Sarutobi Hiruzen, You Are Unworthy of Being Hokage!

Sarutobi Hiruzen, You Are Unworthy of Being Hokage! Outside the window, Konoha's citizens were protesting louder and louder, and more and more people gathered.

A glint flashed through Shimura Danzō's eyes, and the corners of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.

He secretly rejoiced. Hiruzen, you should step down now, right? The position of Fourth Hokage is mine for the taking! Ha... ha... ha!

Mitokado Homura pushed up his slipping glasses. "Hiruzen, this isn't the time to stare blankly. More than ten thousand people have already gathered downstairs. If this continues..."

As if to confirm his words, a deafening explosion suddenly erupted from below, making the entire Hokage Building tremble slightly.

The glass windows rattled, and several shards broke loose from the frames.

"Lord Hokage, they... they're starting to smash the doors!" An Anbu rushed in with a panicked report.

Just then, there was a sudden knock on the Hokage's office door. "Knock knock... knock... knock knock... knock."

That was the Anbu's knocking rhythm. Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned and called, "Come in!"

An Anbu ninja stumbled inside, his face deathly pale. "Lord Hokage! Urgent news from the front! The frontline stronghold has been captured by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist leading the attack. The entire stronghold suffered grievous casualties... And... more than twenty medical ninjas... were captured!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand froze in midair, and his face beneath the hat instantly seemed much older.

Shimura Danzō narrowed his single eye slightly, impossible to tell what he was thinking.

The two advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura... were also too stunned to say anything.

The office fell silent for a while.

Sarutobi Hiruzen set down his pipe and waved a hand. "I understand. You may withdraw."

The two Anbu ninjas had only taken a few steps.

When Utatane Koharu's voice suddenly rang out. "Didn't we send... over three thousand reinforcements? Why was the stronghold still captured?"

The Anbu ninja lowered his head, his voice trembling. "The more than three thousand reinforcements had not yet reached White Bird City... when Kirigakure dispatched the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to attack the city... They possessed seven powerful ninja tools... The final intelligence transmitted by Commander Hyuga Hiyori before she died... indicated that there may have been an information leak..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly walked to the window and looked down at the dense mass of people below.

He saw furious ninjas, as well as parents who had lost their children, crying out for an explanation.

He saw villagers who had once been loyal to him holding signs that read, "Sarutobi Hiruzen, Step Down."

And at the very front of the crowd, Uchiha Fugaku was surrounded by everyone, like a hero returning in triumph, embraced by the people of Konoha.

Sarutobi Hiruzen removed his Hokage Hat and straightened his collar, his voice low and weak. "Prepare the Amplification Barrier."

Shimura Danzō abruptly grabbed his arm and feigned concern. "Hiruzen! What are you doing?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook off his hand and headed for the balcony without looking back. "I'm ending this farce."

When Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared on the balcony, the crowd below erupted into deafening boos.

Rotten tomatoes and stinking eggs flew in from all directions, bursting into filthy splatters against the barrier.

"Sarutobi Hiruzen, you liar!"

"Give me back my son!"

"Get off that seat, liar!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen raised both hands to call for quiet, but the response was even fiercer abuse.

Only when Uchiha Fugaku raised a hand and amplified his voice with chakra did he say, "Everyone, quiet down. Even if the Third Hokage is guilty, we should give him a chance to defend himself!"

At those words, the crowd gradually quieted down.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart tightened, and his voice spread across the entire square. "My fellow people of Konoha... I understand your anger..."

A ninja who had lost both arms roared, "You understand shit! Have you ever understood what we felt on the front lines? We crawled back from piles of corpses, only to find that our young children had been tricked by you into going to war. You betrayed us... You are unworthy of being Hokage!"

Amid the chaotic crowd, cries of agreement kept erupting. "Sarutobi Hiruzen, you are unworthy of being Hokage!"

Listening to the roars from below, Shimura Danzō was overjoyed. Teacher, in the end, you were wrong. Only I am suited to be Hokage. Hiruzen is far too weak. If it were me, I would have sent Root to suppress them in advance. How would this mess have happened?

Sarutobi Hiruzen had no choice but to raise his voice. "We... have already done our best... And I sent more than three thousand ninjas to support the Kirigakure battlefield... It's just that Kirigakure's attack on the city... came far too suddenly... It was completely beyond our expectations."

A widow holding an infant sharply interrupted him. "My husband died in battle six months ago! Because life was difficult, I asked you three times for compensation, but I didn't get a single coin. My child nearly starved to death, and now you're coming out here pretending to be a good man?"

Cold sweat seeped across Sarutobi Hiruzen's forehead. "Perhaps someone in the Logistics Department was neglecting their duties. I didn't know about this!"

He saw Uchiha clansmen distributing bread and drinking water among the crowd, and Kurama Clan ninjas treating the wounded.

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt increasingly uneasy, as though the Uchiha had planned all of this.

His voice began to tremble. "Because the situation was urgent at the time... I sent the children to the front lines... That truly was a mistaken decision. I admit it..."

A young genin with a face full of scars howled like a madman. "And admitting it is enough? My little sister's body still hasn't even been found... She... she was only nine!"

The waves of sound surged again, and the furious crowd began attacking the barrier once more.

Sarutobi Hiruzen knew it had reached the final moment.

He shouted with all his strength, "I announce that after the war ends... I will immediately resign as Hokage! Let this... let this serve as my apology... to all of you!"

The entire square instantly fell silent.

Sarutobi Hiruzen hunched his back, as though that single sentence had drained every last bit of strength from him.

His gaze swept across one furious face after another before finally settling on Uchiha Fugaku. The Uchiha clan head's expression resembled a silent provocation.

Sarutobi Hiruzen added with difficulty, "Furthermore, I will donate all of my personal savings... to the village..."

The rage in the crowd seemed to subside somewhat, but the hatred had not faded.

At that moment, Uchiha Fugaku suddenly roared, "Third Hokage, the most urgent matter is to mount a rescue for those children on the Kirigakure battlefield. We must also bring back the bodies of the children who have already died. Therefore, I request that reinforcements be organized immediately."

Those words were like a spark falling into dry grass, instantly igniting everyone's emotions.

"Yes! Yes! Save our children!"

"Lord Uchiha Fugaku is right!"

"Attack Kirigakure! We want revenge!"

Watching Konoha's public support completely shift to the Uchiha's side, Sarutobi Hiruzen could only nod bitterly. "...Approved..."

When the old Hokage shuffled back into his office, thunderous cheers erupted behind him.

Watching Sarutobi Hiruzen retreat in such a sorry state, Shimura Danzō stared at Uchiha Fugaku with a sinister gaze.

In the square below the Hokage Building, the people spontaneously began tearing down the signs reading "Sarutobi Hiruzen, You Are Unworthy of Being Hokage!" and replacing them with banners that read, "Support the Uchiha! Attack Kirigakure! Save Our Children!"

The once most beloved Third Hokage now looked so lonely and desolate.

Konoha's balance of power had begun to change today...

Sarutobi Hiruzen, get off that seat!