Each with Their Own Hidden Agenda

Konoha, Hokage's Office.

"Hiruzen, the Fourth Hokage, have you made your decision?"

Mitokado Homura's simple question immediately created an awkward atmosphere in the entire office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly looked up at him, his eyes sharp and wary.

"Don't look at me like that. You'll abdicate after Third Shinobi World War. Others may not know this, but do you think we don't?"

Mitokado Homura's explanation softened Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude slightly.

Indeed, he had told Danzo about this, so it's normal that Koharu and En knew about it.

But what are you trying to achieve by bringing this up now? I don't believe you anymore. Are you trying to invest in the next Hokage?

But before Hiruzen Sarutobi could even figure it out, Mitokado Homura uttered an even more explosive remark.

Have you ever considered making Taichi Matsushita the Fourth Hokage?

Now, not only Hiruzen Sarutobi, but even Utatane Koharu looked at Mitokado Homura with surprise. This idea was truly audacious.

"Taiichi, how could this be? He's still so young!"

Without even thinking, Hiruzen Sarutobi blurted it out.

He stopped abruptly as soon as he spoke, realizing what Mitokado Homura meant.

As expected, Mitokado Homura's next words confirmed his guess.

"Since you don't want Taiichi to become the Fourth Hokage, then you should consider properly suppressing him."

"Taiichi experienced all four battlefields of the Third Shinobi World War, and played a crucial role in each one."

"I wasn't aware of this before, but since taking over Root, judging from the intelligence gathered by Root, Taichi Matsushita's reputation in Konoha has reached a very high level, comparable to that of Sakumo back then!"

Mitokado Homura spoke with unusual seriousness, and Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned as he listened.

Logically, this shouldn't be the case. Taiichi only became truly active after the start of the Third Shinobi World War, which is less than a year. How could he have such a high reputation?

Utatane Koharu, had the same question and asked it directly.

"Why not? Don't forget that Taichi Matsushita is a top-tier Medical Ninja. In the three major warfronts, nearly half of the ninjas on each side have received his treatment; these are all life-saving favors."

Now everyone understood – their abilities were convincing, and they had even had their lives saved by them.

It would be truly unjust if someone like that didn't have a high reputation.

But now the problem comes back to Hiruzen Sarutobi. With such prestige, it's manageable for Taiichi now that he's young, but what if he gets older in a few years? Will you still be able to control him then?

Not to mention he's still on the front lines, where his military achievements are piling up.

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind, he also had a clear idea of who the Fourth Hokage would be.

He originally wanted Jiraiya or Orochimaru to be the Fourth Hokage.

But in a recent conversation with his two disciples, he was surprised to discover that neither of them had any interest in becoming the Fourth Hokage.

This put him in a difficult position, but fortunately, Konoha had many talents, though few other things.

After some thought and consideration, he discovered that Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya's apprentice, was exceptionally suitable for the position.

He was his own grand-disciple, a true and loyal descendant of the Hokage.

He is a cheerful and outgoing person, and is very popular Jonin the Jonin of Konoha.

In addition, his own strength is also second to none. The titles "Yellow Flash" and "Konoha Twin Terrors" all demonstrate that he is a top-notch ninja like Taiichi.

More importantly, Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, was his lover.

Don't underestimate the Jinchuriki just because Taiichi can kill any Tailed Beast he catches on the battlefield. Those people are completely unaware of the power gap between themselves and the Tailed Beasts.

Even the One-Tail Chakra Shukaku, which has the least chakra, is not something Kage Level ninja can handle, let alone the Nine-Tails, which is recognized as the strongest of the Tailed Beast.

That truly means they possess the power to destroy the world.

With such a supportive wife, Minato Namikaze would undoubtedly have a huge advantage if he were to become Hokage.

For Minato Namikaze, the only thing he lacks to become Hokage is immense prestige.

In this respect, he is indeed far inferior to Taiichi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Mitokado Homura. His reminder was indeed timely; if it had been any later, it would have been too late to create an opportunity for Minato.

"The Mist Village is only temporarily withdrawn. Once the battlefield situation in the Mist Village is completely stable, he will be recalled to the village."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's words set the tone for the matter and also conveyed a message to Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura: he had already chosen the Fourth Hokage Fourth Hokage and was now paving the way for him.

Mitokado Homura had long suspected these things, and he knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi would make this choice, and his previous actions were merely a prelude.

"Hiruzen, do you remember who I was asked to investigate before, who killed Danzo?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Mitokado Homura with surprise. This was quite a leap in topic, but it was indeed a big deal, and he couldn't afford to be indifferent.

"What, have you found a clue? Or do you have someone you suspect?"

Mitokado Homura didn't say anything, but directly took out an investigation report from his pocket and handed it to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him suspiciously, then took the book, opened it, and started reading.

The beginning was all normal, just some traces found at the scene and what kind of Ninjutsu would cause these traces.

For example, Earth Style: Earth Style: Great Earth Core, Earth Style: Earth Dome Rising, and Earth Style: Earth Mountain Technique are all classic Earth Style Ninjutsu, and are the Ninjutsu that Iwagakure (Iwagakure) is most proficient in.

The numerous Wind Style cutting marks found at the scene are very likely from Danzo's Vacuum Style Techniques.

Additionally, Danzo's Summoning Animal dreams and traces of what appeared to be a sword-wielding ninja were discovered at the scene.

Considering these various clues, and the location of Danzo's death, the first thing that comes to mind is the Iwagakure Ninja.

After all, they have the motivation, the ability, and the time.

However, when Hiruzen Sarutobi saw the suspected culprit listed by Root at the end of the report, his pupils suddenly contracted.

The last name on the report was Taichi Matsushita.

"Mitokado Homura, you're not joking!" Hiruzen Sarutobi called him by his name, which showed how agitated he was.

Mitokado Homura naturally knew what Hiruzen Sarutobi was referring to, but he remained completely calm.

These analyses are all based on reason and evidence, and are not fabricated by him, even if they contain a lot of his personal biases.

"Hiruzen, this is just an objective analysis. I simply listed all the possible suspects at the time based on intelligence."

Good grief, trying to shirk all responsibility with just one sentence.

Of all the suspects, only Taichi Matsushita Konoha Ninja; most of the others were Rock Ninja, and there were even a few Grass Ninja.

This is like looking for lice on a bald head – it's obvious at a glance.

You're practically blatantly admitting that Taiichi is the murderer.

Utatane Koharu, also noticed the strangeness of the conversation between the two. She went over and picked up the investigation report, reading it quickly. She also looked up in shock when she saw Taichi Matsushita's name.

"Yan, although you and Taiichi have a conflict, do you have more evidence?"

"No, I'll repeat myself. This is just an objective analysis, based on suspicions about the target's motives, abilities, and time. Further investigation is needed to determine the specific results."

Mitokado Homura appeared completely at ease; every word he spoke was true, without a single lie, and that was precisely his purpose.

Link Danzo's death to Taichi Matsushita; there's no need to substantiate it, just plant this seed of resentment in Hiruzen and Koharu's hearts.

In this way, in future conflicts with Taichi Matsushita, they would consciously or unconsciously think about what happened today, and this kind of invisible bias is what he really wants.

What he needed to do now was simply to reinforce this impression, so the more questions the two asked, and the more detailed they were, the happier he became.

"Tell me, how did Taiichi become a suspect?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke calmly, but those who knew him knew he was suppressing his anger.

It's understandable that you have conflicts and disagreements, but he can't tolerate you blaming each other on this kind of thing.

However, Mitokado Homura seemed oblivious to Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude and continued to explain to the two of them at a leisurely pace.

"First, there's the motive. Putting aside what we don't know, what we do know is that Danzo targeted Taichi Matsushita and his team more than once, including threats, leaking information, and sending assassins. These are enough to give Taichi Matsushita reason to kill him."

Although his words were a farce, it must be said that he was right; if he were in Danzo's shoes, he would also want to Danzo him.

"Next is ability. I don't need to elaborate on Taiichi's strength; everyone knows it. Although he has only shown fire, water, wind, and the newly appeared Ice Release bloodline limit so far, I have reason to believe that a genius like him is also top-notch in Earth Style and Lightning Style release. More importantly, he is also a master swordsman."

"As for the final moment of the crime, needless to say, with his Flying Thunder God, he could easily have arranged for Shadow Clone to monitor and reveal himself, while using the Flying Thunder God Technique to travel back and forth. Ordinary people simply wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two places."

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Utatane Koharu exchanged bewildered glances. After Mitokado Homura's analysis, even they felt that Taiichi was suspected of killing Danzo.

But they quickly dismissed the idea from their minds.

Even if this is Mitokado Homura's speculation, and it is indeed true, there's nothing they can do to Taiichi for the time being.

This is similar to when Danzo sent someone to assassinate Yohei Uchiha. Back then, the evidence was conclusive, but in the end, the matter was dropped.

Taiichi is now considered a pillar of Konoha, and at this crucial moment, they cannot afford to destroy their own foundation.

"Yan, destroy this report. I don't want to hear similar information again. Taiichi absolutely loyal to Konoha. Don't use such unfounded speculation to doubt him next time."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's response was resolute, but Mitokado Homura interpreted it differently.

Many were loyal to Konoha, Danzo, but Konoha didn't stop him from killing Yohei Uchiha.

Suspicion without evidence is unacceptable; next time, we must find concrete evidence.

Mitokado Homura's lips curled into a faint, victorious smile, but he replied decisively, "Understood. I'll be more careful next time."

The Konoha high-level meeting ended in an eerie atmosphere, but this did nothing to diminish the impact of the battle on the Ninja World.

The Land of Earth, the frontline Camp of the Cloud Village.

Third A crumpled the intelligence scroll in his hand and began cursing without any restraint.

"Those useless Mist Village have been utterly defeated in just one month. To call themselves one of the Five Great Ninja Villages is utterly shameful."

The Raikage's anger was not without reason. If Mist Village could gain the upper hand in the war against Konoha, or even if the two sides were evenly matched, Cloud Village planned to increase its investment in the war against Konoha.

After all, everyone's goal in attacking Konoha was the same: to gain something. As long as they saw an opportunity, they would inevitably attack together.

However, now, although everyone is fighting against Konoha, they are also attacking each other. For example, Cloud Village fights Konoha mainly for profit, while fighting Iwagakure is mainly for personal grudges.

Now, Mist Village's latest defeat has made the Third A, A, realize the situation: since the start of the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha is now fighting four against one.

Under such circumstances, Miya still managed to hold onto his homeland, proving that his war potential remained considerable.

The Cloud Village needs to adjust its strategy. Since they can't gain any advantage over the Konoha Village, they can only target their old rival Iwagakure Village.

"Karui, order the village to execute Plan 2. Have them gather another 1,000 ninjas and bring them to the Land of Earth. Our next target is Iwagakure."

Karui's expression changed, realizing that the Lord Raikage had finally made up his mind, and he immediately accepted the order.

Before, not only Cloud Village, but the entire Ninja World was waiting.

Whether it will be a pack of wolves devouring a tiger, or each fighting their own battle, depends on the outcome of the war between Mist Village and Konoha.

However, the result was not entirely satisfactory.

"That short bastard Ōnoki has been plotting an attack on Konoha for so long, the village's movements are definitely not going to be reversed anytime soon. We should take this opportunity to intensify our attack on Iwagakure."

The Third A quickly regained his composure and began to consider how to attack Iwagakure.

Cloud Village was planning to attack Iwagakure, Mist Village naturally wouldn't stand idly by.

The battle reports from the front lines, once sent back to Mist Village, immediately caused a huge uproar.

In just one month, Mist Village suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Konoha.

Five members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen died, and they couldn't even retrieve their five great Greatsword.

Not to mention the deaths of the Hozuki and Kaguya clan leaders, which directly caused turmoil within Mist Village.

The residence of Elder Genshi.

The Third Mizukage took the initiative to come here today to communicate with this surviving elder who has been a key figure since the village's founding.

"Elder Genshi, you must have heard about what's been happening in the village these past two days."

Mizukage still had some pride, so she didn't jump straight to the point.

Genji struggled to open his squinting eyes and turned his head with difficulty to look at the Third Mizukage. Anyone who saw him would think he was about to die.

"Third Kazekage, huh? I've heard quite a few comments lately, but I don't know which one you're referring to?"

The Third Mizukage remained silent for a long time, knowing that he was no match for this old codger in terms of patience, so he decisively conceded defeat and said, "We suffered a crushing defeat at the front, and the heads of the Kaguya and Hozuki clans are dead or wounded. Now the two families are causing a ruckus throughout the village, each wanting to avenge their own head."

"Oh! Is that what it is? It's only natural to want to avenge the clan leader." Genji's eyes narrowed again, as if he were asleep. After a long while, he slowly asked, "What's your opinion on the Third Kazekage?"

"These guys disregard the village's interests, tying them down to their own family's, and disrupting the village's stability. They deserve to die!"