Becoming the Tsuchikage in the Naruto World

Chapter 245: Fourth War

The news of Jiraiya's death in battle spread quickly. In less than three days, the entire ninja world knew.

The death of any Kage-level individual was a major event. No hidden village was so strong that a Kage-level was dispensable.

Along with the news of Jiraiya's death, many other pieces of intelligence spread throughout the ninja world.

For example, the alliance between Iwagakure and Kumogakure, and Ōnoki's Dust Release showing its might. But what astonished everyone in the ninja world the most was Ishiro. This guy, who had been given the nickname "Fox of Iwa" by the gossiping onlookers, actually possessed Kage-level strength.

Everyone wondered, could someone who played at conspiracies and tricks also become Kage-level?

After some careful thought, it seemed indeed possible. One only had to look at Konoha's Danzō.

Thanks to Danzō, everyone accepted the fact that Ishiro had become Kage-level, and no one had any intention of changing his title, which directly crushed Ishiro's tiny bit of expectation.

Speaking of Danzō, the current Danzō could be said to be both excited and furious.

He was excited because with the Sannin losing two of their number one after another, leaving only Tsunade who suffered from hemophobia, the power of his old rival and best buddy, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had been reduced by more than half. This was a good opportunity for him to make a move for the position of Hokage.

But Danzō was also furious because the entire ninja world now knew that Konoha had once again entered a period of weakness. Konoha's last period of weakness was when the Second Hokage died in battle. It was just that the other countries were also weak at that time, so Hiruzen Sarutobi had managed to maintain the situation by a stroke of luck.

Later, with the rise of the White Fang and the meteoric emergence of the Sannin, Konoha suddenly entered its golden age. The process was so fast that the higher-ups of various countries didn't even have time to react.

But this time, everyone in the ninja world knew that Konoha would likely not have such an opportunity again. Firstly, as opponents, the number of Kage-level individuals in the other four great nations was no longer as small as when the Second Hokage died. Well, except for the Mist.

Now, even the children of the ninja world knew that the Fourth Great Ninja War was about to break out.

Danzō very much hoped to seize power at this time, but he also knew that if he tried to stir up internal conflict at a time like this, he would definitely be targeted by everyone in the village. Perhaps only the Uchiha wouldn't target him for this.

Although Danzō's political skills were not as good as Hiruzen's, he was not stupid. Making a move at a time like this would only make him the target of public criticism. So this time, after weighing the pros and cons for a long time, Danzō chose to lie dormant again.

Hiruzen was not afraid of Danzō causing trouble. He knew what his best buddy was made of: if he was soft, Danzō would be hard; if he was hard, Danzō would be soft. If he dared to cause trouble, he would use the authority of the Hokage to forcibly suppress him, and he reckoned Danzō wouldn't be able to make much of a stir.

But compared to Danzō, other matters gave Hiruzen a headache.

First was the village's high-end combat power. When the news of Jiraiya's death came back, Hiruzen didn't even have time to grieve. The first thing he did was send someone to find Minato Namikaze. He summoned Minato not because he hoped Minato could single-handedly stop the coming Fourth War.

Hiruzen wanted to ask about Kushina Uzumaki's situation. At a time like this, the only thing that could give Hiruzen a trace of confidence was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, who had just grown to adulthood.

At this moment, he had already made a decision. In this war, both the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and himself would participate. Otherwise, Konoha's top-tier combat power probably couldn't hold up the front as it did during the Third War.

Besides high-end combat power, there was another matter that gave Hiruzen an even bigger headache: the Uchiha. Setting aside their historical entanglement, just take the recent incident where Ishiro caused a commotion in Konoha and abducted an Uchiha child.

At that time, Fugaku had discovered the Anbu that the village had arranged to monitor their Uchiha clan. This matter was already difficult to explain. To make matters worse, Fugaku had actually let the person who abducted their Uchiha bloodline go. The intelligence department later guessed that person was likely Ishiro.

Hiruzen had reason to suspect that Fugaku was deliberately leaving a back door for the Uchiha. This back door was most likely Iwagakure.

More importantly, this Ishiro was among the people who besieged Jiraiya this time. This made it impossible for Hiruzen not to overthink. Had this Ishiro reached some agreement with the Uchiha clan? Was the Uchiha clan involved in Jiraiya's death this time?

Besides the Uchiha clan, the situation with the Hyuga clan was not very good either. The Hyuga clan had grievances about the sacrifice of their former clan head. Especially Hiashi Hyuga; after he became the head of the Hyuga clan, his contact with the Konoha higher-ups had become much less frequent than when his father was around.

The number of Hyuga clan members joining regular Konoha ninja squads for missions had also decreased significantly.

And what made Hiruzen most upset was that the ninja clans that had originally supported him had also shown a less firm attitude towards him in the past year or two.

Hiruzen was clear about the reason for this. It was precisely because when Danzō's Root was recruiting people before, he had extended his hand into these families. Moreover, Danzō had chosen the elite children of these families, the kind of geniuses who had hopes of becoming family heads.

After thinking for a long time, Hiruzen said to his Kage Guard captain, "Make a trip to the Land of Hot Water, find Tsunade's whereabouts, and bring her back."

Hiruzen did not know Tsunade's whereabouts, but he knew that with Jiraiya's death, Tsunade would definitely go to the Land of Hot Water to have a look.

The Kage Guard captain acknowledged the order and was about to leave when he heard Hiruzen say again, "Also, make contact with Orochimaru. See what he thinks."

Orochimaru was a rogue ninja. Thanks to Danzō, Orochimaru's crimes were numerous and solid; it was impossible for him to return to the village. But Jiraiya had, after all, died in front of Orochimaru. Hiruzen didn't believe that Orochimaru would have no emotional fluctuations at all.

He hoped to persuade Orochimaru so that in the coming Fourth War, Orochimaru could tie down one or two Kage-level individuals from the Cloud or Stone villages.

The Kage Guard captain acknowledged again and left immediately.

Not long after, Minato Namikaze arrived.

Minato's eyes were red, and he was clearly not in a good mood. But as the "little sun" he was, he first said to Hiruzen, "Lord Hokage, my condolences."

Hiruzen looked at Minato, and a faint smile finally appeared on his face. At least the Will of Fire had not been broken; the legacy of the Will of Fire would continue in the child before him.

"How is Kushina? How much of the Nine-Tails' power can she control?" Hiruzen asked.

Minato was stunned. He hadn't expected this to be the first sentence Hiruzen spoke. But he reacted quickly and immediately understood Hiruzen's meaning, saying, "Lord Hokage, please rest assured. Kushina has grown up very well. If she unleashes the full power of the Nine-Tails, even I, without using the Flying Thunder God Technique, would be helpless against her."

Hiruzen nodded, then suddenly looked at Minato and said, "Minato, what do you think of the Uchiha clan?"

Minato was stunned again. Every question from Hiruzen today had been out of his expectation; the rhythm was changing too quickly. But after a slight hesitation, Minato still spoke his mind, "There are radicals within the Uchiha clan, but there are also moderates. The Uchiha clan is dissatisfied with the village, but the village has also been unjust to the Uchiha clan."

After saying this, Minato lowered his head.

A trace of disapproval flashed in Hiruzen's eyes, but he had no choice. The current situation was vastly different from before. He and Danzō could no longer suppress the opposition within the Uchiha. And on the eve of this war, the village couldn't be foolish enough to use force against the Uchiha clan.

So after a long silence, Hiruzen said, "Minato, perhaps you are right. From tomorrow on, you will be the village's Fourth Hokage."

This time, Minato was truly dumbfounded. He didn't understand how Hiruzen's thoughts could be so jumpy.

He raised his head, and just as he was about to refuse, Hiruzen waved his hand and said, "I am not a qualified Hokage. Whether externally or internally, I have not handled the problems well. I am responsible for Iwagakure's rise, and I am also responsible for the Uchiha's alienation."

"After the war begins, I will be the first to go to the front lines. Even if I have to risk my life, I will win the war. The village is in your hands. Be careful in coordinating the relationship between the village higher-ups and the Uchiha. I will also take Danzō with me, so he won't cause you trouble."

Hiruzen had no other choice either. He didn't want to and couldn't compromise with the Uchiha clan, so he could only place his hopes of easing relations with the Uchiha clan on Minato Namikaze.

Minato took a deep breath. After a while, he knelt on one knee and said, "Yes, Lord Hokage."

Hiruzen nodded in gratification. Minato possessed the courage to step up in a time of crisis, which further proved that he would be a good Hokage. His choice this time was not wrong.

Finally, Hiruzen asked one more question, "Minato, how much do you know about Sage Jutsu?"

Sage Jutsu was mysterious to the ninja world, even to the other four great hidden villages besides Konoha. But it couldn't be mysterious to the Hokage. Hiruzen had read detailed descriptions in the documents left by Tobirama Senju.

Hiruzen asked this question because he wanted to know the path through which Ishiro learned Sage Jutsu. Did Ishiro learn Sage Jutsu from the three great Sage Regions, or were there other places with Sage Jutsu inheritance?

In fact, what Hiruzen hoped for most right now was the explanation that Ishiro learning Sage Jutsu was an accident, a result of extraordinary talent. If Iwagakure had mastered a complete Sage Jutsu inheritance, it would be a disaster for Konoha.

Minato said, "I have already confirmed with Mount Myoboku. There are no known Sage Jutsu inheritances in the ninja world other than the three great Sage Regions. Lord Fukasaku and the others also do not know the path through which Ishiro learned Sage Jutsu."

Hiruzen didn't get an answer and was somewhat disappointed, but he didn't pursue it further, just nodding slightly.

That day, Konoha held an emergency high-level meeting. With a result of three in favor and one against, the decision for the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi to step down and the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze to take his place was passed.

The one who objected was naturally Danzō, but this time Hiruzen was unusually firm and decisive, and Danzō eventually softened.

The next day, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was formally inaugurated on the rooftop of the Hokage building. This time, Minato's ascension was very hasty; they didn't even have time to notify the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

The corresponding procedures were supplemented the day after Minato's inauguration, when Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzō Shimura went to the capital of the Land of Fire to report to the Daimyo.

Hiruzen taking Danzō with him everywhere was naturally because he was afraid this best buddy of his would play tricks on Minato.

Minato's ascension was indeed a shot in the arm for Konoha. The Third's decay had long since caused dissatisfaction among the major families and some civilian elites. Minato, whether in terms of strength, military merit, or affinity, was satisfactory to all parties in the village.

Most importantly, everyone knew that Minato was on good terms with the Uchiha clan. At such a precarious time, Minato could undoubtedly better unify the various internal factions than Hiruzen.

This was indeed the case. All the families actively cooperated with some of the policies of this young man who, barring any accidents, would hold the power of Konoha for the next few decades, including various war preparations.

Also making preparations were the other four great nations and the Village Hidden in the Rivers in the Land of Rivers.

The location of the Village Hidden in the Rivers was not very good. It was situated between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, and was openly an ally of the Land of Wind, making it easy to be targeted by Konoha. And the Sand ninjas were actually more wary of the River ninjas than close to them.

If not for the Fourth Kazekage knowing that the River ninjas had two Kage-level individuals and strongly restraining his subordinates not to cause conflict with them, the River ninjas would have long since had friction with the Sand.

After all, since the two countries formed an alliance, there had been too much contact. And the Sand looked down on the River, while the River, relying on the strength of its own leader, had always treated the Sand as an equal ally, unwilling to be subservient. So the relationship between the lower ranks of both sides was very tense.

But the biggest problem within the Village Hidden in the Rivers now was not the issue of preparing for war, nor its relationship with its ally, the Sand, but the arguments among its three high-level officials.

The content of their arguments was naturally about Jiraiya's death. Jiraiya was the three's gracious master who had taught them their skills and accompanied them through their weakest period. So after Jiraiya's death, the three had been arguing incessantly about whether to avenge him.

Nagato and Konan wanted revenge, but Yahiko felt that if he, like others, was blinded by hatred, how could he end the war?

With their differing opinions, arguments naturally arose.

But what caused the most conflict among them was Ishiro. Ishiro had played a major role in the incident of Jiraiya's death.

And this time, as the news of Jiraiya's death spread, the most talked-about person was this newly promoted Kage-level, Ishiro. So it gave the impression that Ishiro was the main force who killed Jiraiya.

Thus, the three had different opinions again.

This time, Nagato believed that Ishiro was the murderer who killed Jiraiya. Konan and Yahiko, however, felt that Ishiro also had his difficulties. Because the intelligence showed that Ishiro was traveling with the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki. Traveling with his direct superior, Ishiro was likely just carrying out a mission.

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