blogombal Chapter 294 Each with their own little schemes
Chapter 294 Each with their own little schemes
Chapter 294 Each with their own little schemes
Konoha, Hokage's office.
"Hibikiri, have you decided on the fourth Hokage?"
Mitokado Homura's simple question immediately created an eerie atmosphere in the entire office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly looked up at him, his eyes sharp and wary.
"Don't look at me like that. You'll abdicate after World War III. Others may not know this, but surely we do?"
Mitokado Homura's explanation softened Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude slightly.
Indeed, he had told Danzo about this, so it's normal that Koharu and En knew about it.
But what do you want to achieve by bringing this up now? Do you think I don't believe you anymore? Are you trying to invest in the next Hokage?
But before Hiruzen Sarutobi could even figure it out, Homura Mitokado uttered an even more explosive statement.
"Have you ever considered making Matsushita Taichi the Fourth Hokage?"
Now, not only Hiruzen Sarutobi, but even Koharu Utatane looked at Homura Mitokado with surprise. This idea was really too bold.
"Taiyi, how could this be? He's still so young!"
Without even thinking, Hiruzen Sarutobi blurted it out.
He stopped abruptly as soon as he spoke, and then he understood what Mitokado Homura meant.
As expected, Mitokado Homura's next words confirmed his guess.
"Since you don't want Taichi to become the Fourth Hokage, then you should consider suppressing him properly."
"Taiyi experienced all four battlefields of the Third World War, and played a crucial role in each one."
"I wasn't aware of this before, but since taking over Root, judging from the intelligence gathered by Root, Matsushita Taichi's reputation in Konoha has reached a very high level, comparable to that of Sakumo back then!"
Mitokado Homura spoke with unusual seriousness, and Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned as he listened.
Logically, this shouldn't be the case. Taiyi only became truly active after the start of the Third Shinobi World War, which is less than a year. How could he have such a high reputation?
Koharu, who was switching dorms, had the same question and asked it directly.
"Why not? Don't forget that Matsushita Taichi is a top-notch medical ninja. In the three major war fronts, nearly half of the ninjas on each side have received his treatment. These are all life-saving favors."
Now everyone understood—they were convincing in terms of their abilities, and their lives had been saved by them.
It would be truly unjust if someone like that didn't have a high reputation.
But now the problem comes back to Hiruzen Sarutobi. With such prestige, it's still manageable for Taichi now that he's young, but in a few years, when he's older, will you still be able to control him?
Not to mention that he is still on the front lines, and his military achievements are endless.
In Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind, he also had a clear idea of who the Fourth Hokage would be.
He originally wanted Jiraiya or Orochimaru to be the Fourth Hokage.
But in a recent conversation with his two disciples, he was surprised to discover that neither of them had any interest in becoming the Fourth Hokage.
This put him in a difficult position, but fortunately, Konoha had many talents, though few other things.
After some thought and consideration, he discovered that Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya's apprentice, was exceptionally suitable for the position.
He was his own grand-disciple, a true and loyal descendant of the Hokage.
He is a sunny and cheerful person, and is very popular among the Jonin of Konoha.
In addition, his own strength is also second to none. The titles "Yellow Flash" and "Konoha's Twin Demons" all demonstrate that he is a top-notch ninja like Taiichi.
More importantly, Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, was his lover.
Don't underestimate the Jinchuriki just because Taiichi can kill any Tailed Beast he catches on the battlefield. Those people are completely unaware of the power gap between themselves and the Tailed Beasts.
Even the One-Tailed Shukaku, which has the least chakra, is not something a Kage-level ninja can handle, let alone the Nine-Tails, which is recognized as the strongest of the tailed beasts.
That truly means they possess the power to destroy the world.
With such a supportive wife, Minato Namikaze would undoubtedly have a huge advantage if he were to become Hokage.
For Minato Namikaze, the only thing he lacks to become Hokage is immense prestige.
In this respect, he is indeed far inferior to Taiyi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Homura Mitokado. His reminder was indeed timely. If it had been any later, it would have been too late to create an opportunity for Minato.
"The Hidden Mist Village is only temporarily withdrawn. Once the battlefield in the Hidden Mist Village has completely stabilized, he will be recalled to the village."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's words set the tone for the matter and also conveyed a message to Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado: he had already chosen the candidate for the Fourth Hokage and was now paving the way for him.
Mitokado Homura had long suspected these things, and he knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi would make this choice, and his previous actions were just a prelude.
"Hiruzen, do you remember who I was asked to investigate before, who killed Danzo?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Homura Mitokado with surprise. This was quite a leap in topic, but it was indeed a big deal, and he couldn't afford to be indifferent.
"What, have you found a clue? Or do you have someone you suspect?"
Mitokado Homura didn't say anything, but directly took out an investigation report from his pocket and handed it to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him suspiciously, then took the book and opened it to read it.
The beginning was all normal, just some traces found at the scene and what kind of ninjutsu would cause these traces.
For example, Earth Release: Earth Core, Earth Opening and Digging, and Mountain Earth Technique are all classic Earth Release ninjutsu, and are the ninjutsu that Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village) is most proficient in.
The numerous wind-style cutting marks found at the scene are very likely Danzo's vacuum-style ninjutsu.
Additionally, Danzo's summoning dreams and traces of what appeared to be a sword-wielding ninja were discovered at the scene.
Considering these various clues and the location of Danzo's death, the first thing that comes to mind is the Hidden Stone Village (Iwagakure) ninja.
After all, they have the motivation, the ability, and the time.
However, when Hiruzen Sarutobi saw the suspected culprit listed by Root at the end of the report, his pupils suddenly contracted.
The last name on the report was none other than Taichi Matsushita.
"Mitomon Homura, you're not kidding!" Hiruzen Sarutobi called him by his name, showing just how agitated he was.
Mitokado Homura naturally knew what Hiruzen Sarutobi was referring to, but he was not flustered at all.
These analyses are all based on reason and evidence, and are not fabricated by him, even if they contain a lot of his personal motives.
"Hiruzen, this is just an objective analysis. I simply listed all the people who might have been suspected of committing the crime based on the intelligence I gathered."
Good grief, trying to shirk all responsibility with just one sentence.
Of all those suspects, only Matsushita Taichi was a Konoha ninja; most of the others were Iwa ninja, and there were even a few Kusanagi ninja.
This is like looking for lice on a bald man's head—it's obvious at a glance.
You're practically blatantly saying that Taiyi is the murderer.
Koharu, who was in the same dormitory, also noticed the strangeness of the conversation between the two. She went up and picked up the investigation report, reading it quickly. She looked up in shock when she saw Matsushita Taichi's name.
"Yan, although you and Taiyi have a conflict, do you have more evidence?"
"No, let me repeat myself. This is just an objective analysis of the suspect based on motives, abilities, and time. Further investigation is needed to determine the specific results."
Mitokado Homura appeared completely at ease. Every word he spoke was true, without a single lie, but that was precisely his purpose.
By pinning Danzo's death on Matsushita Taichi, even if it's not confirmed, just planting a thorn in the hearts of Hiruzen and Koharu is enough.
In this way, in future conflicts with Matsushita Taichi, they would consciously or unconsciously think about what happened today, and this kind of invisible bias is what he really wants.
All he needed to do was reinforce this impression, so the more questions the two asked, and the more detailed they were, the happier he became.
"Tell me, how did Taiichi become a suspect?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke calmly, but those who knew him knew that he was suppressing his anger.
It's understandable that you have conflicts and disagreements, but he can't tolerate you blaming each other on this kind of thing.
However, Mitokado Homura seemed oblivious to Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude and continued to explain to the two of them at a leisurely pace.
"First, there's the motive. Putting aside what we don't know, what we do know is that Danzo targeted Matsushita Taichi and his team more than once, including threatening them, leaking information, and sending assassins. These are enough to give Matsushita Taichi a reason to kill him."
Although his words were a farce, it must be said that he was right; if it were him, he would also want to kill Danzo.
"Next is ability. I don't need to elaborate on Taiichi's strength; everyone knows it. Although he has only shown fire, water, wind, and the newly appeared ice release bloodline limit so far, I have reason to believe that a genius like him is also a top-notch master of earth and lightning release. More importantly, he is also a master swordsman."
"As for the final time of the crime, needless to say, with the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could easily arrange for shadow clones to monitor and show his face, and use the Flying Thunder God Technique to travel back and forth. Ordinary people would not be able to tell the difference here at all."
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Koharu Utatane exchanged bewildered glances. After Mitokado Homura's analysis, even they felt that Taichi was suspected of killing Danzo.
But they quickly erased the idea from their minds.
Even if this is just Mitokado Homura's speculation, and it is indeed true, they can't do anything to Taiichi for the time being.
This is similar to when Danzo sent someone to assassinate Uchiha Yohei. Back then, the evidence was conclusive, but in the end, the matter was dropped.
Taiichi is now considered a pillar of Konoha, and at this crucial moment, they cannot afford to destroy their own foundation.
"Yan, destroy this report. I don't want to hear similar information again. Taiichi is absolutely loyal to Konoha. Don't use such unfounded speculation to doubt him next time."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's response was resolute, but Mitokado Homura interpreted it differently.
Many were loyal to Konoha, including Danzo, but that didn't stop him from killing Uchiha Yohei.
Suspicion without evidence is unacceptable; next time, we must find concrete evidence.
Mitokado Yan's lips curled into a faint, victorious smile, but he replied decisively, "Understood. I'll be more careful next time."
The Konoha high-level meeting ended in an eerie atmosphere, but this did not diminish the impact of the battle on the ninja world.
The Land of Earth, the frontline camp of the Hidden Cloud Village.
Third Generation A crumpled the intelligence scroll in his hand and began to curse without any restraint.
"The Hidden Mist Village is a bunch of useless trash. They were defeated so completely in just one month. They call themselves one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. It's a disgrace to be on par with them."
The Raikage's anger was not without reason. If Kirigakure could gain the upper hand in the war against Konoha, or even if the two sides were evenly matched, Kumogakure planned to increase its investment in the war against Konoha.
After all, everyone's purpose in attacking Konoha was the same: to gain something. As long as they saw an opportunity, they would inevitably attack together.
However, now, although everyone is fighting against Konoha, they are also attacking each other. For example, Kumogakure fights against Konoha mainly for profit, while fighting against Iwagakure is mainly for personal grudges.
Now, Kirigakure's renewed defeat has made the Third Hokage, A, realize the situation: since the start of the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha is now fighting against four opponents.
Under such circumstances, Miya still managed to hold onto his homeland, proving that his war potential remained considerable.
The Hidden Cloud Village needs to adjust its strategy. Since they can't gain any advantage over the Hidden Leaf Village, they can only target their old rival, the Hidden Stone Village.
"Kaloi, order the village to execute Plan 2. Have them gather another 1000 ninjas and come to the Land of Earth. Our next target is Iwagakure."
Carlo's expression changed, realizing that the Raikage had finally made up his mind, and he immediately accepted the order.
Before, not only Kumogakure, but the entire ninja world was waiting.
Whether it will be a pack of wolves devouring a tiger, or each fighting their own battle, depends on the outcome of the war between Kirigakure and Konoha.
However, the result was not very satisfactory.
"That short bastard Onoki has been plotting an attack on Konoha for so long. The village's actions will definitely be difficult to reverse in the short term. We should take this opportunity to intensify our attack on Iwagakure."
The Third Generation Ai quickly adjusted his mindset and began to think about how to attack Iwagakure.
While Kumogakure was planning to attack Iwagakure, Kirigakure naturally wouldn't be idle.
The battle reports from the front lines, once sent back to Wuyin, immediately caused a huge uproar.
In just one month, Kirigakure suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Konoha.
Five members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist died, and they couldn't even retrieve their five great swords.
Not to mention the deaths of the Hozuki and Kaguya clan leaders, which directly caused turmoil within Kirigakure.
The residence of Elder Yuanshi.
The third generation of Mizukage took the initiative to come here today to communicate with this surviving elder who has been a key figure since the village's founding.
"Elder Yuanshi, you must have heard about what has happened in the village these past two days."
Shuiying still had some pride, so she didn't get straight to the point.
Yuan Shi struggled to open his squinting eyes and turned his head with difficulty to look at the Third Mizukage. Anyone who saw him would think he was about to die.
"Third generation, huh? I've heard quite a few comments lately, but I don't know which one you're referring to?"
The Third Mizukage remained silent for a long time, knowing that he was no match for this "old codger" in terms of patience, so he decisively conceded defeat and said, "The front line suffered a major defeat, and the heads of the Kaguya and Hozuki clans are dead or wounded. Now the two families are causing a ruckus in the village, both wanting to avenge their heads."
"Oh! Is that what it is? It's only natural to want to avenge the clan leader." Master Yuan's eyes narrowed again, as if he were asleep. After a long while, he finally spoke slowly, "So, what's your opinion on the Third Generation?"
"These guys disregard the village's interests, tying them down to their own family's, and disrupting the village's stability. They deserve to die!"