Hearing this, Gento could not help but raise an eyebrow.
He had not expected that Koharu, driven to a corner like a desperate dog, would actually drag Hiruzen Sarutobi into this.
It seemed this deceased Third Hokage was not as innocent as he appeared on the surface.
Before Tsunade could express her stance on the matter, there was a sudden knock on the office door.
Right after, Shikaku led the heads of the major shinobi clans into the room in single file.
Shikaku walked at the very front, his expression calm.
But the sharp glint flashing in his eyes betrayed his inner lack of tranquility.
Behind him were Inoichi, Choza, Hiashi, Tsume, Shikuro...
Each and every familiar face carried a hint of inexplicable excitement at this moment.
Just as he entered the door, Shikaku spoke:
"Lady Tsunade, since the two advisors have reported the former Hokage, why don't we take this opportunity to audit the assets of the Sarutobi clan as well?"
He paused, a meaningful smile playing on the corner of his mouth.
"After all, I do not believe the Third Hokage would be in cahoots with them."
"We must conduct a thorough audit to clear the Third Hokage's name!"
Inoichi immediately chimed in from the side:
"Shikaku is right."
"The Third Hokage labored for the Hidden Leaf Village his entire life; we cannot allow anyone to tarnish his reputation."
"Only by investigating thoroughly can we silence the public rumors."
Choza spoke incoherently while chewing on beans:
"An audit is fine by me. Who is afraid of whom?"
Hiashi kept his hands tucked inside his sleeves, saying indifferently:
"The Hyuga clan supports the audit."
Tsume held Akamaru, a schadenfreude smile hanging on the corner of her lips:
"It is long overdue."
The various clan heads chimed in one after another, their voices rising and falling, their attitudes surprisingly unanimous.
Naturally, they were not doing this to clear Hiruzen's name.
Over the years, during Hiruzen's reign, he had suppressed the shinobi clans and favored the advisors, leaving every family to harbor a bellyful of resentment.
Now that they had the opportunity to drag the Third Hokage down from his altar, who wouldn't be willing?
Seeing herself being pushed into a corner by the clan heads, Tsunade had no choice but to grit her teeth and agree:
"Fine, then audit them!"
She also wanted to see exactly how many shady dealings were hidden in there.
Seeing that her words were accepted by everyone, a glint of cunning flashed in Koharu's eyes.
She hatched another scheme and spoke:
"Lady Tsunade, Danzo Shimura is no good either. I request an audit of the Shimura clan as well!"
She wanted to muddy the waters.
After all, once Hiruzen, the former Hokage, was also found guilty of embezzlement, Tsunade, as his student, would find it difficult to impose a harsh punishment.
There is safety in numbers, and only then would she have a chance for a lenient sentence.
Tsunade glanced at her.
After a brief silence, she said coldly:
"Audit them, audit them all together!"
As the news spread, the entire Hidden Leaf Village boiled over once again.
"The Hokage wants to audit the assets of the Sarutobi clan and the Shimura clan!"
"The Third Hokage embezzled too? No way..."
"Why wouldn't he? Those two advisors embezzled tens of billions, could the Third Hokage possibly be clean?"
Civilians and shinobi spread the news rapidly, talking about it on every street corner.
Some were shocked, some were furious, and some took pleasure in their misfortune.
Even more people watched with a spectator's mindset, waiting for the climax of this grand drama.
After another day of intensive auditing, the results finally came out.
When the Anbu presented the thick report, the first surprise was Danzo.
This former "Darkness of the Hidden Leaf" actually had no financial crimes during his tenure.
Although his Root funding was immense, every single transaction went through formal procedures and was approved and reimbursed by Hiruzen.
The accounts were clear and the destinations definite, leaving no room for complaints.
"That old guy Danzo..."
Shikaku shook his head.
"Greedy for power but not for wealth… should we call him clean or obsessed?"
However, the audit results for the Sarutobi clan made everyone present gasp in cold air.
Just the traceable assets of unknown origin amounted to 32 billion Ryo in cash.
In addition, there was a vast number of shops, properties...
All of which had been allocated to the Sarutobi clan under various pretexts by Hiruzen during the reconstruction of the Hidden Leaf Village, making their value impossible to calculate simply.
Even more shocking was that the Sarutobi clan was actually harboring thousands of shinobi.
None of these people were registered shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village; they answered only to the orders of the Sarutobi clan, functioning as Hiruzen's private army.
Over the years, the resources they consumed had already reached astronomical figures that simply could not be calculated.
"Thousands of shinobi..."
"Yet in every war, the Sarutobi clan was still only willing to deploy a handful of people!"
Shikaku's face was livid, his voice overflowing with anger:
"In every single war, the Third Hokage would first draft shinobi from our major clans, saying stuff like 'let's endure a bit more hardship for our brothers in the clans,' but what about himself?"
"His own clan, his private army, were never touched!"
Inoichi also spoke:
"In those years, how many of our Yamanaka clan's youth died?"
"With a single deployment order from the Third Hokage, we had to send our clan's finest children to the battlefield, while his private army lived in comfort and leisure in the rear."
Hiashi opened his eyes, his voice icy:
"Hizashi died under the coercion of the Hidden Cloud messengers, costing the Hyuga clan the life of the branch family head. Back then, the Third Hokage never spoke of deploying his private army."
Tsume's eyes turned red:
"How many of our Inuzuka clan died during the Nine-Tails Incident?"
The furious atmosphere in the office rapidly intensified.
Tsunade sat in the main seat, speechless, her face pale.
She could not help but recall some past events.
The year the Second Great Shinobi War ended, she successively experienced the deaths of her younger brother Nawaki and her lover Dan Kato.
Additionally, she witnessed countless shinobi who could have survived but perished on the battlefield due to the shortage of medical ninja.
She spent an entire year traveling to the Hidden Leaf's hospitals, battlefields, and clans, conducting a detailed investigation and drafting a comprehensive medical reform proposal.
She had excitedly presented it to Hiruzen, believing this proposal could save many lives.
Hiruzen merely flipped through it briefly before returning it to her:
"Tsunade, the Hidden Leaf Village is currently short on funds. Let's put this proposal on hold for now."
She believed him.
She believed that the Hidden Leaf Village really lacked money, and she thought Hiruzen was also in a difficult position.
Thus, disheartened, she left the Hidden Leaf Village and wandered everywhere, using gambling to numb herself.
She never expected that it was not that the Hidden Leaf Village lacked funding, but rather that the funds had been embezzled by Hiruzen to support his private army and sustain his clan!
Tsunade closed her eyes, her chest rising and falling violently.
Anger, sorrow, and the pain of betrayal submerged her like a tidal wave.
It took a long time before she opened her eyes:
"Everyone, all of these assets shall be confiscated by the Hidden Leaf Village."
"The main culprits behind all of this must be severely punished!"
Shikaku said coldly:
"Hiruzen is dead, and dead men tell no tales, but the Sarutobi clan is still here!"
"Those assets, those industries, and that private army must all be dealt with!"
"And none of those corrupt Sarutobi clan members can be let off."
"Agreed."
"Supported."
"They must be severely punished."
The various clan heads echoed in unison.
Homura slumped on the ground, his face pale as ash.
He knew that he was finished, and his clan was finished too!
Koharu originally thought there was safety in numbers, and that as long as she dragged Hiruzen down with them, Tsunade would hesitate to act out of concern for the fallout.
But seeing this momentum now, Tsunade had absolutely no intention of stopping.
She panicked instantly, crawling over to grab the edge of Tsunade's clothes, her voice trembling:
"Tsunade! Lady Tsunade! You can't... you can't treat me like this..."
Tsunade looked down at her, eyes filled with nothing but disgust.
Her voice was ice-cold:
"Take her away, and execute her!"
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