The Master of Konoha's Legacy

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Danzo coldly snorted at Hiruzen Sarutobi:

"Hmph, Hiruzen, you've been blinded by rage."

"If you do that, the Land of Fire will definitely be in turmoil, and you'll regret it sooner or later."

After saying that, he turned and walked out.

To everyone's surprise, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes turned cold, and his face darkened as he said:

"Danzo, if you dare to step out of this door, I will initiate a high-level vote to revoke your right to lead Root."

As soon as he finished speaking, Danzo stopped in his tracks, turned around and stared straight at Hiruzen Sarutobi, saying incredulously, "You actually threatened me."

Seeing this, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu quickly tried to mediate:

"Alright, Hiruzen, calm down."

"Danzo, take a step back. His Highness is not yet a Daimyo."

Don't let outsiders ruin the harmony.

Being caught in the middle is not a pleasant experience.

"Humph."

Danzo snorted coldly, but remained standing in place, not leaving.

In the end, they gave in.

Just then, there was a knock on the office door.

"Come in."

A member of the secret service entered, knelt on one knee, and said:

"Lord Hokage, the latest news from the Land of Fire: just last night, the First Prince executed the Second Prince."

In addition, after two days of searching, we discovered signs of a large-scale battle in the forest outside the City of Fire.

Based on the timeline, this coincides with the time Asuma fled the City of Fire.

As soon as he finished speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened, he gasped for breath a few times, and then fainted.

"Hiruzen!" Danzo and the other two quickly helped Hiruzen Sarutobi up.

Fortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi only fainted briefly and woke up after a few breaths.

The first thing he said upon waking was, "It's Abe no Seimei."

The operative knelt on the ground and reported slowly, "Abe no Seimei disappeared after that great battle, as if he had vanished into thin air."

According to rumors circulating within Daming Prefecture, it is suspected that a forbidden technique was used, leading to the exhaustion of his lifespan.

After thinking for a moment, Xiaochun, who was changing dorm rooms, comforted him:

"According to the intelligence report, Abe no Seimei's strength far surpasses that of Shinnosuke."

Such a person, if he wants to hide, cannot be found by ordinary ninjas.

Moreover, intelligence indicates that Abe Seimei is at least in his seventies.

Such an elderly person performing such a terrifying forbidden technique would likely not be able to withstand the side effects.

It's very likely he's already dead.

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't catch his breath and said resentfully, "Even if I die, I should have a corpse."

Today's events were a huge blow to him, and he found it hard to accept.

Koharu, who was turning over a new room, sighed and said:

"Then let's send people to search for Abe Seimei's whereabouts now."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath, closed his eyes slightly, and waved his hand, saying:

"Forget it, let's send more people to look for Asma."

I'm tired. All of you, please leave. Let me have some peace and quiet.

The three exchanged a glance, then left the office without saying a word, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi alone.

Originally, Hiruzen Sarutobi planned to capture Abe no Seimei and the Crown Prince and bring them back to Konoha for further action.

But to everyone's surprise, the eldest prince acted so decisively, killing the second prince directly.

If we capture the Crown Prince now, the Land of Fire will be without a Daimyo.

The one village, one country system was pioneered by Konoha. If Hiruzen Sarutobi alone wanted to end this system, he would definitely be opposed by everyone.

The most likely outcome is not that he will destroy the Daimyo's capital, but that he, as Hokage, will be impeached and removed from office.

Even if we support a new puppet daimyo, it won't work; the Land of Fire will still be thrown into turmoil.

The number of ordinary people is far, far greater than that of ninjas.

Moreover, the Daimyo has so many loyal subordinates. Although their overall strength is not comparable to that of Konoha, their businesses span the entire ninja world.

If they lead the way and side with any of the major powers, then Konoha will be in trouble.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was destined to be unable to harm His Highness, so he could only vent his anger on Abe no Seimei.

However, Abe no Seimei's whereabouts are currently unknown, and it is unclear whether he is alive or dead.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a tightness in his chest, an unbearable discomfort.

The only hope is that Asuma is not dead, but is hiding somewhere and will eventually be found by the Konoha ninja.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat alone in his chair, looking somewhat dazed.

"Shinnosuke...Asuma..."

The next day.

At the entrance of Konoha Village, Uchiha Tonan had just crossed the barrier.

Three ANBU members appeared before them and said in a deep voice, "Uchiha Tonan, please proceed to the Hokage Building immediately."

Uchiha Tonan nodded and used the Body Flicker Technique to leave.

Three secret agents followed closely behind.

Upon entering the Hokage's office, Uchiha Tonan immediately saw Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose face was ashen, staring intently at him.

Uchiha Tonan's gaze briefly met that of Hiruzen Yuuki, and then he lowered his head with a gloomy expression.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced behind Uchiha Tonan.

The three ANBU members behind Uchiha Tonan immediately understood and closed the door.

Uchiha Tonan walked to the desk with his head down.

He handed the mission sheet to Hiruzen Sarutobi, then stepped back a few paces to create some distance.

It seemed as if they were afraid of something.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced down at the mission log and said in a deep voice, "Mission failed."

Uchiha Tonan pursed his lips and said, "I was kicked out."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag of his cigarette, his usual affable demeanor replaced by a cold expression. "Tell me about your time in the Fire Capital. Speak slowly, I'll be waiting for you."

Uchiha Tonan nodded and calmly began to speak:

"On my very first day there, I noticed something was off about the vice-captain, and then..."

"After we wiped out the human trafficking organization, I felt sorry for those orphans, so I took them into my home and raised them."

Then they started sending people to investigate other underground organizations.......…

"That day, I posted a job advertisement, hoping to find teachers for the orphans. Many people came, including one who called himself Abe Seimei..."

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly raised an eyebrow, realizing something was amiss.

He immediately interrupted, "Wait, referring to yourself?"

Uchiha Tonan nodded, took two photos from his ninja tool pouch, and handed them to Sarutobi Hiruzen, saying:

"This is a photo of Abe no Seimei from a long time ago that I found."

This photo was taken when he was getting a replacement residence certificate.

Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the photo and examined it.

A black and white photograph and a color photograph.

The people in the two photos are of very different ages.

However, even at a cursory glance, it is not difficult to recognize from their facial features that it is indeed the same person.

Hiruzen Sarutobi kept comparing the two photos, frowning, but he still felt something was off.

"That's a bit strange."

[Chapter 99. Empathy and Taking Advantage of Vulnerability]

(Bonus chapter for _Dreamy_ who donated to become a patron)

Uchiha Tonan adjusted his glasses, frowned, and said with a serious expression:

"I didn't feel anything was wrong at first."

But after what happened that night, I specifically went through his information again.

But there's very little information about him; the only useful thing is these two photos.

Hiruzen Sarutobi observed Uchiha Tonan's solemn expression and, seeing how concerned Uchiha Tonan was about Shinnosuke, his mood eased somewhat.

Their attitude towards Uchiha Tonan has also improved somewhat.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly and said:

"This photo looks like the same person. You should be able to tell whether he used a transformation spell or not."

Uchiha Tonan said with certainty:

"He didn't use a transformation technique, but after looking closely, I noticed something was wrong with his eyes."

I've always felt that the eyes are the windows to a person's soul, and different people have different expressions in their eyes.