Chapter 45
Chapter 45
Konoha, Year 48
Because of the Nine-Tails Rebellion,
Konoha Village not only suffered devastating losses,
but the news of the heroic sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his wife, Uzumaki Kushina,
spread throughout the ninja world at lightning speed,
shocking countless ninjas!
No one could have imagined that Konoha — the strongest village in the ninja world — would suffer such a catastrophe.
And even more unbelievable: Minato Namikaze, the "Yellow Flash" who made a dazzling name for himself during the Third Great Ninja War, was dead?!
Dead?!
It was simply unimaginable!!
> "If Minato Namikaze is dead, doesn't that mean Konoha's strength has been greatly weakened?"
After the initial shock,
the ninjas of the other four great villages — Kirigakure, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure — couldn't hide their joy.
The death of Konoha's high-end combat power made them secretly celebrate.
Thus,
the entire ninja world once again plunged into tension and unrest.
---
Konoha Village
In the aftermath of the Nine-Tails Rebellion,
Konoha was left in ruins, a mess of collapsed walls and shattered streets.
As civilians emerged from the bomb shelters,
they were faced with the heartbreaking sight of their home destroyed.
Sadness and anger surged in their hearts.
And when the news of the deaths of the Fourth Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina spread,
grief turned into hatred —
the civilians and ninja alike directed their fury toward the Nine-Tails,
wishing they could tear the demon fox apart and drink its blood.
After the end of the Third Great Ninja War,
Konoha had proudly stood as the leading village of the ninja world.
But now,
the Nine-Tails Rebellion had brutally interrupted its rise,
crippling the village's strength by at least thirty percent.
If not for the presence of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi,
it was likely that the other four great villages would have taken the opportunity to launch an attack on Konoha.
Even so,
with the tense atmosphere sweeping through the ninja world,
Konoha's peaceful days seemed to be coming to an end.
In addition,
perhaps to "protect" Naruto Uzumaki,
the village leadership deliberately concealed the fact that Naruto was the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.
Instead, they spread only one fact:
Naruto Uzumaki was the new Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
(In other words, the demon fox that the villagers hated was now sealed inside Naruto...)
---
Hokage Building — Central Conference Room
In a large conference room on the top floor of the Hokage Building,
Konoha's high-ranking officials gathered:
Hiruzen Sarutobi
Shimura Danzo
Homura Mitokado
Koharu Utatane
Clan heads like Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi, and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
The mood was grim.
"This time, Konoha has suffered heavy casualties,"
Koharu Utatane said bitterly, her face dark.
"Not only the Fourth Hokage and his wife, but many jonin, chunin, and civilians also died during the Nine-Tails' attack.
The Daimyō of the Land of Fire is demanding a full explanation."
"Hmph, if it weren't for that mysterious masked man, the Fourth Hokage wouldn't have died,"
Mito Menyan growled, anger flashing across his old face.
In his view, the man in the swirl-patterned mask was the true culprit behind Konoha's tragedy.
Otherwise, with Minato Namikaze's strength, sealing the Nine-Tails wouldn't have cost him his life.
However,
Mito Menyan didn't realize that once the Nine-Tails was unleashed, Kushina's death was inevitable.
And Minato — both a true Hokage and a devoted husband — would never have chosen to survive alone.
His only mistake had been trusting Hiruzen Sarutobi to properly care for Naruto.
"Heh, many Konoha ninjas witnessed it —
the masked man had the Mangekyō Sharingan,
and he used genjutsu to control the Nine-Tails..."
It was at this point that Shimura Danzo, who had been silently observing, spoke up coldly.
He suddenly turned his sharp gaze on Uchiha Fugaku.
"The Uchiha clan — shouldn't you give us an explanation?"
"Explanation?"
Uchiha Fugaku frowned.
"The Uchiha clan has no such person among us."
"Really?"
Danzo sneered, pressing harder.
"Who knows what secrets your Uchiha clan might be hiding?"
"Shimura Danzo...."
BANG!!
Furious, Fugaku slammed the table and stood up.
"If you accuse the Uchiha without evidence again, then—"
"Enough."
Before Fugaku could finish,
Hiruzen Sarutobi placed his pipe down heavily and interrupted.
"This time, the Uchiha are merely the most suspicious.
There's no need to get so agitated."
"Yes, Third Hokage..."
Uchiha Fugaku sat back down reluctantly, his face extremely grim.
Damn it.
Even though the Uchiha were strictly monitored by the Anbu Root division,
Danzo still pinned the blame on them without hesitation.
It was utterly excessive.
"In addition to the man with the swirl mask,
there was another masked figure with a white beard seen during the attack.
Neither of them seem like ordinary threats."
Hiruzen paused, then said seriously:
"Therefore, I believe it's unnecessary to appoint a Fifth Hokage right now."
He took a long drag of his pipe and added:
"I am willing to come out of retirement during Konoha's crisis,
and lead the village out of this predicament.
What do you all think?"
Silence.
The entire conference room fell deathly still.
Even Danzo, Homura, and Koharu exchanged stunned glances,
clearly not expecting Sarutobi Hiruzen to move so quickly to reclaim power —
especially when Minato's body was barely cold.
"...Very well."
After a few seconds,
Koharu frowned and thought deeply.
Seeing no better alternative, she nodded reluctantly.
"Konoha is in crisis.
I agree that the Third Hokage should resume leadership."
"Agreed,"
Mito Menyan followed with a sigh.
"Yes, there's no need to elect a Fifth Hokage,"
someone else added quickly.
"I think having the Third Hokage return is the best option for Konoha."
"Only the Third Hokage can lead the village back to stability."
"..."
With Koharu and Mito Menyan taking the lead,
Shimura Danzo, Hiashi Hyuga, and the heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans also nodded one by one.
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[End of Chapter 45]
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