the tables and seemed to have become the true master of the Land of Fire.
For Hiruzen, that was something he had never even dared imagine in the past.
In the current Land of Fire, transportation across the nation was already under Konoha's control, and military bases had been established everywhere by the village.
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