Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe and said, "Kazuki is the only choice now. If it were Tsunade, she might have a chance to compete with him, and Kazuki would give Tsunade that much face. But Orochimaru doesn't have that capability."
"Moreover, Orochimaru himself isn't willing to compete with him. Kazuki's strength is too great, it's very likely he's not much weaker than Madara was back then. Who can stop him?"
At this, Koharu fell silent. Fortunately, she had switched allegiances early, they were considered loyal retainers.
Thinking about the Uchiha now, she realized that not many people acknowledged Kazuki. On the contrary, they were supporting Kazuki.
Putting themselves in his shoes, Kazuki would surely need these supporters eventually, right?
It was just pitiful for Homura and Danzo, they didn't support Kazuki, and even resisted him.
No, given the current situation, Homura would be severely impacted this time, even if he didn't die.
"What do you plan to do about the Land of Water battlefield?" Koharu then asked Hiruzen.
"If Kirigakure is allowed to wreak havoc within the Land of Fire, the Daimyo won't be pleased. And you will also be greatly affected."
Someone has to take the blame for this. If the person who destroyed Kirigakure wasn't Kazuki, and Kazuki's strength wasn't this formidable, Koharu wouldn't mind shifting the blame to the other party. In short, the Hokage could not have a dark side, all blame had to be unrelated to the Hokage.
Just like how during these past years, Danzo had always handled some dirty work for Hiruzen, and they were all well aware of these matters.
To put it bluntly, the fact that Naruto's identity couldn't be exposed in the original story might have been to maintain the Hokage's upright image.
It was well known that Fourth Hokage Minato had turned the tide during the Third Great Ninja War and sealed the Nine-Tails during the Nine-Tails Incident, making him a hero who saved Konoha.
But if people knew that Naruto was Minato's son, and that the Nine-Tails' seal broke not only because someone interfered but also because Kushina was giving birth, what would some people think?
Never underestimate human nature, and never overestimate human nature.
Many people would think, "Why did you, a Nine-tails Jinchuriki, insist on having a child? You clearly knew that during childbirth, Nine-Tails' seal would weaken, so why did you still do it?"
"As Hokage, Minato, couldn't you even think of this? Or did you disregard Konoha's safety for the sake of your own child?"
Minato's death had an element of dying for love, and it was also necessary for him to die at that time, otherwise he wouldn't be able to bear the blame for the Nine-Tails incident.
His previous contributions were immense, and he also rendered great service in sealing Nine-Tails, but he also needed to bear the responsibility for the Nine-Tails Incident.
Ultimately, the Hokage needed to be responsible for many things. Doing some things well and gaining credit was useless, and if mistakes were made, responsibility had to be borne. However, most mistakes didn't need to be shouldered by the Hokage alone.
If Minato hadn't died, the entire Hokage faction would have faced problems.
And this time, the blame on Kazuki's side couldn't be shifted. Moreover, Kazuki's contribution to Konoha had to be acknowledged.
If he hadn't destroyed Kirigakure, Kirigakure would have dispatched a large army to invade at this time, and the situation would certainly be worse.
Therefore, he was not only not a criminal, but a meritorious figure instead.
"We will expose the truth of the matter. We demand factual reporting. We cannot let a meritorious figure be condemned. As for the Kirigakure battlefield afterward, let Kazuki go. He will become the commander on the Kirigakure side."
After a moment of hesitation, Hiruzen spoke, "I will dispatch a thousand ninjas from the Sarutobi clan as reinforcements. With the less than two thousand defeated troops there, they should be able to resist."
"If possible, I hope your clan can also contribute."
This time, Hiruzen was going all out. If these thousand Sarutobi ninjas were all to perish, then the Sarutobi clan would suffer a crippling blow.
However, if they won, then those who had followed Kazuki onto the battlefield would, under Hiruzen's instruction, have many of them become Kazuki's direct subordinates.
"I can also dispatch a hundred people to go with them."
Koharu gritted her teeth and said, "You know, my clan is just a small clan, far too different from your Sarutobi clan."
The Sarutobi clan was once a major clan, second only to the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga clan.
Ever since Hiruzen became the Third Hokage, the Sarutobi clan had been deliberately concealed, infiltrating various aspects of Konoha. Although their reputation wasn't too prominent, these people were the foundation for Hiruzen's rule.
Even Hiruzen's own son, Shinnosuke, was currently carrying out missions in the Anbu, and not many people knew about him.
"Hmm, that's enough. We'll then arrange for Ino–Shika–Chō to help. The Kirigakure battlefield won't be a problem." Hiruzen nodded slightly.
"Alright, let's go to the meeting."
…
When Kazuki arrived at the Hokage Office, many people were already in the conference room. The heads of various clans, leaders of various departments, and even many Jonin who remained in the village were there.
Upon seeing Kazuki, many people's eyes showed curiosity. Although Kazuki had not been in Konoha for the past year, his legends were everywhere in Konoha.
With Hiruzen building momentum for Kazuki, his reputation was exceptionally great. Many people regarded him as Konoha's future pillar, and some clan heads understood that Hiruzen had probably already started paving the way for him.
It wasn't that Orochimaru was incapable, but that Kazuki was too powerful.
Only Ryoma and others looked at Kazuki with complex expressions. Although they had been building momentum for Fugaku, Kazuki had the Hokage's support.
"Not long ago, after I gave the order, Kazuki led his Anbu squad, infiltrated Kirigakure, released the Three-Tails, and caused immense destruction to Kirigakure." Hiruzen dropped a bombshell.
Everyone looked at Kazuki in disbelief. They knew he was strong, but they hadn't expected him to be this strong.
He released the Three-Tails and was able to retreat unscathed. Just how strong was he?
This was truly one person against an entire village. Kazuki had achieved it.
His strength had definitely surpassed Hiruzen, and it was unknown who was stronger between him and Mito.
Ryoma's gaze was fixed on Kazuki. Releasing the Three-Tails, he probably also controlled the Three-Tails. Kazuki had awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan.