Third Hokage's words made the entire office fall silent.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura sighed quietly, while Tsunade and Jiraiya looked as if they wanted to speak but held back.
Everyone knew that after this battle, the conflict between the Five Great Shinobi Villages and the Akatsuki Organization had escalated once again. The next battle might well be the decisive one that determined life and death.
Under these circumstances, Konoha obviously could not let a crippled man who had lost an arm and could no longer form Hand Seals continue sitting in the Hokage Position and leading the village.
A moment later, Tsunade said, "Sensei, with the technology we have now, the success rate for transplanting an arm is still quite high!"
Jiraiya nodded in agreement. "That's right, old man! It's only one missing arm. That shouldn't be difficult for you, should it?"
"Ah..."
Third Hokage sighed.
The loss of his arm was only one of the reasons he had chosen to step down. What had truly prompted his decision was his increasingly helpless state.
As Tsunade had said, with Konoha's current technology, transplanting an arm was not difficult.
But if he could not protect the village even with both of his original arms, then what use would transplanting another arm be?
Thus, he said, "I've already decided to step down. That has nothing to do with whether I get a new arm. The village needs a Hokage in the prime of life, and I'm already old!"
Seeing that Third Hokage had made up his mind, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged a covert glance.
Anyone with eyes could see that the only people currently suited to succeed Third Hokage were Tsunade and Jiraiya.
As for the others—such as the two of them—they were either as old as Third Hokage