Hiruzen Sarutobi, full of deep emotion!
He was confident he could control the Tsunade before him taking the seat of Fifth Hokage; it was the desperate gambit forced upon the Konoha F3.
They had no choice!
Uchiha Jin's methods were too ruthless; so many clans had already defected to him.
They knew only too well that, after years of misrule, their reputations were already in tatters.
To salvage the situation they could only lean on the Senju heritage Tsunade carried—and they were old hands at this game, having already tried it once with Minato Namikaze.
Pulling strings from behind the scenes—second nature to them!
Among the Three Legendary Sannin of Konoha, as long as it wasn't Orochimaru, they truly didn't care whether it was Tsunade or Jiraiya.
Because if the two of them couldn't harden their hearts, they'd have no choice but to be led by the nose!
Orochimaru, however, was different.
That man's blood ran cold; if he actually became Hokage, every one of them would be forced out.
For if they refused to surrender power, Orochimaru would really kill them!
"Hokage? Hah!"
"Anyone willing to be Hokage is a fool; I, Tsunade, won't do something so stupid."
"Whoever wants it can have it!"
Tsunade, her face full of disdain, spoke the very lines from the original tale.
Only...
In the original story Tsunade had spoken far more subtly, and everyone simply assumed it was because of the deaths of Nawaki and Kato Dan.
But in reality...
She had long since seen through the essence of power; she knew ascending to Hokage meant becoming a puppet.
These old geezers before her would never be willing to relinquish authority!
They'd spout nonsense like "You're still too young, let us guide you for now," turning the so-called Hokage into nothing more than a marionette they could control.
"Tsunade, insolence!"
"This is the Village's decision; you have only to accept it!"
"Do you realize your conduct already borders on Rogue Ninja status?"
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado couldn't help erupting in fury once more.
As for that...
Hiruzen, weary at heart, couldn't help roaring, "Both of you shut up—do you want to make things worse?"
"Hiruzen, you..."
The two were stunned.
But alas, Hiruzen couldn't be bothered wrangling with these two fools; he knew stabilizing Tsunade was the absolute priority.
Otherwise...
Who knew what chaos the Village might descend into next?
Immediately after...
Having silenced the two good-for-nothings, he turned to Tsunade, his face full of affection.
"Stay, Tsunade!"
"Surely you don't want everything your two grandfathers worked for to be completely ruined by the Uchiha?"
Tsunade remained unmoved.
For she knew very well that if these old men hadn't committed so many wrongs, they could never have driven the Uchiha to such extremes.
However...
Before she could speak, Jiraiya opened his mouth again.
"I'm begging you, Tsunade—say yes!"
"Seeing the Village torn apart like this, doesn't it hurt your heart?"
"Fifth Hokage—no one is more suited than you!"
But unfortunately...
Tsunade's face was still full of contempt; even with everyone urging her, her expression remained utterly impassive.
Exactly!
By her own wishes, unless Hiruzen Sarutobi died, she wouldn't set foot in Konoha again.
This time had been pure accident!
She had merely been pestered by Jiraiya and had no choice but to return.
Take the Hokage seat? Not a chance!
Yet...
Just as Tsunade was about to speak, a Village Jonin suddenly knocked at the door.
Everyone present was startled.
Especially Hiruzen, whose face was now filled with irritation.
At such a crucial moment, why did people keep interrupting?
But before he could speak, Jiraiya opened the door. "What is it?"
"Advisor Nara Shikaku has submitted a letter of inquiry to the Jōnin Council." The man's forehead was slick with cold sweat, his eyes even tinged with dread.
At that...
Jiraiya's heart jumped!
He knew very well that Nara Shikaku had long since defected to the Uchiha side.
So...
Had they made another move?
Jiraiya instinctively took the letter of inquiry and waved the Jonin away.
There was no helping it...
The atmosphere in the Hokage Office was off; it wasn't a place for ordinary Ninja to linger.
As for that...
The Jonin said nothing more and left without a second word.
Evidently...
He knew the Village's current state was abnormal—so many clan members resigning and flocking to the Uchiha. Even if he didn't know the details, he knew to stay well away from such trouble.
Immediately after...
Once the Jonin departed, Jiraiya shut the door again.
Then...
Ignoring decorum, he opened the letter on the spot—and his face went deathly pale.
"Teacher Hiruzen, something terrible has happened!"
"Everyone take a look—if we don't handle this well, it's going to cause massive unrest!"
"We need a solution—fast!"
"Knowing Uchiha Jin, that bastard definitely has more hidden moves!"
Jiraiya's panic infected the rest of them.
Realizing Uchiha Jin had struck again, memories of their previous clashes made their scalps tingle.
"That bastard Uchiha Jin never lets up!" Homura Mitokado snarled.
Utatane Koharu gave a cold snort. "Damn it, we should have killed him long ago!"
Meanwhile...
Hiruzen offered no comment; instead he began reading the letter of inquiry.
Then...
His face turned livid and his whole body trembled slightly.
The others sensed something amiss and hurriedly took the letter—even Tsunade leaned in.
She wanted a firsthand taste of Uchiha Jin's methods.
Hiss!
After reading, their scalps went numb!
The contents were simple: the Village's financial records for the past three years didn't add up—large sums had mysteriously vanished.
With the war over two or three years yet bereaved families unpaid, mission fees unsettled, and essential supplies urgently needed, every clan had jointly submitted this letter of inquiry... they wanted an audit!
They demanded to know who had ultimately embezzled those mysteriously disappearing funds.
The letter of inquiry was impeccably reasoned; no one could refuse—yet it also cornered the Village's top brass.
Exactly!
Tsunade knew very well those vanished sums had most likely been pocketed by the Village's higher-ups.
In the past, when Hiruzen and company still held absolute power, the clans had known but dared not protest. Now, with their defection to the Uchiha... the tables had turned!