As long as he was willing to stop immediately, they could work things out. Hiruzen could even forgive his crimes and let him enjoy his remaining years in peace.
"I just want one answer from you. Why did you do this?"
But just as Hiruzen thought he had prepared himself well enough, a deafening rumble suddenly erupted, so close it seemed to come from right beside him.
The ground shook. The floor split apart, flames burst into the air, and the ceiling came crashing down on him. It all happened in an instant.
Damn it!
Hiruzen's eyes widened in disbelief as the scene unfolded, but soon the rubble swallowed him.
Then the people outside saw the Hokage Building—a landmark of Konoha for sixty years—collapse with a thunderous crash!
Roaring flames consumed everything, turning the place into a gigantic torch!
It had all happened so fast that no one could react in time.
Not far from the Hokage Building, a small special unit had just completed its mission and was preparing to withdraw. The entire squad was made up of members of the Aburame Clan.
Under Aburame Tatsuma's command, they had quietly entered and exited the Hokage Building over the past month, casually leaving behind Honey Pot Bugs with the ability to store liquids.
No one would suspect them. Wasn't it perfectly normal to carry ninja insects?
But the liquid stored inside these Honey Pot Bugs was no ordinary substance. It was a dangerous compound that exploded at the slightest spark.
Following their orders, the Honey Pot Bugs had silently burrowed into the wood and hidden themselves until the entire building was infested.
The rest was simple. All they had to do was send in large numbers of Scale Fire Bugs to ignite the Honey Pot Bugs, creating an effect like an explosion without anyone noticing what had caused it.
Even Aburame Tatsuma hadn't expected Hiruzen to be in his office. He'd hit the jackpot.
He had only done it because the Hokage Building was the hub of intelligence exchange. Destroying it would cripple Konoha's intelligence network, making Tatsuma's operation easier.
When it comes to knowing where Konoha is vulnerable, no one beats one of their own.
That was why, in the original story, when Sunagakure launched a surprise attack on Konoha, no one thought to blow up the Hokage Building. The old structure had survived as a result.
But Tatsuma had still underestimated Hiruzen. The old man darted out of the blazing ruins, his Hokage robes burned away, revealing the gleaming armor he wore underneath.
In other words, the Third Hokage had been ready for battle all along, fully armed and prepared to fight in person.
"Everyone still alive, gather here! I'll sit right here and see what tricks these traitors have left!" Hiruzen roared, then sat on the rubble with an air of command, summoning his subordinates.
Quite a few Anbu Ninja soon escaped from the building. Hearing his words, they felt the full force of the man who had held office for fifty years. Their spirits lifted, and they hurried over, surrounding him and guarding against danger from every direction.
They couldn't let Lord Hokage fall into danger like that again!
Hiruzen took a few deep breaths. He was old, after all. If he weren't, he should have been able to escape the Hokage Building the moment the explosion went off.
But he had been a fraction too slow and suffered a minor injury. It didn't matter. As long as he was still standing here, Konoha would be all right!
He glanced at the ruins still engulfed in flames behind him and sighed. He knew there was danger here, but he couldn't run away. That was his duty as Hokage, and he had to shoulder it.
Without him, Hiruzen, the Hokage Building could no longer truly serve as the center of Konoha's intelligence network. The village would suffer even greater losses.
My old friend, can you see this?
Konoha is burning!
Even now, are you still going to hide?
If you want my position, you should come and take it yourself, not scheme for it from some dark corner.
And you certainly shouldn't...
join forces with an enemy like Sunagakure!
And Orochimaru—where are you now?
I knew that one day you would come for revenge, but you could have come after me. Couldn't you have spared Konoha?
This is where you grew up, too!
New intelligence kept coming in. Looking at the growing casualty figures, Hiruzen furrowed his brow and sighed helplessly.
But he quickly pulled himself together and issued a series of orders, determined to minimize the casualties and crush the rebellion.
From the information gathered so far, only Root had joined forces with Sunagakure. Together, the two sides had about two or three hundred people. They were all elites, but they were no match for a colossus like Konoha.
As long as nothing went wrong on his side, crushing the rebellion was only a matter of time.
Meanwhile, rumors began spreading rapidly through Konoha's streets and alleys.
Chapter 74: The Maestro of Rebellion
Most of the rumors were absurd nonsense. The most widespread claimed that Hiruzen had already been assassinated, clearly spread by the conspirators to undermine morale.
But Hiruzen had handled the situation well. As long as his orders continued to reach the troops, no one would believe such rumors.
What bothered him was a new rumor: Danzo had personally set out to crush the rebels and was now recruiting Anbu personnel to stand against the invaders from Sunagakure.
If any Anbu Ninja who didn't know the truth believed it, they would become pawns in Danzo's hands.
It was a devastating move. If Hiruzen really were dead, Danzo might gather the Anbu forces scattered throughout Konoha, become their new leader, and then ascend to the Hokage Position as a hero who had saved the village.
After all, spreading rumors was Danzo's specialty. He had used that trick to bring down who knew how many political enemies.
Even the White Fang of Konoha back then...
And now he's using the same trick on me?
Hiruzen recognized a familiar pattern. It was exactly the sort of thing Danzo would do: strike straight at the heart with ruthless precision, gambling everything on a single opportunity.
Only now did Hiruzen have to admit that his old friend had truly changed. He had become someone Hiruzen barely recognized. Did growing old really make people foolish and forget their principles?
Look at him. Even now, he doesn't dare show himself and face me. That tells me everything.
"Go find the source of this rumor. If any new rumors emerge, report them immediately. If Danzo wants to take control of the Anbu, people should at least know where to find him." Hiruzen gave the order without changing expression.
If you won't come to see me, then I'll come find you!
Let's see what face you have when you meet me!
"Enemy attack!" one of the ninja guarding Hiruzen shouted. But in the next instant, a kunai plunged into his forehead, and his voice cut off. He crumpled to the ground.
Hiruzen looked closely and saw a man approaching with dozens of fully armed ninja. They all wore masks, but unlike the animal masks of the Anbu, theirs were painted with colorful designs.
There was no doubt about it. They were all members of Root!
The man at their head took off his mask and declared confidently, "Sir, you've lost!"
"Aburame Tatsuma!" Hiruzen recognized him at once, surprise flashing across his face.
Tatsuma was a squad leader in the Anbu, but it was obvious now that he served Danzo, not Hiruzen.
If even he was a Root mole, how many trustworthy people were left in the Anbu?
"When I blew up the Hokage Building, I truly didn't expect you to be inside. If I'd known, I would have prepared better and given you a more dignified end," Tatsuma said with regret.
"So it was you! Are you going to betray Konoha?" Hiruzen demanded, his expression darkening.
"Betrayal? Isn't it you who betrayed Konoha? If you hadn't shown favoritism and forced the Fourth to become Hokage, Konoha would have flourished under Lord Danzo's leadership. But look at the village now. It's no longer worthy of being called the greatest shinobi village. It meekly endures as other villages bully it at will. This village, like you, has grown old!"
"Bring Danzo here to speak to me!"
"Don't rush. Once I've dealt with these blindly loyal fools around you, I'll 'invite' you to meet our leader."
With that, Tatsuma waved his hand. The Root ninja behind him surged forward and charged.
Hiruzen didn't know that, not far away, a figure was hiding in the shadows, silently watching the scene unfold. As the director of this whole affair, how could he miss the show?
"Teacher, did you think I would seek revenge on you? Unfortunately, such a boring emotion has no place in me."
"But you really are old. You've spent too long sitting in a safe place, and you've lost the decisiveness you had in your youth. It pains me to see you like this."
"It's time for you to leave the stage. Konoha's windmill needs a fresh breeze to set it spinning again. I, Orochimaru, will sweep away all the stale air of the past."
Orochimaru wasn't saying these things for anyone else to hear. He was simply struggling with a decision, and the time had come to make it.
His gaze shifted to Aburame Tatsuma, who was shouting orders and fighting. A hint of mockery appeared in his eyes.
He wondered what kind of genjutsu Tatsuma was under. It still showed no sign of wearing off, which fascinated Orochimaru.
More importantly, Orochimaru had already tested the limits of the technique. Whoever was giving Tatsuma orders had made him obey every command, no matter how unreasonable. Tatsuma carried them out to the letter, even when they went against the interests of the one he truly served—Danzo.
Orochimaru had no interest in discovering what this person was after. There were too many ambitious people in the world for him to track them all down. He only needed to make good use of this tool.
He was certain that the one controlling Tatsuma couldn't be Danzo. Danzo could use the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal; there was no need to go to such lengths.
And so Orochimaru had come up with a bold plan, one that would satisfy his deepest wishes as fully as possible.
The rumors Tatsuma had spread and the Root spies he had arranged to incite the rebellion had all been acting on Orochimaru's orders. Now that Tatsuma had outlived his usefulness, Orochimaru had sent him to assassinate Hiruzen.
Of course, he didn't expect Hiruzen to be so easy to kill. What he truly wanted was for Hiruzen to kill Tatsuma. That way, there would be no witnesses left.
On that score, Orochimaru had every confidence in his teacher.
Everything here had been arranged. The next step was to wait for Danzo to appear. Orochimaru was sure the old man wouldn't sit calmly in his ant nest after being framed like this.
Explosions rang out one after another. Flames suddenly flared in this place or that, and the clash of weapons could be heard in the distance, along with the piercing cries of a baby.
Konoha was in the midst of civil strife, yet Orochimaru wore an entranced expression. He couldn't help moving his arms as if he were a conductor passionately leading an orchestra—or a man dancing alone to its music.
Listen! What a beautiful sound. The atmosphere is perfect, and the grand stage is ready for you. What are you waiting for, protagonists? Come on out!
Burn away your rotten, decrepit lives in one final dance for Konoha, and then welcome the birth of a new age!
Tremble before me, Konoha!
Chapter 75: The Fire Lord as the Target
Outside Konoha, a squad of Sand Ninja raced forward.
"How is Gaara doing?" Jonin Baki asked anxiously as he led the squad, leaping through the trees.
"Ever since he killed that Konoha Ninja onstage, he's been in a bad state. He's far too agitated. Maybe the blood set him off," Kankuro replied quickly, carrying Gaara on his back.
Gaara was in terrible shape. His pupils kept shrinking and widening, and low growls like a beast's rumbled from his throat. The skin on his body swelled from time to time; it was clear he could lose control at any moment.
"Damn it. Preventing Gaara from losing control is more important than completing the plan!"
They hadn't brought Gaara to Konoha to use him as a one-time weapon. Even if he transformed into a Tailed Beast, he had to remain under control.
"What should we do next?"
"We'll finish our current mission first. We must capture the Feudal Lord of Fire alive. Then we'll have enough leverage to prevent a war between the two countries."
"Yes!" Kankuro and Temari answered together.
Sunagakure's plan hadn't actually been to destroy Konoha. They didn't have enough people to send a large force into the Land of Fire.
There was no point in going through with an impossible mission unless they had another objective. In truth, they had never expected to bring down Konoha this way. They only wanted to force the two countries to tear up their alliance, so Sunagakure could increase its military budget.
Otherwise, in a few decades, Sunagakure might be kicked out of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
So they hadn't wanted to provoke Konoha. What they feared most was retaliation from Konoha; given the village's current state, they might not be able to withstand it.
Yes, before launching the plan, they had signed an agreement with Aburame Tatsuma, representing Danzo, promising what Danzo would do once he took power. But how could the Kazekage trust him so easily?
If you dared to overthrow your own Hokage, what was stopping you from breaking an agreement?
They didn't trust Orochimaru either, despite his role in bringing the two sides together.
And the solution was simple: capture the Feudal Lord of Fire. That was Sunagakure's own little scheme, one they would never reveal to Danzo or Orochimaru.
Then Danzo would be wary of acting rashly. Even if he really did break the agreement, he wouldn't dare start a war.
That would put Sunagakure firmly in control. They might even be able to force Konoha to sign an agreement that favored them.
So far, the plan had gone fairly smoothly. Just as they'd expected, the huge crowd had withdrawn in a hurry and hadn't had time to cover their tracks. They had found the escape route taken by the dignitaries.
Now they just had to see if they could catch up.
Just then, Gaara suddenly came to his senses.
"Over there..."
"What?" Hearing Gaara speak, Kankuro immediately leaned closer to listen.
"There's someone over there I want to kill..."
"Who?"
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