I am the new Hokage of Konoha.

Such a disgusting face makes one want to rush up and slap the other person a few times.

As a result, the people of Konoha are now filled with righteous indignation. Although there are many pacifists who do not want to fight anymore, with the help of the Cloud Ninja delegation, many people have also sided with the militant faction, hoping that Konoha can teach the Cloud Ninja a lesson.

Everyone has a temper.

The Cloud Ninja repeatedly offended Konoha, causing the Konoha residents, who had grown up there and considered themselves the strongest ninja in the world, to feel deeply insulted.

If Yun Ting, as the Hokage, does nothing, it's hard to guarantee that he won't face the same political situation that the Third Hokage faced after signing the peace treaty with Iwagakure.

As the mastermind behind all of this, Yun Ting would not make such a mistake.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have spread the Cloud Ninja's various actions during the peace talks to the outside world. Instead, he would have been secretive about the peace talks, just like the Third Hokage in the original story. He even committed suicide to explain the Cloud Ninja's situation. Apart from those directly involved, the people of Konoha still had no idea about it more than ten years later.

As time passed, the clamor grew louder as almost all the people of Konoha gathered around the Hokage Building.

Finally, under everyone's watchful eyes, Yun Ting, wearing the Hokage hat and the Hokage robe, stood on the rooftop of the Hokage Building and appeared before everyone.

In an instant, the noise vanished, as if the world had changed, and Konoha Village became incredibly quiet.

This demonstrates the Hokage's prestige in the hearts of the villagers of Konoha.

It wasn't just Yun Ting who caused it; it was the cumulative influence of the First, Second, and Third Hokage over the decades that made the word "Hokage" so deeply imprinted in the hearts of everyone in Konoha.

At this moment, Yun Ting, standing on the rooftop for the second time and being watched by everyone in Konoha, felt completely different from the first time.

When he first arrived, he was filled with unfamiliarity and anxiety.

However, now that the shackles of three generations are gone, Yun Ting, as the sole focus of everyone's attention, feels an overwhelming sense of pride.

This is Konoha Village, home to the strongest ninja power in the world.

As the Hokage, he wielded the strongest power in the ninja world.

But that's not enough, far from enough.

Power should never be merely an emotionless tool.

Power is power, and even more so, it is authority!

What he wanted to do was to completely change the distorted political system of the ninja world.

Ninjas should not be tools, much less just hired hands who do things for money.

They should also be among the masters of this land, and it is only right that they use the power they have learned to protect everyone.

Yun Ting wants to use his own hands to create his own blueprint in the ninja world, so that his journey will not be in vain.

Regardless of the future outcome, having him lead is far better than those noble lords who have ruled for generations, accomplishing nothing, and are corrupt and incompetent.

Therefore, with this goal in mind, all prerequisites and obstacles will be destroyed.

The Twelve Guardian Ninjas, including the Minister of the Left and others, were like this, and the Cloud Ninja on horseback were even more so.

"Villagers of Konoha..."

At this moment, facing the gazes of countless Konoha citizens—a mixture of respect, admiration, expectation, and skepticism—Yun Ting finally spoke.

"The matter I have gathered here to discuss is something that you all know very well: the peace talks between the Cloud Ninja."

Upon hearing this, the huge crowd in Konoha Village could no longer contain their commotion, clearly wanting to know Yun Ting's attitude towards it.

Yun Ting did not disappoint everyone. He stated directly, "Just an hour ago, I informed the Yunren that the peace talks were now suspended!"

In an instant, the screams of the Konoha people pierced the sky.

The news brought by Yun Ting was truly shocking to them.

They had assumed that the Konoha leadership, headed by Yun Ting, would prioritize peace as they had always done, but the reality turned out to be the complete opposite of what they expected.

While I was extremely surprised, I also felt a strange sense of joy that it should have been this way.

Seeing this, Yun Ting raised his voice and continued:

"The Land of Fire has always been a peace-loving nation, and Konoha is no exception. We originally came with the utmost sincerity to bring about the peace that both sides longed for when the Cloud Village peace delegation arrived. But who knew that while we were full of enthusiasm, the Cloud Village side was not so."

"First, they made all sorts of unreasonable demands. Then, the leader of the Cloud Ninja delegation went so far as to kidnap someone right under Konoha's nose. After the Hyuga clan leader was killed in self-defense, the Cloud Ninja not only showed no shame, but also threatened war to force the innocent Hyuga clan leader to commit suicide and demanded that his body be taken back to Cloud Village. All of this was done to spy on the secrets of the Hyuga clan in Konoha. By basing peace talks on such coercion, the Cloud Ninja have no sincerity whatsoever."

"Konoha loves peace, but this peace should not be obtained by begging on one's knees, much less by sacrificing innocent people of Konoha."

"If today I grant the Cloud Ninja's request to have the Hyuga clan leader commit suicide to facilitate peace talks, then in the future, if such a situation arises again, and if you are also forced to sacrifice yourselves without cause, would you be willing?"

"No!"

In an instant, the Konoha members present exclaimed in unison, filled with excitement.

If even the patriarch of a prestigious ninja clan can sacrifice himself like this, then wouldn't those of us whose status is far inferior to him be able to give up so easily?

This concerns themselves, and it's something no one in Konoha wants to see.

“I am unwilling too,” Yun Ting continued. “Sacrificing innocent people to achieve the so-called big picture is, in my opinion, a very hypocritical act! Moreover, our Konoha is the strongest ninja village in the ninja world. Not only did we achieve final victory in the First and Second Shinobi World Wars, but we also defeated the Sand Village, the Rock Village, and the Mist Village in the recent war, forcing them to withdraw their claws and lick their wounds.”

"Why should we, who have defeated all our enemies, bow down to the weaker Cloud Ninja at the last moment? Must we kneel and beg just for so-called peace? If so, what will become of Konoha's reputation as the number one ninja in the world!"

"If the weaker Cloud Ninja dare to start a war, then why shouldn't we!"

"As long as I, Senju Kumo-tei, remain Hokage, the practice of sacrificing oneself for peace will never occur!"

"Since they want war, then we'll give them war!"

"Peace is never something you beg for on your knees; it's something you fight for with your fists!"

"From this day forward, in the name of the Fourth Hokage, Senju Kumo-tei, I declare to the Cloud Ninja that the war continues!"

"I will soon personally go to the front lines and use my own fists to win back true peace for everyone in Konoha."

"This is my attitude towards the Cloud Ninja as the Fourth Hokage. So, what is the attitude of everyone in Konoha?"

After Yun Ting finished speaking, there was a few seconds of silence, like the calm before a volcanic eruption, before almost everyone present shouted excitedly:

"War! War! War..."

The villagers of Konoha have been suffering for far too long.

Only at this moment, in Yun Ting's announcement, did they truly feel the pride of being from the greatest nation in the ninja world, and they also felt the same heroic spirit they had under the leadership of the First Hokage, when they looked down on all enemies.

Konoha has never been a sleeping lion; it has simply been too good-natured in the past, which has emboldened outsiders to continue their invasions.

However, at this moment, under the leadership of Yun Ting, this lion will truly reveal its majestic, powerful, and even violent side.

In conflicts between nations, so-called peace and compromise only lead to bolder aggression from the enemy.

Only by giving them a severe and profound beating can they truly realize who the real boss is.

Yun Ting was well aware of this, and Konoha under his leadership would also implement this principle.

At this moment, feeling the excited cheers and throngs of thousands of Konoha villagers, Yun Ting smiled brightly.

The trend has been established, and success has been achieved.

Chapter 106 Konoha's Conservative Faction

Just as the excited cheers echoed through Konoha, a quiet corner of the village seemed out of place.

If someone were to get closer and observe, they would discover that the three people standing here are all of extremely high status in Konoha.

One is the retired Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, while the other two are Konoha Advisory Council elders Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane.

At this moment, listening to Yun Ting's war pronouncements in front of everyone, the two advisor elders looked extremely grim.

This was not only because Yun Ting's actions were completely contrary to their original plan, but also because they were annoyed that the former had not consulted them at all on such an important matter.

"Does the Fourth Hokage even care about us? He made such a momentous decision as breaking off peace talks and going to war with the Cloud Ninja without even consulting them. How could he be so reckless when it concerns the future of Konoha? And what's more! Is now a good time to start a war? Konoha needs to recuperate. Peace could have been achieved with only a small price to pay, but the Fourth Hokage, young and impetuous, ruined all of that. Now he wants to drag Konoha into the vortex of war. He's far too young and reckless!"

Mitokado Yan said this in a fit of rage.

Not only was the peace he had hoped for destroyed by Yun Ting, but the other party's words, such as "begging for peace on your knees is not sustainable" and "sacrificing innocent people is hypocritical," were all sarcastic remarks about his past actions.

You should know that you humbled yourself to go to the Hyuga clan, and your starting point was for the sake of Konoha.

However, Yun Ting ended up interfering.

Now, not only has he become the hypocrite, but his relationship with the Hyuga clan and many other ninja clans who have heard of his actions has also plummeted to rock bottom, leaving him completely disliked by everyone.

Beside her, Koharu Utatane, whose face was equally pale, chimed in:

"Things in this world never go according to plan. Sometimes compromise and concession are the best choices after careful consideration. It's one thing for the Fourth Hokage to be young and impetuous and not understand this, but he shouldn't have imposed his will on the entire Hidden Leaf Village. What good are loud slogans now? Little do he know how many people will regret it when the staggering sacrifices and losses of the war are reported back later. With Hidden Leaf Village's current strength, it really shouldn't have started this war! If it drags on, only the interests of the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning will be harmed, while the other three great nations will reap the benefits."

"We must not wage war out of anger. Hiruzen, now that things have come to this, are you still going to stand idly by?"

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen with anticipation.

Unusually, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not refute the two men's words. Instead, he looked at the spirited Yun Ting on the rooftop of the Hokage Building, smoked his pipe, and fell into deep thought.

Although he had retired, he still had some knowledge of Yun Ting's actions after taking power.

Overall, he was quite satisfied.

Aside from lifting restrictions on the Uchiha clan, he also had some concerns about encroaching on the interests of the Land of Fire.

Fortunately, all of this was still under control and nothing went wrong, so Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't think about it anymore.

However, Yun Ting's sudden declaration of war today made him frown.

Like the two advisors to Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi was also a representative of the appeasement faction in Konoha.

Although he spent most of his time in power during wartime, perhaps having witnessed too much life and death, he disliked the word "war" from the bottom of his heart.

Just like when he heard that two old friends had gone to the Hyuga clan to coerce him, although he didn't like this method, he would choose to accept it if it succeeded.

For the sake of the greater good, even if he was unwilling, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to do it.

In some ways, his philosophy toward Konoha was very similar to that of the two advisor elders.

In contrast, Danzo was a staunch representative of the Konoha martial arts faction.

If the other party were here, they would definitely abandon their old friend immediately and choose to stand on Yun Ting's side.

However, this person has been placed under house arrest by Yun Ting and can no longer cause any trouble.

That being said, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not agree with Yun Ting's decision to abandon peace talks and escalate the war.

After reading Yun Ting's "The New Will of Fire," although he agreed with some of the views, he was vaguely worried about Yun Ting's current actions.

He suddenly had a bad feeling that Yun Ting would drag Konoha into an unpredictable abyss in the future.

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, temporarily putting this inexplicable and unfounded idea out of his mind.