I, who just wanted to be lazy, was forced to become the Hokage.

Chapter 323 What exactly is the King of Blame?

In the secret letter, the Third Mizukage did not explicitly mention that he was controlled by Madara Uchiha using genjutsu.

The Third Mizukage also agreed with the principle of "family scandals should not be aired in public" and would not reveal his family's dirty laundry to the Third Hokage of Konoha.

In his secret letter, the Third Mizukage only mentioned one "fact"—Madara Uchiha secretly invaded Kirigakure and attempted to attack the Mizukage, but was ultimately repelled by the Kirigakure ninja!

The real truth will damage the image of Kirigakure.

The falsehoods were detrimental to the Third Mizukage's plans.

Therefore, the Third Mizukage chose the "nine truths and one falsehood" description method.

He can guarantee that the vast majority of things mentioned in the secret letter are true.

Did Madara Uchiha invade Kirigakure? Absolutely!

Did he attack the Third Mizukage? That's obvious!

Was Madara Uchiha defeated by the Hidden Mist ninja?

The Third Mizukage wasn't quite aware of this.

Madara Uchiha's control over his genjutsu was extremely strong, and its effects lasted for more than ten years.

Even the Third Mizukage didn't know how he managed to break free from Madara Uchiha's genjutsu control...

However, he knew that Madara Uchiha was most likely not defeated by the other ninja from Kirigakure...

Even the Third Mizukage was just a "plaything" in Madara Uchiha's hands. Compared to this legendary Uchiha ninja, the other Hidden Mist ninjas probably wouldn't even qualify as "playthings"...

However, with the Third Mizukage breaking free from the genjutsu control, Madara Uchiha's "invasion plan" against Kirigakure did indeed fail!

Meanwhile, in order to increase the credibility of the secret letter, the Third Mizukage also revealed another "fact" in the letter - he was seriously injured by Madara Uchiha's Sharingan!

This is indeed true.

Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the "Mizukage's Secret Letter," his gray eyebrows involuntarily furrowing, clearly indicating that the information revealed in the letter had brought him a great psychological shock.

"The Hidden Mist Village was invaded by Madara Uchiha, and the Third Mizukage was seriously injured..."

"Some time ago, Onoki from Iwagakure and A from Kumogakure went missing one after another, their whereabouts unknown..."

"In the initial stages of the war, the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure also mysteriously disappeared..."

In the secret letter, the Third Mizukage connected these seemingly unrelated, yet indeed unrelated, events.

So many "bad news" from the Third Kage did indeed put a lot of psychological pressure on Hiruzen Sarutobi.

This is not just because the Third Mizukage described "objective facts".

Furthermore, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew another piece of information—Madara Uchiha did not die in the battle at the Valley of the End as the rumors suggested. He not only survived to this day, but also played an active role in the Third Shinobi World War for a period of time!

In the previous battle at Kannabi Bridge in the Land of Grass, Madara Uchiha even dispatched Kagami Uchiha, a "resurrected ninja," to openly attack Konoha's two brightest "stars" in the Third Shinobi World War!

Although Nara Rinkazu and Minato Namikaze later located Madara Uchiha in reverse and successfully killed the legendary ninja, they also brought his body back to Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi even personally used Fire Release to burn Madara Uchiha's corpse.

It's worth noting that Madara Uchiha was also killed by Hashirama Senju during the battle at the Valley of the End, and his body was even studied by Tobirama Senju for a period of time.

Even so, Madara Uchiha still "came back to life"!

Even before, when he burned Madara Uchiha's body, Hiruzen Sarutobi had worried that Madara might "resurrect" again.

The secret letter sent by the Third Mizukage now undoubtedly confirms his concerns.

Madara Uchiha has not only been resurrected, but he has also made a move against Kirigakure!

According to the speculation in the letter, Madara Uchiha not only attacked Kirigakure, but also Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and even Sunagakure!

This behavior undoubtedly fits Konoha's long-held stereotype of Madara Uchiha.

The evil progenitor of the Uchiha clan!

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't think the Third Mizukage would joke in a letter; the other party's written description was quite credible... at least it didn't seem suspicious.

Moreover, the idea of ​​assassinating the Third Kazekage, the Third Tsuchikage, and the Third Raikage silently...

Hiruzen Sarutobi thought it over and over, but he couldn't believe that any normal ninja could do that.

Even if he joined forces with Hanzo of the Salamander from the Land of Rain, it would be impossible for him to do it!

Assassination is something almost every ninja knows.

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's memory, the only ninja who had honed the ability of "assassination" to its peak was probably Mu, the Second Tsuchikage of Iwagakure!

Even so, in the previous war, the Second Tsuchikage Mu also fought the Second Mizukage Hozuki Gengetsu to a standstill, resulting in their mutual destruction!

Even a Kage couldn't assassinate a powerful ninja of the "Kage" level silently!

But if it were Madara Uchiha, the legendary ninja who was on par with the First Hokage and whose strength was only slightly inferior to the First Hokage's...

Hiruzen Sarutobi found it strangely reasonable.

The only thing that puzzled the Third Hokage was why Madara Uchiha was so obsessed with the Third Hokage of each village.

If the assassination of the Third Kazekage could be attributed to Madara Uchiha's desire to incite war...

But now that the war has gone on, why does Madara Uchiha still want to assassinate the Third Tsuchikage, the Third Raikage, and even the Third Mizukage?

Is it an unknown grand conspiracy?

Hiruzen Sarutobi focused his gaze on the secret letter scroll in his hand.

The Third Mizukage did not mention the reason why Madara Uchiha assassinated him in the letter, but he also guessed that the other party might have some kind of conspiracy.

Madara Uchiha assassinated the "Kage" of the four great ninja villages of Sand, Earth, Lightning, and Mist. He must be plotting something big that will affect the entire ninja world!

Furthermore, in the secret letter, the Third Mizukage deliberately pointed out one point:

The Third Kazekage, the Third Tsuchikage, and the Third Raikage have all been killed by Madara Uchiha, and the Third Mizukage is also seriously injured. Respected Third Hokage, do you think Madara Uchiha will infiltrate Konoha and carry out an assassination attempt against you?

As for why Madara Uchiha placed Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, last...

One reason is that Konoha's overall strength is indeed ranked first among the five great ninja villages.

On the other hand, it's also because Hiruzen Sarutobi's overall strength ranks first among the five Third Hokage!

The toughest challenges should definitely be saved for last!

"snort!"

Having figured this out, Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a cold snort of displeasure.

He felt that the Third Mizukage was exaggerating a bit too much!

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't entirely sure how the Third Mizukage had managed to evade Madara Uchiha's assassination attempt.

But if the Third Mizukage could do it, why couldn't the Third Hokage do it?

Ok……

After reading the Mizukage's secret letter, Hiruzen Sarutobi also agreed with the theory that Madara Uchiha would take action against Konoha.

After all, this is from Hiruzen Sarutobi's perspective.

Madara Uchiha is not someone who would "attack" Konoha.

This ghost of history has already made its move against Konoha!

Even disregarding the fact that the opponent summoned the Nine-Tails and attacked Konoha before the first "fake death".

During the Third Shinobi World War, Madara Uchiha had already begun his attack on Konoha!

Although that time he wasn't targeting the Third Hokage of Konoha, but rather Minato Namikaze and Nara Rinkazu...

But this only made Hiruzen Sarutobi even more convinced of his guess that Madara Uchiha was indeed plotting something in secret.

So what exactly does this Uchiha ghost want to do?

One thought after another popped into Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind, only to be rejected one after another.

Unable to come up with a solution, he simply suppressed the random thoughts that kept popping up in his mind and turned to look at the four Hidden Mist ninja who were still silently waiting for his response.

"Although I've heard of the Village of Blood Mist more than once, these four ninjas from Kirigakure don't seem to carry any of the madness or cruelty associated with the Blood Mist..."

Even Zabuza Momochi, the demon who supposedly slaughtered all his classmates, doesn't seem as terrifying as the rumors suggest.

"The Hidden Mist...the future?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes slightly for a moment, but did not make any move. Instead, he slowly put down the secret letter in his hand.

"Emissary from Kirigakure, I agree in principle to sign a ceasefire agreement with you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said methodically.

His words immediately caught the attention of Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, who were standing nearby.

No matter how incompetent these two high-ranking elders were, they still disliked war.

The two of them had just read through the ceasefire agreement drafted by Kirigakure. Konoha could accept most of the terms proposed by Kirigakure, but there were some things...

Fortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi's next words reassured the two elders.

"However, we still need to discuss and negotiate the specific details of the ceasefire agreement."

Upon hearing the Third Hokage's words, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu nodded in unison in approval.

Correct!

Despite the significant resource and manpower losses suffered by Kirigakure in this battle, Konoha has also suffered considerable losses!

Since Kirigakure initiated the peace talks, Konoha should naturally include some conditions in the agreement!

At the very least, Kirigakure can forget about getting the Three-Tails back!

On the issue of tailed beasts, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Sarutobi Hiruzen are naturally on the same side.

"Of course, matters of great importance concerning war must not be decided hastily."

When Yagura saw that Hiruzen Sarutobi had finally spoken and even expressed a positive attitude, a hint of joy inevitably appeared on his small face.

"How long will it take for Lord Hokage to give an answer?"

"The Third Mizukage is still waiting for our reply, especially regarding... the matter mentioned in the secret letter."

Secret message?

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu immediately looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen, neither of them knowing what the Mizukage's secret letter mentioned.

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved to his two old friends, signaling them to calm down.

He did indeed plan to tell Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu the contents of the Mizukage's secret letter later; who knows, he might even have to drag Shimura Danzo out of Root later...

However, in front of the Hidden Mist Envoy, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't very well hand over the Mizukage's secret letter to the two elders for inspection.

"As the messenger said, this is, after all, a matter of great importance concerning war, and I cannot give a precise answer."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a friendly smile and spoke in a very skillful, official tone.

"After the discussion concludes, I will definitely send someone to inform everyone as soon as possible."

"I hope the discussion with the Hokage can proceed quickly."

Yagura knew, of course, that the other party was just making excuses, but he couldn't force the issue, so he simply said it indifferently.

"We, Kirigakure, not only contacted Konoha, but also sent envoys to three other villages at the same time."

"The Third Hokage not only hopes to stop the war, but also hopes to convene a new Five Kage Summit!"

Second update.

Hmm, goodnight everyone.

(End of this chapter)