Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened. He instantly guessed the whole story and glared at Danzo Shimura.
But anger served no purpose right now. Although the Nine-Tails was sealed, the chaos it had caused was just beginning.
At such a time, major internal conflicts absolutely could not occur. Otherwise, it might immediately trigger infighting.
If a chain reaction followed—and others saw an opportunity to exploit—that would be the true danger.
After all, the great war in the ninja world had only just ended. One couldn't even truly say it was over.
Because Konoha and the Hidden Cloud Village had only halted major battles. They hadn't signed a peace treaty. Minor border skirmishes were still ongoing.
If the other party launched a war, the peace treaties signed with other nations would highly likely become invalid.
He had to pacify Zenshu's family.
"Disguising as ANBU ninjas to attack the family members of a high-ranking Advisor—this matter must be investigated thoroughly."
Hiruzen first expressed his stance to pacify Zenshu.
Seeing no objection, he immediately changed the subject.
"But right now, the Nine-Tails has been sealed and the enemy repelled."
"We must seize the time to conduct rescue operations. Let's put the interrogation aside for now."
"Advisor Zenshu, what do you think?"
Hiruzen turned his gaze to Zenshu.
Zenshu fell slightly silent. Then nodded.
"Lord Third's words are reasonable. Satoru, take these thirteen traitors home and keep a close eye on them. We'll interrogate them properly after the rescue operations are complete."
"Alright!"
"No!"
Gojo Satoru and Danzo Shimura's voices rang out almost simultaneously.
Zenshu turned his head, staring sharply at Danzo. His voice carried a cold, eerie smile.
"Do you have objections to saving the villagers first?"
Danzo was just about to speak when Hiruzen, unable to bear it any longer, cut in.
"Danzo Shimura!"
Danzo hadn't heard such a stern tone from Hiruzen in many years.
He looked at his old teammate with some disbelief.
"Rescue first. This is an order."
Hiruzen's voice was blunt.
At a time like this, in a state like this, real armed conflict between internal personnel absolutely could not happen.
Especially since the ANBU had just reported the circumstances of what happened.
And also the fact that Zenshu had cleared half the ruins during search and rescue.
At a time like this, even he couldn't allow real armed conflict with Zenshu.
You are no longer the Hokage!
Danzo roared internally.
His expression was extremely gloomy. He raged continuously in his heart, yet didn't dare utter a single word.
He turned and led the Root ninjas to begin rescue operations.
Zenshu continued to activate his ability, making the nearby ruins float up.
Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief internally. He cast a glance at Zenshu's back and the Uchiha clan members joining the rescue. A hint of worry flashed in his eyes.
With the power of ninjas, the rescue speed was very fast.
By the time the sky began to brighten, all the ruins had been cleared once.
After paying respects to the fallen ninjas and the Fourth Hokage, Konoha's upper echelon immediately convened a meeting.
Five chairs were placed behind a table. The clan heads and department heads sat below.
Zenshu walked to the edge and sat on one of the chairs.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane cast glances from the corners of their eyes. Although they had some thoughts internally, they ultimately didn't object.
Whether it was the position of temporary advisor, or contending against the Nine-Tails and saving a large number of villagers and ninjas—it was enough for him to sit there.
"Hmph." Danzo snorted coldly.
Hiruzen sat in the very middle. Homura beside him was the first to speak.
"Although the Nine-Tails was repelled, the casualties are far too massive."
"We cannot blindly immerse ourselves in sorrow." Koharu's face was serious. "We must select a Hokage as soon as possible and not let the other great nations see an opportunity to exploit."
"How about handing it over to Minato's generation?"
"Although there are quite a few outstanding Jonin among them, they're not yet sufficient to lead everyone."
"Then who should it be?"
Danzo was eager to make a move. But Hiruzen immediately stood up, giving him no chance to speak.
"There's no other way. This is a special period. I will take over this responsibility."
His tone was resolute.
"Are you willing?" Homura turned his head and asked.
The village had just suffered severe destruction. Taking over as Hokage now meant bearing a massive responsibility.
Hiruzen had already served as Hokage and stepped down with great success and renown. He didn't have to take over this mess.
That was why Homura asked if he was willing.
"If that's the case, it couldn't be better."
The two advisors both breathed sighs of relief internally.
Although it was already three to two, they still cast glances at the other two.
Danzo's face was dark. He had the heart to object, but the events of last night were still vivid in his mind.
If those thirteen personnel weren't eliminated, let alone becoming Hokage—whether he could even keep his position as Hokage Assistant was a question.
At a time like this, he could only rely on Hiruzen. Naturally, he didn't dare to object.
"I have no objections." Zenshu spoke flatly.
His mind wasn't on this right now. Feeling the Nine-Tails' chakra up close yesterday had sparked many ideas.
And there was also Naruto Uzumaki. The boy's body contained the chakra of Asura.
This effect of chakra being able to reincarnate was extremely peculiar. In the entire Naruto world, only Asura and Indra could accomplish it.
And the chakra of these two came from the Sage of Six Paths—whose manifestation was a level higher, able to survive as chakra for over a thousand years.
And the Sage of Six Paths' chakra came from Kaguya Otsutsuki, which was directly immortality.
Her chakra came from the God Tree Fruit. And the Otsutsuki even possessed the ability of Karma.
He now very much wanted to extract Asura's chakra from Naruto Uzumaki's body—to research what kind of power it actually contained.
"...Today's meeting is adjourned."
The ninjas sitting on the floor stood up one after another. They still had many missions.
Clearing ruins. Registering disaster victims. Tallying lost property. Treating the injured.
Most importantly, strengthening security to prevent infiltration by spies from other nations.
After everyone had left, the atmosphere among the five became somewhat subtle.
"Everyone, Advisor Zenshu's contributions last night are obvious to all." Hiruzen spoke to break the quiet atmosphere. "I have decided to cancel Zenshu's temporary advisor position and appoint him as an official Technical Advisor."
Homura and Koharu already understood what had happened. Naturally, they wouldn't object.
When it came down to it, they were the core of Konoha. And Danzo Shimura was their old teammate of many years. They could only help clean up after him.
"Agreed." Both raised their hands.
The gazes of the three turned to the indifferent Danzo. Their eyes immediately became sharp.
He could only expressionlessly raise his hand in agreement.
Anyway, it was only a Technical Advisor. The status was equal, but he couldn't inquire about or suggest political affairs.
It was only in special times like this that he had voting rights. Homura and Koharu didn't care too much.
"By the way, regarding those thirteen..." Hiruzen said softly.
Zenshu narrowed his eyes slightly.
Just this bit of benefit won't be enough.
On another side.
A doctor wearing a bandana, his face covered by a thick black beard, was using Medical Ninjutsu to treat injured villagers.
A patrolling ANBU ninja locked his gaze onto this unfamiliar person and immediately stepped forward to question him.
"Who are you?"
"This humble one is a wandering doctor named Shinno. I registered a few days ago."
The muscular man spoke calmly.
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