Konoha: Offer your heart to the Hokage!

"Just do your best," Shen Er said calmly.

“There’s one more thing,” Uchiha Yan continued, “Kirigakure has restarted the ninja sword forging project.”

"understood."

She severed communication with Uchiha Yan, her eyes flashing. A thought suddenly popped into her mind: what kind of technological tree would be created if the Hidden Mist's ninja sword techniques and the Sand Village's puppetry techniques were combined?

Before he could turn this inspiration into a feasible plan, he bumped into Uchiha Chiri, who was returning home from get off work.

She also had Tsunade, her little burden, with her by her side.

Tsunade's usual vibrant energy has faded considerably; it's clear that Tobirama's passing has left her deeply saddened.

"Master!"

But upon seeing Shen'er, Tsunade's mood brightened considerably.

The third-grader quickly approached and grabbed Shen'er, looking up at him and pleading, "Master, tomorrow's a holiday, can you take me and Sister Zhili to the shopping street?"

"I've told you several times, don't call people by their seniority without permission." Shen Er gently flicked Tsunade's forehead with his finger, his tone softening. "Tomorrow's fine, I'll take you."

Shen'er has been very busy lately.

The war was not officially over; it was just that the four major ninja villages of Konoha, Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure were all busy with the change of Kage, so the fighting on the front lines had temporarily stopped.

Each village is waiting for the third generation of the Shadow Administration to officially take office. Once there is a leader who can fully represent the village, the final peace talks will be finalized.

The end of World War I was just around the corner.

Therefore, even with the help of the Nara clan's strategist ninjas to share the administrative burden, there was still a massive amount of documents that he, as the acting Hokage, needed to review and process personally.

In addition, there are procedures to follow for the Hokage election.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had absolutely no chance of competing with him.

However, the necessary procedures and public statements are indispensable. Only by respecting Konoha's rules can one become a good player and a rule-maker.

According to the schedule, today we will visit the Senju clan, tomorrow we will meet with the Uchiha, and the day after tomorrow it will be the turn of the Hyuga and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio...

It's also essential that they make an appearance in front of the ordinary villagers of Konoha.

Tsunade was a carefully orchestrated part of his plan.

I promised to take her to the shopping street, but I kept putting it off until now. Now is the perfect time to fulfill my promise.

He wanted to use this opportunity to make all the villagers see clearly that he was not some conspirator trying to seize power.

The divine robe on his shoulders was a legitimate inheritance from the Senju clan. Furthermore, he himself was capable of firmly uniting the Senju and Uchiha clans, making him the perfect Hokage, ideally suited to oversee Konoha and manage the overall situation.

It's not shameful to admit that your glory comes from the Thousand Hands...

The Ming Dynasty still had to acknowledge the Yuan Dynasty.

In short, having Tsunade by one's side can effectively dispel the rejection from the very few "bloodline theory" supporters.

Speaking of Tsunade Senju.

As for the Senju clan, whether it was because Tobirama had offspring or some other unforeseen event, the Senju clan members retained their original surname until Tobirama's death, and did not disintegrate into Konoha as they did in the original timeline.

For Shen Er, this is a good thing.

Having received the promise, Tsunade, carrying her little schoolbag, went into the main house to have dinner with Jin and his wife.

At the dinner table, Shen asked about the eccentric ninja academy member... the Isshin Association.

"Everyone is doing well," Tsunade said earnestly. "It's just that Hiruko and Might Guy's learning progress is a little behind."

"But they weren't slacking off either. Might Guy kept training his taijutsu, while Hiruko was hanging around with Orochimaru, I don't know what he was up to..."

"I see." Shen Er nodded. "That's a good thing."

Hiruko, at such a young age, had already become friends with Orochimaru, which could be considered a development beyond the timeline, allowing them to share their knowledge and experiences. The two exchanged research findings. In another two years, when they were more mature, they could be assigned to develop the Impure World Reincarnation, artificial humans, and the Demon Sparrow Technique.

The three great mountains on the path to godhood are inseparable from the hearts offered by his disciples.

After the meal.

He wasn't worried about going out to the streets to "get votes" tomorrow. He, Jiri, and Tsunade were like a real family of three, enjoying each other's company and having a great time.

Some people are happy that someone is worried.

The land of the Sarutobi tribe.

Hiruzen Sarutobi returned home in a daze. He had tried his best to ignore the gossip in the village these past few days, but he couldn't, he simply couldn't. He was tormented and exhausted.

Especially the news that came out two days ago...

Danzo was arrested and imprisoned, and Elder Shen announced his candidacy for Hokage.

These were like the last two straws that broke the camel's back, plunging Hiruzen into utter confusion, and his gaze involuntarily fell to the roof beams.

Chapter 174 The Death of Hiruzen of Konoha?

Sitting quietly at home, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but recall his experiences over the past few days.

In the morning, Hiruzen went for a walk: "Hey, isn't that the famous Sarutobi Hiruzen?"

Why are you out sunbathing? What, are you proud of abandoning your guard duty? You're a disgrace to Konoha, coming out to disgust people.

Passersby looked on with disdain: "What bad luck! Didn't you check the almanac before you left home? How did you run into this bastard? Son, did you see that? That's the bastard Hiruzen. When you grow up, you must never be as useless as him, so cowardly that you can't even die."

These kinds of people are the most cunning. They say they'll give their heart to Konoha when they're in school, but when trouble comes, they're the first to abandon the Hokage and run away.

At noon, Hiruzen took his wife, Biwakoto, to Ichiraku Ramen for ramen.

A diner slammed his fist on the table: "Eat your mother? You dare to eat? You're a disgrace to Konoha, yet you want to take the Third Hokage's position? You still have the nerve to come out and eat? Why don't you just die? Ichiraku Ramen owner, you actually sell ramen to someone like that?"

You're obsessed with money. If you sell him ramen again, I'll tell all my friends to stop eating here.

Ichiro gave an awkward laugh: Hiruzen Jonin, please, don't come here to eat ramen anymore. I'm just an ordinary villager, I don't want to cause trouble.

When he returned home at noon, he saw Sarutobi Shinnosuke with a bruised and swollen face.

In the Sarutobi clan's territory, several older children attacked Shinnosuke, while other elders from collateral branches ignored them. Hiruzen went to confront the clan elders.

The elder chuckled: What? The older kid beat up Shinnosuke? Good for him! Let him learn a lesson so he won't end up like his father when he grows up.

Unable to finish his ramen, Hiruzen decided to buy groceries and cook at home.

Market bully: Come quick, everyone! Hiruzen, who abandoned Hokage to survive, is out buying groceries! Let's see who dares to sell to this runaway ninja! Give him rotten eggs, sell them to him like crazy!

These……

Even Hiruzen held back.

Until the night before last, someone threw stones at their windows, and someone sprayed the word "escape" on the door with paint.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, unable to tolerate it any longer, used his Body Flicker Technique to capture this obnoxious commoner on the spot.

troublemaker: Oh no, a traitor from Konoha has attacked someone!

Police Department Chief Uchiha Sosuke arrived upon hearing the news: Hiruzen, you injured someone. Come with us to the police department to give a statement.

Itachi Uchiha's grandfather, Sosuke, was found guilty of excessive self-defense by the police and ordered to pay Hiruzen 1 ryo in medical expenses. When Hiruzen returned home, he found his house walls and doors spray-painted with words like "traitor" and "die"...

Hizen was in a daze and told his family to do a thorough cleaning.

The next day, Hiruzen decided to take on a ninja mission to distract himself. He also wanted to prove to the villagers that he was still an excellent Konoha ninja and, incidentally, garner some more trust.

I received a D-rank mission to catch a tabby cat, but when I submitted it, the staff at the Naruto Building Mission Center deducted 10% of the reward.

Hiruzen was dissatisfied, and someone retorted: "You killed the Second Hokage, how do you plan to compensate Konoha for the damage you caused?" The employer had also heard about this and threatened that they had to withhold his payment.

If you can accept it, then accept it; if you can't, then go and protest to your employer yourself.

Just then, a former junior passed by: Hiruzen-senpai, if you can't even handle a D-rank mission, why don't you go home and rest for a while?

Hiruzen Sarutobi, looking dejected, removed his ninja headband and stared at the Konoha emblem, its surface polished to a spotless shine, remaining silent for a long time.

After returning to Konoha, not a single day went by without his regrets.

If he had responded to his teacher with actions instead of empty words that day, acted as bait, and died in that pursuit battle, he wouldn't be in this situation now, enduring endless accusations and criticisms from the villagers day after day.

Powerful ninjas often possess a strong ability to withstand pressure.

But at this moment, Hiruzen's heart was on the verge of collapse, and his ninja way was riddled with holes. On the way back, he could barely make out the faces of the villagers, only the huge "X"s on their necks.

A cross sign represents negation.

Forget about competing with Zenji for the position of Third Hokage; he's almost lost the courage to even stay in Konoha and survive.

My gaze drifted uncontrollably to the beams on the roof, and a ridiculous but practical thought popped into my head: it would be great if there were a rope hanging there.

Tie the rope tight, stick your neck in, and kick the stool over; or just slash your lower abdomen with a kunai...

The noise in my ears disappeared, and the world became peaceful!

Just as he was about to impulsively take action, he began to hallucinate.

A sharp, piercing whisper of a demon came from outside the window and echoed in my mind.

"They should have died long ago, how dare they still be alive now."

"Are you even going to die? Just go die already, stop pretending. If you're going to die, hurry up and do it, right? You're not waiting for someone to stop you, are you? Think about what you've done."

"Stop talking! All of you, shut up!"

Hiruzen roared menacingly as he stood up and walked step by step toward the roof beam.

Just then, a hand gently pressed on his shoulder, abruptly pulling his distorted mind back to reality.

The setting sun shone through the window.

The silhouette of the person before him distorted and swayed in the halo of light, and in his eyes, it vaguely transformed from X into the image of his teacher...

"Teacher, are you alright?"

As the light and shadow flickered, the illusory figure before them shed its Tobirama appearance and returned to the boy's original form.

With short, silver-white hair and striking features, he bears a seven-tenths resemblance to Tobirama.

The newcomer was none other than Senju Ken'yu, the son of Senju Tobirama.

During this time, Senju Ken'yu was in mourning at home and was busy sending his father's body to the Shadow Spirit Hall. He was so busy that he didn't have time to rest until today when he finally had the opportunity to place Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been labeled a fugitive.