Utatane Koharu's Reason for Wanting to Kill Me: Konoha's High-Ranking Officials Were Completely Rotten

But the next second, Tsunade instantly understood.

It was indeed a solution that would settle everything once and for all. If she became Hokage, all the problems would naturally be resolved.

But she had never considered it.

Besides, Hiruzen Sarutobi was in his prime and had earned the title of Shinobi Hero. He hadn't made any foolish decisions all these years, either.

Take his place now?

"You don't have to answer right away. You can even say no; it's fine." Uchiha Dan smiled reassuringly. "Even if you only make up your mind after I leave, I'll still come back to help you."

"Besides, I have a feeling that when the time comes, even if it has nothing to do with me, the harsh reality may force you to consider becoming Hokage."

"When the time comes, even if it has nothing to do with you, the harsh reality may force me to consider becoming Hokage?" Hearing how certain Uchiha Dan sounded, Tsunade asked, "Dan, do you know something?"

"I can't give you any accurate information or evidence right now, so are you sure you want to hear it?" Uchiha Dan asked seriously.

"I want to hear it!" Tsunade wanted to seize on any chance to keep Uchiha Dan there, so she hurriedly asked.

If there really was a good, appropriate reason, Tsunade might truly be able to make a decision.

"All right!" Having made up his mind, Uchiha Dan began. "Tsunade, during these five years in the Pharmaceutical Department, I haven't just been making medicine. I also uncovered some shady dealings."

"The Pharmaceutical Department? What shady dealings?" Tsunade frowned and hurriedly asked.

"Hahaha!" Uchiha Dan suddenly laughed as something occurred to him. "Over these five years, I developed quite a few new medicines, provided accurate formulas, and improved the production of many drugs and medicines."

"But over those five years, the Pharmaceutical Department's reports to the village showed that the rate of medicinal ingredients lost to failed production kept increasing year after year."

"Also, at least twenty percent of the new medicines I developed over these five years never appeared in Konoha at all."

"Neither issue involved strategic medicines, but put the two together, and someone as clever as you should be able to figure out what's going on, right?"

"Utatane Koharu was abusing her authority for personal gain?" Tsunade clenched her fists and reached her own conclusion.

Uchiha Dan nodded and added, "Over the past few years, Utatane Koharu has also been going to the Logistics Department all the time—more often than she goes home."

"As a result, even though the borders had been stable for years and there were fewer people on the front lines, the number of times the Logistics Department sent supplies out of the village increased instead of decreasing."

"My god!" Tsunade felt her back turn damp with sweat.

The village's two elders had been secretly conspiring, using village resources for their own benefit.

What was this world coming to?

"Dan, how did you find out?" Tsunade asked curiously.

It wasn't that she doubted what Uchiha Dan was saying. She just wanted to know more.

"There's no need to explain the Utatane Koharu part. I couldn't have missed it. No one knows better than I do how high the success rate is for making medicines with the formulas I've adjusted."

"That's the main reason Utatane Koharu was determined to kill me. It wasn't simply because she disliked me."

"As for Mitokado Homura..." Uchiha Dan smiled. "Back when I was trying to escape, I often seemed to watch the village entrance without any particular reason."

"As a result, I spent a full two years observing every person, every vehicle, and every shipment of supplies that entered or left the village, and I ended up with precise statistics."

"I doubt Mitokado Homura even knows anyone noticed."

"After all, who would be bored enough to stare at the village entrance every day, count every vehicle coming and going, and keep it up for two years without getting tired of it?"

"The guards at Konoha's gates have to change shifts from time to time, so even they didn't notice anything unusual."

"Then Teacher Hiruzen... didn't know?" Tsunade asked, voicing her question.

"Of course he knew." Uchiha Dan couldn't help laughing. "Utatane Koharu's appetite was too big. I was improving formulas every day, while she was increasing the reported losses every day. Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't stupid."

"He did nothing?" Tsunade asked in disbelief.

"He must have done something!" Uchiha Dan went on. "A few times, Utatane Koharu was especially bad-tempered with me. Once, she let something slip. What she said was: 'It's bad enough that Hiruzen Sarutobi gives me the cold shoulder. How dare you, you evil little brat, make trouble for me too?'"

"At the time, I was confused. How could Hiruzen Sarutobi give Utatane Koharu the cold shoulder? Can you imagine it?"

"So I made a bold guess: her embezzlement had come to light, and Hiruzen Sarutobi was furious and reprimanded her."

"But Hiruzen Sarutobi has one major flaw: he's far too protective of his own reputation. He does everything without leaving a trace and won't tolerate even the slightest stain on his name as Hokage."

"The reason I call that a flaw instead of a virtue is that fame and profit blind people."

"Whether it's fame, profit, or power, it all comes down to desire. Once someone gets caught up in it, their desires can swell without limit."

"Hiruzen Sarutobi can't stand having even the slightest stain on his reputation. That can slowly become an obsession. Under prolonged pressure, that mindset will eventually lead to one of two possibilities."

"First, he could put his reputation above everything and show no favoritism to anyone, refusing to let personal feelings sway him. If he really were like that, I'd actually be happy. At least he'd be wholly devoted to the village."

"But obviously, Hiruzen Sarutobi isn't that kind of person."

"Second, he starts caring about what everyone around him thinks of him, becoming constantly anxious and cautious."

"Do you know what happens when that's the case?"

"The result is that he becomes more and more easily swayed, to the point where it seems like anyone around him can influence his decisions."

"Especially his old friends who know him well. They'll find all sorts of ways to manipulate him."

"Because if even one person is disappointed in him, he'll feel like the sky is falling. So he'll unconsciously try to please everyone and keep them satisfied—especially when those three join forces."

"Can you imagine it? A Hokage who tries to please those around him when making decisions, and not to strike a balance or maintain stability."

"He does it only because he's afraid the other person will be disappointed in him, afraid they'll think he isn't fit to be Hokage."

"Isn't that ridiculous? For that reason alone, Hiruzen Sarutobi let the other high-ranking officials get away with corruption."

"That was two years ago. But Utatane Koharu kept doing the same things over the following two years—in fact, she got worse. Even now, there's been no word of her being punished."

"For a crime that serious, the Kage of any other village would never let it slide."

"But Hiruzen Sarutobi just let it go, turning a blind eye as if he hadn't seen anything."

"So I suspect he didn't just turn a blind eye—he eventually got dragged into it, too. The reason is that the Sarutobi Clan suddenly became rich and started raising their clan's shinobi at any cost."

"You don't know this, but although I really dislike Utatane Koharu, sometimes I find her kind of amusing. One of her defining traits is that she can't keep her mouth shut."

"Sometimes all I have to do is rile her up a little. I don't even need to ask—she'll tell me all sorts of secrets herself. Hahaha, it's really entertaining."

"That's another reason Utatane Koharu was determined to kill me. She knows she's said a lot of things she shouldn't have. The only way to make sure those words stay buried forever is for me to die."