Sarutobi Hiruzen's Illegitimate Rise to Power!

Minato Namikaze and the others were all fired up by Uchiha Jin's words!

Inuzuka Agito gently stroked the Big Yellow Dog lying beside him with one hand and said with some emotion, "Being young is great! Endless energy—you've even got me all fired up!"

Inuzuka Agito was the oldest member of Minato Squad and possessed Jonin-level strength. He treated Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Jin as though they were his own little brothers!

Uchiha Jin smiled. "Brother Agito, don't sell yourself short! The world belongs to me, and it belongs to you too! We're the sun at ten in the morning, while you're the sun at noon!"

"If you have even a bit of light, then give off a bit of heat! Only then can we make the world brighter!"

"So you want this old man to risk his life, huh?" Inuzuka Agito was visibly moved. Though his words sounded like a joke, his tone was exceptionally firm. "But just as you said, my hands have long been stained with blood. They'll never be clean again. But my boy is still spotless!"

"If possible, I want to fight for a clean future for him too!"

Inuzuka Agito's son was only three this year and had yet to enter the Ninja Academy.

Now that the war was drawing to a close, perhaps his son truly would not have to experience the flames of war in the future!

Inuzuka Agito's words were somewhat heavy, and everyone present fell silent!

They were all Jonin. Of those who had made it this far, whose hands were not covered in blood?

"Everyone, the past is behind us. There's nothing more to say about it!" Minato Namikaze spoke, his gentle voice carrying a warmth that put people at ease. "And now, we have found a goal worth striving for our entire lives! From now on, we won't live like tools anymore!"

A faint smile rested on Minato Namikaze's face. He possessed a natural affinity, like a warm Little Sun that made people instinctively want to draw close!

That was the charm of his character!

On that point alone, Minato Namikaze was qualified to sit upon the Hokage's throne!

Uchiha Jin timely changed the subject as well. "Gato and the Land of Waves will become our support in the future! Besides that, I need to discuss Shisui's trip to the Daimyo Manor with you!"

Minato Namikaze's expression turned serious at once. "Is Shisui going to the Daimyo Manor to meet the daimyo?"

Uchiha Jin nodded. "I've had him apply to join the Twelve Guardian Ninja. It can also serve as an early bridge of communication between us and the daimyo!"

Although this was a world that belonged to ninja, in a certain sense, the daimyo was the true master of the Land of Fire!

Not only did the Land of Fire daimyo possess the authority to appoint and dismiss the Hokage, he also controlled Konoha's economic lifeline!

Furthermore, Konoha was, after all, located within the Land of Fire. If it wanted to develop, it had to establish a good relationship with the daimyo!

"Will the daimyo agree?" Minato Namikaze frowned. "You should know that the so-called Twelve Guardian Ninja are the daimyo's private army! Their original intention in being established was actually to guard against Konoha!"

"Under such circumstances, I'm afraid they won't accept Konoha Ninja as members!"

Rather than answer Minato Namikaze's question, Uchiha Jin smiled. "Not bad, Minato. You can see that much now too!"

Minato Namikaze scratched his head somewhat sheepishly. "I never thought much about these things before, but after reading those books you gave me, I realized there are so many twists and turns involved!"

Although the Land of Fire Daimyo Manor and Konoha were considered a community with a shared fate, there could not be two suns in the sky, and a country could not have two rulers!

The Hokage of Konoha controlled the Land of Fire's most powerful military force, while the daimyo controlled the Land of Fire's economic lifeline. Naturally, there were conflicts and disputes over power between them!

Things had been fine while the First Hokage and the Second Hokage were still around. At that time, the relationship between Konoha and the Daimyo Manor had been very good!

The two sides had intermarried, and whenever Konoha needed support, the daimyo would provide it!

At that time, the daimyo's safety had also been directly handled by Konoha!

But ever since Sarutobi Hiruzen became the Third Hokage, the relationship between Konoha and the daimyo had grown distant!

Then, for reasons unknown, the daimyo directly sent back the Konoha Ninja assigned to protect him and established his own guard force—the Twelve Guardian Ninja!

Such actions by the daimyo made it abundantly clear that he was guarding against Konoha Ninja!

Or rather, guarding against the Konoha High-Level F4 led by Sarutobi Hiruzen!

Uchiha Jin explained, "There are indeed some grievances between the daimyo and Konoha, but more accurately, they're with the Third Hokage and the others!"

Minato Namikaze raised his brows, sensing that there seemed to be a story behind this!

After pondering for a moment, Uchiha Jin said, "This isn't really a secret, but it's a rather long story!"

"The cause of it all goes back to the death of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama!"

"At the time, it was near the end of the First Shinobi World War. An accident occurred while the Second Hokage was leading his personal guard unit to negotiate with Kumogakure!"

"In the end, the Second Hokage decided to stay behind alone to cover the retreat of his personal guards... Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others. He died on the spot!"

"When the news returned to Konoha, most people were unable to accept it!"

"It wasn't just because the Second Hokage was powerful, but because he had been known as the fastest ninja in the shinobi world!"

"Minato, your Flying Thunder God Technique was created by the Second Hokage. I imagine you understand this deeply as well!"

Minato Namikaze nodded. He had already cultivated the Flying Thunder God Technique to the point of surpassing its creator, so he naturally understood how powerful the technique was!

Minato Namikaze was not boasting!

Though he was not currently the strongest in the shinobi world, as long as he wanted to leave, no one could keep him!

Therefore, the Second Hokage, who could also use the Flying Thunder God Technique, should not have died so carelessly!

Moreover, the Flying Thunder God Technique was not limited to teleporting only oneself—it could take others along as well!

The entire personal guard unit had only six or seven people. If the Second Hokage had wanted to, no one could have stopped them from leaving. There had been no need for anyone to stay behind and cover their retreat!

Seen this way, the Second Hokage's death was indeed full of suspicious points. It was no wonder his friends suspected there had been a problem!

Uchiha Jin continued, "Besides that, Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others brought back another piece of news: before his death, the Second Hokage had entrusted the position of Hokage to Sarutobi Hiruzen. That only deepened some people's suspicions!"

"You should know that the Hokage was chosen by a vote among the Jonin, yet Sarutobi Hiruzen became the Third Hokage based solely on that one sentence from the Second Hokage!"

"Put nicely, Sarutobi Hiruzen accepted the position in a time of crisis, but that doesn't change the fact that his rise to power was illegitimate!"