Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

After receiving Tsunade's reply, the Third Hokage spoke thoughtfully.

Then, a sharp pain shot through his wound, forcing him to close his eyes, grit his teeth, and endure it, unable to think about anything else for the time being.

"Hiruzen, how is Danzo?"

A moment later, a familiar voice reached the ears of the third generation.

When the Third Generation opened his eyes, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu immediately appeared before him.

He looked at the two of them, and his expression quickly turned cold.

The battle has been going on for so long, and these two guys, who are advisors to the Hokage, have only just arrived. I really don't know what they were doing before.

He didn't believe that the two of them were unaware of what was happening here, yet only arrived now.

Suddenly, he realized that appointing these two as Hokage advisors was a mistake. Judging from today's incident, neither of them had the ability to serve as Hokage advisors.

Being the Hokage's advisor is not a get-out-of-jail-free card that allows you to stay in the background and watch the show.

His original intention was that the Hokage advisor was a position to assist the Hokage, and this assistance was not only in handling official duties, but also in combat.

He had no hope of getting help from Senju Momoka, since she was likely the one who orchestrated this whole thing, and she had kept it a secret from Tsunade.

But these two guys not only didn't lift a finger when he was being beaten up, but they weren't even there, which is outrageous.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu noticed that the Third Hokage's expression and gaze towards them were strange. They immediately guessed the reason. Utatane Koharu answered first, "Hiruzen, we were just calming the villagers down and evacuating them. The battle that just broke out was too big, making many villagers feel uneasy."

"That's right, that's exactly it."

Mitomon agreed.

"Is that so? You two must have had a lot of trouble."

Upon hearing this, the third generation spoke coldly.

The reason given was to stabilize the villagers' emotions and evacuate them.

But if he actually believed that, then he must have been out of his mind.

Ultimately, it all boils down to fear of death and losing the position they hold.

These two guys claim to be neutral, but they're really just opportunists. Until they can see the situation clearly, they'll just stand by and watch, and won't choose to take sides.

"Hiruzen, is Danzo really dead?"

Mitokado Homura sensed the sarcasm in the Third Hokage's words, but he didn't take it to heart and asked the Third Hokage the same question again.

The three generations did not answer, but silence was the best answer.

"I never expected him to leave like this."

Koharu sighed, a sorrowful expression on her face.

The same applies to Mitokaku inflammation.

They usually didn't get along with Danzo and personally disliked him, but after all, they were fellow disciples and had risked their lives together many times in their youth. Over the decades, how could they not have some sense of camaraderie?

Moreover, after Danzo's death, their position in Konoha will inevitably become even more awkward.

Although Danzo was imprisoned and outwardly considered a criminal with little influence in Konoha, his influence remained immense due to his connection with Root.

His sudden death will surely cause a hurricane in Konoha.

They are both very worried about the condition of the roots.

What is the root?

They both knew very well that it was a vicious beast born from the darkness of Konoha, a place where a large number of ninjas with fierce ideological battles gathered. Once Danzo, the one who could control this vicious beast Root, was lost, the loss of control over Root was inevitable.

No one can predict what kind of terrible impact this beast will have.

But one thing is certain: this beast will definitely bite them both.

The reason they hated Danzo so much was that he had threatened them by presenting evidence that they had abused their power for their own family's benefit.

Therefore, they had to help Danzo do some shady things.

Danzo is now dead, and they are worried that these things will be exposed.

Because the Root ninjas are not to be trifled with. They are not as easily fooled as other Konoha ninjas. Most of them are selfish and self-serving individuals who joined Root for various reasons and were later subdued by Danzo through various means.

After Danzo dies, these people will definitely jump out and cause trouble.

And the things they did for Danzo might be exposed by these people.

For the sake of their positions as Hokage advisors, they absolutely cannot allow these shady dealings to be exposed.

After a few seconds of grief as Koharu Utatane mourned Danzo, she said again, "Hiruzen, Danzo is gone. The problems with Root must be dealt with immediately. You should know how dangerous the problems with Root are."

"Yes, without Danzo, the Root ninjas will soon get out of control. We must take them under control as soon as possible before they do, otherwise Konoha will be in chaos sooner or later."

Mitokado Homura echoed, looking at the Third Hokage with an anxious expression.

The Third Hokage watched the two of them putting on a show in front of him, feeling a chill in his heart. He thought to himself, "It seems that Danzo has some kind of leverage over these two. Hmph, it seems that they were cooperating with Danzo to put on an act in front of me before. The growth of Root is also inseparable from their efforts behind the scenes."

In an instant, his impression of Mitokado En and Utatane Koharu plummeted once again.

He already felt that these two people were unreliable and not suitable to be Hokage advisors.

What's the point of having two Hokage advisors who didn't come to his aid at crucial moments? It would have been better to send in two more reliable ones.

However, the issues that the two just mentioned do indeed need to be addressed quickly.

The Root ninjas must be brought under control as soon as possible, otherwise it would be bad if these Root ninjas who do not obey the Hokage's orders were allowed to spread rumors.

"I'll send someone to handle the root matter later. You two should go back first. I need to get some rest now."

The third generation said expressionlessly.

After saying that, he closed his eyes again, enduring the pain, and waited for Tsunade to finish the treatment.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu looked very unhappy when the Third Generation so quickly told them to leave.

What time is it?

This was not the answer the third generation gave them; they wanted him to deal with the matter immediately.

Xiaochun, who was switching dorm rooms, gritted her teeth, wanting to say something more.

But at this moment, Tsunade, who had been silent all along, spoke up. She stared at Koharu Utatane and said bluntly, "Two Hokage advisors, the Third Hokage is currently injured. If there is anything, please wait until I have healed him. I think healing the Third Hokage is more important than anything else right now. What do you think?"

Koharu, caught off guard by Tsunade's sudden rebuke, instantly showed a hint of anger on her face. Just as she was about to accuse Tsunade of disrespecting her elders, Homura Mitokado placed his hand on her shoulder and coughed.

Koharu Utatane, alerted by Homura Mitokado's warning, immediately turned to look at Homura to see what was happening. But as soon as she turned, she saw Momoka Senju, who was looking at her with a half-smile.

Upon seeing this, Koharu, who was turning over in the dormitory, instantly lost any anger that had just arisen in her heart, and was replaced by fear.

She quickly lowered her head, not daring to look directly at Senju Momoka.

The killing of Danzo is absolutely related to the Senju clan.

She once thought the Senju clan had declined, but judging from Danzo's death, this perception was clearly wrong.

The Senju clan is now in the hands of Senju Momoka, which means that Danzo's death at the hands of the mysterious Kage-level powerhouse was very likely orchestrated by her.

It's best not to offend such a ruthless person like her, Xiaochun, who has switched dorms.

"Taohua, you've come."

The third generation looked at Momoka with a complicated expression and said.

His perception was much stronger than Koharu Utatane's; he noticed that Momoka Senju was coming towards him much earlier.

Now that Tao Hua has arrived, he should say something.

But what should he and Tao Hua say to each other?

Chapter 175: The Senju Clan and the Third Generation

"Hiruzen, how are your injuries? Are they serious?"

Upon hearing the words of the third generation, Momoka sighed.

She felt no remorse whatsoever for helping Kirito kill Danzo, and if given the chance to do it all over again, she would still make the same choice to protect the future of the Senju clan.

She never expected things to develop this way.

Not content with killing Danzo, that mysterious Kage-level powerhouse also injured the Third Hokage.

This matter has both advantages and disadvantages for the Senju clan.

On the positive side, the Senju clan can use this to raise the banner of a mysterious Kage-level powerhouse, deterring various opportunists within Konoha who might be eyeing the Senju clan.

Unfortunately, she had just hosted a banquet for the heads of various Konoha ninja clans in the name of the Senju clan at the Senju clan's territory, and then a mysterious Kage-level powerhouse happened to lead a group of Jonin to attack the Konoha prison, ultimately killing Danzo, a serious criminal and leader of the Root.

The two events happened too coincidentally.

Furthermore, because she hosted a banquet for the heads of various ninja clans to the Senju clan, when the mysterious Kage-level expert attacked Konoha Prison, many Konoha ninja clans were unable to provide timely support to Konoha Prison because their leaders happened to be away from the clan, thus indirectly providing tremendous assistance to the mysterious Kage-level expert.

If the clan leaders of each ninja clan weren't stupid, they would definitely be able to guess that the Senju clan's relationship with the mysterious Kage-level powerhouse was not simple.

As a result, it has become a given fact that the Senju clan still has a Kage-level powerhouse backing them up, especially since this Kage-level powerhouse is even stronger than the Third Hokage. Anyone else who wants to target the Senju clan again must seriously consider Danzo's fate.

In the ninja world, ultimately, all facts are determined by strength.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, after today, the Senju clan's awkward situation after losing Mito Uzumaki, a Kage-level ninja, will be greatly improved, and the many conflicts of interest between the Senju clan and other ninja clans that have occurred recently will also be resolved quickly.

But the downsides are also significant.

The biggest downside is undoubtedly that it would greatly offend the Third Hokage, who was in office at the time.

No matter how bad Danzo was, he was still the Third Hokage's dog, even if he was a disobedient dog who might even bite back on his master.

As the saying goes, "You have to judge a book by its cover." The Senju clan's use of the power of a mysterious Kage-level expert to kill Danzo, that vicious dog, was undoubtedly a slap in the face to the Third Hokage. The subsequent beating of the Third Hokage by the mysterious Kage-level expert was yet another major offense.

What is the current relationship between the Senju clan and the Third Hokage?

Tao Hua was uncertain, but she knew things would definitely not be as good as before.

The Third Hokage is still in power in Konoha. If the Third Hokage were to target the Senju clan, the Senju clan would definitely suffer greatly.

After all, the Senju clan is not as enthusiastic about fighting as the Uchiha clan, and they can't quickly improve their strength through fighting.

The Senju clan currently has fewer than 300 members, of which just over 100 are combat personnel. If the Third Hokage were to be ruthless and use his legitimate power to issue a conscription order to the Senju clan, the clan would likely suffer another significant loss of members.

The reason why the Third Hokage rarely conscripts members of the Senju clan during the current war between Konoha and Sunagakure is out of respect for the Second Hokage and Tsunade.