blogombal Chapter 357 Confirmation of the Fourth Generation
Chapter 357 Confirmation of the Fourth Generation
Chapter 357 Confirmation of the Fourth Generation
Leaf.
With the return of the ninjas stationed on the northern front, news of the ceasefire with Kumogakure spread throughout Konoha.
Thus, the Third Shinobi World War can be considered to have largely come to an end for Konoha.
As for the remaining minor skirmishes, they are no longer of any importance to Konoha at this point.
This is naturally good news for the ordinary villagers of Konoha.
With the ninjas returning and their families reunited, both commoners and ninja clans were filled with joy.
The return of ninjas, along with the influx of these high-spending individuals who have amassed considerable wealth, has propelled Konoha's businesses to unprecedented levels of prosperity.
But this outward prosperity could not conceal the turbulent undercurrents within.
Konoha did not start the Third Shinobi World War, but Konoha was undoubtedly the final winner of the war.
But what did this winner ultimately get?
With the full strength of the village and the courage to burn their bridges, Sunagakure forced the signing of a peace treaty.
There was no money, no supplies, not even an apology.
When the agreement was signed with Sunagakure, Konoha was besieged on all sides and desperately needed to relieve the pressure of war, so it had no choice but to sign such an agreement.
That might be somewhat understandable, but what kind of nonsense was it that they signed with Iwagakure and Kumogakure afterwards?
Konoha poured so much manpower and resources, and even the lives of thousands of elite ninjas, into the Third Shinobi World War, only to receive three worthless pieces of paper in return.
The child lost his parents; the wife lost her husband; the mother lost her son.
Facing the house that once housed people, but is now empty.
How do you expect those parties who have paid a huge price for this to view this?
During the war, these grievances and dissents could be suppressed, but now that the war is basically over and external pressure has disappeared, these hidden internal contradictions are like a volcano gathering strength, which may detonate the entire Hidden Leaf Village at any time.
The Hokage's office, on the balcony.
Hiruzen Sarutobi gazed at the bustling Konoha below, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. Even the fact that his pipe had long since gone out did not attract his attention.
From behind, Mitokado Homura walked in from outside, saw the Hokage on the balcony, and sat down next to the Hokage in a few steps.
Seeing the smile on Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips, Homura Mitokado was furious.
"You still have the nerve to laugh here? Haven't you noticed the rumors circulating in the village?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained unmoved, simply gazing at the beautiful scenery before him, seemingly never tiring of it.
This made Mitokado Yan, who was standing nearby, extremely anxious. He immediately took out a scroll and held it up in front of him.
"Root's investigation has revealed that the village is extremely unstable recently. Everyone is complaining that the village gained nothing from the Third Shinobi World War, losing money and manpower for nothing. They all think that you are an incompetent Hokage."
Mitokado En talked on and on, recounting the recent situation in the village.
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained unmoved, acting as if it were none of his business, which made Homura Mitokado feel like he was talking to a brick wall.
"Hiruzen, are you even listening to me? The rumors are spreading like this outside, and you don't seem to care at all."
Mitokado Homura's words were finally shouted out, which brought Hiruzen Sarutobi back to his senses.
"Flame!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi withdrew his gaze from the distance, brought his mouth to the mouthpiece and took a puff, only to find that the pipe had already gone out.
He slowly rubbed out a small flame, lit the extinguished tobacco, and took a long, deep drag.
The smoke circulated twice in my lungs before slowly exhaling from my nostrils.
After enjoying the fragrance of tobacco, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his gaze to Homura Mitokado.
He didn't take the scroll, nor did he care about its contents. He simply smiled and said, "They're right. I really didn't do a good job as Hokage."
This startled Mitokado Homura quite a bit. He stared intently into Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, fearing that the other party might be under the influence of some kind of illusion.
"Hiruzen, you have to pull yourself together. Don't give up on yourself. Signing that treaty was just a way to conserve your strength to deal with Madara Uchiha."
Outsiders are unaware of the situation and are spreading rumors and gossip; you can't give up on yourself.
Mitokado Hō's words were truly heartfelt, stemming not only from his own position but also from his concern for his longtime comrade.
"Don't worry, Yan, that's really what I think."
Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Homura Mitokado's hand, a gesture that surprised Homura again.
For so many years, Hiruzen hadn't shown him such closeness.
He finally realized that Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed different today; he seemed to have put down the heavy burden on his shoulders and looked exceptionally relaxed.
"After the Third Shinobi World War, the village did not gain the benefits it deserved. Instead, so many ninjas lost their lives on the battlefield. No matter how good the reasons are, someone has to take responsibility for this."
"As the Hokage, I am primarily responsible for this, and I have thought this through very clearly."
Mitokado Homura wanted to speak, but was stopped by Sarutobi Hiruzen raising his hand.
"I have decided that I will step down as the Third Hokage once the war is completely over. You should also spread the word and have them prepare for the election of the Fourth Hokage."
"This is my way of giving everyone an explanation. I, the incompetent Hokage, will take full responsibility for the Third Shinobi World War."
After saying that, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around again, his gaze returning to the bustling Konoha below. That faint smile reappeared on his aging face.
Mitokado Homura stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi's slightly hunched back for a long time without saying a word. In the end, he could only sigh helplessly, say "I understand," and slowly leave the Hokage's office.
In the following days, a message first circulated among the upper echelons of Konoha, then quickly spread to the entire ninja community, and then to all the villagers of Konoha.
The news is quite detailed, saying that the Third Hokage will officially retire after the war, and they are now considering who will succeed him as the Fourth Hokage.
Now, everyone's attention was drawn to this news about the Hokage position.
No one discussed the settlement agreement anymore, which was already a fait accompli.
As for the issue of the Hokage's responsibility, didn't you see that the Third Hokage even wanted to abdicate because of it? You can't possibly use that to scheme against an old man who has dedicated his entire life to Konoha.
This was just the opinion of the general public in Konoha; the higher-ups and Jonin, however, wanted to know who would ultimately become the Fourth Hokage.
Whether it's Jiraiya, Orochimaru, or Minato Namikaze, who rose to prominence rapidly during the Third Shinobi World War.
It wasn't that no one thought of Matsushita Taichi, but unfortunately he was still too young. With no shortage of candidates in Konoha, no one would consider a 12-year-old child.
After all, in peacetime, this is still the age of someone who has just graduated.
The news that the third generation was about to abdicate and the fourth generation was waiting for a candidate spread like the chirping of cicadas in summer.
The news was still circulating in the village today, but within a few days it had spread to various war zones.
This naturally includes the Eastern Theater Command, which has the most popular candidates.
Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze have both been here before, and with the addition of Tsunade, the medical genius, the small Eastern Theater has gathered the most elite forces of Konoha.
That day, after all the official business was finished, the three of them gathered in a temporary tent.
Jiraiya, in front of Tsunade, pulled out two jars of sake from somewhere and sat down opposite her, enjoying a small drink.
On the small table between the two people, several small dishes were placed. If you didn't know better, you would think it was a gathering of friends.
Meanwhile, our future Fourth Hokage stood awkwardly to the side, refilling the cups of anyone whose drink was empty.
How could he not feel embarrassed? Minato is a very law-abiding person. If it were him, he would never drink alcohol at the camp.
But the two people in front of him were his teacher and the commander of this place. What could he do but obediently do the job of pouring drinks?
"Minato is so much better. If it were that brat Taiichi, he would have flipped this table over."
Tsunade sighed, as if recalling something unpleasant, and snatched the sake jar from Minato's hand, replacing the cup with a large bowl and pouring the sake.
Jiraiya's brow twitched, and many memories flooded his mind. He still remembered the time when Taichi impersonated Tsunade to scare him at a crucial moment in his research.
Now, listening to what Tsunade said, it seems that Taiichi is really capable of doing such a thing.
The two drank and chatted, and gradually both became a little tipsy.
Tsunade's cheeks were slightly flushed as she sipped the wine in her bowl and looked at Jiraiya across from her.
"You've heard the news in the village, haven't you? The old man is going to retire. Don't you have any thoughts about his position?"
Jiraiya let out a hiccup, the small sake cup swaying in front of his eyes, and turned to smile at his apprentice.
"Before the war, I had some ideas. Orochimaru and I would be stationed in the south and the north, respectively, to guard Sunagakure and Kumogakure. At that time, we were both thinking about making contributions on the battlefield and competing for the Hokage position."
"Oh!" Tsunade's interest was piqued. She took another large gulp of sake, her face flushing even more. "So, what about now? Has your opinion changed?"
"Yes! A new generation replaces the old. Seeing Minato's performance makes me realize that I'm getting old too."
He does not mean that.
Jiraiya said he wanted to make way for the younger generation, but Tsunade only heard the second half of his sentence.
"fart!"
A sharp rebuke interrupted Jiraiya's melancholy.
"I'm still in my prime, I'm not old at all, you bastard, explain yourself clearly."
Tsunade slammed her wine bowl on the table, then slapped it down. She stood up, placed one foot on the stool, and questioned Jiraiya with a rather domineering air.
Jiraiya was startled by Tsunade's imposing presence. The fear of being dominated by Tsunade's fists surged into his heart, and his body instinctively dodged backward.
With a series of "crash" sounds, the stool under his buttocks was overturned, and he fell face-first onto his backside.
It was only then that Jiraiya realized what he had just said, and he couldn't help but slap himself in the face.
He begged for mercy before he could even get up.
"Tsunade, let me explain! That's not what I meant. I meant I'm getting old, not you!"
Seeing that Tsunade's expression turned unfriendly again, Jiraiya quickly changed his tune.
"Pah, I'm not old either. What I mean is that Minato and Taichi have grown up too, and we, as their masters, should make way for them."
This guy finally got smart for once, knowing to bring Taiichi into the discussion as well.
Minato, who was standing nearby, finally realized what had happened and understood what had gotten into his teacher and Tsunade. They had been talking nicely, but suddenly they were about to start fighting.
He quickly stepped forward to help his teacher up, and even stood in front of Jiraiya, feigning ignorance with a smile, saying, "Lady Tsunade, there's no need to be angry. Teacher just had too much to drink."
"Hmph, people speak the truth when they're drunk; that's exactly what he was thinking."
She was still grumbling, but Tsunade knew she had been being unreasonable, so she put her feet off the stool, sat down drunkenly, and started drinking again.
Jiraiya was so startled that he sobered up considerably. He was used to being disciplined by Tsunade since he was a child.
After setting out the chairs and sitting down again, he continued the previous conversation.
"The news is that they are nominating candidates for the fourth generation, but those in the know know that the candidates for the fourth generation have already been decided."
Jiraiya glanced at Tsunade and, seeing that she didn't raise any objections, felt relieved.
He turned to his disciple beside him and said with great satisfaction, "Minato, you'd better do your best in this final battle. Everyone is paving the way for you, so don't let them down."
That's true. Jiraiya no longer wants to be Hokage, Taichi willingly accepted being transferred away from the front lines, and Tsunade is now remaining silent about it.
These qualified people all silently supported Minato, hoping that he could be a good Hokage, right?
Upon hearing this, Minato immediately stood up straight and solemnly assured him, "Teacher, rest assured, I will risk my life to protect Konoha."
In Konoha, at a secret research base.
Orochimaru was carefully cutting open the corpse on the dissection table with a scalpel, and next to him, on a shelf, were various tissue samples that he had cut off.
Taiichi stood to the side, carefully watching Orochimaru's every move, and even handed him different tools, clearly acting as an assistant.
The corpse they were dissecting was the very one Taiyi had brought back.
Orochimaru had just returned from the northern battlefield and hadn't even gone home when he started pestering Taichi for the corpse.
Now that his wish had finally come true, he was in high spirits and even dragged Taiyi along to study the corpse.
For a full five hours, Orochimaru focused intently on his work during the dissection.
Taiyi also accompanied him, and the two of them did not exchange a single unnecessary word, except for professional exchanges about work.
Finally, when Orochimaru gently placed the scalpel back on the workbench, the dissection was officially over.
"What amazing creatures!"
Orochimaru paused slightly, thought for a long time, and finally defined White Zetsu as a "biological creature".
"With this physiological structure that is somewhere between an animal and a plant, it's no wonder that it can use Wood Release. It's practically some kind of creation of Wood Release."
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed as he turned to look at Taiichi, making no attempt to hide the burning desire in his eyes.
"Taiyi, do you think it can reliably reproduce the miracle of Wood Release?"
"While Wood Release is powerful, it is essentially just one type of ninjutsu. What's powerful isn't Wood Release itself, but the person who uses it."
Taiyi first set the tone for his statement before expressing his own opinion.
"This thing only benefits from people's unfamiliarity with Wood Release; its true strength is just so-so, not worth mentioning."
"However, this should indeed be a mass-produced item. I've seen more than one, so it must have been produced using some kind of secret technique."
"Just as I suspected."
Orochimaru stared at the various tissue samples categorized on the table, his eyes filled with a desire to explore.
It's too late today, so I need to be in good spirits for the next experiment and continue tomorrow.
As the two tidied up the laboratory, Taiichi looked at Orochimaru, who was still excited, and asked the question that had been on his mind.
"Does Lord Orochimaru no longer want to compete for the Hokage position? Why is he burying his head here as soon as he comes back?"
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