Everyone on Sarutobi Hiruzen's side was stunned, they'd never dreamed anyone would do something like this.
"Uchiha Rengoku, Tsunade, you don't have the authority to do this!"
Jiraiya spun around in a panic.
It was obvious Konoha was about to split.
If the Sarutobi, Utatane, Mitokado, Shimura clans and so on were all expelled from Konoha, the village's strength would plummet off a cliff.
On top of that, so many Anbu would be expelled.
If this split happened, Konoha would be immediately vulnerable to attacks from other villages.
Tsunade glared at Jiraiya and snapped, "Konoha was founded by my grandfather, why wouldn't I have the right?"
"You people, if you don't want to be expelled, you must follow the rules of Konoha."
Rengoku added the coup de grace¹, "Now choose for yourselves. If you choose Sarutobi Hiruzen, you will all lose your right to live in Konoha."
"If you choose us, stand in our ranks, your positions in Konoha will remain, and past deeds will be forgiven."
"If you choose neither…"
Rengoku fixed Hiruzen with a cold stare, "Then you are traitors to Konoha."
He then beckoned to Fugaku behind him.
Fugaku fired a signal flare into the sky.
There was a stir on Hiruzen's side, and then a large number of Uchiha elites, with people in tow, appeared nearby.
These Uchiha were the three Tomoe-level warriors Rengoku had summoned earlier.
Each was fully armed, clearly prepared in advance.
Itachi had also quickly come to stand beside Rengoku.
Rengoku's meaning was simple: either leave Konoha, or be killed here.
Hiruzen saw this and only slightly furrowed his brow, he seemed not entirely surprised.
Utatane Koharu looked at Hiruzen, somewhat taken aback.
Because Hiruzen had already been preparing to leave Konoha before, just not by being expelled like this.
Some of the Anbu, seeing the situation, showed hesitation on their faces.
After all, if they left Konoha, they would be nothing.
At this moment Hiruzen spoke.
"I have worked hard for Konoha for many years, and yet I'm being framed because of a power struggle. It's truly disheartening."
"If I stay in Konoha any longer, I don't even know whether I can survive."
"The Sarutobi clan voluntarily withdraws from Konoha."
Even then, he couldn't help but put on an act, for the uncertain Anbu, and possibly for any villagers watching.
Jiraiya's face had gone pale. He looked at Tsunade, then at Rengoku, and, dispirited, stepped to Hiruzen's side.
He knew that once Hiruzen spoke, there was no turning back.
Rengoku swept his gaze over the others, "How about you?"
Utatane Koharu snorted, "The Utatane clan will follow the Sarutobi clan out…"
"Our Mitokado clan…"
"Our Shimura clan…"
The major clans standing with Hiruzen all decided to leave Konoha.
An elder representing several dozen small clans, however, stepped over to Rengoku's side.
Rengoku looked at the hesitant Anbu with his eyes, "Think it through. If you choose to go with Hiruzen, consider whether he can support you."
To Rengoku's surprise, after hearing that, the Anbu's hesitation faded.
They all directly stood behind the Third Hokage.
A flicker of suspicion passed through Rengoku's eyes, but it wasn't the time to focus on that.
"The Nine-Tails is the property of Konoha. Even if the Sarutobi clan wants to leave—"
"Sarutobi Ishishu, you cannot leave Konoha."
Everyone on Hiruzen's side changed color. In their minds, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki was their greatest bargaining chip, something they would never give up.
Hiruzen's expression shifted; he said in a low voice, "Ishishu may stay behind with you, but only after we have evacuated Konoha."
Rengoku smiled darkly, "In your dreams. You extracted the Nine-Tails from Naruto, why should I trust you?"
"If Ishishu doesn't stay, then none of you leave!"
Rengoku stepped forward. His chakra surged like a storm through the area.
At the same time, besides that chakra burst, Rengoku stopped the ongoing sage-chakra absorption-and-refinement he'd been maintaining.
He entered Sage Mode again.
An orange eye-shadow pattern appeared around Rengoku's eyes.
Pressure on Hiruzen's side mounted. Some experienced elders exclaimed in shock.
"Immense chakra…"
"Sage Mode?"
"Rengoku can use Sage Mode?"
From the founding of Konoha until now, only two and a half people could enter Sage Mode: the First Hokage and the Fourth Hokage.
The "half" was Jiraiya, because he needed the toads' help to enter Sage Mode.
Though his endurance was long, the drawback was the long wind-up.
Sage Mode's boost to a ninja's body and senses was enormous. Rengoku had already killed over a hundred Anbu in the Death Forest.
He'd pummeled Jiraiya until the latter was bloodied and nearly dead.
Seeing Rengoku enter Sage Mode again sent shivers through Jiraiya and the Anbu attacking Rengoku.
They'd only just been fighting all day, a normal person's chakra wouldn't have fully recovered.
But Rengoku was clearly at his peak.
Rengoku had never displayed his full strength before, aside from fighting in the forest and his clash with Jiraiya.
Now, with his chakra flaring and Sage Mode active, the oppressive feeling made everyone feel unbearably heavy.
Hiruzen had heard Jiraiya's reports before, but firsthand experience was another matter.
Under his cloak Hiruzen actually wore battle armor, but even that gave him no confidence.
The three Uchiha had their Mangekyo Sharingan active, and with Tsunade, Orochimaru, and the Ino-Shika-Cho team, Hiruzen dared not fight.
He glanced at Ishishu, who gave him a reassuring look, implying that he could leave.
Hiruzen relented, "Fine, Ishishu, you stay in Konoha."
Ishishu expressionlessly replied, then walked into Rengoku's camp.
Itachi and Fugaku stood on either side of him, clearly there to watch him.
Rengoku examined Ishishu, 'Interesting, Ishishu still carries such a hidden sealing technique on him.'
'Is he prepared to help Ishishu escape later?'
It didn't matter, it suited Rengoku.
He pretended not to notice, then sneered, "Since you are being expelled from Konoha, none of your real estate may be transferred. All assets will be confiscated; you may only leave the village empty-handed."
"All members of your clans must leave Konoha within three days."
"If any civilians wish to remain in Konoha, they may do so after our review."
"And they will take on new surnames; Konoha will not mistreat those unrelated to the affair."
Rengoku's words were clearly aimed at combat personnel, Hiruzen's faction were, for the most part, fighters.
As for whether civilians would keep their names or village registration, that was open to interpretation.
Tsunade kept her eyes fixed on Hiruzen. With her temperament, she could not let Hiruzen live if she didn't settle this, but she also loved Konoha. If fighting broke out inside the village now, the death toll would be immense.
Rengoku patted Tsunade's shoulder and gave her a look, 'Do not start a village-wide conflict; follow the plan.'
Tsunade suppressed her emotions.
They would first root out all the parasites in Konoha.
Her gaze toward Hiruzen's people was icy and murderous, 'These people must all die.'
"You fool Jiraiya! Don't get in my way, or you'll die too!"
Jiraiya saw the killing intent in Tsunade's eyes and wore a face full of anguish, feeling as if he'd done something terribly wrong.
Hiruzen's side didn't make any more posturing; a group of them quickly retreated.
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