Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 129 Fifth Hokage Xia Zuo

A day later, the Konoha Jonin Conference was held for the last time, where the Jonin would vote to decide whether Sasuke or Tsunade would become the Fifth Hokage.

After the tournament, the Konoha Jonin Tournament will be disbanded, and Konoha Village will return to its former peace.

But to everyone's surprise, Tsunade stood them up and did not show up at the meeting.

Koharu slammed her hand on the table and stood up: "You bastard Xia Zuo! Did you do this?"

Xia Zuo laughed and retorted, "What did I do?"

Koharu Utatane jumped up and roared, "You killed the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, before, and now you must have killed the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade!"

Xia Zuo sneered and remained silent.

He wouldn't argue with a shrewish old witch in formal settings.

Given his status, he lost the moment he opened his mouth.

Xia Zuo wasn't worried about Tsune-shin Koharu talking nonsense, because someone would deal with this old witch for him.

Yamanaka Inoichi stood up: "Jonin Utatane, please watch your words!!"

"The body of the former Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, has been examined by so many medical ninjas, and even by Lady Tsunade herself, and no signs of injury or poisoning have been found."

"Furthermore, both the Jonin from the intelligence department and I searched the Hokage's brain and found no residual memories of battle or poisoning."

"What exactly do you mean? Are you saying we shamelessly concealed the cause of the Third Hokage's death, or that we were incompetent and unable to determine the cause of death?"

Yamanaka Inoichi's emphasis provoked the anger of the professional ninjas. The medical jonin who participated in the autopsy and the intelligence jonin who participated in the brain search all glared angrily at Utatane Koharu.

The old woman was always timid. Seeing that she had incurred the wrath of the crowd, she stammered without thinking, "I didn't, I didn't say you neglected your duties—"

Yamanaka Inoichi pressed, "So, did the Jonin Utatane discover other evidence?"

Xiaochun, who was switching dorm rooms, stammered, "No, no—"

Uchiha Shisui's eyes blazed with fury, as if he wanted to tear her apart. He shouted, "Then what makes you say that Lord Natsume is the murderer of the Third Hokage, and from that you infer that Lady Tsunade was also murdered?"

Nara Shikaku sneered, "Lady Tsunade was simply absent, yet the Jonin of the Utatane sect immediately concluded she was murdered. I can't help but suspect that you killed Lady Tsunade and then framed Lord Natsume!"

Nara Shikaku is indeed a clever man; every word he utters when framing someone is deadly.

He didn't provide any evidence; he simply followed Koharu Utatane's own words and deduced the truth. In just a few words, he convinced all the Konoha Jonin that he was right!

It seems quite possible that Koharu Utatane killed Lady Tsunade, otherwise why would she say that Lady Tsunade was dead?

Even Mitokado Homura's gaze towards his old classmate was filled with suspicion and fear.

Koharu, who switched dorms: !!!

The old woman was practically spitting blood; she opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.

Fortunately, Jiraiya was also there, anxiously jumping up and shouting, "Stop guessing! Come with me to find Tsunade!"

Yamashiro Aoba, Konoha Kōtō, and other Jonin who were close to the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, along with several medical Jonin, stood up and followed Jiraiya to find Tsunade.

Also accompanying them were Kakashi Hatake, ninjas from the Hyuga, Nara, Yamanaka, and Aburame clans, and several ANBU Jonin.

On the contrary, Uchiha Shisui did not leave the venue despite being stopped by Xia Zuo.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, Jiraiya returned dejectedly.

He handed Mitokado Homura a letter and said dejectedly, "I saw Tsunade, but she refused to come over."

"She said that the village already had a more suitable Fifth Hokage, and that she, a ninja who had lost her courage and sense of responsibility, would no longer cause trouble for the village."

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu unfolded the letter; it was short, and they finished reading it quickly.

Mitokado Homura was so angry that his lips were trembling. He had used so much effort, running around for five days and five nights without sleep, to finally find Jiraiya and Tsunade.

He wasn't doing this for himself!

He did it for Hiruzen Sarutobi, for the Third Hokage who died unjustly!

Whether it's true or not, that's what Mitokado Enoki thinks right now.

You have to think this way. Who would have thought that Xia Zuo would be so ruthless, not even sparing the abdicated Hiruzen Sarutobi, but drowning him in a pond?

With Hiruzen Sarutobi's reputation, strength, and influence all gone, how can Homura Mitokado survive?

He desperately wanted Tsunade to become the Fifth Hokage so that there would be a reigning Hokage to keep an eye on things and prevent Xia Zuo from going so far as to kill him as well.

Well, it turned out that everything was over.

Thinking of this, Mitomon Homura felt a chill run down his spine, as if the shadow of death had already enveloped him.

He could no longer control his emotions and shouted angrily, "This is outrageous! They have absolutely no sense of responsibility! How can Tsunade be like this—"

Koharu, the girl in the dorm, stopped Mitokado Homura from saying the last few words.

Mitomon Yan finally managed to live over 60 years in vain, and quickly calmed down after being stopped.

He then realized that no matter how angry he was, he had to swallow his anger and not ruin Tsunade's chances of becoming Hokage.

Otherwise, Xia Zuo, the murderer, would become even more unscrupulous, and he and Xiao Chun would definitely die without knowing why.

With Tsunade, a competitor, abstaining from the vote, the vote was no longer to choose a Hokage, but rather a vote of confidence in Xia Zuo to become the Fifth Hokage.

Xia Zuo received 287 votes out of 335 Konoha Jonin, passing the confidence vote without any surprise.

He finally became the Fifth Hokage.

(The word "man" here is unambiguous.)

Xia Zuo noticed that many Konoha Jonin had expressions of relief on their faces.

He guessed that these Jonin did not want to choose Tsunade, but they could not go against Jiraiya and Tsunade's wishes, or they were forced to bow their heads by their clan elders.

The expressions of these Jonin reminded Xia Zuo of the most important thing: distinguishing between true enemies and true friends is the prerequisite for success in everything.

Xia Zuo carefully observed the expressions of the Konoha Jonin and, based on his nearly 20 years of political experience, added different labels to each Konoha Jonin.

Some ninjas firmly supported Natsume and Sasuke, and Tsunade's departure had almost no impact on them.

The group of ninjas led by Uchiha Shisui was small in number, but they could all be considered Xia Zuo's core group, the foundation for his future governance and control of Konoha.

The ninjas, mainly medical ninjas, who had been staunch supporters of Tsunade, were now in a state of despair.

Most of these ninjas possess indispensable professional skills and are not easily affected by external factors. Although they need to be sidelined now, they are actually people who can be won over and reused in the future.

Some ninjas initially looked somber, but upon hearing that Tsunade had withdrawn, they showed obvious joy.

These ninjas are easily influenced by external factors and lack their own perseverance, but they can now be categorized as Xia Zuo's camp. However, we need to be wary of them in the future.

Finally, there are the ninjas led by Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, who are now in a state of mourning and are clearly in strong opposition to Natsusa.

Without a doubt, they will be the next key targets.

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