In just a few short days, the entire Konohagakure had turned into a pot of water that refused to stop boiling—completely and utterly in turmoil.
First came rumors—no one knew from where—that Kumogakure might be preparing to tear up their alliance treaty.
Then, almost immediately after, the shocking news of the Hokage's death reached the village.
Along with that terrible news came the surviving members of the Kage Guard, the Hokage's personal escort team, who had barely escaped with their lives.
But before the villagers could even finish celebrating the safe return of Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others, another explosive rumor spread through the streets—
that the Kage Guard had abandoned the Hokage and fled back to the village on their own!
And that still wasn't the end of it.
While people were still unsure what to believe, the Uchiha clan suddenly stepped out and publicly confronted Sarutobi Hiruzen right there in the streets, demanding to know the whereabouts of Uchiha Kagami.
"When you left the village, there were six of you. Why are there only five now?"
"And why is it that the only missing member of the Kage Guard just happens to be from our Uchiha clan?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's answer was that they had become separated while being chased by Kumo shinobi.
Chased! Hiruzen actually said "chased"! — by Kumogakure!
That statement was quickly seized upon and twisted by certain people, who spread their "interpretations" across the village like wildfire—
Now the story being told was that the Kage Guard not only abandoned the Hokage, but scattered in panic, even losing one of their own in the process!
And that missing person—was he dead or alive?
No one knew.
No one could say where the rumors came from, but they spread through the village like a forest fire, uncontrollable and devouring everything in their path.
At one point, Hiruzen even began to feel as though the rumors hadn't started because of him—
but had simply been waiting for him to return.
A false impression—surely it had to be.
As public opinion grew more and more volatile, the freshly returned Sarutobi Hiruzen was left with no choice.
He gathered a large number of shinobi—mostly Chūnin and Jōnin—before the Hokage Building, to personally clarify the rumors that were running rampant throughout the village.
He explained that they had not abandoned the Hokage—that Lord Tobirama himself had ordered them to retreat, staying behind to cover their escape.
He also revealed that before his death, Lord Second Hokage had personally named Sarutobi Hiruzen as his successor, the future Third Hokage.
"Protecting the Hokage is indeed a duty our Kage Guard cannot forsake,"
Hiruzen said earnestly.
"We never once thought to shirk or flee from that responsibility.
But the situation then was dire.
We were not only members of the Kage Guard, but also the Hokage's students and subordinates.
To obey his orders was our foremost duty…"
Standing in the plaza before the Hokage Building, Hiruzen pleaded his case to the gathered shinobi. His words did sound somewhat convincing.
But still…
When taken at face value, what Hiruzen said wasn't impossible.
After all, Senju Tobirama was no coward—
in a critical moment, it was believable that he might have made such a decision.
However, in the current atmosphere of outrage and suspicion…
The picture looked far uglier:
In the face of the enemy, the Hokage stayed behind to protect his men,
was slain by shinobi from the enemy village,
and his body was never recovered.
And the five survivors—those very subordinates he'd saved—
came running back to the village only to immediately declare that they were acting under his "final order" to make one of them the next Hokage?!
Seriously—how could anyone say that with a straight face?
Did these bastards even have hearts?
Were they even human?
And besides—since when did Konoha ever have a system where the Hokage personally appoints his successor?
Even Lord Hashirama, the village's founder, went through a proper election process!
According to the official succession procedures laid out by Lord Tobirama himself,
wasn't the rule that the Hokage candidates must first be nominated,
then the Jōnin of the village hold a confidence vote,
and finally the result be reported to the Daimyō for confirmation?
To put it bluntly, wasn't it Lord Tobirama himself who used this very voting system to outmaneuver Uchiha Madara, allowing Lord Hashirama and later himself to become the First and Second Hokage?
Those two brothers—Hashirama and Tobirama—both respected procedure and fairness when passing on the Hokage title.
They followed the system, went through the proper steps, and made everything open and just.
So why is it that you, Sarutobi Hiruzen, can claim the Hokage's seat based on a so-called "last will" that no one can even prove is real?
When Hiruzen publicly recited what he claimed to be the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama's final words, the response he received was not applause—
but utter, unified silence from the assembled shinobi.
Even several Chūnin and Jōnin of the Sarutobi clan themselves couldn't bring themselves to speak up in support of Hiruzen's succession as the Third Hokage.
Even his own clansmen seemed to think—
"Isn't this a bit too much, old man?"
After all, Lord Tobirama's body wasn't even cold yet…
In the end, it was Jōnin Nara Shikajo who stepped in to ease the tension.
He spoke up to smooth things over, saying that Tobirama's so-called "final will" wasn't a direct appointment, but merely a nomination of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Hiruzen reacted quickly.
Even though he didn't fully understand how the situation had spiraled so far, he immediately made a public promise:
he would go through the proper, official procedures to become Hokage.
He explained that the purpose of this gathering was merely to relay Lord Tobirama's last words,
not to bypass the Jōnin confidence vote,
and he expressed his deep grief over Tobirama's death—
as well as his burning hatred toward Kumogakure shinobi responsible.
He vowed that once the Hokage election was complete,
whether or not he became the Third Hokage,
he would personally head to the front lines to avenge Lord Tobirama and strike back at Kumogakure.
Yes—the Kumogakure shinobi.
Because Kinkaku and Ginkaku hadn't called themselves rogue shinobi.
Their rebellion had been an official, full-scale military coup.
If that coup had actually succeeded, Kinkaku might very well have become the Third Raikage by now.
Thinking back on those two terrifying monsters—
their bodies blazing with crimson-tailed beast chakra,
each wielding so-called treasured tools once used by the Sage of Six Paths—
it was hard for the young Sarutobi Hiruzen to even imagine who could have possibly defeated, let alone killed, them.
After Hiruzen's quick thinking and careful statements,
most of the village's Jōnin accepted his position as a Hokage candidate,
and they agreed to hold the official confidence vote five days later.
According to the agreement, any Jōnin of Konoha, including Hiruzen himself, could either nominate themselves or be nominated by others as a Hokage candidate, and take part in the upcoming election.
Afterward, Hiruzen hurried down from the rooftop of the Hokage Building.
He gathered up all of his personal belongings that he had only just moved into the building,
packed them up,
and even sealed the front door with an official tag before leaving.
Without looking back, he pulled Nara Shikajō and headed straight for the Nara clan's compound.
He needed to ask—
what on earth had happened in Konoha during his absence?
How had the Third Hokage position, which Tobirama-sensei himself had appointed him to,
devalued into nothing more than a "candidate spot" in just half a day?
And why was it that the exact words of Lord Tobirama's final testament, which he had repeated word for word,
were met not with trust or belief, but with doubtful, suspicious faces from his fellow Leaf shinobi?
This was nothing like what he had imagined!