The Devil of Konoha: Starting as a Medical Ninja

However, all they saw was an old man lying in a pool of blood with a smile on his face—none other than their Third Hokage.

Unlike his usual gentle demeanor, Hiruzen Sarutobi's smile had become eternal; he was now utterly dead. Even with Konoha's strongest medical ninja at this moment, it was of no use.

Medical ninjutsu cannot bring the dead back to life; that's common sense.

The death of the Third Hokage is certainly regrettable, but at this time, what needs to be done is to resolve this matter completely, since the ninjas of Sunagakure and some of the guys Orochimaru created are still causing trouble in Konoha.

We can't let them do whatever they want here, after all, this is Konoha, which the Hokage risked his life to protect...

Chapter 166 A World Where Only Sunagakure is Wounded

The battle in Sunagakure did not last long. Just as most of the Konoha ninjas were free to act, the most authoritative ninja in Sunagakure's operation received a message from the village.

The message was very simple, roughly meaning:

The body of the Fourth Kazekage was discovered in the desert of the Land of Wind. Based on the information about his death, it is estimated that Orochimaru orchestrated this operation by Sunagakure.

Upon receiving this information, the ninjas of Sunagakure were immediately stunned, even though the incident was caused by Orochimaru.

But the current situation is no longer the cause of this matter; the question is, what should be done now?

Fortunately, at the end of the message, there was an order from the two elders of Sunagakure: immediately sue for peace with Konoha.

Those who are part of the village know their own situation. After the Kazekage's death, Sunagakure has no chance of defeating Konoha. If the Kazekage were still alive, there might still be a chance.

But for now, hopefully it won't be too bad...

Thus, a rather bizarre scene unfolded: the Konoha ninjas were acting like they were on steroids, while the Sunagakure ninjas, who were originally the invading side, were listless and lethargic, as if they were the Konoha ninjas.

Soon, the Sand Village ninjas made a request for peace, which puzzled the Konoha ninjas. However, they stopped their attack but remained wary of the Sand Village ninjas.

The Sunagakure ninjas were quite sensible; seeing that the Konoha ninjas had no intention of continuing their attack, they withdrew from Konoha and waited in a nearby area.

However, they did not leave immediately. Even though they wanted to return to Sunagakure, Konoha was unwilling, since the benefits had not yet been received!

The decision to make peace with Sunagakure was certainly not something these ninjas could make. Even Nara Shikaku, as the strategist, had no way of deciding it.

Now that the Hokage is dead, only three people can make the decision: the two elders and Danzo, who is still lurking in the shadows.

Compared to the latter, the former is still better; at least compared to Danzo, these two have a better reputation.

However, what puzzled the Anbu ninjas was that both elders had disappeared. Under such circumstances, the Anbu had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask Danzo for instructions.

After all, there are only four people in Konoha's decision-making circle. With the Hokage dead and the two elders missing, Danzo is the only one left who can make decisions.

Outside the Root Base, the Dark Army Captain slowly entered, but was stopped by Hongzhi before he could take more than a few steps.

Hongzhi was naturally watching all of this from the shadows. After all, the old man had been eliminated, and the rest of the matter definitely needed to be handled properly.

Hongzhi wanted to stay in Konoha rather than let it perish, so the news that Danzo was dead could not be revealed. Otherwise, Konoha would be leaderless and would eventually descend into chaos.

This wouldn't normally be a problem, but the current situation is that Sunagakure still wants to negotiate peace. If a leader doesn't emerge soon, it will be a huge embarrassment.

"Stop!"

Hongzhi looked at the ANBU captain in front of him, his voice still cold, which was in line with the style of a Root ninja. After all, Hongzhi still wanted this identity to become a high-ranking member of Konoha.

This person, who would succeed Danzo, would certainly not be a support role for the Hokage; Tsunade would definitely not agree to that.

Kudo Yuya will take over Utatane Koharu's position, and the last position will be given to Jiraiya. In that case, there shouldn't be any problems with Tsunade and Jiraiya.

If they unite, they will not be afraid of Danzo causing trouble, and after a while, Koji will be able to announce Danzo's death.

"There are important decisions that require Lord Danzo's judgment!"

The captain of the Anbu spoke relatively calmly. If an Anbu member could directly enter Root, it would prove that the last Root member who followed Danzo was really trash.

Judging from the Hokage's previous evaluation of this person, this person's strength seems unfathomable.

"Leave it to me."

Hongzhi's answer remained indifferent, which left the Anbu Captain-Commander somewhat bewildered. Although Sunagakure wanted to make peace, so far it had only made verbal promises and had nothing substantial to show for it!

How do I give it to them?

"The body of the Fourth Kazekage has been discovered in Sunagakure... They wish to sue for peace with us because of this. We ask Lord Danzo to make a decision!"

After a moment of silence, the captain of the Dark Guard explained the situation: if the two elders hadn't disappeared without a trace, how would he have ended up here!

Hongzhi glanced coldly at the dark force captain, then turned and entered the Root base.

About five minutes later, Hongzhi slowly walked out.

"I'll go with you!"

Hongzhi's voice surprised the Anbu Captain-Commander, but considering that this was Danzo's decision, having a Root ninja express it seemed more credible.

In the center of the battlefield, when Hongzhi and the Anbu Captain arrived, the ninjas of Konoha and Sunagakure were still in a standoff.

"Lord Danzo has agreed to the Sand Village's demands. Once the new Hokage takes office, he will discuss the specific compensation details with the Sand Village..."

Hongzhi looked at the Sand Village ninjas opposite him and found it somewhat amusing. In this Konoha Crush plan, Konoha had purged the parasites, and as long as Tsunade returned, things would be thriving.

Although Orochimaru lost both hands, he successfully sent Hiruzen Sarutobi away and confirmed Sasuke Uchiha's potential, so from a certain perspective, it can be said that he didn't lose out.

Meanwhile, Sunagakure not only lost its only pillar, the Fourth Kazekage, but also a large number of ninjas, which made the already impoverished Sunagakure even worse off.

Most importantly, Sunagakure will also face substantial compensation, in addition to the ransom for the Jinchūriki.

Hiroji didn't want Sunagakure to simply take the Jinchuriki back. Kankuro and Temari, who were prisoners, could be released, but Gaara, the Jinchuriki, would have to pay a price if he wanted to return obediently.

As for whether Sunagakure would choose to fight to the death, that's impossible. Jiraiya was definitely present when Tsunade returned to the village, plus the reappearance of the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Konoha remains one of the top ninja villages. Even if other ninja villages want to cause trouble, they have to remain indifferent for a while after receiving this information.

Among them, Kumogakure and Iwagakure have more to say, as they are well aware of the power of the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Therefore, Sunagakure had no choice but to obediently provide compensation. As for abandoning Gaara, that was impossible for Sunagakure, since the entire village could only rely on this One-Tailed Jinchuriki.

If they give up, then Sunagakure will be effectively removed from the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Chapter 167 Where Leaves Flutter

Yesterday's Chunin Exams are now history, thanks to Hiroji's medical ninjutsu, all the ninjas who were injured yesterday have recovered.

Today is the memorial service for those dead ninjas. Although it seems a bit rushed, it was an order given by Danzo, the only high-ranking official in Konoha.

The Jonin were somewhat puzzled, but at this point, there seemed to be no other way. The matter of Sunagakure had not yet been resolved, and they were worried about having any conflict with Danzo at this time.

Wouldn't that directly tell Sunagakure and other restless forces that Konoha is currently in internal strife, making it the best time to send troops?

During the memorial service, the portraits of the deceased ninjas were placed in the most prominent position. Although it looked very solemn, there were actually not many ninjas who had died.

Apart from a few ninjas at the forefront, Konoha suffered negligible casualties after the battle began.

Orochimaru's riot resulted in the death of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage. Apart from that, Shukaku's riot did not cause any problems. According to the reports from the pursuing genin, the so-called Sand Village trio and the rioting monster were directly taken away and imprisoned by Root ninjas.

In other words, aside from the somewhat unacceptable sacrifices of Hiruzen Sarutobi and the two elders, the losses suffered by Konoha are still acceptable.

At least in such a large-scale battle, the casualty rate is actually very low.

The vast majority of these ninjas were healed by Hongzhi's shadow clones, which greatly enhanced Hongzhi's prestige throughout Konoha.

During the memorial service and moment of silence, the entire Hidden Leaf Village was shrouded in dark clouds, and raindrops the size of soybeans fell, instantly spreading a sense of oppression and desolation throughout the village.

"This is all I can do. I hope I can wash away all the filth from Konoha..."

Outside the Root base, Hongzhi looked at the dark clouds in the sky and muttered to himself. Using water-style chakra to make it rain throughout Konoha for a period of time was exceptionally easy for Hongzhi.

Of course, this inspiration came from Amegakure, from Nagato's Rain Tiger Free Technique. Of course, Hiroji couldn't have done this just to create a sad atmosphere; the most important thing was to find Jiraiya as soon as possible.

The old Konoha is gone, and the new Konoha is in a transitional phase. Don't be fooled by the peaceful atmosphere of the village now; if Hiroji were to jump out and say that Danzo wanted to become the next Hokage...

The elders of Sunagakure would certainly not let go of this chance to salvage the situation. In order to make the envisioned scenario happen, Hiroji needed Danzo and Jiraiya to reach an agreement.

The current situation is that if Danzo were to become Hokage, the Jonin would definitely not agree, but Danzo happens to be the only surviving high-ranking official...

Jiraiya has a high reputation, so Danzo could easily back down and let Jiraiya persuade the Jonin. That would be a win-win situation for everyone.

Although Danzo would never have made this suggestion, he is now near death, which makes the matter seem more reasonable. Moreover, exchanging a retired Hokage's assistant position for an elder's position seems to be a greater loss for Danzo.

I believe Danzo is capable of making the perfect decision. If all else fails, perhaps we should learn a little about Kotoamatsukami.

This kind of illusion, which can change things invisibly, could even affect someone like Jiraiya.

The memorial service ended quickly, but the heavy rain continued to fall, and the entire village of Konoha seemed to be dead; no one was active, and no one was even working.

"Sigh... old man..."

East of Konoha, a hurried traveler gazed at the place where his mentor was buried, sighing incessantly.

Although he had disagreements with his mentor and hadn't seen him for a long time, Jiraiya never expected that no sooner had he left Konoha than the Chunin Exams would become Orochimaru's game, and the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would become a hero who had already sacrificed himself.

Just like his best disciple, he became a great Hokage who sacrificed himself for the village!

Jiraiya slowly stepped into the village. His goal was very clear: the Hokage Building. The entire Hidden Leaf Village was currently leaderless. Although he had no interest in that position, he couldn't just let Danzo sit in it.

He was perfectly clear about who Danzo really was.

In the Root base, Hiroji slowly opened his eyes and then slowly walked towards the Hokage's office.

Many Jonin, the pillars of Konoha, had gathered outside the Hokage's office, while Konoha's elite were inside.

Kudo Yuuya, the captain of the Anbu and director of Konoha Hospital, Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga clan, Nara Shikaku, the strategist of Konoha... and Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy, the luminaries of Konoha.

The ninjas standing here are all important figures whose mere stomp of their feet could shake the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

However, they were at a loss at this moment. There was nothing they could do. After the Hokage was gone, the first important thing was to elect a new person in charge.

However, this matter was not easy; in fact, it could be said that there was no one to choose from. What puzzled them even more was that Danzo, who was extremely obsessed with the Hokage position, had not yet appeared...

If they don't strike first, who knows what kind of crazy things they might do, like going directly to the Daimyo's residence and coming back as the Fifth Hokage.

"Will we be able to find Jiraiya-sama?"

In the silence, Nara Shikaku suddenly spoke up, saying that in this situation, if they wanted to find someone who could rival Danzo, the choices were still very limited.

Or rather, there are only two choices: one is Jiraiya, and the other is Tsunade, who is also one of the Legendary Sannin.

Compared to Tsunade, who has been out of contact for a long time, Jiraiya, who was still teaching Naruto before the Chunin Exams, is undoubtedly a more realistic choice.

This was Nara Shikaku's thinking, and it was also the most likely choice to succeed. These two were the only people who could rival Danzo.

Unfortunately, even Kakashi, who had once interacted with Jiraiya, could only shake his head helplessly.