Konoha: The Absolute Justice of the Uchiha

Chapter 196 Choosing Sides and Stances, the "Insidious" Hokage
"Have you heard? The granddaughter of the First Hokage is running for the Fifth Hokage. It's Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, an elite ninja who made many contributions during the Fourth Shinobi World War."

"Huh? The Third Hokage hasn't retired yet, so why are we starting to choose the Fifth Hokage?"

"I heard that Lady Tsunade felt that the Third Hokage had been Hokage for too long. She believed that the current Hokage was too old and an aging Hokage was not enough to lead the entire Hidden Leaf Village."

"Now that you mention it, it's true. The Hokage is over sixty years old, isn't he? Logically speaking, he should be enjoying his retirement at that age. Even if ninjas have better physical abilities than us ordinary people, he shouldn't have to stay in the Hokage position for so long, right?"

"I think the Third Hokage did a pretty good job, didn't he? There's no need to change to a new Hokage, is there?"

"Heh, the village is in this state, and you call this good? If that Hokage had really done a good job, why would Uchiha Izumi's police force have been able to arrest so many criminals?"

"Yes! So many criminals were hiding in the village, why didn't the Hokage do anything about it? It wasn't until the police arrested them and made their crimes public that we realized there were so many murderers in the village! It's terrifying!"

In just one day.

Everyone in Konoha knew that Tsunade was going to run for the Fifth Hokage.

Although some voices are in support of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

But the vast majority of voices were actually on Tsunade's side.

Without him.

It was simply Hiruzen Sarutobi's recent actions that left many ninja clans in Konoha feeling utterly disappointed.

For the common people of Konoha, the Third Hokage did not make their lives better; instead, he allowed them to harbor many murderers, causing them sleepless nights and anxiety lately.

Previously, there was no such topic of discussion in the village, simply because no one would openly stand up and compete with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Danzo Shimura, the only one who attempted to become Hokage, only resorted to underhanded tactics.

As for the radical Uchiha faction that once attempted a coup...

It was just a roadside path, and nobody paid any attention to it.

However, Tsunade is completely different from Danzo Shimura or the radical Uchiha clan in that she openly stated her purpose, which is equivalent to making a very blatant announcement to the entire village.

That's why this topic has sparked such public discussion.

This has also attracted a lot of discussion.

"Lady Tsunade..." Shizune swallowed hard, her expression complicated as she said to Tsunade, "It seems... most of the people in the village are willing to support you. Even though Lady Tsunade hasn't returned to the village for a long time, they still chose you over the Hokage."

Shizune hesitated for a moment and said, "Lady Tsunade, isn't something a little off? This is a bit too unusual, isn't it? After all, for many people in the village, you are relatively unknown. They only know that you are one of the Legendary Sannin and the granddaughter of the First Hokage."

“This is not unusual, but rather quite normal,” Tsunade said. “The reason is simple—the old man’s actions have alienated the people, and Ikezumi’s prestige is at its zenith.”

Tsunade slowly exhaled, clicked her tongue, and said, "Actually, I'm only doing this because of that kid Ikezumi."

Silent was taken aback.

Tsunade explained, "Shizune, you have greatly underestimated the number of ninja clans that stand on the side of absolute justice. The Ino, Shika, Cho, and Uchiha clans will definitely stand with Ikezumi. In addition, the Hyuga clan will also stand on the same side as Ikezumi."

"Because the Hyuga clan has been terrified of Ikezumi, even the Hyuga branch family, which has benefited from the situation, is afraid of Ikezumi. Under these circumstances, they dare not stand with the old man."

"In this respect, many ninja clans that have suffered at the hands of Ikezumi will react in the same way as the Hyuga clan. Their fear will make them rush to stand on the side of justice."

"This resulted in me securing almost half of the support from the Konoha ninja clan. Even... ha!"

Tsunade suddenly laughed out loud, but it wasn't out of schadenfreude; rather, it was out of a sense of self-mockery for Hiruzen Sarutobi.

“Even some members of the Sarutobi clan support me instead of the old man. The old man’s actions have already broken the hearts of his clan members.”

"Although the ninjas of the Sarutobi clan all know that Ichi Izumi and I are in cahoots, I am not Ichi Izumi after all. So they will hypnotize themselves into supporting the Sannin of Konoha, not Ichi Izumi."

"As for those opportunistic ninja clans... seeing so many ninja clans willing to support me, they will also side with me."

Silently, he was dumbfounded.

In this way, wouldn't the Hokage be completely sidelined in the "support of the ninja clan"?
The Hokage probably can't command those ninja clans anymore, right?
Well……

Even the Hokage might not be able to command the Anbu.

After all, his prestige in the shadows had just greatly declined not long ago.

"As for the common people of Konoha..."

Tsunade slowly said, "For ordinary people, it doesn't matter who becomes Hokage. Who becomes Hokage is just something to talk about, because the Hokage is too far removed from their lives. Their only expectation is that the new Hokage will be better than the old Hokage."

“If Konoha were an ordinary village, with few or no ninjas, the voices of the common people would naturally be important. But Konoha is, after all, a ninja village. The ‘betrayal’ of the ninja clans is enough to give this old man a huge headache.”

"Perhaps it won't be long before the old man wants to meet with me privately and have a private talk with me."

Shizune asked in a daze, "Did you come up with all of this, Lady Tsunade?"

He suddenly felt that Lady Tsunade had become somewhat unfamiliar.

It's as if he inexplicably transformed from an alcoholic and gambler into a seasoned political veteran who is very knowledgeable about these strange things.

Tsunade yawned and casually admitted, "How could that be? I wasn't born Hokage, how could I know everything? This is all what that kid Ikezumi told me in private, I just remembered a small part of it."

There was a pause.

Looking out the window at the scenery, Tsunade said with a complicated expression, "Ikezumi also said that if the old man asks me to meet him in private, he should be careful because the old man might want to kill me."

Shizune was startled: "Impossible, right? How could the Hokage do something so extreme? Perhaps Izumi has a conflict with the Hokage, which is why he's making such extreme assumptions about him?"

Tsunade nodded: "I also think the old man won't kill me, provided he can really let go of everything he has."

"Forget it, let's not talk about such a troubling topic."

Tsunade waved her hand, then collapsed weakly, lamenting, "So tired! I'm already starting to regret saying those boastful things. If it's this tiring before I'm Hokage, what will it be like when I become Hokage?"

Silence: "..."

I always felt that Lady Tsunade was unreliable. Could she really oust the Third Hokage and become the Fifth Hokage of Konoha?
The idea of ​​making it silent feels a bit risky.

……

at the same time.

On the sea.

"The rogue ninja from Kirigakure, Juzo Biwa, is on this ship! He shouldn't have noticed the three of us. If we team up to assassinate him, can we kill this former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?"

Three Kirigakure ninjas, disguised and looking no different from ordinary sailors, were secretly discussing something in a room on the ship.

“It’s a bit difficult.” One of them frowned and said, “You two are only Chunin, and although I am a Special Jonin, it will still be very difficult for the three of us to deal with an experienced Jonin.”

"We'll probably only be able to keep him occupied for a while. If Juzo Biwa realizes he can't take down the three of us anytime soon, he'll probably just run away. And if he wants to run, we won't be able to stop him."

Another person said in a deep voice, "It seems that we can only send out a summoning beast to quickly reach Kirigakure and tell the village about Juzo Biwa's whereabouts so that the village can send ANBU ninjas to deal with him."

The suggestion was agreed upon by the other two. They immediately summoned a spirit beast—a strange fish with four limbs.

Three Hidden Mist ninjas stuffed the intelligence scroll into the monster fish's mouth.

Then they opened the cabin window and threw the strange fish into the sea below.

After doing all this, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as the three of them got up and casually pushed open the door to walk out...

The three Hidden Mist ninjas suddenly froze at the same time.

His expression changed at that moment.

"Hehe... It's been a long time. Although I may have only met you once when I was in Kirigakure, and I may not even remember who you are, you should recognize me. Otherwise, you wouldn't have sent out a summoning beast to try to deliver information to the village."

With his back against the wall and arms crossed, Juzo Biwa stared at the three Hidden Mist Village ninjas before him with a cruel sneer.

"This merchant ship departed from the port of the Land of Fire. Why are the ninjas from Kirigakure in the Land of Fire? And I see a glaring, crimson crime on you."

Just then, a clear and melodious voice rang out from the other side.

When the three Hidden Mist ninjas were startled and immediately turned around, they saw a young girl holding a ninja sword, quietly watching them.

The three tomoe in the girl's scarlet eyes made the Hidden Mist ninjas silently exclaim, "The Uchiha clan!!!"

They hurriedly looked in another direction, because that was the only way they could escape.

But to my surprise, a fat orange cat was sitting there.

The orange cat licked its paws while grooming the fur on its face with its paws.

Then, the orange cat spoke in human language: "Meow, this road is blocked."

The three Hidden Mist Villagers immediately realized they had been exposed.

Needless to say, Juzo Biwa was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and in the eyes of the three, he was the most troublesome guy.

That Uchiha girl with the three-tomoe Sharingan doesn't seem to be a pushover either.

The only easy target is that talking cat!

"run!!!"

When the same thought flashed through their minds, one of the Hidden Mist Villagers gritted his teeth, shouted, and without hesitation drew a kunai and rushed towards where Tachibana Jiro was.

"Get away, fat cat!!!"

The Hidden Mist ninja coldly raised his right foot, attempting to kick away the obstructing orange cat.

But just as he was about to kick out...

His eyes suddenly widened a few degrees.

In the blink of an eye, the short orange cat in front of them swelled up and grew to a huge size, its enormous body blocking the corridor in the cabin, and its narrowed cat eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"Oh no!"—these two words flashed through the Hidden Mist ninja's mind.

The next second, Tachibana Jiro slapped him hard across the face!
The giant cat paw, accompanied by a whistling wind, moved so fast that the Mist Ninja only saw a blur before his eyes, causing him to instinctively retreat hastily.

But it was still a step too slow.

The cat's sharp claws touched the skin of his face and easily sliced ​​through the fragile flesh, slicing off half of his face, causing a large amount of blood to spurt out!

The other two Hidden Mist ninjas felt a chill run down their spines upon seeing this scene.

But for the Blood Mist Ninja who came from the Hidden Blood Mist Village, the word "surrender" did not exist in their dictionary.

They gritted their teeth, took out the scrolls, and released their respective ninja tools.

But the next moment.

A Hidden Mist ninja suddenly froze, as if he had seen something others could not, and hurriedly and fearfully swung his ninja tools at the air.

Uchiha Izumi slowly walked up.

With his ninja sword drawn from its sheath, he slit the opponent's neck in the blink of an eye, separating the Hidden Mist ninja from his body!
Obviously.

The reason the Hidden Mist ninja became so strange was because they were under the influence of her Sharingan genjutsu.

At that moment, Juzo Biwa's guillotine was also placed against the neck of the last Kirigakure ninja, his cold voice echoing in the corridor: "Call your summoning beast back."

The Hidden Mist ninja gritted his teeth: "Juzo Biwa! You chose to betray the Hidden Mist Village, and one day you will pay the price in blood!"

Without hesitation, Juzo Biwa severed the other man's neck.

Watching the head of the Hidden Mist ninja fall to the ground before him, Kirigakure Juzo turned around and looked at Uchiha Ikezumi, who was calmly watching from a distance. He said, "There's nothing we can do. They've been completely brainwashed and have become emotionless Blood Mist ninjas of the Hidden Mist Village. I'm afraid the people of the Hidden Mist Village will soon find out where we are."

"It doesn't matter." Uchiha Ikezumi said indifferently, "The reason for killing them is not to stop them from passing information to Kirigakure, but to make them pay for the crimes they committed."

……

evening.

Konoha.

Shizune carried Tonton out the door, intending to buy dinner for Lady Tsunade. But as soon as she stepped outside the inn, she saw someone who surprised her greatly, making her shudder.

"H...Hokage-sama!!!"

Looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi standing in front of her, Shizune couldn't help but swallow hard.

I felt inexplicably guilty.

“Shizune…” Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression was complicated, but he still managed a slight smile and said kindly, “Tsunade is inside, right? Go back and tell her that I want to meet with her.”

Shine was suddenly startled.

She suddenly remembered what Lady Tsunade had said before.

"Gudong-"

A lump formed in her throat as her preconceived notions kicked in, making her feel that the Hokage had ill intentions!
Even the other person's kind smile...

They all seemed somewhat sinister.

……

……

(End of this chapter)