Falling into the hands of Konoha Ninja had to be considered a stroke of luck. It wasn't because Konoha had been his destination all along, but because compared to what would have happened if he'd fallen into the hands of Iwagakure Ninja, his current situation was fantastic... If the squad that had gathered around Hanyu when he passed out had been from Iwagakure, things really would have gone wrong. For one, an Iwagakure Ninja had died at his hands; for another, he had no way to explain why he was carrying a secret message from Konoha.
Who would have thought it would be the Hokage of Konoha...
Hanyu had a thousand thoughts tangled in his mind, but he didn't hesitate for a moment. With the utmost care, he recounted everything that had happened with the Hokage, from beginning to end.
"Yes, that's how it happened that day..."
Who could have guessed that the "Third" would appear before him looking so young? Sarutobi Hiruzen looked to be only in his early twenties. He was... far too young.
From meeting the Hokage to encountering the Iwagakure Ninja, Hanyu told his story slowly and carefully, taking pains to be accurate. The matter was serious, so he made sure not to include anything unnecessary or untrue.
"Can you confirm that you burned the Second's body?"
After Hanyu finished his account, someone asked in a deeply sorrowful voice.
"Yes. At his request, I burned his body." Hanyu answered with certainty. Konoha wasn't going to hold him responsible for something like this; strictly speaking, he'd done a good deed, not something wrong.
As soon as he received the secret message, Sarutobi had confirmed its authenticity. There was nothing wrong with the handwriting or the coded seal, and it had taken almost no time to decipher the message, written in a special cipher. Its contents were almost disarmingly simple: first, it appointed Sarutobi Hiruzen as the next Hokage; second, it stressed that the village's affairs were now entrusted to its new Hokage.
His words conveyed that he had no regrets in life, along with his heartfelt hopes for the one who would follow him.
After Hanyu finished speaking, Sarutobi Hiruzen lowered his head and fell silent for a long time. His eyes must have been brimming with tears. Hanyu's health was already in terrible shape, and he had been forced awake. Giving his account had drained him badly, and now he could barely stand, swaying on his feet.
Seeing this, the medical ninja hurried to his side and gently pressed the back of his neck. Hanyu promptly fell unconscious again.
There was no longer any need for the storyteller, so the medical ninja moved to take him away. But a cold voice stopped him.
"Wait. This isn't over yet... Yamanaka, go and confirm whether what he said is true."
"But, Danzo-sama, considering the child's current condition, I'm afraid..." The medical ninja tried to object, but his gaze met the other man's icy expression.
There was no stopping it. The ninja called Yamanaka had already stepped forward—words alone weren't enough to trust; only the memories in someone's mind couldn't lie.
Yamanaka placed his palm against Hanyu's forehead. Unconscious, Hanyu had no idea that an unprecedented crisis had just descended upon him.
But no one else present was paying any attention to Hanyu. Danzo's actions were nothing more than excessive caution—a needless precaution... Subjectively, everyone here believed that Hanyu had told the truth.
Even so, probing his memories was standard procedure.
Sarutobi and the others were concerned with the Second's final affairs and the direction Konoha would take from here... They could no longer cling to wishful thinking. Some things simply couldn't be undone:
The younger brother among the brothers who led the Forest Senju, the clan that had pacified the warring era and played a crucial role in founding Konoha Ninja Village, had passed away.
As a ninja, Senju Tobirama had been tremendously powerful, developing many formidable ninjutsu and forbidden techniques. As Konoha's leader, he had meticulously established the village's systems, leaving nothing to criticize. And yet... no ninja in this world was immortal.
After Hidden Leaf Village had lost Senju Hashirama, the First Hokage and the strongest man in the world; Uchiha Madara, whose strength was on a par with Hashirama's; and then Senju Tobirama, the Second, nearly all its power to command the Shinobi World had vanished.
An era had come to an end.
The Second's sacrifice was certainly a source of grief, but over the past few days, everyone had more or less prepared themselves for this outcome. No one was so distraught that they lost their reason. With the Hokage gone, putting Konoha's affairs in order was the most important thing... The war was still raging.
From the perspective of maintaining stability in Konoha, the Second's final words, brought back by Hanyu Yu, were of considerable importance.
The Second's death had come suddenly. It had only been a mission to form an alliance with the Cloud Village. Who could have imagined it would cost two ninja villages their leaders? The Hokage hadn't made any arrangements for what would happen after his death before setting out, much less chosen a successor.
He had only appointed his student, Sarutobi Hiruzen, as the next Hokage before sacrificing himself. To the others in the village, it was a very "last-minute" decision. And the only ones who could testify to it were the guards who had accompanied the Hokage, so it wasn't enough to convince everyone.
Not everyone was willing to see a young man barely into his twenties become the village's leader.
But now that the Second had left a written appointment, Sarutobi Hiruzen's right to succeed him as Hokage was beyond dispute... Whatever undercurrents might be stirring, at least on the surface, that was how things stood.
"Although Lady Mito supported you before, the rumors and opposition haven't stopped. After all, we're too young. But now that we have the Second's final appointment in writing, your position will improve greatly, Sarutobi... In fact, you're already the Third." Mitokado Homura looked at the bloodstained slip of paper as he spoke.
That was the difference between something passed along by word of mouth and something set down in writing.
Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head. "It's too soon to call me the Third. But... at least I can be Acting Hokage for now."
"...You're right."
Rather than take full control of the village at once, Sarutobi would rather secure a smooth transition. In any case, doubts about him were inevitable, and they would persist for a long time. Compared to the First and Second, both renowned throughout the world, Sarutobi was bound to invite comparisons as their successor. The brilliance of those who came before was so dazzling that anyone who followed would seem dim by comparison.
With war raging outside and a tangled mess of problems at home after the loss of the Hokage, even Sarutobi, usually steady and optimistic, couldn't help feeling that life was difficult.
Before you continue