Chapter 167 The Last Battle Before Retirement
Mochizuki Souji was the Fourth Hokage!
Upon hearing Sarutobi's announcement, everyone's faces were filled with undisguised shock.
Before it even started, almost everyone thought that the majority would prefer to maintain the status quo.
But why did the result turn out to be completely opposite?
It turns out that Mochizuki Souji won the grand slam?
However, after the initial shock, many people came to some understanding.
It turns out that at the crucial final moment, he was someone who grew tired of fighting and longed for a more peaceful life.
That's the majority.
This is something that those Jonin who finally decided to pledge allegiance to Souji understand best.
Many of them initially felt that maintaining the status quo was better, but their true feelings at the last minute revealed their desire for change.
In the crowd, under the moonlight, she covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Souji has become Hokage!
Souji stepped onto the stage, faced all the residents of Konoha, and proclaimed in a loud voice:
"Thank you all so much for your support.
I will keep my promise and lead everyone to change everything about ninjas."
"As you all probably know, the most crucial point of my proposal to eliminate the distinction between ninjas and ordinary people is to abolish the daimyo of various countries."
"Due to dissatisfaction with Kirigakure's surrender to Konoha, the daimyo of many countries have united and instructed their respective ninja villages to form an allied army to attack Konoha, which has disrupted the balance of the ninja world."
"That being said, this matter arose because of me, and since my promise was to ensure everyone lives a peaceful and stable life, therefore..."
"I will not ask you to face this battle!"
"What?"
Upon hearing the Souji's words, many people's expressions changed, and some became restless.
"We don't need to join the war?"
"real?"
"No, but if that's the case, the other side is a multinational coalition..."
The Souji let the crowd discuss for a moment, then spoke again:
"Everyone, there's no need to worry. I'm fully prepared."
"I can assure you all that from this moment on, no one will force anyone who is unwilling to fight to do so!"
After winning the vote, Souji's victory speech once again shocked everyone in Konoha.
...
After the incident, the Konoha high-ranking officials went to the conference room in the Hokage Building.
Since the Souji won, it means that there will be a series of major changes, which naturally need to be discussed and planned.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were both present, but Danzo did not attend the meeting, though everyone remained silent in tacit agreement.
Sarutobi sat down in the main seat and said with some emotion:
"Alright, I've been in this position for almost thirty years, now it's finally time to step down..."
Sarutobi sighed and looked at Souji, saying:
"Souji, congratulations on becoming the Fourth Hokage as expected by all."
"But before we discuss other matters, I'd like to ask first: if we prevent everyone from participating in the war against what is likely a coalition of the four great ninja villages, how do you plan to deal with it?"
The Souji smiled slightly and replied:
"An elite squad composed only of Kage-level figures will carry out decapitation strikes to directly eliminate the Daimyo of various countries."
"Um..."
Upon hearing the name of the lord, Sarutobi's expression turned serious.
The Souji continued:
"After that, we used force to suppress the high-ranking officials of the major ninja villages and tried to communicate with them peacefully to reduce unnecessary casualties."
"What if they refuse? Should we resolve it by force?" Sarutobi pressed.
"If they insist on fighting to the end, then we'll have to deal with the most radical advocates of war.
But if they don't initiate the war, I don't intend to start any unnecessary fighting. Let's call a truce."
"Just a ceasefire? But isn't that...?"
"Don't worry, Hokage. Just like how all countries imitated Konoha to establish ninja villages, and then imitated it to form the Anbu.
As long as it's a good and beneficial system or practice, everyone will follow and imitate it."
"you mean..."
"Even without using force to unify the other ninja villages, as long as Konoha becomes better afterward, the other ninja villages will naturally follow suit and imitate Konoha's new approach."
The Souji smiled and said:
"To put it bluntly, no one would turn down money.
Because abolishing the daimyo would allow ninjas to use their ninjutsu in various industries, they would inevitably become wealthy, and it would be impossible for other ninja villages not to follow suit."
"If there are really stubborn people, that's fine too. Ninjas who rely solely on fighting to make a living will probably not even be able to eat in the future ninja world. Let them be."
The group exchanged glances, and finally Sarutobi said:
"Alright, so so, who do you plan to send to deal with the coalition forces?"
"Myself, and the subordinates I recruited in advance, two of them are Kage-level fighters, and three others are barely Jonin-level, so they are quite useful.
As for the rest... it depends on who among you is willing to contribute."
"I don't plan to let ordinary ninjas, or even most Jonin, participate in the battle.
The key to ninja battles is actually the outcome between Kage-level powerhouses.
To put it bluntly... the others are just there to make up the numbers, and it would be too much of an honor to give them any support role."
"In the past, the main hope was to hone the ninjas' growth in battle, which is why we went into battle in the form of a large army.
To be honest, it was really unnecessary. Our Konoha has the most and strongest Kage-level combat power.
Now that I have killed the Mizukage and Raikage, the so-called Allied Forces are just a facade with a large number of troops."
The Souji scanned the crowd and asked:
"So, who among you is willing to contribute to this battle?"
"I!"
Minato was the first to speak, and he laughed:
"Besides fighting, I have no other abilities, so this is the only way I can contribute to Konoha. Please let me participate!"
"Very good." The Souji nodded.
"I'll go too. I feel like this might be the last battle, so it'll be good to have it as a memento," Jiraiya said.
"I won't go."
Tsunade said something simple.
Although Tsunade is quite irritable and warlike, she does not want to easily participate in battles because she has hemophobia.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged a glance, their expressions grave.
"We are not going, or rather, it is not suitable for us to go. This new era of war is not suitable for us to participate in, given that we have refused before and failed."
"What you two mean is..."
"We will retire along with Sarutobi," the two said solemnly.
These two knew when to back down in the end.
While not denying their contribution to Konoha's prosperity, firstly, they have their problems, and secondly, as we enter a new era, it is naturally inappropriate for these elders to continue occupying high positions and influencing various decisions.
The fact that these two proposed retiring themselves saved him the trouble of figuring out how to let them leave gracefully.
Akimichi Torifu also said:
"Me too, we're all old guys. We all came up together at the beginning, so let's all retire together now!"
"I understand. Thank you very much to the advisors for their continued dedication to Konoha," Souji nodded.
Sarutobi glanced at them, sighed softly, and then laughed.
"You won't go, but I will!"
"I'll be able to become Hokage in a few days, so this will be my last battle before I retire!"
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End of this chapter...