Hiruzen Sarutobi, his tone grave.
Clearly,
the current situation left him no room for hesitation; he had to place Tsunade in the Fifth Hokage seat as fast as possible, then use the lingering prestige of the Senju name and her fame as the world's greatest medical-nin to temporarily stabilize the Village.
As long as the Village could be steadied for the moment, those of them who retreated behind the curtain would have time to slowly wrestle with the Uchiha.
Everything else?
There was no energy left to care!
"Will—will this really work?"
"You know we still haven't found a way to defuse Nara Shikaku's inquiry letter."
"If we push for a Fifth Hokage election right now, will the people of the Village truly accept it?"
Jiraiya's face was full of shock; clearly he didn't quite agree.
There was nothing to be done.
It was far too rushed!
Would a Hokage elected in such haste really win everyone's recognition?
To this,
Hiruzen Sarutobi, hearing these words, merely shook his head. He gave Jiraiya an indifferent glance, then spoke with utmost gravity: "Jiraiya, we can't afford to hesitate."
"Though it may be unfair to Tsunade, at present we can only ensure the process goes smoothly."
"As for whether the Village is convinced—that is no longer something we have the luxury to consider."
"But it doesn't matter!"
"As long as Tsunade sits on the Fifth Hokage seat, this Old Man has ways to make those fellows accept it, even to legitimize her position as Hokage!"
As he spoke these words, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was filled with certainty and resolve.
Yes!
When it came to matters like this, he had the right to speak with authority.
After all, when he had ascended to the Sandaime Hokage, the situation had been even more brutal than now.
Back then, the Senju hadn't accepted him, the Uchiha stirred up trouble everywhere, the major clans watched from the sidelines… Perhaps Uzumaki Mito had indeed lent a hand, but in truth her help hadn't been decisive. Essentially, he had secured the Sandaime seat entirely through the concerted effort of the Konoha F4!
If he could stabilize things then, he could now help Tsunade do the same.
"I see. Understood."
"I'll go to the Hokage right away; leave the rest to you, Old Man."
"Farewell!"
After saying this,
Jiraiya sighed and prepared to leave.
Yes!
Though he also felt a little sorry for Tsunade; after all, in his original plan he'd never meant to set her up. Even if she took the Hokage seat, it was supposed to be like the Yondaime, Minato Namikaze—a Hokage truly recognized by everyone.
But there was no choice.
The shifting situation left him overwhelmed.
The original plan was impossible now, yet he believed Tsunade would accept it; everyone only wanted the Village to become better.
She might suffer some grievances, but for the sake of her two grandfathers' Village, Jiraiya didn't think Tsunade would refuse.
However,
just as Jiraiya was about to leave, an Anbu rushed in frantically knocking.
"Lord Hokage, Lord Jiraiya!"
"Our surveillance Anbu reported: Lady Tsunade has gone to the Uchiha district."
Gasp!
At those words, both men in the room gasped in unison.
They were both dumbstruck.
Their faces turned deathly pale in an instant, their bodies couldn't help trembling.
What the hell?
Tsunade had joined the Uchiha?
That was no joke!
Jiraiya was even more direct; he grabbed the Anbu by the collar and lifted him up. "You're joking, right?"
"Lord Jiraiya, I… I wouldn't dare joke about something like this!" stammered the Anbu, shaking.
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent.
Clearly,
at this moment he had no energy to care about the Anbu; his mind was blank, and he simply didn't know what to say.
Meanwhile,
Jiraiya stared hard at the Anbu for a long while before finally letting go; without another word the Anbu bolted.
There was nothing else to do!
Right then, both Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi looked terrifying—especially the look in Jiraiya's eyes, as if he could kill someone on the spot.
Add to that today's suppression at the Hokage Building, and a chill instantly ran through the Anbu's entire body.
Honestly… if not for the Uchiha's cold, nose-in-the-air attitude, he would have defected to them long ago!
Yes.
Unlike the major clans who had defected to the Uchiha earlier, those of common birth didn't know much; they took the Konoha High Command's propaganda at face value and had no real understanding of the Uchiha's true temperament.
Therefore,
even after being threatened by Jiraiya, he still couldn't make up his mind completely.
Meanwhile,
the two men in the Hokage Office had no idea of the Anbu's thoughts.
At this instant, both of them stood dumbstruck; even Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't know what to do.
What now?
Almost all of Hiruzen Sarutobi's plans had hinged on Tsunade alone.
Now that Tsunade had gone straight to the Uchiha, his schemes collapsed in an instant. Yet he knew very well this wasn't the time to dwell on it; what mattered was to settle everything in the fastest way possible.
Thus,
after taking a deep breath, his tone turned icy: "Jiraiya, you become Hokage."
"What? Me?" Jiraiya shook his head at once. "No, absolutely not!"
"I'm not cut out to be Hokage—how could I possibly do it?"
No way, really no way!"
…"
He didn't even pause to think before flatly refusing.
What a joke!
If he became Konoha's Hokage, would he still have time to search for the Savior?
Besides,
he was a wanderer; to make him sit in the Hokage Office every day?
Hah—forget it.
At this moment he couldn't be bothered to think about the Village's state; his first thought was to shove the matter aside entirely. Compared with saving the entire Ninja World, the current chaos in Konoha was something he could barely tolerate.
After all… if he could find the Savior, the whole Ninja World would be saved, and by then Konoha would naturally return to peace.
Unfortunately,
Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't so easily fooled. In the past, when Jiraiya refused, Hiruzen—who hadn't been pushed to the brink—naturally had no interest in forcing him.
Now it was different!
If the Uchiha truly claimed the Hokage seat, they would definitely carry out a purge against them.
Therefore, at this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi brought forth the boldness of the "shinobi hero" and without another word issued an absolute order.
"Jiraiya, I'm not discussing this with you!"
"If you refuse to accept the Hokage position, I will immediately brand you an S-rank Rogue Ninja of Konoha."
"You know very well your actions are virtually no different from those of a Rogue Ninja."
"After all, what sort of Ninja spends his days roaming the Ninja World?"
"You have no choice!"