Naruto, what kind of Hokage would you be if you didn't roll around!

Exactly...

Danzo Shimura!

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and said, "Danzo, weren't we talking about serious business earlier?"

Danzo Shimura casually sat down next to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He closed his eyes and coldly snorted, "You know very well what I'm talking about!"

"Such a huge incident has occurred, and the culprit is none other than Orochimaru. And who was it that let the tiger return to the mountain, leaving such a huge hidden danger?!"

Everyone was immediately shocked.

When Shimura Danzo appeared at this moment, and even pointed the finger at the Hokage, could it be that he wanted to...?

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face changed.

"Yes, that was indeed a huge mistake I made..."

"Besides, Orochimaru was originally my disciple, so I can't escape the blame no matter what..."

Danzo Shimura sneered, "It's good that you know!"

"As the Hokage, you bear the responsibility for causing such enormous losses to the village. Furthermore, since all of this was caused by your negligence and sins, you deserve even greater punishment!"

Koharu Utatane frowned and asked, "Danzo, what are you trying to say?"

"It's very simple..."

"Resign to take responsibility and step down to make way for a more capable person!"

Suddenly, everyone was in an uproar!

Mitokado Homura's expression also changed: "Danzo, this isn't the time to talk about these things!"

"Konoha Village is in dire need of reconstruction, beset by internal and external troubles. Instead of finding ways to resolve the predicament, they're pursuing criminals first?!"

Danzo Shimura sneered, "It is precisely because of Hiruzen's incompetence that we are in this predicament!"

"Isn't this the root cause?!"

"The Hokage is the head of a village, responsible for the safety of the entire village. If the candidate is unsuitable, it will only drag Konoha deeper into a quagmire!"

Everyone understood that Danzo Shimura wanted to use this incident to put pressure on Hiruzen Sarutobi and force him to step down.

As for the new Hokage candidate...

It was him, of course!

This matter was not without warning.

After the Third Shinobi World War, due to the heavy losses suffered by Konoha Village, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was the Hokage, once stepped down.

However, at the time, he supported Minato Namikaze, while Danzo Shimura supported Orochimaru, and neither of them ran for office personally.

The result is well known.

This time, Danzo Shimura clearly didn't want to remain hidden in the shadows any longer.

For a moment, everyone looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, waiting for his decision.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a deep voice, "Danzo, if you want to hold me accountable for my crimes, I have nothing to deny."

"I can accept being asked to step down and give way to a more capable person..."

"Lord Hokage!"

"It's okay, listen to me."

"However, even if I step down, I will never allow you, Shimura Danzo, to become the Hokage of Konoha!"

Danzo Shimura's expression changed drastically: "What, what did you say?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sneered, "I'll only ask you one question..."

"The Konoha Crush Plan, the war was so brutal, all the Konoha ninjas were fighting to the death..."

"Where is Shimura Danzo?!"

"Where are your Root forces?!"

This sentence left Danzo Shimura speechless.

“Our roots are a force lurking in darkness; direct warfare is not our duty.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi sneered.

"Do you even believe that kind of nonsense yourself?"

"The Anbu is also a department that handles special matters, but when the enemy has come to our doorstep, which Anbu ninja didn't fight to the death?!"

"Danzo, I understand your thoughts. You simply want to preserve your own strength so that you and Root can dominate and seize more power!"

"Konoha will never be handed over to someone like you!"

Danzo Shimura roared in fury: "Hiruzen, you..."

"Moreover, it's true that I let the tiger return to the mountain, leaving behind a threat like Orochimaru, but on the other hand..."

"The person who supported Orochimaru's candidacy for Hokage, secretly conducted forbidden jutsu experiments with him, and even maintained ties with him after his defection..."

"Isn't it you, Shimura Danzo?!"

For a moment, Danzo Shimura was speechless, and his face grew increasingly grim.

Everyone secretly agreed.

Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi made mistakes, Danzo Shimura was definitely not a good candidate!

Hiruzen Sarutobi concluded, "I can resign to take responsibility, but that will have to wait until this incident has subsided."

"Furthermore, I will not hand over the Hokage position to someone like Danzo!"

Utane Koharu and Mitokado En looked at each other.

"Then, Hiruzen, do you have a suitable candidate in mind?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Jiraiya, who was leaning against the wall in the corner.

Xiaochun, who was switching dorm rooms, immediately understood.

"Jiraiya, are you prepared for this?"

Jiraiya was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Me? To become Hokage?"

"Forget it, I'm not cut out for this..."

"A wanderer like me is better suited to traveling the world and gathering information. I have no objection to carrying out various missions, but you want me to stay in the village, sit in the Hokage's office, and deal with countless documents?"

"Let's find someone else!"

Mitokado Yan frowned and said, "Where is there a more suitable candidate than you right now?"

"You are Hiruzen's disciple and Minato's master. In terms of lineage and lineage, no one can match you."

"In terms of strength and prestige, you are one of the legendary Sannin. Only you can intimidate that bastard Orochimaru..."

Jiraiya interrupted him.

"That's not what I said."

"Moreover, in terms of these things, isn't there someone else with an even more impeccable background than me, who also possesses both strength and prestige?"

Koharu, who was turning over to her dorm, said, "You mean..."

"Tsunade?"

Mitokado Homura said, "She is indeed very suitable, but she has been away from Konoha for a long time, and no one knows where she went..."

Jiraiya scratched his head: "If Sarutobi-sensei really wants to step down, and the village urgently needs a successor, then this matter can be entrusted to me."

"How about I go find Tsunade and persuade her to return to the village and become the Hokage?"

Utane Koharu and Mitokado En looked at each other.

"Hiruzen, what do you think?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded: "Tsunade is indeed very suitable. As for Jiraiya, he can continue to support her work from behind the scenes. This arrangement is the best."

"But Jiraiya, are you really confident you can persuade her to come back?"

Jiraiya laughed and said, "That's my business. Don't worry, Sarutobi-sensei."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a deep voice, "Alright, then I'll leave this matter to you."

"But before that, we still need to deal with our current predicament!"

That's when.

"Lord Hokage, the Sand Village Jonin, Maki, requests an audience!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned.

"Oh? He actually returned to Konoha Village?"

Kakashi's heart skipped a beat: "Perhaps, they've come for Gaara..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded.

"Yes, let him in..."

"It's time to settle this matter with Sunagakure!"

……

After that, Konoha and Sunagakure entered into peace talks.

What followed led the entire situation to its inevitable conclusion.

First and foremost, the body of Kazekage Rasa was discovered.

This incident confirmed Orochimaru's betrayal and plunged Sunagakure into a dire situation of being leaderless.

The atmosphere at the elders' meeting in Sunagakure was extremely heavy, as if we had returned to the eve of the Third Shinobi World War.

Ultimately, all the elders unanimously passed the resolution…

Surrender completely to Konoha Village!

Restore our alliance!

That's just a nice way of putting it; in reality, it meant turning Sunagakure into a complete vassal of Konoha!

But this is the only option for Sunagakure.

The Kazekage died tragically, Gaara, the Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast, was captured, and the war resulted in heavy casualties...

They have absolutely no leverage left.

Even so, they still have to consider the attitude of Konoha Village, whether they can forgive their betrayal and accept this so-called "alliance" again.

Fortunately, Konoha Village also suffered considerable losses, and considering the overall situation, it accepted the "alliance" with Sunagakure Village.

The two sides shook hands again and made peace, marking the complete end of the war.

Gaara was returned to Sunagakure.

Of course, this came at a huge cost.

Konoha Village isn't stupid; it can't reconcile with its allies without complaint after being betrayed.

Sunagakure was already in a harsh environment and had a weak national strength. After this war, and the subsequent concessions, atonement payments, and other expenses, its economy plummeted, and it completely lost the qualification and ability to expand outwards.

Therefore, relying on Konoha Village is their only option.

Maki stayed in Konoha Village for more than half a month.

He essentially acted as the acting Kazekage, constantly negotiating with Konoha. The final result was naturally not perfect, but it was the best he could do.

On the day he departed, he took his three disciples with him...

Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro bid farewell to the people of Konoha.

This also included Naruto and the rest of Team 7.

After Gaara awoke, it took him a long time to gradually accept that he had been completely defeated by Naruto.