A Politician's Faith

The Hokage Office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu — Konoha's four highest-ranking leaders—are gathered here to discuss the aftermath of White Fang's suicide.

"Hiruzen, the impact of this incident is too terrible. Even a ninja like White Fang committed suicide. Some people in the village are even talking about whether they can abandon their comrades at will for missions in the future. If this kind of atmosphere is established, the cohesion of the village will be greatly reduced," Utatane Koharu said in a deep voice.

"It's just that some Ninja Clan want to take this opportunity to cause trouble. They'll arrest a few typical cases, then win over some people, and that'll solve the problem."

Danzo indifferently, not caring at all.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, his face filled with regret. "This is all my fault! If I had stood up to quell the public opinion sooner, perhaps Sakumo wouldn't have had this problem."

"This isn't your fault. Nobody wanted what happened to Sakumo. Who knew he would use such an extreme way to apologize? In the end, it's mainly because someone was stirring things up. The mission Sakumo was carrying out was top secret. How did it become so widely known? We need to investigate that thoroughly," Mitokado Homura advised, his words carrying a deeper meaning.

Danzo his eyes. His intention was to suppress Sakumo's reputation so that Orochimaru could more easily ascend to the Hokage position. After all, the child under his command who had awakened Wood Release still needed time to grow.

But who could have imagined that Sakumo would commit suicide?

Moreover, Hiruzen tacitly agreed to this.

Otherwise, if Hiruzen had spoken out from the beginning, public opinion wouldn't have gotten out of control. Now he's pretending to regret it, but who is he trying to fool?

In the end, he was just handing a knife to Hiruzen, and it was Hiruzen who handed the knife to Sakumo.

"Indeed! We must investigate thoroughly!" Sarutobi Hiruzen a deep voice.

Danzo glanced at him, realizing he had to take the blame, and said, "Among the members of the Sakumo's Squad, there is one who came from Root. He has admitted that he accidentally leaked the secret and committed suicide last night to atone for his sins."

"What?! Another suicide?!" Mitokado Homura exclaimed.

The village has lost three Jōnin in a row. White Fang is Kage Level ninja, and Sakamoto Kouta is not weak among the Elite Jonin. Now that another one has died, how can this be allowed!

Sarutobi Hiruzen glared at Danzo: "In that case, let's leave it at that. From today onward, the village's rules must be strictly enforced, and we will absolutely not allow any more leaks of secrets."

Things have come to this point, and our efforts have backfired. At this time, the most important thing is to stabilize the internal situation, and now is not the time to punish Danzo.

At that moment, a slow footstep sound came, the office door was pushed open, and an elderly man with white hair, leaning on a cane, walked in shakily.

"Lord Kazumi?! What brings you here?"

All Four Elders were taken aback.

The old man was an elder of the Senju Clan, Senju Kazumi.

Or rather, he should now be called Kazumi, since as a staunch supporter of the Second Hokage, he abandoned the Senju surname.

The Four Elders officials looked quite respectful, Kazumi Mitokado Homura even brought a chair for Kazuya and helped him sit down.

In their youth, they were taken in as disciples by the Second Hokage, Kazumi took great care of them.

Utatane Koharu, who was about to make tea, waved to Kazumi and said, "No need to trouble yourself, I'll just say a few words and leave."

"Kazumi, please feel free to make any requests. We will certainly fulfill them if it is within our power."

Sarutobi Hiruzen said respectfully.

Kazumi smiled and said, "Monkey, you still speak as directly as before, but you're not as decisive and efficient in your actions as you used to be."

Right now, in the entire Konoha, the only person who can be called the Third Hokage by his nickname is probably the one right in front of us.

"Kazumi is right. The village affairs are heavy, and many things need to be handled carefully. I can no longer just rush forward like before."

Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared to be humbly accepting instruction.

"Since the village affairs are so heavy, why didn't you choose a successor for the Fourth Hokage sooner? Even if you are still in your prime, you can let your successor help you share the burden."

White Fang was originally the best choice, but who would have thought that he was so psychologically fragile that he committed suicide after suffering a little setback.

"But Three Ninja are excellent. Don't you have someone in mind among them?"

Kazumi tentatively asked.

Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "The Three Ninja are indeed all excellent, but they need more experience before they can truly stand on their own. I can hold on for a few more years and give these young people some time to grow."

Kazumi narrowed his eyes, somewhat displeased with Sarutobi Hiruzen's evasive behavior, so he stopped probing and went straight to the point. "What do you think of Tsunade?"

"Tsunade?" Sarutobi Hiruzen was taken aback, then nodded and said, "Tsunade is indeed very outstanding and deeply loved by the people of the village. Even disregarding her status as the granddaughter of the First Hokage, she is one of the best candidates for the Fourth Hokage."

"I won't beat around the bush, I'll just get straight to the point! If you let Tsunade inherit the position of Fourth Hokage, I can assure you that she will never continue to implement Tobirama's policies," Kazumi said confidently.

Sarutobi Hiruzen: "To succeed Hokage position, one needs the support of the people and the approval of the Jōnin. It's not something I can decide with just a few words."

Kazumi nodded. "That's true to some extent, but once you publicly support Tsunade, most of the Jōnin who previously supported you will also support Tsunade. At that time, Jōnin Tsunade definitely be in the lead. You don't deny that, do you?"

"Yes," Sarutobi Hiruzen replied.

"At the time, I shared the same idea as Tobirama: to disband all the Ninja Clan in Konoha, have everyone abandon their surnames, eliminate the boundaries between clans, and completely integrate into the Konoha community. All ninjas would have only one surname, which is ' Konoha '."

However, practice has proven that my and Tobirama's ideas were wrong.

Continuing to implement this policy will only cause turmoil within Konoha.

Just like the Uchiha and Hyūga clans now, they would definitely openly oppose it.

Tsunade is much more composed than before, and she knows how to handle things appropriately.

Kazumi a serious expression and a very earnest attitude.

Upon hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent, somewhat hesitant.

He naturally preferred Orochimaru.

However, in recent years, he discovered that Orochimaru, whom he had originally sent to Root to monitor Danzo, seemed to be colluding with Danzo.

His original intention was to find a weakness in Root through Orochimaru and then take the opportunity to weaken Root's power, but he did not expect that Root would grow stronger over the years.

Now, hearing Kazumi's assurance, I'm somewhat tempted.

This person represents the opinion of most of the former Senju lineage Jōnin, so his words are credible.

"I need some time to think about it." Sarutobi Hiruzen did not give a direct answer.

"Okay, I'll wait for you."

Kazumi nodded, seemingly unhurried.

"Hiruzen." Danzo sensed something was wrong. He knew Hiruzen's personality all too well. In recent years, he had become increasingly indecisive. If Tsunade was really as Kazumi said, then the question of who would become the Fourth Hokage was up for debate.

Bang!

Just as Kazumi got up to leave, the door to the Hokage Office was suddenly pushed open, and Tsunade stormed in angrily.

"Third Hokage! What exactly happened?! Why did Sakumo commit suicide, and all of you..."

Before Tsunade even entered the room, her excited voice rang out. However, when she saw the high-ranking officials gathered in the office, including Elder Kazumi, she paused for a moment.

"Excuse me, everyone." Jiraiya followed into the room with an embarrassed expression, not having a chance to stop Tsunade.

"Tsunade, the reason White Fang is like this is because he has a weak mentality. It's not the Third Hokage's fault. You come back with me first." Kazumi's face darkened. He had just praised Tsunade for her composure, but now he felt like he had been slapped in the face.

Tsunade shouted angrily, "Weak mental fortitude?! He's mentally stronger than any of you!"

Is this how you people are going to squander the Will of Fire that Grandpa passed down to you?

What did Sakumo do wrong?

A ninja who abandons a mission is a piece of trash; a ninja who abandons his comrades is even worse than trash!

Without ninjas, where would Konoha come from?

If my second grandfather had thought like you back then, would he have stayed behind to cover the rear after mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique?!

This is so disappointing!

"Shut up!" Kazumi snapped angrily, "Don't talk nonsense!"

Tsunade grabbed Kazuya by Kazumi collar and said angrily, "Shut up! You old codger, don't try to act tough with me."

"Tsunade! You've gone too far!" Sarutobi Hiruzen said in a deep voice, "Put down Lord Kazumi immediately."

"Tsunade, please don't be like this," Jiraiya quickly advised, then apologized to the others, "I'm sorry, Sakumo was Tsunade's friend. He died suddenly, and Tsunade can't accept it."

"Hmph!" Tsunade snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Jiraiya an awkward smile and chased after them.

"This is the attitude you have even before becoming the Fourth Hokage," Danzo calmly, letting out a soft snort.

Kazumi's face was dark, and he remained silent.

"Kazumi, I..." Sarutobi Hiruzen forward to comfort him.

"I'll head back now." Kazumi waved his hand, then left leaning on his cane, his figure much more hunched than before he arrived.

Utatane Koharu shook her head slightly. "How can someone so impulsive and easily angered be entrusted with important responsibilities?"

"Tsunade, you were too impulsive. How could you say such things in front of the higher-ups?"

On the way back, Jiraiya was filled with worry.

He wasn't worried about Tsunade being punished, but Tsunade words would definitely leave a bad impression on the higher-ups.

Although she didn't say it, she loved Konoha more than anyone else.

Tsunade could definitely be a great Hokage!

In Jiraiya's mind, she was more suitable to become Hokage than Orochimaru.

Tsunade said coldly, "Jiraiya, you're not stupid, you can't be that clueless, can you?"

Jiraiya fell silent. He understood the intricacies of the situation. Politics was the thing he hated most, which was why he didn't want to become Hokage. Once he reached that position, he would be absolutely unable to stay away from politics.

"The Third Hokage has changed; he's old! He's not the Third Hokage as before, otherwise he would have stood up for Sakumo immediately."

Jiraiya fell silent again, because what Tsunade said was true.

"Hasn't he considered the potential impact this might have on Sakumo? All he's thinking about now is how to divide power and maintain checks and balances. Where is even a trace of the sagacity of a true Ninja Hero?!" Tsunade looked exhausted.

Jiraiya advised, "You should be patient for now, and wait until you or Orochimaru succeed the Fourth Hokage before doing so."

"Is this the first time you've met me?" Teuchi Jiraiya. "Konoha is so disappointing these days!"

After saying that, Tsunade vanished from Jiraiya's sight in a flash.