Chapter 199: Public Opinion Ferments into Hokage Conspiracy Theories! The Ninja Villages

That Backed Down.

Sarutobi Hiruzen knew he had been unconscious for a full day and a half. But after a day and a half, why did it feel like the winds of public opinion had changed to something he didn't recognize?

What on earth were those Genin talking about?

Hey, hey, hey...

If such outrageous rumors continue to spread unchecked, will it soon become... that he, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, is the biggest puppet master in the world? 

One day, won't every major war in the ninja world be blamed on him?

Will people think that he instigated every major war in the ninja world? That every death in every major war is related to him?

Will he have to take full responsibility for this?

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face changed dramatically!

Not long after he left the hospital, he could clearly feel the power of uncontrolled public opinion. Even he, the Third Hokage, was deeply mired in it!

The key point is that the ones discussing these rumors are three Genin from Konohagakure. Even the ninjas of Konohagakure are discussing this...

What about the civilians in the village?

Aren't the rumors even more outrageous?

As Sarutobi Hiruzen continued to walk forward, he was shocked to find that many of the topics of conversation on the road were related to him.

In other words, of the ten topics he overheard, at least eight were discussing him, the Third Hokage.

And not a single word of praise came out of their mouths.

Sarutobi Hiruzen found that his image as the Third Hokage...

Not only collapsed in front of Naruto.

It seems to be gradually collapsing in the entire Konohagakure.

"Who would have thought that the Third Hokage, who looks so kind on the surface, is actually like this in reality. He's a bit like the detestable politician in stage plays! How could he be so cruel to the son of a hero? Demon... cough! Uzumaki Naruto is the child of the Fourth Hokage!"

"People may appear one way, but their hearts are another! You all think he has always been kind, but I feel that the Third Hokage has always been sly. By the way, I heard that the Nine-Tails chaos back then was led by the Third, is that true?"

"Who knows! Probably only the powerful ninjas in the village know the truth about that year! Maybe, we all misunderstood that Uzumaki Naruto. All of this is the problem of the Third Hokage, it was him who allowed the rumors of the demon fox!"

"You guys say... Hokage-sama recently allocated such a large sum of money to hold a Chunin exam. Will Hokage-sama make a lot of money from it?"

"If he doesn't, it would be strange! He has been Hokage for so many years, he might have embezzled billions!"

"The Fourth Hokage, he wouldn't have been killed by the Third Hokage, right?"

"Maybe, the Second Hokage was also killed by the Third Hokage!"

.....

Outrageous! Too outrageous! There are many things in here that he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, has never done, and even dares not think about.

If it weren't for his face, which is not convenient to reveal his identity, Sarutobi Hiruzen would have loved to run over and argue with them on the spot.

When was he cruel to Naruto?

Although, he did indeed allowed the spread of a certain rumor...

But he, as Hokage, has always given Naruto a living allowance!

It's you people who are unwilling to sell things to Naruto.

What does that have to do with him, Sarutobi Hiruzen?

They say the "Nine-Tails' Rampage" was orchestrated by him, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Isn't that a bit too much of a conspiracy theory? Who is the scoundrel spreading this rumor? Does he even have the ability to control the Tailed Beast, Nine-Tails?

If he had the ability to cause the "Nine-Tails' Rampage", would he need to use such a scheme to gain control over people?

Also, where does Sarutobi Hiruzen look like a sly rat?

He was quite handsome when he was young!

Moreover, they say he embezzled "several billion". What a joke! Do these guys even know what several billion means?

With that money, two or three Konohagakure villages could be built on the spot, and the Konohagakure village could be turned into a Konohagakure city!

Also...

Where did he get the motive to kill the Fourth Hokage?

And where did he get the motive to kill the Second Hokage?

Minato was the Hokage successor he carefully selected; the second Hokage was his most respected teacher.

How could he possibly kill these two people?

This is too black!

Too much of a conspiracy theory!

Sarutobi Hiruzen feels like he is in a huge public opinion whirlpool, his irresponsible behavior towards Naruto's public opinion offensive, falling on him like a boomerang.

At this moment, he finally understands how uncomfortable Naruto was back then, when everyone in the village had objections to Naruto.

Now, the object of criticism has become him, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and he feels the same as Naruto did back then.

At least that's what Sarutobi Hiruzen thinks.

In fact...

His public opinion storm is considered light.

It's not comparable to Naruto at all.

Because he is, after all, still carrying the identity of the Third Hokage, and he himself is also a very powerful ninja.

Some people's negative comments do not dare to attack him directly in front of this Hokage.

They also dare not to ostracized this Hokage, let alone bully him.

But what about Naruto back then?

Back then, Naruto was just an orphan with no background in the eyes of outsiders, endless malicious comments, can fall on Naruto without any scruples, even face-to-face verbal attacks on Naruto.

Back then, Naruto was also very blatantly ostracized and bullied.

All of this...

Sarutobi Hiruzen has never experienced it.

Sarutobi Hiruzen thought he understood the pain Naruto felt back then.

In fact.

He understood nothing!

This is like a businessman who makes a million ryo a year, suddenly one day becomes a twenty thousand ryo a year, he feels that he can finally feel how poor and distressed the beggar is.

At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen had one thought after another flashing through his mind.

His face was as black as the bottom of a cliff.

After about ten minutes.

He arrived at the Hokage Building.

Ignoring the somewhat strange looks of the ninjas in the Hokage Building, Sarutobi Hiruzen declared his identity, pushed the door open, and sat directly in his Hokage office.

"Someone!"

As soon as Sarutobi Hiruzen sat down, two Anbu ninjas immediately appeared in front of him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen said: "Control the spread of rumors in the village, catch the main rumor spreaders into the Konohagakure prison! And write a decree... whoever continues to spread slanderous rumors, find once and fine 1000 ryo of cash, find twice and fine 10,000 ryo of cash, find three times and directly lock them in Konohagakure prison for ten days! Use this tough method to completely kill this evil rumor!"

".....Yes, Hokage-sama!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen does have the ability to kill the rumors in the village.

This Third Hokage may be a bit weak to the outside.

But internally, he is the manifestation of the "endurance"!

Sarutobi Hiruzen is determined to use all means necessary...

To salvage his image that has already begun to collapse.

His so-called "endurance" has changed from a "ninja hero" to a "Konohagakure hero".

As for why he didn't stop the rumors about Naruto back then.

That's a matter of perspective.

.....

On the other side.

Now, every Jonin who came to participate in the Chunin exam is in a mess, because a group of Genin from their ninja villages have been kidnapped by the Whitebeard Pirates.

The village with the most Genin kidnapped is Konohagakure, followed by Sunagakure Village, then Amegakure Village, Takigakure Village, Otogakure...

For a time, the words "Whitebeard Pirate Group" seemed so "evil" in the eyes of those leading Jonin!

The Jonin leaders of various ninja villages, under a series of coincidences, actually gathered together.

"These pirates must be crazy!"

The Jonin leader of Amegakure Village, wearing a gas mask, is very annoyed.

He punched a tree in front of him hard.

The tree shook slightly, and the leaves fell like rain.

The Jonin leader of Amegakure Village is a bit frustrated: "We, Amegakure Village, have had nine people kidnapped! If one person is worth a million, that's nine million! Damn Whitebeard Pirates! Do they know what nine million means to a not-so-large ninja village?"

Amegakure Village is one of the strongest in terms of overall strength among many ninja villages, apart from the five major ninja villages.

Even Amegakure Village feels that this money is a bit painful to spend.

Not to mention other smaller scale ninja villages.

Takigakure Village, which has always had little contact with the outside world and is not very developed in business, also sighed: "Fortunately, we only have three people here, three people are three million, barely within the acceptable range!"

"We, Shimogakure Village, also have three million..." The Jonin leader of Shimogakure Village looked worried: "The village's finances have always been not so good, three million... I guess it's going to give our village leader a headache for a long time."

"Why are you looking at me?"

Terumi Mei, with her hands crossed on her chest, leaning against a tree, said with a bit of schadenfreude: "Anyway, we, Kirigakure Village, didn't have anyone kidnapped."

Kazewa Serizawa stood next to Terumi Mei.

The two of them are in the same camp at this time.

After all, Kusagakure Village and Kirigakure Village are both affiliated ninja villages of the Whitebeard Pirates.

The two sides are naturally competitive internally.

But externally, they are definitely united.

Kazewa Serizawa quietly interjected: "We also didn't have anyone kidnapped."

Everyone: "....."

"Damn it! That's because you, Kirigakure Village and Kusagakure Village, have become dogs of the Whitebeard Pirate Crew!"

The hot-tempered Jonin leading the Amegakure Village team gritted his teeth and said, "It's one thing for Kusagakure Village to be a dog of the Whitebeard Pirate Crew, but we can't be too harsh on such a garbage ninja village. But what's the deal with you, Kirigakure Village?

"Kirigakure Village is one of the five great ninja villages in the ninja world! Are you so willing to be a dog of the Whitebeard Pirate Crew? Where is your dignity as one of the five great ninja villages?"

Terumi Mei, who was named and scolded, had a slightly gloomy face.

Terumi Mei said coldly, "At least Kirigakure Village doesn't need to pay this money, and we don't need to worry about offending the Whitebeard Pirate Crew if we don't pay this ransom."

Her gaze swept over the Jonin leaders of the various villages in front of her.

"This is the advantage of Kirigakure Village."

"Heh!" Terumi Mei smirked, feeling that it was useless to get angry with these losers. She laughed and said, "I'm standing here to supervise you. If you don't cooperate... don't blame Whitebeard for taking action against you."

Everyone: "....."

They had never seen a great ninja village so willingly become a dog for the Whitebeard Pirate Crew!

Kusagakure Village is indeed very shameless and faceless.

Unexpectedly, Kirigakure Village is not much better.

This refreshed the Jonin's understanding of the "Five Great Ninja Villages".

"Hey! You, Sunagakure Village, are also one of the five great ninja villages in the ninja world, don't you want to resist the Whitebeard Pirate Crew?"

Someone looked at Homma Heiji the Jonin leader of Sunagakure Village.

Homma Heiji: "....."

Recalling his walk by the ghost gate last night.

Homma Heiji was silent for a few seconds.

He sighed slightly.

Homma Heiji responded, "I'm going to borrow Konohagakure's telegram to send a message to the village, asking them to send 20 million ryo to Konohagakure Village to redeem the Genin in the village."

Actually, it's not cost-effective to redeem a dozen Genin with 20 million ryo.

A dozen Genin are not worth that much money.

20 million ryo, a huge sum of money, is like scraping flesh and bone for the poor Sunagakure Village!

But.....

If 20 million can help Sunagakure Village avoid a war.

That's quite a bargain.

Last night, Homma Heiji had roughly figured out how powerful the Whitebeard Pirate Crew's war potential was.

First, there was a Whitebeard who could kill the Fourth Mizukage, then a Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kirigakure Village, followed by a Shisui of the Body Flicker from Konohagakure Village, and it was said that the blond kid seemed to be a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and there were so many Uchiha clan members, Kirigakure Village and Kusagakure Village would definitely get involved. 

This is definitely a war beast!

If Sunagakure Village were to go to full-scale war with the Whitebeard Pirate Crew.

Even if they do their utmost to block the invasion of the Whitebeard Pirates.

I'm afraid by that time...

The things the village has lost.

It's already more than 20 million!

"You... you guys from Sunagakure Village are also one of the five major ninja villages! You just give up to the Whitebeard Pirates like this? They're just a pirate group, they're not even a ninja village!" The Jonin leader of Amegakure Village is a bit anxious.

Homma Heiji glanced at him: "Don't think I don't know what you want to do, our Sunagakure Village won't be the scapegoat. Doesn't your Amegakure Village have a demigod of the ninja world? I think you should have more confidence to turn against the Whitebeard Pirates."

Amegakure Village Jonin leader: "....."

Kirigakure Village and Sunagakure Village, two of the five major ninja villages, one has become a dog of the Whitebeard Pirates, and the other has temporarily bowed to the Whitebeard Pirates.

And there's the utterly shameless Kusagakure Village.

From the beginning, they were the loyal dogs of the Whitebeard Pirates.

That is to say...

Among this group of Jonin leaders in the Chunin exam, there are already three people who choose not to confront the Whitebeard Pirates.

So do they still need to argue?

"..... Sigh!" The Jonin leader of Takigakure Village sighed again: "I'll send a telegram to the village too! Those three kids are children of the ninja clan, if we don't get them back, there will definitely be a big fuss in the village."

The Jonin leader of Shimogakure Village also echoed: "The ransom of 3 million is indeed not small, but gritting our teeth, we can still squeeze it out."

The scene once again fell into silence.

Everyone's eyes were on the Jonin leader of Amegakure Village.

"..... What are you looking at me for?"

The Jonin leader of the Rain Ninja had a sullen face: "You guys don't think that we, Amegakure Village, can't afford this mere 9 million ransom, do you?"

He also backed down.

.....

Meanwhile.

Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

Naruto's mood has been very good these two days, he invited his group of friends to come to Ichiraku Ramen Shop for a meal.

The money spent was naturally the 100,000 from the Sunagakure Jonin last night.

Naruto picked up all the scattered money.

Money is the life of a pirate!

"gulp..... gulp gulp gulp....." Naruto finished the noodles in the bowl in one breath, then picked up the big bowl and poured the noodle soup into his mouth, this is already the twelfth bowl of ramen he has finished.

Clap!

Putting the noodle bowl in his hand on the table, Naruto happily shouted to Teuchi, the boss: "Uncle Teuchi, I want five more bowls! I want five bowls of special ramen with different flavors!"

"Alright!" Teuchi smiled slightly, every time Naruto came to eat ramen, he could make a lot of money.

Because Naruto eats too much.

Just his portion alone can match half a day's customers.

Not to mention, Naruto also brought a group of friends today.

In Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

There are Naruto, Sasuke, Haku, Neji, Hinata, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Sakura, Lee, Kimimaro.

Among them.

Haruno Sakura is because she has always been close to Yamanaka Ino.

These two good girlfriends, because Ino turned her attention to Shiro, so there was no big conflict between the two.

Although Lee did not participate in that assassination operation against the Hyuga clan elder, he also trained with Naruto and Sasuke, so Naruto considered him a good friend.

Kimimaro is the most unique one among these kids.

Because his identity is not Naruto's friend for the time being.

Nor is he Naruto's family.

He is Naruto's captive.

The steel rope on Kimimaro has been untied by Naruto.

Naruto feels... as long as the other party is still in his sight, he will never let Kimimaro, this hostage, escape.

Moreover, this is the candidate that he, Uzumaki Naruto, has his eyes on!

How could he let him escape so easily?

He must be watched closely!

"Naruto, you've been in the limelight these past few days!" Shikamaru said with a complex expression, "I heard that you... punched Hokage-sama three times in front of many people. Not to hide it from you, my father was there that day, and he just watched quietly as Hokage-sama was punched three times by you."

"Huh? Uncle Shikaku was there too?" Naruto scratched his head, he laughed, "I really didn't pay much attention at the time, who were those people behind the Third Hokage. If I had noticed Uncle Shikaku, I would have definitely greeted him."

".....It's better not to greet him then!" Shikamaru twitched the corner of his mouth, if he had greeted his father at that time, wouldn't he have been considered as one of them?

Then his Pops might have been given a hard time by Hokage-sama.

"Naruto-kun... you're really amazing!"

Hinata blushed, "Even though we are all new students of the Ninja School, but Naruto-kun is already eligible to participate in the Chunin Exam, and has already stood out in the second round of the exam."

"Naruto." Shikamaru glanced secretly at Kimimaro on the side, "Is it really okay for you to let this guy out?"

Shikamaru muttered, "I always feel that this guy is quite dangerous."

"He is indeed very dangerous." Sasuke smirked, "But he, still lost to us."

Although Sasuke only assisted that day.

He even almost died in Kimimaro's hands.

But Sasuke still put on a show.

.....

.....

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