Chapter 223: Everyone Line Up and Take Your Beating
"Are—are you joking?"
"How can you do this?"
"Wasn't it said that all previous Hokage were only elevated after gaining everyone's recognition?"
The group of clan jonin who'd been so confident moments ago were now panicking.
They never imagined Jiraiya wouldn't play by the rules—that he'd dare flip the table entirely.
But they had absolutely no way to deal with this.
The shinobi world actually had many unspoken rules that everyone tacitly acknowledged without saying aloud.
For example, a village's Kage was often simply the strongest person in that village.
But no one would say outright that whoever was strongest in their village became the Kage. After all, that approach sounded too much like "might makes right"—like some gang choosing their boss. It was undignified.
So each village would always package this objective fact with various beautiful reasons.
For instance, whoever contributed the most became Kage.
Or whoever gained the most recognition became Kage.
But in reality, shinobi villages were militarized organizations. How did one earn merit?
Wasn't it through fighting and killing?
The person with the strongest prowess naturally earned merit most easily—and great merit at that.
On battlefields filled with life-and-death struggles, who didn't want to live longer?
Naturally, the strongest person most easily won everyone's recognition.
Were there exceptions?
Of course there were. For instance, if someone lacked martial prowess but still wanted to be Kage, what then?
Naturally, they'd need to employ political tactics—like rallying more clans and rising to power with clan support.
That's right—speaking of Hiruzen Sarutobi!
When he rose to power, he was just a young upstart. His combat ability definitely wasn't the highest, and his contributions probably weren't the most numerous either.
But he had the Second Hokage's deathbed appointment, and with support from numerous clans, he still sat firmly in the Third Hokage position.
He naturally knew how he'd climbed to that position. So after taking office, on one hand he vigorously marketed his title as "strongest Hokage of all generations," while on the other hand he enthusiastically promoted the theory that "only those recognized by the masses are qualified to become Hokage," legitimizing his rule.
The clans naturally cooperated with him. Because this theory greatly benefited the clans!
Hokage who rose to power through martial prowess were definitely very strong-willed. The clans all had to serve them obediently, not daring the slightest defiance.
But Hokage who rose through clan "recognition" naturally had to show some favoritism toward the clans.
So during the Third Hokage's tenure, clan power definitely developed considerably.
During Hiruzen Sarutobi's time in office, it should have been when Konoha Village experienced the most severe talent drain—even the Legendary Sannin fled.
Why did they defect? Because they couldn't stand the village's darkness.
So where did this darkness come from? Who caused it? Surely not the civilian shinobi?
The clans loved playing these Hokage selection games. But now Jiraiya had gone berserk—he refused to play along anymore. He wanted to return the Hokage position to its essence.
Whoever had the biggest fists became Hokage!
Was that acceptable?
Of course it was!
Even if it wasn't acceptable, it had to be!
"You bunch of selfish bastards!"
"I've wanted to beat you up for ages!"
"All of you—get out here and line up for your beating!"
Standing atop Gamahiro's head, Jiraiya crossed his arms, staring intently at the jonin in the great hall, shouting loudly.
"Wait, wait a moment..."
The clan jonin hurriedly ran out, speaking over each other to dissuade him.
"Lord Jiraiya, let's talk this over nicely. Don't resort to violence—let's not hurt our rapport!"
"We're all comrades from the same village. How can we fight each other?"
"Lord Jiraiya, the village is currently in shambles. It really can't withstand internal conflict!"
"Shut up!" Jiraiya roared, clapping his hands together. "Lion's Mane Jutsu!"
His white hair immediately began growing rapidly, like spirit serpents shooting toward the people on the ground. With a left and right sweep, he'd bound several jonin.
Then these hair whips began lashing out, violently striking these people against the ground.
"Ahh..." The jonin screamed, trying to struggle, but their bodies were tightly bound by the hair—completely unable to move as they were slammed heavily into the ground.
Jiraiya's force was very measured—neither too light nor too heavy. He could beat everyone until their faces were bruised and swollen while controlling the strength enough to avoid breaking bones or tendons.
Gamahiro also understood Jiraiya's intent. He immediately laughed heartily, opened his great mouth, and spat out a huge water cannon, sending everyone flying in disarray.
As the fight heated up here, villagers in the distance all stopped in their tracks, looking this way with uncertain expressions.
They'd truly been terrified by the previous war, fearing enemies had invaded the village again.
"Sigh!" Shikaku Nara sighed, painfully rubbing his head before quickly arranging people to explain to the villagers that Lord Hokage was testing the jonin's combat abilities—this had nothing to do with enemies.
Though caught off guard by Jiraiya's assault, the clan jonin quickly recovered and immediately grew furious.
"Don't hold back anymore! How can such a tyrannical person be Hokage?"
"Let's join forces and defeat him, showing him that martial prowess alone cannot make one Hokage!"
The group immediately united, beginning to resist Jiraiya.
Jiraiya's brow furrowed as he shouted loudly:
"We can't fight properly in the village. Let's go to the Valley of the End and have a proper battle, so you'll understand clearly just how vast the gap between shinobi can be!"
After speaking, Jiraiya stomped his foot. Gamahiro's body sprang up, leaping toward the village outskirts.
Intent on establishing his authority, Jiraiya simply pressed his palms together and began summoning sage Shima and Sage Fukasaku.
"Oh my, who are we fighting this time?" Sage Shima immediately began complaining upon appearing.
With palms pressed together and unmoving, Jiraiya smiled apologetically as he explained what had happened. After hearing this, Sage Shima immediately opened her mouth wide and laughed heartily.
"Little Jiraiya, now you're starting to have some Hokage presence!"
"Many people in Konoha Village are very strange. Though obviously quite ordinary, they're somehow very confident, always feeling they're remarkable. It's about time someone knocked some sense into them!"
"Seeing you summon us, you're planning to use that technique, right?"
"That's right. After all, these are village people—it's really inconvenient to be too harsh. If I can resolve this with a group illusion technique, that would be best."
"Really now, these vocal techniques are very taxing on the throat."
"I'm in your hands."
"Oh my, fine, fine. First let's refine sage chakra!"
"There's still some distance from here to the Valley of the End—time is sufficient. After everyone arrives, we'll finish it in one move. That'll be simpler too."