Naruto: In Konoha Village, I awakened Wood Release at the start.

Leaf.

The Hokage's office.

"Hiruzen!"

"A huge mess has happened!"

"The streets are in complete chaos!"

Everyone's talking about Danzo's human experiments!

"They've even begun to suspect that all of us high-ranking officials are accomplices of Danzo!"

"..."

Koharu's voice was sharp and piercing, filled with undisguised terror.

"impossible!"

"I issued the highest-level gag order on the day the incident occurred!"

"All the ninjas present have been given stern warnings!"

"Who would dare leak this information to the public?"

Upon hearing this...

Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his hand on the desk.

Piles of documents were shaken and scattered all over the ground.

"A gag order?"

"Hiruzen, stop fooling yourself!"

"With dozens, even hundreds, of ninjas from various clans present, how are you going to silence them?"

"The truth will out!"

"The entire Hidden Leaf Village is now in turmoil."

"Those families that were once suppressed by Danzo were definitely pulling the strings behind the scenes!"

"If we don't take tough measures..."

"Forget about your Hokage position, we old guys won't even be able to save our lives!"

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words...

Mitomon Homura ripped off his straw hat and slammed it onto the floor.

He spoke with a cold laugh, his voice carrying a hint of desperate mockery.

Upon hearing this...

Hiruzen Sarutobi's chest heaved violently like a broken bellows.

He couldn't accept it.

The village he had controlled for half his life was suddenly out of his control in just two days.

"Someone come here!"

next moment.

Hiruzen Sarutobi roared like a madman.

Swish!Swish!

Two ANBU ninjas wearing cat-face masks appeared in front of the desk like ghosts.

just.

The timing of their appearance seemed to be half a second later than usual.

Their bowed heads and obedient posture appeared somewhat stiff and mechanical.

Hiruzen Sarutobi keenly noticed this subtle change.

His heart skipped a beat.

Could it be that even the Anbu, who are directly under the Hokage, are beginning to waver?

To know.

Even those in the shadows are human.

The secret agents also have relatives and friends in the village.

Did they also hear those rumors and begin to doubt the leader they were loyal to?

A few drops of cold sweat seeped from Hiruzen Sarutobi's forehead.

But he forced himself not to show it.

"Go check!"

"Investigate the source of the rumor immediately!"

"Arrest all those troublemakers who led the spread of rumors!"

"Regardless of his identity, throw him straight into the secret police's heavy interrogation room!"

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's order.

The two ANBU ninjas paused slightly.

They exchanged a barely perceptible glance, then gave a dry, curt reply.

"Yes."

A soft thud.

The two turned into wisps of white smoke and disappeared from the room.

The office fell silent again, with only the rapid breathing of the three old men remaining.

"Hiruzen".

"Don't do anything foolish again."

"Rumors spread so quickly and so logically."

"There is definitely someone pulling the strings behind this."

"Who else could it be but Chiba?"

"He's attacking my spirit!"

"He's trying to ruin our image in the eyes of the villagers this way!"

"When we become rats crossing the street."

"Then he can rightfully take over the reins of Konoha!"

A moment later.

Mitomon Yan walked past the scattered documents and strode to his desk.

He pressed his hands on the table, leaned forward, and stared intently into Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.

"Yan is right!"

"That brat is too arrogant!"

"Does he think that just because he has the blood of the Senju clan, he can hog us like this?"

"Hiruzen, we can't just sit here and wait to die!"

"We must act first!"

"Take advantage of his current unstable foundation."

"Send elite members of the Dark Guard to cooperate with the remaining assassins of the Root."

"Go assassinate him!"

"If you can't win in a direct confrontation, use poison!"

"Once he's dead, everything will be resolved!"

Xiaochun, who was switching dorms, also joined in.

Her hands were trembling slightly from extreme tension.

"idiot!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly roared.

He swung his arm sharply and smashed the expensive pipe in his hand against the corner of the wall.

Snapped!

The pipe shattered, sending wood chips and sparks flying everywhere.

Koharu and Homura were startled and instinctively took a few steps back.

"Are your brains filled with mush?"

"Assassination?"

"Poisoning?"

"What do you take Chiba for?"

"A genin who just graduated from the ninja academy?"

"He is a descendant of the Senju clan and has awakened perfect Wood Release!"

"That kind of boundless vitality and perception."

"What kind of poison could kill him?"

"What kind of assassination attempt could escape his senses?"

"The men you sent aren't even worth a finger of his!"

"If the operation fails, he will have leverage over us."

"He has absolutely legitimate reason to raze this Hokage Building to the ground!"

"By then, the three of us old folks won't even have a single bone left!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes were bloodshot.

He was like an old lion cornered and forced to bluff.

Xiaochun, who had switched dorms, was left speechless after being verbally abused.

Mitomon opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single syllable.

Yes.

Faced with overwhelming strength.

All the underhanded schemes and plots that couldn't be brought to light seemed so ridiculous and pale.

Chiba doesn't even need to be wary of them.

Because Chiba always has the confidence to overturn the table and smash the chessboard.

They don't even have the right to overturn the table.

"Then... what should we do?"

"Are we just going to stand by and watch him rise to power?"

"We've dedicated most of our lives to Konoha, and we've poured so much effort into it."

"Are we just going to hand over the power that belongs to us to a mere brat?"

"..."

Xiaochun's legs went weak as she turned to her new room.

She slumped heavily onto the sofa behind her.

She is not reconciled.

Power is more addictive than the most potent poison in the world.

Once you've tasted the feeling of being high above others and controlling their lives and deaths.

To bring them back to the mortal realm would be a thousand times more painful than killing them.

A good ten minutes or so passed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the drawer and took out a spare pipe.

His withered fingers trembled as they were stuffed with tobacco.

The sound of striking a match was particularly jarring in the quiet room.

呲.

Flames ignited.

Thick wisps of smoke rose again.

"I have not lost yet."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag on his cigarette.

His voice carried an eerie calm.

Mitokado Yan and Utatane Koharu suddenly looked up.

They were like people dying of thirst in the desert who suddenly saw an oasis.

"Hiruzen".

"What's your plan?"

Mitokado Yan asked eagerly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze was fixed on the towering Hokage Rock in the distance.

There, the portraits of the Hokage from different generations are carved.

"Chiba has caused such a big commotion."

"They simply want to use the righteous cause and public opinion to force me to step down."

"it is good."

"Then I will grant his wish."

"I... will voluntarily abdicate."

These words were spoken.

The two advisors were stunned, as if struck by lightning.

abdicate?

Isn't this just surrendering outright?

"Hiruzen!"

"Are you crazy?!"

"If you abdicate, won't that little bastard Senju have the right to step down?"

Xiaochun, who was turning over in her dorm, jumped up from the sofa.

Her voice was incredibly shrill, almost piercing one's eardrums.

"Shut up!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave her a cold look.

The sinister look in her eyes made Koharu swallow the rest of her sentence.

"I mean, I'm abdicating."

"But when did I ever say that..."

"Are they going to hand over the Hokage position to Chiba?"