Hokage: Unable to persuade Madara, I chose to build my own ninja village.

Chapter 485 Hashirama Senju: Tobirama, I'm starting to doubt whether your Hokage position was obtained through any legitimate means!

The lobby was filled with a suffocating, oppressive atmosphere.

The businessman saw this and sneered inwardly.

They really are just a bunch of country bumpkins who've never seen the world!

"Clang!"

Just then, a loud bang suddenly came from the corner.

A long bench was suddenly kicked over and overturned to the ground.

A man, glazed over and reeking of alcohol, with scars on his face, staggered to his feet. He let out a burp, his red eyes sweeping over the villagers in the lobby, who were cowering and afraid to speak. He then opened his mouth and cursed, "What are you bunch of cowards afraid of?!"

"We haven't even seen a single ninja from Konoha yet, and you're all terrified because some unknown merchant farted a few times while drunk?!"

"What's there to be afraid of? Huh?! It's just death!"

The people in the lobby were startled by his shout and all looked up.

The man, panting heavily, pointed outside with his calloused fingers: "I'm putting my words on this now! Even if the ninjas of Konoha return with their noble lords, I will fight alongside the Akatsuki ninjas and Konoha to the very end!"

As he spoke, he gritted his teeth, and a surge of bloodlust, suppressed for half his life, welled up in his eyes.

"What kind of life did I live before? I toiled in the fields from dawn till dusk, and after paying the rent, I couldn't even get a decent meal! When those noble lords' carriages passed by, even if the ground was covered in mud, we had to kneel down and kowtow! We were treated like animals for generations, and who ever gave us a second glance?!"

"It wasn't until the Akatsuki ninjas arrived... that I fucking learned what it felt like to stand up straight and catch my breath!"

"Those high and mighty nobles would kneel on the ground, trembling and begging for mercy from us."

"To be able to trample those usually high and mighty nobles under my feet, to see them bleed, to see them kowtow and beg for mercy like dogs... even if I can only live like that for one day! Even if it's just for a moment! My life won't have been a loss!"

Faced with such blunt words, the men in the lobby who had been intimidated and were half-drunk also came to their senses.

yes?

What are they afraid of?!

If we don't stick with Akatsuki to the end, what else can we do?

Are we supposed to kneel in the mud and kowtow to welcome those noble lords back to their hometown?

Even if they did do that, would those high and mighty nobles, whom they had just insulted a few days ago, suddenly become merciful and spare these "rebellious" commoners?

Stop dreaming!

If they back down, what awaits them will be an even crueler reckoning later.

Even if these nobles were to show them mercy and spare them, all that awaited them was the same as before: to continue serving them like slaves. They would toil in the fields year-round, barely scraping by after paying rent, let alone having enough to eat; a minor illness or disaster could leave them bedridden!

Unlike now.

Since the arrival of the Akatsuki ninjas, they not only dragged those arrogant noble lords to the town square for trial, but also distributed land to them, and even returned the hard-earned money that had been forcibly taken from them by the lackeys of the noble families to these poor bastards.

With the countless exorbitant taxes and levies no longer weighing them down, and the mountain that had been pressing down on them no longer pressing down on them, they felt their shoulders were so light for the first time in their lives.

Otherwise, how could ordinary people like them have the opportunity to sit in the lobby of this restaurant on a quiet evening during the off-season, order a bowl of liquor, and eat some cheap snacks to go with it?

Taking a step back means going back to being a beast, worse than a dog, for the rest of your life.

Furthermore, there is still a chance to maintain the current life, and even if one dies, at least one will die standing.

Simply put, it means that if Huang Chao hadn't come, you would have eaten me; if Huang Chao had come, he would have eaten you and me.

But Xiaoren Village is not Huang Chao yet; any normal person would know how to make the right choice.

"Bang!"

Another weathered man stood up, smashed the wine bowl in his hand, and glared at the merchant who had spoken earlier.

"That's right! To hell with Konoha! To hell with the Daimyo! I've only just started living a good life, and if anyone dares to oppose Akatsuki, I'll fight them with my sword!"

"Yes! Let's give it our all!"

"I'd rather be stabbed to death by a ninja's kunai than go back to that life of constant hunger and subservience!"

"The Light and Shadow Master of Akatsuki Village gave us a way to live; whoever tries to stop us from living, we'll fight them to the death!"

In an instant, the atmosphere in the lobby completely changed.

The previous dullness and fear were swept away, replaced by a kind of madness driven to the brink and the ferocity of a desperate man.

Several hot-blooded, drunken men picked up long benches again and surrounded the businessman with menacing eyes.

The businessman's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat. The arrogant smile that had been on his face just moments before was now completely frozen, looking worse than crying.

He originally just wanted to use the reputation of "Konoha" and the nobility to show off his power, so that he could once again enjoy the fearful and fawning looks of these country bumpkins and satisfy his pitiful sense of superiority.

But he never expected that his threats would not only fail to scare these peasants away, but would instead make them even more insane.

"They're insane... They're all fucking insane!"

"These peasants, brainwashed by Akatsuki, are now a bunch of desperate ruffians. They've got nothing better to do than die."

"If I were to be beaten to death by a few country bumpkins with stools in this town, wouldn't all the money I've earned in my life be wasted? I'm a respectable person, I absolutely cannot stoop to the level of these lowly lunatics!"

"A wise man doesn't suffer a loss he can avoid."

The businessman cursed inwardly, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

As the men carrying stools drew ever closer, the businessman swallowed hard and forced a fawning smile.

meaning.

Before the group could completely surround him, he suddenly ducked down, grabbed his bag from the table, and prepared to make a quick getaway.

"Trying to run?! Not so easy!"

"Beat that lackey up!"

Accompanied by several angry curses, the men around him had no intention of letting him off so easily.

It's unclear who started it.

A shoe covered in dried mud kicked the merchant in the backside, sending him staggering several steps forward.

Immediately afterwards, the remaining few people seized the opportunity and, taking advantage of the chaos, swung their long benches and hit him hard on the arm and back several times.

"Ouch! Don't hit me... Gentlemen, please don't hit me! I farted, I deserve to die!"

The merchant cried out in pain, clutching his baggage tightly and begging for mercy.

He didn't care about appearances anymore. He didn't even dare to turn around and pick up the felt hat that had fallen to the ground. After being hit hard several times, he stumbled and broke open half of the wooden door. Covered in dust, he fled to the street outside and plunged into the darkness without even looking back.

"Go back to your master, you bastard!"

"If you dare come here and spout nonsense again, I'll smash your mouth open with a stool!"

As the merchant fled in a disheveled state, a burst of extremely cheerful laughter and mockery erupted in the hall.

Afterwards, the group of half-drunk men, as if they had won an unprecedented great victory, returned to their seats with their heads held high.

The thrill of personally beating these once high-and-mighty "respectable people" into a frenzy made their already intoxicated state even more frenzied.

A burst of noise rose again in the lobby.

Riding on this unbridled excitement, their conversation naturally veered towards Konoha, which the merchant had mentioned earlier.

"Actually... I don't think all the threats that bastard made just now were necessarily true."

"I heard from passing merchants that our Lord Kage's son and the granddaughter of the First Hokage of Konoha were betrothed a long time ago! The two families are practically related by marriage; blood is thicker than water. Surely Konoha wouldn't turn its back and send ninjas to interfere with our Lord Kage's affairs, would it?"

A man grabbed a few salted peanuts, popped them into his mouth, and mumbled something indistinctly.

"Nonsense about in-laws! You can't be sure!"

The man with the scar on his face slammed his hand on the table, interrupting him.

"That's ancient history! The First Hokage of Konoha retired a long time ago. The one in charge of Konoha now is the Second Hokage! He's the First Hokage's younger brother, and that guy's name... is Tobirama Senju!"

At this point, he snorted coldly, his lips curled in disdain: "Let me tell you, I've heard from acquaintances that this guy named Senju Tobirama is no good! He's extremely wicked, full of evil intentions, and has been constantly finding ways to ostracize our Shadow Lord's clan, the Uchiha!"

Those around them immediately became interested upon hearing this.

"Uchiha Madara, you've all heard of that name, right? He was a great figure who helped establish Konoha alongside the First Hokage, a truly towering figure! And what happened? This great figure, one day, suddenly and inexplicably betrayed Konoha, even prompting the First Hokage to personally hunt him down!"

"That final battle was earth-shattering! And what was the result? Madara Uchiha died, and the First Hokage was seriously injured. He hasn't appeared in public much since then."

"That's why it's been going viral outside!"

The man with the scar on his face spoke with increasing certainty.

"Our Lord of Light and Shadow has always suspected that it was Tobirama Senju who secretly plotted against Madara Uchiha! He used tricks to force Madara to leave the village, and then used that as a pretext to instigate his own elder brother to hunt down his brother."

Brother, when those two big shots are both badly injured and on the verge of collapse... hehe!

"That Tobirama Senju didn't even spare his own elder brother! He stabbed him in the back! He just stepped on both of them and easily became the Hokage of Konoha!"

"Hiss!" Several men around gasped, their skin crawling with goosebumps.

"Yes, yes, yes! I've heard those rumors too!"

"No wonder! It's because of these petty things that Konoha and our Akatsuki village are at odds so badly!"

A man next to him immediately slapped his thigh and agreed.

He had obviously heard similar rumors as well.

"I knew it!"

"I think Tobirama Senju must have done something shameful that he's afraid the Shadow Master will expose, which is why he's so desperately opposing the Shadow Master and causing trouble for the Akatsuki Village at every turn!"

"That First Hokage was a brainless idiot! Such a big matter, why didn't he go to the Akatsuki village to discuss it with the Kage beforehand? He wasn't even aware he was being used as a pawn by his own brother!"

"How could we allow a disloyal and treacherous beast like Tobirama Senju, who even betrayed his own brother, to become the Hokage of Konoha!"

"Even if we die, we will stand tall and stand by Lord Light and Shadow, fighting to the bitter end against that despicable bastard, Tobirama Senju!"

"Yes! Let's fight Tobirama Senju to the bitter end!"

"We will never bow down to Konoha!"

A chorus of voices of shared indignation erupted in the lobby.

In the mouths of this group of people under the influence of alcohol, Tobirama Senju had been firmly nailed to the pillar of shame, completely becoming a shameless villain who murdered his brother, usurped a high position, and committed heinous crimes.

However, there's nothing that can be done about this situation.

This area was originally the territory that Akatsuki had painstakingly cultivated.

From the moment Madara Uchiha died in battle, Makoto Uchiha had already launched a propaganda war that he had been meticulously preparing for years. He preemptively seized the moral high ground, spared no effort in fueling the flames, and spread all sorts of rumors and inside stories, both true and false, using the mouths of the masses to completely ruin Tobirama Senju's reputation.

Moreover, this time, Tobirama Senju is now determined to stand with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and those nobles "for the sake of Konoha," to be their lackey, and to oppose Akatsuki Village.

Today, Akatsuki Village represents the interests of the vast majority of the lower classes on this land.

For these ordinary people at the bottom of society, they don't understand the structure of the ninja world or the balance of power; they only have the most basic values:

Whoever distributes land to them, ensures they have enough to eat, and treats them as human beings, is the one who embodies unquestionable justice!

Since Akatsuki is the righteous one, then the information released by Master Kage must be the truth.

As for Tobirama Senju, who represented Konoha, he chose to be a lackey of the nobles, cutting off the path to survival that everyone had been hoping for. He was a thoroughly evil person.

Since he was a villain, the scandalous fratricide and power grab that came from Tobirama Senju naturally didn't need any evidence; it was an undeniable fact!

Such a noisy scene was thus unreservedly displayed on the most inconspicuous table in the corner.

The Senju brothers, Hashirama and Tobirama, witnessed the entire event.

Tobirama Senju kept his eyelids down, his face unusually pale.

In fact, he had already lost his appetite when these ordinary people shouted "We'd rather die than not follow Akatsuki!"

Now, the topics discussed by these ordinary people are getting more and more off-topic.

Ambush Madara Uchiha?

Backstabbing the boss?

To seize power?

fart!!!

I earned my Hokage title honestly and fairly through my own abilities!