Chapter 232: Intervention in the Hidden Mist Village!
He... he actually said that out loud! Even when Setsuna Uchiha was still alive, he would not dare to openly say he wanted to replace the Hokage in front of him, a Konoha Elder!
But Ikeizumi Uchiha had no reservations!
After realizing that Hiruzen was blocking the path of Absolute Justice, he seemed to have unhesitatingly entertained the thought of "rebellion and coup."
Didn't he know that if those words were overheard, they would likely become a means for others to attack him?
Uh...
The moment that thought arose in his mind, Homura Mitokado immediately realized that Ikeizumi Uchiha genuinely wouldn't care.
And even if others heard it, they probably wouldn't be too shocked.
Because Ikeizumi Uchiha's demeanor—constantly pressing the Hokage and showing him no respect—already clearly told everyone that he would eventually make a move against the Hokage!
At this moment.
What Ikeizumi Uchiha said should not have exceeded the expectations of some people.
Homura Mitokado was silent for several seconds before he stammered: "Hiruzen... has, after all, been the Hokage for a long time. It is difficult to find someone in the village who can compare with him. Firstly, they must have comparable or slightly lesser prestige, and secondly... they must have sufficiently strong power."
Homura Mitokado left out another sentence—it would be best if they were not aligned with Hiruzen's faction.
Otherwise, replacing the Hokage would be useless, as Hiruzen could entirely act as the shadow ruler of Konoha behind the scenes.
Of course.
If he said that out loud, he would truly be a complete traitor.
Homura Mitokado had not yet become so heartless towards Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He still leaned slightly towards Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"How about Tsunade?" But then, Ikeizumi Uchiha suddenly offered a name, which startled Homura Mitokado.
Because he found that... this choice actually seemed quite suitable!
Tsunade, the granddaughter of the First Hokage, and also one of the Legendary Sannin. She had saved many lives during the Great Ninja Wars through her medical ninjutsu, and her prestige among the ninja community was actually not low.
Moreover, she seemed to have recently broken with Hiruzen, clearly making it impossible for her to stand on Hiruzen's side.
"Wait a minute..."
Homura Mitokado couldn't help but turn to face Ikeizumi Uchiha and say: "Ikeizumi, how come... it feels like you've already predetermined Tsunade to succeed Hiruzen?"
A sudden chill ran through his heart. He felt that Ikeizumi Uchiha was not as simple as everyone imagined.
The opponent seemed to possess an inscrutable complexity.
The opponent seemed to have long prepared various contingency plans for Konoha's current situation.
Ikeizumi Uchiha merely replied indifferently: "It's simply because, among the current candidates in Konoha, she is the most suitable one."
"Then isn't Jiraiya also an option? He is also in Konoha, he is also one of the Sannin, he also has high prestige in Konoha, and he doesn't entirely stand on Hiruzen's side either." Homura Mitokado felt like he was going crazy, actually discussing replacing the Hokage with Ikeizumi Uchiha.
"But he stands on the side of an impractical delusion." Ikeizumi Uchiha slowly said: "A foolish person who seeks a savior to redeem and reform the entire Shinobi World. If he were to serve as the Konoha Hokage, Konoha might become even worse than it is now, it's hard to say."
Homura Mitokado really wanted to ask—is finding a boozy, irresponsible gambler to be the Hokage better than the current situation?
But upon further thought, he suddenly realized...
Tsunade seemed to have rarely visited the Konoha Casino recently.
When Tsunade first returned to Konoha, she almost frequented the Konoha Casino several times a day, losing millions of Ryo each day, becoming the Casino's biggest financier (patsy).
But in the past few days, the number of times Tsunade went to the Casino had been decreasing daily. From several times a day, it became once every three or four days.
And the reason was not that she was out of money.
It seemed to be because she had other things to be busy with.
For example...
Establishing a new Medical Squad outside of the Konoha system.
Tsunade was reportedly running around, extremely busy and exhausted, but it was unclear what motivation was pushing her, making her persist instead of shirking her responsibilities, biting the bullet to continue her busy work.
This transformation almost made Homura Mitokado unable to recognize Tsunade.
Hmm...
Strictly speaking, it wasn't a complete transformation. After all, before she became irresponsible, Tsunade seemed to have this kind of passion.
It was only after the successive deaths of her loved ones.
Tsunade fell into the quagmire of life's confusion.
"Perhaps..." Homura Mitokado knew he didn't have to answer Ikeizumi Uchiha's question, but for some reason, he still spoke: "Tsunade is indeed quite suitable... At least she can be a backup candidate for Hokage. Hmm... Actually, Koharu and I had already selected backup candidates for the next Hokage a long time ago. One of them was Tsunade, and the other was Jiraiya."
After speaking, Homura Mitokado hurried out of the Uchiha Military Police Force, fearing he might be tempted to say more.
That would be too unfair to Hiruzen...
His conscience wouldn't allow it.
Then he would truly become a traitor.
Homura Mitokado continued to console himself, believing that he was only considering the future of the Mitokado Clan and Konoha.
He was forced to do this.
"...This guy seems to be a significant figure in your Konoha, right? If I'm not mistaken, his name should be Homura Mitokado? I've seen his name and picture on bounties in the Shinobi World Black Market, apparently, he's wanted for twenty-five million Ryo."
As a voice rang out.
Jūzō Biwa stepped out from behind a screen in the Military Police Force Captain's office—he had been hiding there, concealing his presence, the moment Homura Mitokado walked in.
Jūzō Biwa exclaimed: "Ikeizumi Uchiha, you aren't trying to stage a coup in Konoha, are you? I just joined you, and you immediately present me with such a big show. Does this mean I've voluntarily stepped into a whirlpool of trouble?"
Hearing Jūzō Biwa's self-deprecating tone.
Ikeizumi Uchiha said indifferently: "You don't need to interfere in Konoha's affairs. What you need to focus on is the matter of the Land of Water's Hidden Mist Village."
Jūzō Biwa's eyes narrowed, and he asked with a sense of urgency: "Are you already preparing to make a move on the Land of Water? But..."
Jūzō Biwa said suspiciously: "Your affairs in Konoha aren't finished yet, and next, you'll have to confront the Konoha Hokage. In this situation, can you still spare attention for the Land of Water's affairs?"
Ikeizumi Uchiha said: "I will leave Konoha's matters to Tsunade to handle. If she can't even take down Hiruzen Sarutobi, then she is also not suitable to become the next Konoha Hokage."
Jūzō Biwa was dumbfounded: "Could it be that the Konoha Sannin, Princess Tsunade, has already become your subordinate?"
"No." Ikeizumi Uchiha replied frankly.
Jūzō Biwa asked suspiciously: "Then why are you so certain that she will definitely do as you say?"
"She will."
Ikeizumi Uchiha said calmly.
Jūzō Biwa was completely puzzled. However, he deciphered another meaning from Ikeizumi Uchiha's words—since Ikeizumi Uchiha was entrusting Tsunade to deal with the Konoha Hokage, it meant he might personally travel to the Hidden Mist Village!
This...
Jūzō Biwa suddenly felt a sense of confusion at this point. Could the Bloody Mist Policy, which had plunged the Hidden Mist Village into such a state, truly be ended one day? And would the person who ended it all be an outsider?
In the afternoon.
Tsunade looked at the expressionless Ikeizumi Uchiha with a face full of shock, momentarily almost giving up on thinking.
"Huh? What?!!"
Tsunade took several seconds to recover. She stared at Ikeizumi Uchiha's face for a few more seconds.
Then she couldn't help but pace back and forth a few times, looking hesitant to speak and yet wanting to speak.
After seemingly finally sorting out the chaotic thoughts in her mind, Tsunade faced Ikeizumi Uchiha and said: "I only said I would try to bypass the old man and establish a new Konoha Medical Squad myself."
"And then the ninja of this Medical Squad could provide a certain degree of medical treatment for the Military Police Force ninja. The two sides could cooperate, so that Justice could be sustained long-term, and to avoid too many irreversible casualties."
"But the problem is..."
"I never said I wanted to be the Konoha Hokage! That position, which sounds like it would make your scalp tingle, probably wouldn't even allow one day of rest once you sat in it, right?"
Looking at Tsunade, who seemed a bit frantic, Ikeizumi Uchiha said calmly: "If you want to establish a new Medical Squad, you cannot bypass the Third Hokage. Especially since you are targeting students in the Ninja Academy, it's even more impossible to bypass him."
"Furthermore..."
Ikeizumi Uchiha paused and said: "If you were to serve as the Konoha Hokage, the progress of Absolute Justice's implementation in the Land of Fire would be much faster."
"The speed at which Justice reverses the twisted and deformed ideological morality of the Land of Fire will also be faster and more effective than we anticipate."
"Once you sit in that position. Some things that were said a hundred, ten thousand times would not be listened to... you only need to say it once, and they will follow."
Looking at Tsunade, whose expression suddenly froze, Ikeizumi Uchiha continued: "Since you chose to stand in the faction of Absolute Justice, it means you hope for the Shinobi World to become a little better. Sometimes, you must clear away all the obstacles blocking Justice. Only then can the seeds of Justice be sown throughout the Shinobi World."
Tsunade's expression was complex: "If I don't become the Hokage, will Konoha Village and the Land of Fire be beyond saving?"
Ikeizumi Uchiha said: "You can see what the Third Hokage has done."
That single sentence blocked everything Tsunade wanted to say.
"What about Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked.
"Do you think he's capable?" Ikeizumi Uchiha simply countered her.
"...Tch, that guy was truly fooled by the toads of Mount Myōboku." Tsunade irritatingly ruffled her hair: "Is it really necessary to remove the old man from office? He's so old, he might just pass away suddenly any day."
Ikeizumi Uchiha said indifferently: "You should be clear what the word 'delay' means for Justice."
"Yes, yes, yes, I'm clear! It means there will be Justice delayed! There will be innocent victims! There will be villains who shelter abusers! It will deepen the twisted and deformed ideologies! In severe cases, it will... it will re-enact Nawaki's tragedy..."
Tsunade took a deep breath.
As she spoke, she suddenly fell silent for reasons unknown.
After an unknown duration of silence, Tsunade looked up and met the gaze of Ikeizumi Uchiha, who was close by. She asked somewhat bewildered: "Will changing the Hokage really change a lot of things?"
"I cannot guarantee a hundred percent." Ikeizumi Uchiha slowly replied: "Because it depends on how much resolve you have."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes: "Wait a minute... the reason you want me to become the next Konoha Hokage isn't just to use me as a tool against the old man, is it?"
Ikeizumi Uchiha said: "If you prefer to interpret it that way, then you may."
Tsunade scoffed: "Fine, fine! I'll consider it."
After watching Ikeizumi Uchiha leave, Tsunade slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
Behind Tsunade, Shizune, who had been listening to their conversation, was already trembling with fear.
Shizune secretly swallowed her saliva. After Ikeizumi Uchiha's back completely disappeared, she asked weakly: "Lady Tsunade, are you really going to compete with the Third Hokage-sama for the position of Hokage? This... isn't this a bit too outrageous? You know that although the Hokage-sama is a bit old, he is still in good health."
"And... and the Hokage-sama is still your teacher!"
Hearing Shizune's extremely worried words, Tsunade looked back at her and said speechlessly: "I haven't agreed to Ikeizumi Uchiha yet, why are you so flustered? Why are you trembling when you speak?"
Shizune said weakly: "Because, based on Lady Tsunade's personality, if you wanted to decisively refuse, you would have already used strong, refusing language. But you said you would consider it, which actually means you have already decided what you are going to do."
Tsunade: "..."
A period of time later.
Land of Rain.
"Didn't we agree to meet alone? Arbitrarily bringing two bodyguards violates the initial agreement, doesn't it?" Koharu Utatane stared at the woman in the black robe with red clouds before her, a flicker of displeasure flashing in her pair of murky eyes.
The person before her was none other than Konan, and behind Konan were two Pain bodies arranged by Nagato to guard Konan.
Konan said expressionlessly: "You have no right to demand that I must meet you alone. You also arranged for a number of people to ambush nearby, didn't you?"
"Let me guess how many... there are a total of eleven people, all elite ninja of Konoha's Root. Am I correct?"
Konan's calm tone made a hint of undetectable astonishment flash across Koharu Utatane's face.
Her eyes concealed a deep sense of wariness.
At this moment, Konan spoke: "Lady Koharu Utatane of Konoha Village coming to contact the Akatsuki, are you looking to hire us to do something? If you want to fight a proxy war, the Akatsuki can serve as Konoha's perfect vanguard. However... our price is very high. I hope you can afford it."
Koharu Utatane said sinisterly: "Konoha will not actively start any war. I want to hire you to unite with Konoha's Root to eliminate one person."
"Who?" Konan was slightly curious, her expression unperturbed.
"Ikeizumi Uchiha!"
.......
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