"Someone, come!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen called over several Anbu shinobi. Just as he was about to give some orders, one of the Anbu suddenly interrupted the Hokage before he could speak.
That Anbu spoke in a low voice: "Hokage-sama, our Anbu squad's shift has already ended. If Lord Hokage has any orders to give, please wait until tomorrow during the day. At this hour, we should be heading back."
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "???"
For a moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen was nearly dumbfounded.
Only after a second did he realize—most Anbu shinobi were not required to work twenty-four hours a day. After all, shinobi were still human. Even a mechanical puppet, if used for too long, needed to stop and undergo maintenance before it could continue functioning.
It was just that, under normal circumstances, Sarutobi Hiruzen had developed the habit of making the Anbu shinobi work overtime.
He would even have them go without sleep or rest, carrying out missions for several consecutive days—that was something Sarutobi Hiruzen had indeed done.
In the past, the Anbu had carried out their duties without complaint, for they had been absolutely loyal to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
They had also held absolute respect for him.
But now…
Times had changed.
Looking at the several Anbu shinobi before him, Sarutobi Hiruzen opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to rebuke them. Yet, the words stuck in his throat and refused to come out. In the end, he could only wave his hand helplessly, signaling for the Anbu shinobi to leave.
Soon, the Hokage's office once again returned to an empty state, leaving only Sarutobi Hiruzen alone.
He slumped weakly into his chair, his body sinking deep into the backrest.
"Sigh…"
A long sigh sounded.
He didn't summon any of the other Anbu who were still willing to serve him.
At this point, not only had the Anbu shinobi grown disappointed in him—Sarutobi Hiruzen himself also felt deeply disappointed in their loyalty. In fact, he had even begun to doubt them.
When the Hokage's own commands were no longer fully obeyed, then if one day the Hokage were attacked by an enemy village…
Would the Anbu shinobi give their lives to save him?
Sarutobi Hiruzen found that very hard to believe.
…
The next day.
When Sarutobi Hiruzen awoke, the very first piece of shocking news he received was—Uchiha Keizumi had left the village!
Sarutobi Hiruzen's brows furrowed tightly.
"What is going on…"
In his view, since Uchiha Keizumi had decided to support Tsunade in replacing him, the Third Hokage, then the next step would surely be to stir up matters throughout Konohagakure. At many times, it would even require Uchiha Keizumi's personal involvement—after all, the opponent he faced was a Hokage who had held power for many years.
Surely, he would have to take this seriously!
Yet the result was…
At such a crucial juncture, Uchiha Keizumi had vanished, directly leaving the village.
Escape?
Impossible. Uchiha Keizumi was absolutely not the kind of person who would choose to run away—that was not his nature.
"The only explanation is that the so-called Hokage's position, in Keizumi's eyes… isn't even something worth paying attention to. The fact that he entrusted everything in Konoha entirely to Tsunade means that, in his view, Tsunade alone is enough to replace me."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression instantly grew complicated. He racked his brains, thinking about how he could contend with Uchiha Keizumi, who wielded such overwhelming power.
But the other side simply didn't regard him—the Third Hokage—as even worth noticing.
That gave Sarutobi Hiruzen an inexplicable, stifling sense of being looked down upon.
He took a deep breath and took several seconds to steady himself before he finally calmed down.
Lifting his eyelids, he looked at Hatake Kakashi, who had brought him the news, and asked, "Do you know where Keizumi went?"
Every time Uchiha Keizumi had left the village, he had caused some earth-shattering incident outside.
Either he had slaughtered many nobles of the Land of Fire—
Or he had directly killed the daimyō of the Land of Fire himself.
Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but worry that this time, Uchiha Keizumi's departure would again bring about something that might give him a heart attack. His age was already advanced; he could no longer withstand such shocks.
If he were to be provoked like that again… it might very well shorten his life by more than ten years.
Kakashi bowed his head and replied, "As of now, the confirmed information is that Uchiha Keizumi left the village together with Biwa Jūzō, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist; Uchiha Izumi, a shinobi from the Police Force; and the ninja cat, Tachibana Jirō. The group's direction of travel appears to be toward the Land of Water."
"Biwa Jūzō?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was taken aback. "That Kirigakure rogue ninja, the envoy of the Land of Rain? Hadn't he already left Konoha long ago?"
Kakashi shook his head and said, "For now, we haven't found out why he was in Konoha. But it has already been confirmed that Biwa Jūzō chose to join Konoha's Police Force."
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "???"
Wait a moment…
Sarutobi Hiruzen nearly lost track of the situation for a moment.
Did this not mean that after Biwa Jūzō betrayed Kirigakure, he had then betrayed Amegakure as well, and in the end regarded Konohagakure as his final refuge?
But the problem was—how could the Hokage himself not know that such an excellent shinobi had joined Konoha?
Could it be that Keizumi had allowed him into the village on his own authority?
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened at once.
"What are they going to the Land of Water for?" Sarutobi Hiruzen did not believe that Uchiha Keizumi would defect. That man—even if he were to kill him, the Third Hokage—would probably never betray Konoha.
Kakashi shook his head. "Unclear."
…
At that same time.
A merchant ship had already sailed far from one of Konoha's coastal ports. Biwa Jūzō gazed at the sea ahead, where the waves reflected the shimmering sunlight, and the unease and anxiety in his heart grew increasingly intense.
He inconspicuously glanced at Uchiha Keizumi, who was not far away beside him.
Just as he was about to speak but stopped himself—
A strangely toned voice sounded from behind him. "Relax, meow! Keizumi-sama isn't some murderous demon who kills without reason. As long as there's still hope for your Kirigakure to be saved—even the faintest chance—Keizumi-sama won't wipe it out completely."
Biwa Jūzō turned his head back.
There was nothing there.
"Down here, meow!"
When he lowered his gaze, he saw that the speaker was a very fat ninja cat.
Biwa Jūzō remembered this orange-colored ninja cat—it had once fought that strange vortex-faced creature from the Akatsuki. Although the fight hadn't been evenly matched, the cat had at least managed to hold that vortex-faced creature off for quite some time.
Hmm.
A formidable one indeed.
"I'm not worried." Biwa Jūzō naturally couldn't admit what he was truly thinking; otherwise, he would be showing weakness—and that would make him far too easy for Uchiha Keizumi to grasp in the palm of his hand.
Seeing this stubborn member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Tachibana Jirō rolled his eyes.
He said bluntly, "Meow, I suggest you be more careful. Don't end up dead from an assassination before even reaching the Land of Water—without having had the chance to guide Keizumi-sama to Kirigakure."
Biwa Jūzō frowned. Why was this cat cursing him?
Tachibana Jirō spoke slowly: "Haven't you noticed that you're already being watched by Kirigakure spies hidden aboard this merchant ship? Being by Keizumi-sama's side has made you too complacent under his overwhelming strength—your alertness has dulled, hasn't it?"
Biwa Jūzō: "!!!"
...
"Have you heard? The granddaughter of the First Hokage is running for the position of the Fifth Hokage. It's Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin—the elite ninja who achieved countless merits during the Great Ninja Wars."
"Huh? But hasn't the Third Hokage not retired yet? Why are they already choosing the Fifth?"
"I heard that Tsunade-sama believes Lord Third has held the position for too long. She thinks the current Hokage is too old—an aged Hokage isn't fit to lead all of Konohagakure."
"When you put it that way, it's true. The Hokage is over sixty, isn't he? At his age, he should be enjoying his later years. Even if a shinobi's physique is better than us ordinary people's, he shouldn't keep holding the Hokage's seat for so long."
"I actually think the Third Hokage has done a good job. There's no need to change Hokage, right?"
"Heh, look at the village's condition—is that what you call a good job? If that Hokage really did so well, then why has Uchiha Keizumi's Police Force been able to arrest so many criminals?"
"Exactly! With so many criminals hiding in the village, why did the Hokage ignore it all? Only when the Police Force arrested them and made their crimes public did we realize there were so many murderers among us! It's terrifying!"
Within a single day—
Everyone in Konohagakure knew that Tsunade was running for the position of the Fifth Hokage.
Although a few voices still stood on Sarutobi Hiruzen's side, the vast majority leaned toward Tsunade instead.
For no other reason—
Simply because Sarutobi Hiruzen's recent actions had completely disappointed many shinobi clans within Konoha.
And for the civilians of the village, the Third Hokage had failed to make their lives better; instead, he had allowed countless murderers to hide around them, leaving them sleepless and uneasy these days.
In the past, there had never been such a public topic in the village—simply because no one had ever openly stood up to compete with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The only one who had ever tried to become Hokage, Shimura Danzō, only played tricks in the shadows.
As for the Uchiha radicals who once attempted a coup—
They were nothing more than a stray dog by the roadside, ignored by all.
What set Tsunade apart from Danzō or the Uchiha radicals was one thing—she declared her intentions openly and boldly, as if publicly proclaiming her ambition to the entire village.
That was what stirred such public discussion—
And drew so many voices into the debate.