Only I can make Konoha Village great again.

The selection of elites in the mountains on the ninth day of the lunar month was much more difficult than imagined.

It wasn't that no one wanted to go; rather, all the Konoha ninjas wanted to go.

Even those Konoha ninjas who had elderly parents and young children and were the sole breadwinners of their families were willing to risk following Orochimaru to the eastern front.

For glory.

Since the death of the Second Hokage, the ninjas of Konoha have not experienced the feeling of victory for a very, very long time.

Konoha Village had achieved victory on the battlefield.

For example, Sunagakure, Amegakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure were all defeated, but the victory on the battlefield quickly turned into a peaceful state of neither winning nor losing.

When facing the enemy, you'd be embarrassed to say: I am the victor!

More importantly, the Konoha ninja trusted Orochimaru.

I believe their sacrifices will not be in vain. Even if they die on the battlefield, your family will be well taken care of by Orochimaru.

The final selection turned into an election, keeping Chu Jiu in the mountains extremely busy.

While selecting 800 elites in the mountains on the ninth day, Hiruzen Sarutobi once again convened an emergency meeting with his old classmates and the elders of the four major families.

The atmosphere was heavy in the conference room on the top floor of the Hokage Building.

The three old classmates looked serious and remained silent.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone was icy: "Orochimaru has openly rejected me. He has already taken the Hokage position for himself and completely disregards my authority."

"What should we do now?"

Mitokado Homura said, "Hiruzen, Orochimaru's reputation is too high right now. The Konoha ninjas' admiration is at its peak. They still have four thousand elite ninjas under their command. It's not suitable to turn against them directly for the time being."

Koharu Utatane said, "Ham is right. If we act rashly, it will only cause dissatisfaction among the Konoha ninjas, and may even trigger a rebellion, plunging Konoha into a crisis of civil war."

An elder of the Sarutobi clan echoed, "The two lords are right."

"For now, we can only endure it, secretly monitor them, look for their weaknesses, and wait for the right opportunity to suppress their reputation."

"Endure?" Shimura Danzo sneered. "You're doing this because Orochimaru is Minato Namikaze?"

"My good student won't just watch us play; he'll actively expand his power and intensify his attacks until we've all lost all power!"

Elder Sarutobi said, "Lord Danzo, I am not reconciled either."

"But now, we have no better way."

"The problem is that Orochimaru is incredibly powerful; none of us are his match."

Danzo Shimura's face twitched a few times, but he did not refute.

He was almost sixty years old, and his physical functions had declined significantly; his strength had long since dropped from its peak.

In particular, he lost an eye, failed to collect Sharingan on a large scale, and did not prepare a resurrection arm with Orochimaru's help.

At this point, Danzo Shimura was not only unable to defeat Orochimaru, but he might not even be able to defeat Konoha's elite Jonin.

Elder Sarutobi continued, "Because of our insufficient strength, we can only endure this."

"The only way to change this is to recruit more ninjas and consolidate our power."

"Of course, if a genius emerges among our juniors, even one who isn't as strong as Orochimaru or Minato Namikaze, our situation will be much easier."

"Send the child to the eastern front, help him with our absolute strength, crush the Hidden Mist Ninja, and sign a victory treaty. Orochimaru's reputation will instantly become worthless."

Then, the entire conference room fell silent.

Because there are no outstanding young ninjas within the four major clans.

Hiruzen Sarutobi secretly plotted in his mind.

The most outstanding members of the four great families are Hiruzen Sarutobi's two sons.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke, who is now the head of the Anbu, and Sarutobi Asuma, who went to the Fire City to become one of the Daimyo's Twelve Guardian Ninja.

Shinnosuke controls the Anbu, so we can't flatter him; otherwise, these old guys wouldn't be able to hold this meeting here.

Asuma is even less worthy of praise, because he was one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, and if we're being serious about it, he's a rogue ninja of Konoha.

How do you blow this?

After thinking it over and over, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally understood that he could only endure and wait for an opportunity.

"Okay, let's do it according to everyone's suggestions."

"The Anbu are closely monitoring Orochimaru's every move. If they do anything unusual, report to me immediately."

"Furthermore, elders, you must calm down, don't be afraid to spend money, and try your best to win over more civilian ninjas to support us."

"We have only one goal: we absolutely cannot let Orochimaru take power!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

The elders of the four major families responded in unison, and all rose and left the meeting room to carry out Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders.

Only the Konoha F4 remained in the conference room.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in a chair, turning his head to look out the window, his voice somewhat ethereal.

"Xiaochun, and Yan, you need to visit the various ninja clans to solidify our foundation and strengthen our relationships."

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu also left, leaving only Shimura Danzo in the end.

Hiruzen Sarutobi neither looked at Danzo nor spoke.

Shimura Danzo didn't say anything, he just sat there and sneered.

After a long while, Danzo stood up, snorted coldly, and then pushed open the door and left.

Finally, he slammed the door shut: BANG!

Door:……

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura were the core of the Konoha F4. They both knew that Orochimaru would not be as well-behaved as the Fourth Hokage.

They absolutely cannot passively wait for Orochimaru to reveal his weaknesses; they must take the initiative and strike.

Just like how we dealt with Sakumo Hatake back then.

But the situation has really changed. The Hyuga clan has brought up the matter of Sakumo Hatake, and the risk of Root causing trouble again is extremely high.

Danzo Shimura wanted Hiruzen Sarutobi to give him a clear order, or at least a clear guarantee.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted Danzo Shimura to take responsibility for everything and not drag the Third Hokage down with him.

In the end, Danzo Shimura compromised.

After finalizing the list of 800 people, Chu Jiu in the mountains was so exhausted he felt like his soul was about to leave his body.

But he couldn't rest, because there were people waiting for him.

The secret organization he personally established, the Rising Sun Organization, had six captains who remained behind: Kazamatsuri Haruhi, Yano Shoichi, Mitsuki, Kurama Hidetoshi, Aoki Takayuki, and Uchiha Itachi, who had been waiting for him for a long time.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"It's not hard work. Lord Chu Jiu and Brother Zhi Shui are fighting on the front lines; that's the most dangerous and arduous task for them!"

Call me Brother Chu Jiu!

"Hehe, Brother Chu Jiu is amazing! He led the Konoha army through four countries, conquered Kumogakure, and defeated the Fourth Raikage. He's like a legendary ninja!"

"Nonsense! There's never been a ninja like Brother Chu Jiu in the past. He's an unprecedented super ninja!"

Shan Zhongchu laughed heartily, then gave each boy a flick on the forehead and each girl a gentle pat on the head.

He asked with a smile, "Come on, Chun Ya, tell me how far the mutual aid economy of the Rising Sun Organization has developed in the past two months."