Konoha: Offer your heart to the Hokage!

Chapter 168 Konoha Public Trial: Do You Even Deserve to Lead Konoha?

Mitomon entered the village and walked down the street when someone finally came to greet him.

But instead of his companions, he was greeted by a class of members of the Dark Guard dressed in gray vests.

Looking around, he saw that all the villagers were staring at him with disdain.

Mitokado Yan felt a jolt of fear, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

The leader of the ANBU team, Yuki Yamanaka, had already received orders from Shinji to wait here. He spoke in an icy tone, "Jonin Mitomon En, please come with us."

"What are you doing?" Mitokado asked instinctively.

Yamanaka Yuki said expressionlessly, "You are suspected of being a fugitive, and the Dark Division will launch a special investigation into you."

In ancient times, "駐逃" (shītáo) specifically referred to a samurai abandoning his lord and fleeing when faced with enemy forces or danger; it was a derogatory term used exclusively by samurai families to describe such behavior. Later, as ninjas rose to prominence in the ninja world, this term was retained.

This is the highest level of accusation against ninjas for abandoning their protected targets, failing to provide assistance, and fleeing on their own during times of crisis.

This is an enormous burden that no one can bear.

Its severity is probably second only to defection.

Days of fleeing had dulled Mitokado Homura's mind, and it wasn't until this moment that she realized what was happening. She hurriedly explained, "I didn't, I didn't! Actually..."

"enough."

Yuki Yamanaka formed a hand seal with one hand, and the other three ANBU members also instantly moved forward, with the four Jonin immediately restricting Mitokado Homura's movements.

(That's roughly it)

"This is not the place to explain."

"Your problem will be thoroughly investigated by the Dark Division. All you need to do now is cooperate with their investigation."

"I understand……"

Such harsh treatment left Mitokado Hōjō's body stiff and her heart filled with resentment.

He fought his way back from the battlefield, only to be treated like a criminal and taken away by the secret service for investigation without even a moment's respite. No one received any comfort or welcome; instead, he was treated as a criminal. Anyone would feel terrible in that situation.

Even so, he still believed that the village's investigation would clear his name.

that's it.

The first member of the Second Hokage's Shadow Guard was taken away by the Anbu for investigation.

Some ninjas with a keen sense of smell might have noticed something amiss...

Logically, such an investigation could have been conducted behind closed doors. The public arrest of Mitokado Homura shows a complete lack of leniency, or it could be interpreted as the village's deep affection for the second generation, hence the serious punishment of those involved.

However, regardless of the final investigation results.

Having been taken away in front of the villagers, Mitokado Homura's future reputation in the village and his ninja career were already sealed.

...

The second person to return to Konoha was Danzo Shimura.

Danzo received the same "treatment" as Mitokado Homura. The people who came to arrest him were the Uchiha clan, whom he hated the most, and the ANBU squad led by Uchiha Sosuke.

"Shimura Danzo, come with us."

"I am a member of the Shadow Guard! You have no right to arrest me!" Danzo retorted firmly on the spot.

Uchiha Sosuke's tone became more serious as he emphasized, "It's not an arrest, it's a request for your cooperation. If you have any explanations, go back to the Anbu. This is the Acting Hokage's order."

Danzo was already resentful because he was forced to assist Hiruzen and missed his chance to rise to power. Now, he refused to cooperate at all.

"I have rendered service to Konoha, I have shed blood for the Second Hokage, I want to see Lady Momoka, Lady Mito!"

He knew very well that if he were taken away in public like this, his chances of becoming Hokage would be even slimmer.

however……

He underestimated Shen's ruthlessness.

Having no equal in Konoha, Shinji, now ruthless and unrestrained, bared his fangs and made his move against the remaining loyalists of Tobirama. He even gave the Anbu a death order to publicly bring these deserters back to the Anbu.

If they don't want to be dignified, then help them be dignified.

Seeing that reasoning was ineffective, the four ANBU members attacked simultaneously, using ANBU techniques, shadow manipulation, mind transference, and flesh-locking techniques on Danzo, taking him to the ANBU in front of everyone.

In fact, no command is needed.

As Konoha ninjas, they also despised such desertion in the face of battle, and naturally, they worked hard to arrest them without being reminded.

...

The last one is Hiruzen Sarutobi.

When confronted by the ANBU who came to ask him to investigate, he obediently agreed to accept all the investigations and followed them to the Hokage Building with a sorrowful expression.

The reason it's not the Dark Division is because the first two have already revealed a lot of information, and according to procedure, we should now proceed to the next questioning phase.

Conference room in the Hokage Building.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, and Homura Mitokado stood in a row, being questioned under the watchful eyes of the high-ranking officials and representatives of various ninja clans.

This is a public trial of Konoha villagers!

As the acting Hokage, Shen sat in the main seat and asked in a deep voice, "Where is Koharu Utatane, the last member of the Shadow Guard?"

"We were forced to break out separately when we were being pursued by the Cloud Village, and we got separated. Koharu should still be on her way back to the village."

Hunted down! Hiruzen Sarutobi himself mentioned being "hunted down by Kumogakure".

The formidable Shadow Guard was hunted down by the Hidden Cloud Village, unable even to spare their own Hokage—what a disgrace! The Shadow Guard returned to the village before the Hokage, whose fate remains unknown...

Many of the ninja jurors looked at the group with a different expression.

"It's on record."

Shen Er gave an order, then asked:

"Escape? As the Shadow Guard, instead of protecting the Second Hokage, why did you choose to run away?"

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, before I set off for the meeting between the two Kage, I should have specifically instructed you to protect the Hokage's safety, right?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression grew increasingly sorrowful as he slowly began to explain:

“Protecting the Hokage is indeed the duty of our Shadow Guard, and I have never thought of shirking this responsibility. I also want to cover the Hokage’s retreat. But… this is the will of our teacher, the Second Hokage himself.”

The murmurs at the scene subsided somewhat.

Hiruzen spoke sincerely, and his words did indeed sound somewhat convincing. Such a situation could indeed arise between master and disciple.

"The situation was critical at the time. Kinkaku and Ginkaku launched a rebellion and surrounded us. Our teacher... chose to entrust the future of Konoha to us, his disciples, and ordered us to evacuate immediately, while he stayed behind to cover our retreat. Before he left, he left behind his final instructions."

"What were the second generation's last wishes?" Shen asked in a deep voice.

He wasn't flustered at all...

He wanted Hiruzen Sarutobi to say that dying wish in person, making him the center of controversy.

"My teacher instructed me that after returning to the village, I would succeed as the Third Hokage, and the other three members of the Shadow Guard would assist me in governing Konoha."

After he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.

The deathly silence lasted only a moment before the venue erupted into heated discussion, transforming from extreme quiet to extreme noise.

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

To everyone's surprise, the three who were just considered guilty of desertion suddenly transformed into the new Hokage team that was about to take over the village...

Do they deserve it?

Do you deserve it?

Chapter 169 What a fair and just Hokage election!

Beside him, Danzo looked at Hiruzen, his eyes clearly saying, "Brother, I'm on your side."

When Danzo heard his teacher appoint Hiruzen as the Third Hokage, he was indeed extremely resentful. Becoming Hokage was his deepest dream, and if it weren't for this incident, he would have definitely competed with Hiruzen for the position.

However, the situation is special now, so we have no choice but to temporarily put aside our rivalry with Hiruzen for the Hokage title, unite our forces, and face a common enemy...

The goal is to gain the approval and acceptance of everyone in the Hokage Building for the new leadership team headed by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Now that Hiruzen has started the fight, Danzo immediately chimed in: "Hiruzen is right! Our teacher did indeed give such a dying wish. He designated Hiruzen to become the Third Hokage, and I, Koharu, and I would serve as his assistants."

"You're right, aren't you, Yan?"

Mitokado Yan nodded repeatedly: "The teacher did say that."

An elder of the Thousand Hands clan stepped forward and questioned, "Is there any evidence for this?"

“The situation is urgent, and we have no proof. But we are the Hokage's disciples; we cannot fabricate facts.” Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, then looked at Elder Shen: “Elder Shen, please believe us!”

Look, he's still begging us to believe them.

Shen Er did not speak immediately; he was waiting for the "loyal minister" to step forward on his own.

Zen Monk Shen'er is a good person and not someone who should be spoken to harshly. So someone has to step up and set the stage for him so he can keep up this act.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was heating up.

After the three members of the Shadow Guard fled back to the village in a disheveled state, they immediately invoked the Second Hokage's dying words, demanding a division of the positions of Hokage, Hokage's assistant, and elder. Even if the Second Hokage truly left such a will, so what? Everyone knew in their hearts that this wasn't a question of whether it was reasonable or not, but a question of whether they were worthy or not.

When Uchiha Chisato saw Tobirama's death, he only felt a sense of the impermanence of life and did not experience much emotional fluctuation.

However, her Mangekyou Sharingan allows her to see very far into the future.

She saw the lingering hesitation and kindness on her husband's face, as well as the undisguised ferocity and ambition in Shimura Danzo's eyes.

Uchiha Chiri, who was naturally indifferent to worldly affairs, decided to do something about it.

She stepped forward and spoke in a rational and objective tone:

"Our Hidden Leaf Village has never had a succession method of 'appointing the Hokage by the previous Hokage.' Even the Second Hokage was nominated by the elders and the Hokage, then elected by vote, and finally certified by the Daimyo before becoming the new Hokage..."

The election of Hokage is roughly divided into three steps.

The first step is nomination election.