Shazo, the Fifth Hokage

A day later, the final Konoha Jonin Assembly was held, Jonin would vote to decide whether Shazo or Tsunade would become the Fifth Hokage.

After the tournament, the Konoha Jonin Assembly will be disbanded, and Konoha will return to its former peace.

But to everyone's surprise, Tsunade stood them up; she didn't show up at the meeting.

Utatane Koharu her hand on the table and stood up. "You bastard Shazo! Did you do this?"

Shazo laughed and asked in return, "What did I do?"

Utatane Koharu jumped up and roared, "You killed the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, before, and now you must have killed the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade!"

Shazo sneered and remained silent.

He wouldn't argue with a shrewish old witch in formal settings.

Given his status, he lost the moment he opened his mouth.

Shazo wasn't worried about Utatane Koharu, because someone would deal with this old witch for him.

Inoichi Yamanaka stood up. "Utatane Clan Jonin watch your words!!"

"The body of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, has been examined by so many Medical Ninja, and even by Lady Tsunade herself, and no signs of injury or poisoning were found."

"Furthermore, both I and the Jonin from the Intelligence Department searched the Lord Hokage's brain, and we found no residual memories of battle or poisoning."

"What exactly do you mean? Are you saying we shamelessly concealed the cause of the Third Hokage's death, or are you saying we were incompetent and unable to determine the cause of death?"

Inoichi Yamanaka's emphasis provoked the anger of the professional Ninja. The medical Jonin the autopsy and the Intelligence Department who participated Jonin the brain search all glared angrily at Utatane Koharu.

The old woman was always timid. Seeing that she had incurred the wrath of the crowd, she stammered without thinking, "I didn't, I didn't say you neglected your duties—"

Inoichi Yamanaka pressed, "So, Jonin Utatane Clan discover other evidence?"

Utatane Koharu, stammered, "No, no—"

Shisui Uchiha's eyes blazed with fury, as if he wanted to tear her apart. He shouted, "Then what makes you say that Shazo is the murderer of the Third Hokage, and from that you infer that Lady Tsunade was also murdered?"

Shikaku Nara sneered, "Lady Tsunade was simply absent, yet the Utatane Clan Jonin has already concluded that she has been murdered. I can't help but suspect that you killed Lady Tsunade and then framed Lord Shazo!"

Shikaku Nara is indeed a clever man; every word he utters when framing someone is deadly.

He didn't provide any evidence; he simply Utatane Koharu's own words and deduced the truth in just a few words, convincing all the Konoha Jonin he was right!

It seems quite possible that Utatane Koharu killed Lady Tsunade; otherwise, why would she say Lady Tsunade?

Even Mitokado Homura's gaze towards his old classmate was filled with suspicion and fear.

Utatane Koharu:!!!

The old woman was practically spitting blood; she opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.

Fortunately, Jiraiya, anxiously jumping up and shouting, "Stop guessing! Come with me to find Tsunade!"

Aoba Yamashiro Jonin, Konoha Sannin with several medical Jonin, stood up and went with Jiraiya to find Tsunade.

Also accompanying them were Kakashi Hatake, Ninja from the Hyūga, Nara Clan, Yamanaka Clan, and Aburame Clan Ninja Clans, and several Anbu Jonin.

On the contrary, Shisui Uchiha did not leave the Meeting Hall despite being stopped by Shazo.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, Jiraiya returned dejectedly.

He handed Mitokado Homura a letter and said dejectedly, "I saw Tsunade, but she refused to come over."

She said the village already had a more suitable Fifth Hokage, and that she, Ninja had lost her courage and sense of responsibility, would no longer cause trouble for the village.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu unfolded the letter; it was short, and they finished reading it quickly.

Mitokado Homura was so angry that his lips were trembling. He had used so much effort, running around for five days and five nights without sleep, to finally find Jiraiya and Tsunade.

He wasn't doing this for himself!

He did it for Hiruzen Sarutobi, for the Third Hokage who died unjustly!

Whether it's true or not, that's what Mitokado Homura thinks right now.

You have to think this way. Who would have thought that Shazo would be so ruthless, not even sparing the deposed Hiruzen Sarutobi, but drowning him in a pond?

With Hiruzen Sarutobi's reputation, strength, and influence all gone, how can Mitokado Homura possibly survive?

He desperately wanted Tsunade to become the Fifth Hokage so that there would be a reigning Hokage to keep an eye on things and prevent Shazo from going so far as to kill him as well.

Well, it turned out that everything was over.

Thinking of this, Mitokado Homura felt a chill run down his spine, as if the shadow of death had already enveloped him.

He could no longer control his emotions and shouted angrily, "This is outrageous! They have absolutely no sense of responsibility! How can Tsunade be like this—"

Utatane Koharu, stopped Mitokado Homura from saying the last few words.

Mitokado Homura finally managed to live over 60 years in vain, quickly calming down after being stopped.

He then realized that no matter how angry he was, he had to swallow his anger and not ruin Tsunade's chances of becoming Hokage.

Otherwise, Shazo, the murderer, would become even more unscrupulous, and he and Koharu would definitely die without knowing why.

With Tsunade, a competitor, abstaining, the vote was no longer for choosing Hokage, but rather a vote of confidence in Shazo becoming the Fifth Hokage.

Shazo received 287 votes out of 335 Konoha Jonin, passing the confidence vote without any surprise.

He finally became the Fifth Hokage.

(The word "man" here is unambiguous.)

Shazo noticed that many Konoha had expressions of relief on their Jonin.

He guessed that these Jonin did not want to choose Tsunade, but they could not go against Jiraiya and Tsunade's wishes, or they were forced to bow their heads by their Clan Leader.

The expressions of these Jonin reminded Shazo of the most important thing: distinguishing between true enemies and true friends is the prerequisite for success in everything.

Shazo carefully observed the expressions of the Konoha Jonin and, based on Star Trek Shazo nearly 20 years of political experience, added different labels to each Konoha Jonin.

Some Ninja firmly supported Shazo, so Tsunade's withdrawal had almost no impact on them.

This group of Ninja, led by Shisui Uchiha, was not large in number, but they could be considered as Shazo's core group, the foundation for his future governance and control of Konoha.

The Ninja, mainly Medical Ninja, who had always firmly supported Tsunade, were now filled with dejection.

Most of these Ninja possess indispensable professional skills and are not easily affected by external factors. Although they need to be sidelined now, they are actually people who can be recruited and reused in the future.

Some Ninja initially looked somber, but upon hearing that Tsunade had withdrawn, they showed obvious joy.

These Ninja are easily influenced by external factors and lack their own perseverance, but they can now be categorized as Shazo's camp. However, we need to be wary of them in the future.

Finally, there were the Ninja led by Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, who were now in a state of mourning and clearly opposed to Shazo.

Without a doubt, they will be the next key targets.