Hokage: You Call This Guy the Savior?!

Shukaku, in particular, felt a sliver of dread toward Gyarados; in its eyes, any existence capable of making it feel such awe-inspiring fear must be far more powerful than itself.

Should it be making a run for it right about now?

"Gyarados, use Dragon Tail!" At that moment, Keiichi pointed from afar, seamlessly switching his profession from ninja to Pokémon Trainer.

Sure enough, no matter the distance, Gyarados could receive his commands. It bared a ferocious expression, lunged violently toward its target, and swung its tail, slamming it hard against Shukaku's face.

Shukaku stood motionless, completely stunned, unable to regain its senses for a long while.

Why do you look so majestic, like a natural-born king, yet your attack power is so pathetic?

The damage was minimal, but the insult was immense!

So this monster that looked so formidable was actually just a paper tiger; it had wasted so much caution for nothing.

"You're courting death!" Shukaku fired a barrage of Air Bullets at Gyarados, its tone sounding somewhat exasperated.

How could I have been scared by such a piece of junk just now!

Gyarados moved with agility, feeling right at home in the sky, and dodged every single Air Bullet.

However, Shukaku's actions also infuriated it, making it even more irritable as it let out continuous roars.

Ever since its evolution, the Magikarp that once reeked of salted fish had become a different creature entirely, turning into a grumpy old man with a severe case of road rage.

"Naruto, does that guy look like he's on our side?" Gamabunta asked tentatively.

"I've never seen it before, but I feel like it's familiar somehow..." Naruto racked his brain; he really felt like he had seen it somewhere, and it had left him with some very bad memories.

It was as if he had suffered a great deal at its hands.

"Forget it, tell it that as long as it can restrain Shukaku, I have a way to end this battle!"

Hearing this, Naruto immediately shouted, "Tie it up! Go on and tie it up, you stupid fish!"

Stupid fish?

Stupid fish!

Naruto suddenly remembered; this guy looked exactly like that stupid fish—no, to use Keiichi's words, they shared the same art style!

Clearly, Naruto's muscle memory was far more reliable than his brain.

At this moment, Keiichi realized he had miscalculated; even after evolving into Gyarados, the massive level gap remained, making it impossible to actually harm Shukaku.

Shukaku had existed for over a thousand years; while its strength wasn't quantified by levels, even if it had just been grinding at the village entrance for ten miles, it would have reached level one hundred by now.

To make good use of Gyarados, he had to think from a support perspective, and Naruto's shout made Keiichi's eyes light up.

"Quick, use Wrap!"

However, three large question marks appeared over Gyarados's head, signaling that it didn't understand what he was talking about.

"Quick, use Bind!"

???

Hey, hey, what do you think you have such a long body for? Isn't it meant for binding enemies?

Have you never seen a dragon pillar?

Why don't you know even the most basic moves!

Keiichi racked his brain, struggling to recall everything he knew about Gyarados, realizing it had to be a move the creature could actually learn.

The battlefield, however, waited for no one. Shukaku ignored Gyarados entirely and chased after Gamabunta, attacking relentlessly.

Soon, it found an opening and beat Gamabunta so badly that the toad spat out several mouthfuls of blood.

To be able to hold on until now without returning to Mount Myoboku, it truly lived up to the word "loyalty."

What...

What skill could possibly break this deadlock?

At this moment, the Hyuga Clan compound was largely deserted. Most of the ninjas were absent, with the vast majority having followed their clan leader to the venue to watch the tournament, while a small portion were out on missions, leaving only a handful of clansmen to guard the home front.

News of the rebellion in the Leaf Village had already spread, so they were inevitably on edge; at the slightest sign of trouble, they would activate their Byakugan, terrified that an entire squad of elite ninjas might emerge.

If something were to happen and enemies breached the compound, they would be unable to atone for their failure even with their deaths.

Just then, a Byakugan user on the watchtower noticed something, but before he could see it clearly, he felt something graze past his ear. He looked closely and realized it was a kunai.

He broke out in a cold sweat; such a sharp technique was certainly not something an ordinary ninja could possess.

Fortunately, there was no further movement, and his anxious heart settled slightly.

He turned his head and saw a note attached to the kunai. It turned out that the person who threw it was merely trying to convey information to the Hyuga Clan.

He took down the note and was instantly dumbfounded. A single line was written on it:

"Danzo is plotting treason and has now used genjutsu to control the Hokage. Please, Lord Hiashi, take action as soon as possible."

This news was truly shocking. While it sounded like a complete fantasy, according to reports from the front, it was indeed the Root organization under Danzo that had participated in the rebellion, so there might actually be some truth to it.

He dared not delay, immediately relaying the news to his superior, who also realized the gravity of the situation and promptly released the pigeons used for transmitting messages.

"Hurry and take this message to the Clan Head!"

With a series of coos, several pigeons scattered and took flight, heading toward every corner of Konoha...

Chapter 85: Jonin Reassemble

The fire at the Hokage Building had been extinguished, and Hiruzen remained at his post, though he was now joined by Danzo and his loyal subordinates.

Hiruzen had already issued orders to reassemble the jonin, because according to the intelligence sent back by Kakashi, the target of Sunagakure was actually the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

The worst-case scenario had become reality, leaving Hiruzen no choice but to take it seriously.

Although he had already dispatched Kakashi, and even those genin who had performed exceptionally well during the Chunin Exams, to escort the dignitaries away from this hotbed of trouble, it was theoretically enough.

But if Sunagakure was pouring its main force into kidnapping the Daimyo, he could hardly rest easy.

After all, among those sent, the only true jonin was Kakashi.

If the Daimyo were truly abducted by Sunagakure, Konoha would inevitably fall into a passive position; even if the internal rebellion were eventually quelled, the losses would be irreparable, and their reputation on the international stage would be dragged through the mud.

This move by Sunagakure had truly struck at his Achilles' heel.

When these jonin arrived to report to Hiruzen, they naturally saw Danzo standing silently behind him, and instinctively reached for their weapons, their expressions turning tense.

Why is he here?

Who doesn't know by now that it was Danzo's Root that incited the rebellion?

Aren't those rumors circulating in the streets and alleys the handiwork of you, Danzo?

Could it be that Lord Hiruzen has been taken hostage by him?

Danzo knew that no one would believe his words, and he had no intention of explaining anything; someone would naturally clear his name for him.

"Don't be tense. Danzo is not the mastermind behind this rebellion; the true culprit is someone else," Hiruzen said, soothing the emotions of the jonin.

His eyes were clear and his posture relaxed, showing no signs of being coerced or controlled, which allowed the jonin to relax slightly.

"Who is the mastermind?" Kurenai Yuhi asked.

"Judging by the various signs, I fear it is Orochimaru, who infiltrated the village a while ago."

Once these words were spoken, the jonin did not look surprised; they were all too familiar with the kind of person Orochimaru was.

"Lord Hiruzen, do you really believe Danzo wasn't involved? His relationship with Orochimaru is far from ordinary." Inoichi Yamanaka stared fixedly at Danzo, his face etched with distrust.

This sentiment represented the thoughts of the other jonin as well, and they turned their gazes toward Hiruzen, hoping for a reasonable explanation.

"There is no connection between Danzo and Orochimaru," Hiruzen stated categorically.

This statement left everyone present feeling bewildered. Are you serious?

They even had a confrontation in the Forest of Death a month ago!

"In fact, until today, I had no idea Orochimaru had come to Konoha. The person who met with Orochimaru was not me; someone had disguised themselves as me," Danzo said with a light cough, explaining calmly.

However, this explanation was far too far-fetched, and hardly anyone believed it.

Isn't your Root supposed to be Konoha's largest intelligence department? Is there anything here you don't know?

Besides, what kind of person is Orochimaru? Would he not be able to tell someone was disguised as you? What kind of transformation jutsu is that powerful?

Even if Orochimaru couldn't tell, could Aburame Tatsuma, your top lieutenant, not tell either?

No matter how one looked at it, his words were unbelievable.

Danzo looked at the suspicious faces of the crowd and sighed helplessly in his heart. I have told so many lies in my life, yet this is the only time I am telling the truth.

I really don't know anything, alright?!

I truly want to know who disguised themselves as me, not only deceiving Orochimaru but even fooling my own people like Aburame Tatsuma.

This was the first time in his life he had encountered a situation where he couldn't explain himself despite being in the right.

At this moment, he secretly felt a bit of relief; fortunately, he had decisively used Kotoamatsukami to control Hiruzen earlier, otherwise, he would never have gotten through this.

Even if there were doubts, they couldn't eliminate Hiruzen's suspicion of him, so when facing these jonin, Hiruzen might not have spoken up for him.

But now, he had Hiruzen's absolute support; no matter how much these jonin opposed him, they couldn't shake him in the slightest.

This was the prestige of the Third Hokage, who had sat in power for fifty years!

"Let go of your suspicions regarding Danzo for now; we can discuss any issues later."

"But what if Danzo is the one who caused the problem?" someone persisted.

"These are not things for you to consider. I am willing to vouch for him; he is absolutely not someone who would betray Konoha." Hiruzen's face turned livid, and with a wave of his hand, he immediately silenced all the jonin present.

No one dared to continue defying the authority of this Hokage.

"Report the current situation," Danzo said indifferently.

"Because most of the Konoha ninja were gathered at the venue and knocked unconscious by smoke, our current defensive strength is severely insufficient. I fear we can only completely quell this internal rebellion once those ninja regain consciousness," Choza Akimichi said with a worried expression.

The biggest problem now was the lack of manpower; they couldn't cover every part of Konoha. It was a game of whack-a-mole, and they just couldn't completely eliminate the rebels inciting the chaos.

Moreover, these people were very experienced, as if they had rehearsed in advance; they knew how to hit and run, never engaging in a head-on confrontation.

The result was that thick smoke billowed throughout the Leaf Village, with riots breaking out everywhere, leaving the populace in a state of panic; if things continued this way, the villagers themselves might descend into chaos.

After all, there are always those who enjoy taking advantage of disorder to commit all sorts of evil deeds.

"What is this? Has this problem still not been resolved? Since when did the ninjas of the Leaf Village become such trash?" Danzo let out a cold snort, his gaze filled with icy malice.

This remark caused anger to flare on the faces of the assembled jonin, yet cowed by Hiruzen's authority, they dared not speak their fury.

They were indeed strong, but they could not be everywhere at once to protect the entire Leaf Village.

Besides, wasn't this mess caused by your Root in the first place? What right do you have to stand there and lecture us?

Could Lord Hiruzen truly be so old and dim-sighted that he still cannot see Danzo's true colors?

"Those smoke bombs are specially crafted; ordinary antidotes cannot wake those affected, so we are currently forced to rely on medical ninjutsu. However, the Medical Corps has limited manpower, making it difficult to increase efficiency."

Shikaku Nara saw that the atmosphere was turning sour, but he understood the importance of the bigger picture; now was certainly not the time to hold Danzo accountable, so he hurriedly offered an explanation.

This statement made Danzo's expression darken, for the anesthetic had been produced by Root specifically to ensure enemies could not easily counter it—he never expected that one day it would be used against his own people.

Looking at it this way, does this black pot have to be carried by me?

Could this Shikaku Nara be intentionally taking a jab at me?

"Damn it, if Tsunade were still here, this problem could be solved in a minute!"

"What is the use of saying such things now?"

"What about the smoke? Who exactly manufactured it? And where is the antidote?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone seemed to share a silent understanding, simultaneously fixing their gazes upon Danzo.

Chapter 86: Launch Announcement

Everyone, this book will be officially launched tomorrow (the 30th). The current follower count is approaching four thousand, with over five hundred active readers—much better data than when my previous book launched. Perhaps in the eyes of other authors, these are numbers so dismal they couldn't be worse, but to me, it represents a massive step forward.