Hirofumi Ito looked out at the gathered ninjas and slowly raised one hand.
"All you ninjas of Konoha!
I am Hirofumi Ito, the Fifth Hokage!!!
I'll keep this short!
One thing: I will make Konoha great again!!!"
"Lord Hokage!!!"
"Lord Hok personally took down Danzo! I saw it with my own eyes!" one ninja shouted. "He's got the strength to lead us!"
"Lord Hokage!!!"
The ninjas present had no doubts about Hirofumi's words. The proof was right in front of them!
Legendary figures from the past had been revived. Sure, Konoha had just been through a war, and Root was nearly wiped out, but right now, the village was stronger than ever!
Outside Konoha's gates, three weary figures hurried back at breakneck speed.
Two women and one man. One woman carried an intimidating aura, like a storm waiting to strike. The man had stark white hair, and the younger woman cradled a pink piglet in her arms.
It was Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune.
As they reached the village gates, their faces grew grim…
They could see that half of Konoha's buildings were in ruins, with some areas still burning, thick smoke rising into the sky!
Tsunade glanced at Jiraiya beside her.
"Jiraiya! What the hell is going on?! Didn't you say we were coming back for the Third's funeral? What's with this mess?! Did Konoha just go through a war?!"
Jiraiya was just as stunned by the sight.
"I don't know, Tsunade! A while back, I got a message from the old man saying some kid from the ninja academy got reverse-summoned to some mysterious place…
He wanted me to come back and see if I could take the kid as a student, but I didn't rush back. Then I got another message from a Konoha ninja…
They said Orochimaru attacked the village with some 'Konoha Collapse Plan,' and the old man died in battle. They asked me to come back for his funeral and to help pick the next Hokage!
[By the way, I hope readers note our domain: 101kan.com]
Then I ran into you outside the casino…
As for the rest, I'm totally in the dark!"
Shizune, clutching her piglet, looked nervous.
"Lady Tsunade, Lord Jiraiya, look—there aren't even any guards at the gate. That means the village definitely just went through a huge battle!"
Tsunade clenched her fists tightly.
"Jiraiya, could it be Danzo?!"
"I'm not sure… But even if Danzo wanted to become Hokage, would he really destroy Konoha to do it?! How many casualties would that cause?! What's the point of being Hokage then?!"
Tsunade took a deep breath, her eyes turning fierce.
"Standing here guessing won't do us any good! Whatever happened, let's go in and find out!!!"
"Yeah… let's move!"
…
As the three entered the village, they heard loud shouting coming from behind the Hokage Rock. It sounded like a huge crowd going wild!
And that area was where the village had taken the worst damage…
"Lord Hokage!!!"
"Lord Hokage!!!"
Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged a heavy glance. Could it be… Danzo really became the Fifth Hokage?!
They rushed toward the commotion!
When they saw all of Konoha's ninjas gathered there, they let out a sigh of relief…
It didn't look like the village's ninjas had suffered too many losses.
But the guy in the Hokage robe standing at the center wasn't Danzo! He looked like some kid!!!
Then Tsunade's pupils shrank.
Her body started trembling uncontrollably!
Jiraiya noticed and grew worried.
"Tsunade, what's wrong?!"
"Grand…pa…"
"What?!"
Jiraiya was completely lost.
Then, in the next moment, Tsunade sprinted forward without a second thought!
Hashirama Senju, as if sensing something, turned toward her.
When he saw the figure charging toward him, he broke into a huge grin!
"It's little Tsunade!!! Hahaha…"
"Grandpa! Is it really you?!"
Tsunade stared in disbelief, not daring to blink, afraid that if she did, the person in front of her would vanish!
Seeing his granddaughter's cautious expression, Hashirama flashed his signature goofy smile.
"Hahaha… Of course it's me, little Tsunade!"
Meanwhile, Jiraiya caught up and stared at the scene in shock. Over there was his student, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze! And not far off was… his teacher, the Third Hokage!
Wait a second!
Wasn't he here for the old man's funeral?!
But the old man was standing right there!
Hold on!
Minato and Kushina… they're dead…
Tsunade's grandpa… he's dead…
The old man… he's also dead!
What the hell!!!
Did the entire village pull a zombie act?!
Sarutobi Hiruzen spotted Jiraiya and walked over with a warm smile, giving him a wave.
"Hey, Jiraiya!"
Seeing his teacher's friendly grin, Jiraiya felt a surge of panic!
I mean, who wouldn't freak out seeing a dead guy smiling and waving at them?!
Jiraiya instinctively took a few steps back…
"Teacher!!! Your disciple messed up!!!"
Hiruzen blinked, confused by Jiraiya's guilty expression.
"Jiraiya, what's gotten into you?!"
"Old man! It's my fault!!! I didn't make it back to Konoha in time to stop Orochimaru's plan! I let you die unrested!
Teacher, I know I screwed up! Please don't take me with you! I'm not ready to go yet!!!"
Just then, Jiraiya felt something wet on his cheek… like something was licking his face!
He whipped around in a panic and came face-to-face with Orochimaru's eerie, pale grin!
Holy crap!!!
Orochimaru?! You're dead too?!
Hiruzen finally seemed to realize Jiraiya thought they were all ghosts…
He hurried to explain.
But before he could, Orochimaru sidled up to Hiruzen, leaned in, and whispered in his ear…
"Teacher… I've got an idea!"