The Seventh Hokage

Danzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi Shikaku Nara members of the Nara clan, along with Hiruzen Sarutobi, held talks for a while. Kakashi then arrived at the exit of the Root's Secret Passage.

Thus, he had the privilege of becoming the first person Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal was removed by Danzo.

Next were the ninja clan members who remained in the village.

These people were not many to begin with, and most of them were still in the Land of Wind. A large number of them had died in battle before, so the process of removing the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal was quick.

In order to remove the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, Danzo consumed the Chakra he had just refined.

As a result, Danzo's bare upper body appeared even weaker.

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi a pang of heartache and wished he could immediately go over and comfort his best friend.

With Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shikaku Nara and the others did not go back on their word, and in the end, Danzo was allowed to leave Konoha in a sorry state under the protection of a small number of his Danzo.

Then, Shikaku Nara looked at Kakashi and said, "Kakashi, Konoha is currently facing internal and external troubles. I urge you to immediately assume the Hokage position."

Kakashi was completely bewildered. What was going on? He hadn't done anything, he was just sitting at home, and the Hokage position had fallen into his lap?

When the battle broke out, Kakashi did not immediately go to Root, unlike Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had his clansmen gather intelligence for him.

Kakashi needed to assess the situation himself. By the time he figured out what had happened and arrived at Root, the battle was already over.

Of course, there is also an important reason for this: Kakashi did not want to get involved in the battle between Danzo and Shikaku Nara.

Both sides are on his side, and Kakashi can't bring himself to harm his own.

Danzo to give him orders in his capacity as Hokage, he would only be in an even more awkward situation.

So Kakashi was late again.

Upon his arrival, he was immediately relieved of the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.

After releasing the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, Kakashi hadn't even had a chance to breathe a few breaths of free air before becoming Hokage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not object to Shikaku Nara's insistence on promoting Kakashi; he also supported Kakashi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi understood that he was getting old and it was only right to hand over the village to the younger generation.

What he cares about now is whether Danzo is eating well and sleeping well after leaving Konoha.

Without my Danzo, will Danzo feel lonely?

"Sigh, as people get older, they always tend to reminisce about the passionate years of their youth." By the time Hiruzen Sarutobi to his senses, everyone was already escorting Kakashi back to Konoha.

Kakashi was told in the morning that he was to become Hokage, and by noon he had completed the Jonin trust vote and his inaugural speech.

Even the Hokage Rock is already carving his portrait.

Now, with the approval of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, Kakashi's Hokage position is secure.

All of this was undoubtedly orchestrated by Shikaku Nara and his group. In any case, they were traitors who attacked the current Hokage, and they had to clear their names as soon as possible.

Therefore, Kakashi became the fastest Hokage to rise to the position in Konoha's history.

Wearing Hokage cloak with the words "Seventh Hokage" written on it and a Hokage hat, Kakashi stood in front of the huge window of the Hokage's Office.

Looking at the workers carving his portrait on the Hokage Rock, Kakashi felt as if he were under Genjutsu. Everything seemed so unreal.

Just a few hours ago, he was here, kneeling on one knee to report his mission to Danzo; now he is the master of this place.

In the afternoon, Kakashi received his first document since taking over.

Kakashi glanced at Shikaku Nara and the others, then at the documents, and said with shock, "Danzo actually embezzled so much money?"

"So many Forbidden Techniques? Where did all of them go?"

Shikaku Nara sighed and said, "It's highly likely that it fell into the hands of the Iwa ninja, but Danzo's deal with the Iwa ninja left no written evidence."

Kakashi carefully read through the entire document again and said, "Shikaku- senpai, are you saying that Danzo traded Wood Style Experience with the Iwa ninja?"

"Where did the Iwa ninja get their Wood Style Experience? Even if they did, why would they trade them to Danzo?"

"Don't they know the power of Wood Release? Aren't they afraid we'll produce another First Hokage?"

"Don't tell me they're after that money. The Tsuchikage is stirring up trouble everywhere. Iwa ninja is probably the richest ninja village right now."

Shikaku Nara shook his head and said, "I don't understand either. The Tsuchikage doesn't seem afraid that Danzo will learn the true Wood Release; it seems he's even intentionally helping him."

Kakashi thought for a moment, then joked, "Could it be that the Tsuchikage could have predicted that you would fight Danzo would use Wood Release to weaken you?"

Kakashi himself didn't believe his own joke.

However, Shikaku Nara's expression froze for a moment. After Kakashi's reminder, he seemed to have realized something.

Kakashi clearly noticed Shikaku Nara's expression, so he asked, "Shikaku- senpai, do you have some guesses?"

Shikaku Nara said with a grim expression, "The Tsuchikage probably didn't anticipate our actions. He likely already guessed that Hokage position Danzo wouldn't last long, and that Danzo would eventually become an enemy of the village."

"The Tsuchikage isn't training us to be a Hokage like the First; he's training us to be an enemy like Madara Uchiha."

Kakashi felt a chill run Yichen's behavior over the years, Kakashi felt that this was highly likely.

The mere thought of how Yichen had foreseen that Hokage, the Danzo, would leave Konoha and even turn against the Konoha, and how he had begun his schemes so early, sent chills down Kakashi's spine.

Kakashi stood up, bowed to Shikaku Nara, and said, "Shikaku- senpai, the Hokage lineage went too far in the past. I apologize on their behalf, and I promise that the same thing will not happen again."

"I also urge Senior Shikaku to persuade the other clan leaders so that we can cooperate sincerely and lead Konoha back to its former glory."

Shikaku Nara was taken aback and carefully examined Kakashi. At that moment, he felt that Kakashi was somewhat different from before.

Shikaku Nara's mind raced, quickly analyzing the pros and cons. Finally, he said very briefly, "Don't worry, Shikaku Nara- Lord Hokage, I will."

When Yichen was summoned to the Tsuchikage's Office Building's office in Iwagakure, two days had already passed since the coup in Konoha.

The Iwa ninja's intelligence was clearly outdated; they learned of the dramatic changes in Konoha from the Konoha's public statement.

To this day, the Iwa ninja still haven't fully figured out what exactly happened in Konoha.

All people know is that Danzo occurred in Konoha, after Kakashi replaced Danzo and became the Seventh Hokage.

However, no one knows the details of the coup, and even the high-ranking members of the Iwa ninja are completely in the dark about who orchestrated it.

Looking at Yichen, who was still somewhat dazed, Ikura asked, "Yichen, what do we do next?"

Yichen was still in Hokage from Konoha's sudden change of Hokage, and only came back to his senses when he heard Ikura calling him.

After thinking for a moment, Yichen said, "What else can we do? Of course, we'll intervene with force."

Tomoko was startled by this and asked, "Teacher Yichen, is this alright? We haven't figured out what exactly happened in Konoha yet."

"Wouldn't acting rashly lead us into Konoha's trap?"

"Furthermore, even if Konoha didn't have any traps, the Seventh Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, has already taken over, and the situation in Konoha has stabilized. We probably won't have any chance to take advantage of this."

Kawakita was also surprised. He asked, "Teacher Yichen, are you planning to go to war with Konoha directly?"

Upon hearing Kawakita's words, everyone's hearts tightened, and they immediately turned their gazes to Yichen.

Yichen shook his head and said, "Going to war with Konoha is naturally impossible. I firmly believe that Konoha's problems must be solved by Konoha's own people."

"But..." Yichen slammed his hand on the table, speaking with righteous indignation, "The Five Great Ninja Villages are one family; we have all signed an alliance."

"The Sixth Hokage, Danzo, was also recognized as Hokage by the Iwa ninja, and he signed Iwa ninja treaties with us on several occasions."

"During Danzo's reign, Iwagakure and Konoha maintained a very friendly relationship."

"We share resources, cooperate closely, and achieve mutual benefit and development; we get along very well."

"Now that Danzo Hokage is in trouble, how can we stand idly by?"

"Kakashi Hatake has betrayed the Hokage! I will avenge Danzo, the Hokage! Issue my order: advance the troops!"

Yichen spoke passionately about seeking justice for Danzo, leaving everyone speechless and speechless for a long time.

After a while, Tomoko said somewhat haltingly, "Teacher Yichen, the current Hokage is the Seventh Hokage Kakashi Hatake. Danzo has already stepped down."

Yichen glared at her and said, "What Seventh Hokage? I never claimed to be one."

"I only recognize Hokage Danzo."

"Anyone else who wants to replace Danzo is a traitor."

Tomoko now understood that Yichen was looking for an excuse to start a war.

If Kakashi's Hokage position is considered legitimate, then the Iwa ninja would have no reason to suppress Konoha.

The people in the conference room exchanged glances and then said in unison, "Yes, sir!"

Sokai, without understanding why, looked at this and then that, and finally agreed.

Seeing this, Yichen nodded in satisfaction.

Then, his eyes gleaming, he said, "This time, let's invite the Mist ninja as well, and we'll divide up the Land of Fire together."

"The Mist ninja made their stance clear last time. As the elder brothers, we can't be stingy when it's our turn to lend them a hand."

Even if we can't take over a new territory this time, we'll still suck a lot of blood out of Konoha.

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Do whatever you want, whatever makes you happy."

Only then did Yichen remember his ally Danzo. After all, since he was going to act in Danzo's name, he needed to understand the basic situation.

So Yichen asked, "By the way, is Danzo dead?"

Saka said, "It wasn't mentioned in the intelligence report, but judging from the information released by Konoha, Danzo should still be alive."

Yichen nodded and said, "Very good. Remember, this time we are at the invitation of Hokage, the Konoha, to send Danzo to punish the disloyal."

At this moment, Ikura asked, "Yichen, how many men should we send to attack Konoha?"

Yichen thought for a moment and said, "We have a total of eight branches: the Land of Snow, the Land of Bears Land of Demons, the Land of the Falls, the Land of Hot Water, the Land of Hot Springs, the northern Northern Land of Wind, the Central Land of Wind, and the Former Northwestern Land of Fire."

"Each division will send 1,000 troops, and another 3,000 will be transferred from the villages, for a total of 11,000, but we'll claim 20,000 to outsiders."

"Regarding the top combat force, there are five of us: myself, Kawakita, Han, Sokai, Quan Luo. We'll also notify Sandai and Shinya, making a total of seven people. All of us will reveal our names."

"Ikura, Kitsuchi, Roshi, and Deidara stayed behind in the village."

"Oh right, bring Atsumi Akino along. I'm going to ambush someone this time."

"Hiss~~" Everyone in the office gasped.

Ming nearly jumped up and said, "Yichen, are you crazy? Do you really want to start a war with Konoha?"

"Such a large-scale Ninja Army assembled, just to intimidate Konoha? How much will that cost the village?"

Yichen waved his hand and said, "Precisely because we're only going to scare people, we need to make a big show of it."

"Senior Mei, rest assured, Konoha will bear all the losses from this large-scale army assembly."

"We were invited by Danzo Hokage to quell the rebellion in Konoha, so the military expenses will naturally be covered by Konoha."

Everyone was stunned by Yichen's crazy behavior, and for a moment no one dared to speak.

But upon hearing Yichen's shameless words, they all rolled their Byakugan at him.

Finally, Kitsuchi cautiously asked, "Yichen, you didn't suddenly change your mind once you got to the front lines and actually want to go to war with Konoha directly, did you?"

Yichen laughed and said, "Very good. Even our own people in this conference room believe I'm going to war, so Konoha will have even less reason to doubt it."

"That's how we'll do it. The bigger the commotion, the louder the voice on the judgment table will be."

In fact, Yichen also wanted to directly confront Konoha, but Yichen was unsure whether his aggressive approach would displease the Sage of Six Paths.

Therefore, Yichen decided to use the method of slowly boiling a frog in warm water, gradually bleeding out Konoha.

After the Iwa ninja High-Level Meeting concluded, the Ninja World became incredibly lively.

Konoha suddenly changed its Hokage again; while other villages only had four Hokage, they already had seven.

Some are even speculating about how long Kakashi, the Seventh Hokage, will remain in office and when he will step down.

Who will be the new Jonin and Eighth Hokage? Will it be some old fogey or some young upstart?

Just as one crisis subsided, another arose. Before everyone had even finished digesting the gossip about Konoha, Iwagakure began a large-scale mobilization of ninja.

Before the Iwa ninja forces had even fully assembled, news spread that the Iwagakure was going to mobilize 20,000 troops to completely annihilate Konoha.

The list of seven Kage-level Combatant, including Yichen, was quickly spread.

The Iwa ninja have deployed seven Kage Level ninjas and an army of 20,000, intending to wipe out Konoha in one fell swoop. Storm is coming, and the overall peace of the Ninja World is immediately shattered.

The key point is that the Iwa ninja were sending troops under the pretext of upholding justice for Danzo. This undoubtedly makes the situation even more suspicious.

It's unclear when Danzo gained the approval of Iwagakure, Iwa ninja repeatedly claimed he was Danzo by Kakashi's rebellion.

The Iwa ninja's operation was so large that Konoha quickly received the news.

It was practically impossible for them not to receive them; the Iwa ninja were practically handing out flyers all the way to Konoha.

The Iwa ninja Anbu indeed spreading rumors in Konoha's ANBU.

He said, "Without Danzo, Konoha is just a toothless tiger."

"Konoha is destroying its own defenses; the village is on the verge of annihilation."

Yichen also spread the rumor. "Back then, Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi by and watched as White Fang was attacked by the villagers' public opinion, which ultimately led to White Fang's suicide."

"Kakashi is avenging his father."

The rumors were so detailed and convincing, it was as if someone had witnessed Kakashi's entire coup attempt.

Hokage Building, conference room.

Kakashi summoned the heads of all the major ninja clans, including Shikaku Nara, to High-Level Meeting.

This can be seen as Kakashi's response to the forces that supported his rise to power.

Hyuga Hiashi and the others all praised Kakashi for what he did, feeling that they had done the right thing by risking their lives to drive Danzo away.

This scene made Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was also attending the meeting, feel very uncomfortable.

Although he did not support Danzo's radical approach, he was not opposed to the suppression of the great ninja clans.

On the contrary, he consistently advocated weakening the powerful ninja clans and cultivating the strength of Civilian Ninja.

But he didn't say anything. Konoha was facing an external enemy, and if they didn't handle it properly, the village might be destroyed.

The Hokage lineage still needs these people to contribute to the village.

Kakashi looked around. Besides Hiruzen Sarutobi and the heads of the major ninja clans, there were also two high-ranking officials he had just arranged to join the meeting.

Once everyone had arrived, Kakashi gestured for an intelligence ninja to analyze the current situation.

The Anbu intelligence ninja wearing a fox mask opened a file and said to the group, "It's confirmed that the Iwa ninja are indeed assembling a large army."

"The scale of the army assembled by the Iwa ninja this time is enormous; all their branches, including the Land of Hot Water branch currently under construction Central Land of Wind, have assembled large forces."

"In addition, Iwagakure is also gathering troops, so the Iwa ninja force that will be deployed this time is at least ten thousand."

Even if it's not as outrageous as the rumored 20,000, it's still enough to wage a full-scale war against us.

"As for whether there are as many as seven Kage-level experts as rumored, we cannot confirm."

"However, the Iwa ninja are not assembling their army quickly. It will probably take several more days for them to complete the assembly and deploy their troops to the front lines."

Shikaku Nara frowned upon hearing this. He said, "The Iwa ninja's actions are very unusual. They don't seem to be preparing for a direct war with us; rather, they seem to be deliberately creating a stir to force us to cede our interests."

Shikaku Nara's words caused everyone present to ponder, and they thought about it and agreed that it made sense.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, "Even if the Iwa ninja only want to threaten us, we must be fully prepared."

"At the very least, we can't let the Iwa ninja think we're unprepared and end up actually going to war."

Kakashi nodded and said, "Prepare according to the plan for the Iwa ninja invasion. Time is of the essence, Shikaku- senpai, you will make the arrangements."

Shikaku Nara nodded and began allocating Konoha's troops.

After Shikaku Nara explaining his plans, Kakashi asked, "Shikaku- senpai, do you think the Mist ninja will invade again this time?"

Shikaku Nara also deployed a considerable number of troops in the direction of Kirigakure.

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned upon hearing this. It wasn't that he thought Shikaku Nara's plan was flawed, but rather that things would become far too complicated once the Mist ninja got involved.

He interjected, "Have you made contact with the Fourth Raikage? Is he willing to send troops to support us?"

Kakashi nodded and said, "The Fourth Raikage has replied. He is already gathering troops and is ready to launch a cross-sea attack on the Land of Earth at any time."

He stated that if seven Kage Level Iwa ninja actually ventured out, he would lead a team to invade Iwagakure directly.

After Kakashi finished speaking, Shikaku Nara had a chance to answer the question.

"It's hard to say whether the Mist ninja are involved, but they've already recovered one of the Tailed Beast, so they have some confidence now."

"The Mist ninja may not truly want to forever follow behind the Iwa ninja as their underlings."

"If the Iwa ninja chooses to launch a full-scale invasion this time, the Mist ninja will most likely not participate. In fact, if we face the crisis of annihilating our village, the Mist ninja might even choose to support us."

"But if the Iwa ninja are all bark and no bite, then the Mist ninja might actually invade."

"Firstly, it can cooperate with Iwagakure and deepen their partnership. Secondly, Mist ninja also wants a share of the profits from us."

"That's why I've deployed elite troops towards Kirigakure; this is to give us more leverage in negotiations."

Kakashi nodded, then looked at Hyuga Hiashi and the others, and slowly said, "Hiashi- senpai, Choza- senpai, Inoichi-senpai, Inoichi- senpai, Shibi -senpai, Maki- senpai, the village is facing a crisis of annihilation this time, so I ask for your cooperation."

Hyuga Hiashi thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay."

These were the only two words Hyuga Hiashi uttered after the meeting officially began.

Hyuga Hiashi is extremely frustrated. It was his first time attending a High-Level Meeting -High-Level Meeting, and he had originally hoped to make a good impression and demonstrate the power of Konoha, the number one ninja village.

Unfortunately, Hyuga Hiashi found himself completely unable to keep up with the train of thought of everyone in the conference room.

He was a man of his word, a man of the Hyuga Clan, and was accustomed to speaking slowly and deliberately.

He had never seen such a scene before, where these schemers discussed so quickly how to outwit the enemy and how to avoid being outwitted by the enemy.

Hyuga Hiashi didn't want to show any weakness, so he could only maintain a nonchalant demeanor throughout the entire process.

After Hyuga Hiashi agreed, the other clan leaders had no choice but to grit their teeth and agree as well.

These people were inwardly cursing. "That idiot Hyuga Hiashi, he didn't even make any demands at a time like this. It's left them with no way to voice their requests."

Kakashi was somewhat surprised by Hyuga Hiashi's straightforwardness. He was prepared to spend a lot of money, but Hyuga Hiashi didn't make any demands.

"Is it that they don't care, or are they waiting for me to bring it up, or do they just not understand?" Kakashi wondered to himself.

However, regardless of whether Hyuga Hiashi truly didn't understand, Kakashi was on the right track.

Although everyone agreed, he immediately spoke up, indicating that he would make concessions to these powerful ninja clans on certain policies.

Hearing Kakashi's words, everyone nodded in agreement, thinking to themselves, "Kakashi, this new Hokage, is no ordinary person. We didn't realize it before."

Hiruzen Sarutobi in satisfaction with Kakashi's performance. Some of Kakashi's actions today were taught by Hiruzen, while others were Kakashi's own ideas.

Regardless, although Kakashi has only been in office for a short time, he is gradually starting to resemble a Hokage.