Konoha's Winds of Change

Konoha.

Over the next two days.

The situation in Konoha changed.

The gates of the Senju Clan's newly rebuilt compound stood wide open.

What had once been deserted ruins had now become the liveliest center in all of Konoha.

Crowds thronged its gates.

Traffic streamed through its streets.

Those eight words were no exaggeration when used to describe the current Senju Compound.

The morning mist had yet to disperse.

A large group dressed in loose kimonos appeared grandly on the streets.

The man at the front had pure white eyes, without a trace of any other color.

He was Hyuga Hiashi, the current head of the Hyuga Clan.

Behind him, his clansmen carried several heavy mahogany chests.

There was no attempt at concealment.

Hyuga Hiashi swaggered straight through the busiest commercial street.

His steps were incredibly steady.

Yet beneath his calm expression lay a wildly pounding heart.

As a man who possessed the Byakugan, he had seen through far too many of Konoha High Command's filthy methods.

Before, he could only endure.

Because no one could contend with the Third Hokage's political maneuvering and Anbu forces.

But things were different now.

Chiba had returned.

That monstrous genius, like a Deity, had shattered the shackles of power Sarutobi Hiruzen had painstakingly built.

Soon.

Hyuga Hiashi arrived before the gates of the Senju Compound.

He raised his head and looked up at the enormous wooden plaque.

The lingering Wood Style chakra alone made his Byakugan throb faintly with pain.

"Is this the power of Wood Style...?"

Hyuga Hiashi murmured to himself.

Following close behind the Hyuga Clan.

Were smaller and mid-sized shinobi clans such as the Inuzuka and Shiranui.

Like sharks that had smelled blood, they all squeezed into the Senju Compound.

Hokage Building.

Inside the spacious office on the top floor.

The atmosphere was so oppressive it was suffocating.

The choking smell of dry tobacco nearly filled every corner.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood before the wide floor-to-ceiling windows.

His aged body seemed to have lost all its strength, his shoulders sagging weakly.

Before him sat a crystal ball.

Within its image.

Was the bustling scene of visitors outside the Senju Clan's compound.

Hyuga Hiashi's smiling face.

The reverence of every clan head.

Those scenes were like resounding slaps, viciously striking Sarutobi Hiruzen's old face.

Crack, crack.

The crisp sound of grinding bones rang out.

Veins bulged on the back of Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand as he nearly crushed the wooden stem of his pipe.

Anger.

Humiliation.

And a trace of fear he desperately tried to hide.

Why?

He had served as Hokage for so many years, "devoting himself heart and soul" to Konoha.

Though these clans had always been respectful before him, there had always been a sense of distance in their attitude.

Yet how many days had Chiba been back?

And these fence-sitters had all rushed to fawn over him!

Sarutobi Hiruzen desperately wanted to issue an order.

He wanted to send the Anbu to seal off the streets and arrest every clan head who had gone to visit.

But he did not dare.

He could not find a single suitable excuse.

Chiba was a descendant of the Senju Clan.

Konoha had been founded jointly by the Senju and Uchiha Clans.

Now that the master had returned home, it was perfectly reasonable for the other clans to come offer their congratulations.

Besides.

Danzo's arm embedded with Sharingan had thoroughly stripped away the last layer of skin covering Konoha High Command.

If he provoked Chiba at a time like this.

What if that unreasonable madman summoned that hundreds-of-meters-tall Wood Golem again?

With one slap.

This Hokage Building, symbolizing supreme authority, would instantly become a pile of rotten lumber.

"I... will endure!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen gritted his teeth until they creaked.

He forcibly swallowed the rage filling his chest.

Unfortunately.

He wanted to let the matter rest.

But the situation outside gave him no chance to catch his breath.

Konoha's bustling commercial street.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura wore inconspicuous civilian clothes.

They wore straw hats that concealed most of their faces.

The two had originally come out incognito to sound out the opinions of the common civilians.

But the farther they walked, the more their hearts pounded and their limbs turned cold.

In the dark alley beside Ichiraku Ramen.

Several Chunin who had just completed a C-Rank Mission leaned against the wall, smoking.

Their voices were low, but they carried just far enough to reach passersby.

"Hey, have you heard?"

"Elder Shimura of Root is dead as dead can be."

"Tch, he should have died long ago!"

"I heard he secretly kidnapped orphans from the village for human experiments!"

"That's not all!"

"Lord Senju tore off his arm in public, and it was covered in Uchiha Clan eyes!"

"That's disgusting..."

"For the sake of power, he wouldn't even spare his comrades' corpses."

One young Chunin took a deep drag from his cigarette.

He exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, then lowered his voice.

"Tell me..."

"Could the Third Hokage really have known nothing at all."

"About human experiments on such a massive scale?"

For an instant.

The alley fell silent for several seconds.

Then even fiercer discussion erupted.

"Cut the crap!"

"Root is right beneath Konoha. How could the Third generation not have noticed anything?"

"Exactly!"

"I bet the Hokage was indulging him!"

"What Will of Fire? It was all just slogans to trick us into dying on the battlefield!"

"Shh! Keep it down!"

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Watch out, or the Anbu will drag you into an interrogation room!"

"Scared of what?"

"Lord Senju is here now!"

"Lord Senju is the legitimate bloodline of the Senju Clan. He'll definitely stand up for us!"

"..."

On the street outside the alley.

Utatane Koharu's legs suddenly gave out.

If Mitokado Homura had not quickly caught her beside him.

She would have collapsed directly onto the stone-paved road.

Mitokado Homura was equally stiff all over.

Fear wrapped around his heart like a venomous snake.

How had things turned out like this?

When had these lowborn commoners, who usually only knew how to work, take money, and chant slogans.

Become so clever?

Whenever these advisers went out before, which civilian had not bowed respectfully to them?

But now.

As he walked through the streets.

Mitokado Homura felt that the vegetable-selling Big Moms and blacksmithing uncles all had blades hidden in their gazes.

That was wariness.

Deep suspicion.

Even undisguised disgust!

Before absolute truth.

The Will of Fire they had painstakingly cultivated was as fragile as a sheet of water-soaked toilet paper.

In just one day.

Chiba had utterly smashed the lofty idol they had built.

The collapse of faith was more than ten times fiercer than a landslide.

"Go!"

"Quickly, go!"

Mitokado Homura's voice trembled.

He grabbed Utatane Koharu by the arm and ran wildly toward the Hokage Building.

Along the way.

They heard countless similar voices.

Some discussed Danzo's disgusting methods.

Some questioned where the high command's funds had gone.

Some even began digging up old grievances, bringing up White Fang's suicide from years ago.

It was all over.

Konoha High Command's prestige was collapsing completely at a visible pace!

Bang!

The doors to the Hokage Office were violently slammed open.

The heavy solid-wood door crashed against the wall with a dull boom.

"How dare you!"

"You didn't even knock before—"

Sarutobi Hiruzen jolted in fright.

The pipe he had just lit nearly fell onto the carpet.

He instinctively wanted to rebuke her.

But when he saw who it was, his voice abruptly cut off.

Utatane Koharu had not even removed her conical hat, gasping for breath in great heaving breaths.

The wrinkles on her face were bunched together, and she looked utterly disheveled.

Mitokado Homura beside her was no better off, his face filled with anxiety.