I Have No Chakra Anymore

Cloud Shinobi had been constantly probing Konoha precisely because Hiruzen Sarutobi was too weak.

Step-by-step concessions led to today's outcome.

In Tsunade's view, if Hiruzen Sarutobi truly knew he was in the wrong, it would be best for him to follow Jiraiya to the front lines and contribute, or continue helping Konoha handle the massive amount of useless administrative work.

Furthermore, seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi become so young only fueled her anger even more.

Leave a mess behind, and then cultivate his character and live out a second spring? And on top of that, continue to enjoy the title of the strongest Hokage as Konoha's supreme ruler—wasn't Hiruzen Sarutobi thinking a bit too wishfully?

My chakra is completely gone, and the me of right now is no longer a ninja.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression did not change; of his three disciples, Tsunade was still the one he felt most sorry for.

"Stop talking nonsense! How is that possible!"

Tsunade was furious and wanted to hit the frivolous old man with a Monster Strength Fist, only to see Hiruzen Sarutobi stretch out his hand.

"If you don't believe it, you can feel it for yourself."

Tsunade hesitated for a moment, then also reached out and shook hands with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

There was actually not the slightest trace of chakra remaining; Tsunade froze, confirming it over and over again.

"Old man, what on earth has happened to you?"

It was no exaggeration to say Tsunade's medical ninjutsu was the strongest in the Shinobi World right now, and she could ascertain that Hiruzen Sarutobi genuinely had no chakra left.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi's body was healthy, healthy to an excessive degree, without a single trace of aging visible.

"As the Hokage of war, I don't need to make a move either; having chakra is no longer any use."

Although Orochimaru did not speak, he also reached out and felt Hiruzen Sarutobi's body.

Sure enough, there was no chakra flowing at all.

"How can this be?"

Jiraiya found it somewhat unbelievable. Could chakra just vanish like that?

"Making me young comes at the cost of my chakra. I've also figured it out: as the Hokage of war, I don't need to exert myself."

Hiruzen Sarutobi pulled his hand back and looked toward the distant Forest of Death.

The Legendary Sannin fell silent for a moment; the importance of chakra to a ninja went without saying.

Hiruzen Sarutobi would actually give up chakra—this was something none of them had expected. Perhaps the events that recently occurred had dealt a truly massive blow to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Orochimaru, Tsunade, and I will make Konoha the strongest!"

Jiraiya was still like he was in his childhood; although he had not become the Hokage, he now had the confidence to make Konoha better.

Tsunade also fell silent, and her resentment toward Hiruzen Sarutobi dissipated seven or eight parts.

Perhaps her teacher also had unspeakable difficulties.

"I believe in you, but there's no need to worry about me either. Being a ninja is not the only path in this world."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's words did not attract the attention of Jiraiya and Tsunade; only Orochimaru was deep in thought.

"Since you've ended up like this, why don't you abdicate and let a wiser person take over?"

Yet Tsunade knew Hiruzen Sarutobi very well, knowing that he was reluctant to part with the prestige brought by being the Hokage.

If Konoha's development could be handed over entirely to them, it would not matter much to let Hiruzen Sarutobi continue wearing the title of Hokage.

"You old man, why are you talking so much nonsense! Since you're afraid of death, then live a few more years and watch what kind of state we turn Konoha into!"

Tsunade withdrew her fist. Though she desperately wanted to land one on Hiruzen Sarutobi, without chakra, that single blow would probably cost Hiruzen Sarutobi his precious old life.

"I'll be watching, and I believe in you."

"Saying these things is already too late. Just watch and see."

Tsunade turned her head and directly chose to leave.

She was going to check on the Konoha Medical Department, and then head over to the Senju Clan's territory to tidy things up.

Orochimaru wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't ask it out loud.

Jiraiya also nodded and chose to leave; he was about to head to the front lines immediately.

Watching his three departing disciples, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued eating his roasted meat.

He had many things to busy himself with during this period: gathering materials to forge his natal Dharmic artifact, and searching for herbs to refine medicinal pills. These were all matters of extreme urgency.

Did the Shinobi World have materials of sufficient quality? Did it possess the medicinal ingredients that would allow him to refine pills? Hiruzen Sarutobi had no idea.

He would first advance to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer and gain a certain level of self-preservation ability before wandering around the Shinobi World to observe the local customs and practices of various countries, which would also be of no small help to his cultivation.

Orochimaru and the others did not dwell too much on the matter of Hiruzen Sarutobi becoming young again; instead, they cared more about Hiruzen Sarutobi giving up his own chakra.

They could guess that Hiruzen Sarutobi had grown young precisely because he gave up his chakra.

Yet giving up chakra simultaneously meant losing all one's strength. In this chaotic Shinobi World, most people were utterly incapable of abandoning their own power.

Perhaps the events that recently transpired in Konoha really had too huge an impact on Hiruzen Sarutobi, leading him to choose to stop being a ninja.

The Legendary Sannin all chose to forgive him, no longer holding him accountable for the mistakes Hiruzen Sarutobi had committed in the past.

Tsunade began her reform of the Medical Division, and this time no one would raise objections. Orochimaru had handed the Medical Division over entirely to Tsunade.

On the other side, Fugaku Uchiha returned to the Uchiha Clan.

The current Uchiha Clan had already received news that the Konoha Police Force had been disbanded, and they were boiling with anger.

In the eyes of the radical faction, this was the village stripping them of their very last shred of authority, and making them participate in combat was simply an attempt to devour the Uchiha's remaining strength!

As soon as Fugaku returned to the clan, he summoned the high-ranking members of the clan and all the Jonin to hold a meeting.

"Clan Head, this Orochimaru goes too far! Why don't we just rebel against the bastard!"

"That's right! These Konoha higher-ups harbor an unyielding desire to destroy our Uchiha; we can no longer afford to be soft-hearted!"

Fugaku Uchiha sighed. There were many times when he found things exceptionally troublesome.

His clansmen were too stubborn and far too easy to manipulate; every single member of the Uchiha Clan was a stubborn complainer who chased blindly after fishhooks.

"Lord Orochimaru is not targeting us."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted.

"How is that possible? The Police Force has been disbanded, what are we supposed to do from now on?"

"All of you, be quiet! Listen to me!"

Clearly, someone was stirring trouble, and the clansmen's emotions had all been whipped up.

"Orochimaru has already promised me that he will no longer target the Uchiha Clan from now on."

As soon as these words were spoken, an immediate wave of discussion broke out.

"Then why dissolve the Uchiha's Guard Division?"

Fugaku Uchiha had no choice but to explain the disadvantages of the Guard Division to the Uchiha to them.

Only then did these Uchiha individuals awaken to reality and realize why everyone in the village held such strong opinions against them.

It was much like how people of later generations felt about urban management officers: ignoring major issues while only managing trivial ones, and constantly doing things that offended people on top of that.

Coupled with the personality of the Uchiha Clan, who always liked to run their mouths, this ultimately led to everyone treating them very poorly.

"Furthermore, Orochimaru has promised that in the future the Uchiha Clan will be able to participate in the selection for all positions in the village, and we can also move into the village proper to live. Everyone can start a new life from now on!"

After discussing for a while, the crowd all agreed that this was a good thing.

Quite a few people grew excited; after all, the Uchiha Clan was large, and some people wanted to be medical ninjas while others wanted to be Ninja Academy teachers.

Once the village gradually opened up to them, everyone would have far more choices available.