Chapter 31: Candidate for the Fifth Hokage, The Grand Plan
"Danzo."
Utatane Koharu shot a sharp glare at Danzo. "During the great battle not long ago, where exactly were you and your Root?"
"We were preserving our strength for unforeseen circumstances!" Danzo ground his teeth, stubbornly retorting. "We are the foundation of Konoha.
The root that never sees the light of day.
Even if all the leaves fall from a great tree, as long as the roots remain intact, the tree will not die.
Conversely—
If the roots are destroyed,
no matter how many leaves there are, they cannot survive!"
"..."
Koharu rolled her eyes and didn't bother responding.
"Enough…
cough cough…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen interrupted the two of them in an extremely frail voice.
He felt like he was running out of time.
To be precise—he felt he only had a few days left.
This battle seemed to have wounded him at the very core.
Coupled with his already advanced age…
He truly couldn't hold on any longer.
"Lord First…
Could it be that back when you returned from the Valley of the End, you felt the same way?
Well… it's fine.
I protected Konoha.
At least I can say I died a worthy death…"
Hiruzen sighed bleakly in his heart.
cough cough…
"We need to choose the Fifth Hokage as soon as possible.
Hinata is excellent.
But she's still too young.
She can be groomed as the candidate for the Sixth.
For the Fifth… let's choose someone else.
I don't have much time left…"
Hearing Hiruzen's words, the other three rarely showed any visible sorrow.
Especially Danzo.
At this moment his emotions were extremely complicated.
Logically speaking,
he should be delighted if Hiruzen died.
Yet right now…
he couldn't feel even the slightest bit of joy.
Only thirty percent reluctance, and seventy percent envy.
He envied Hiruzen.
Envied that he could die in battle protecting the village in the name of Hokage.
"I propose we let Jiraiya become the Fifth Hokage."
Mitokado Homura spoke up, deliberately changing the subject.
The melancholic atmosphere in the meeting room was instantly dispersed.
"Jiraiya won't do."
Hiruzen shook his head. "He will never accept such a request.
However… Tsunade should be fine.
I propose we find Tsunade."
"Tsunade…"
The three of them fell silent.
Danzo actually really wanted to object and nominate himself.
But at this moment, he suddenly found himself unable to say the words.
So he could only sigh.
Then slowly spoke:
"Tsunade is acceptable.
But… how do we find her?
How do we convince her?"
The four of them fell silent again.
Ever since that incident, Tsunade had left Konoha.
Her whereabouts had been a mystery ever since.
Finding her was extremely difficult.
"You can use an indirect approach."
Hiruzen suddenly spoke.
"First let Jiraiya become Hokage.
The reason being that he is one of the current Sannin—only he can command the respect of the masses.
Also, the Daimyo has already agreed.
He will definitely refuse, and then suggest Tsunade instead.
That way… we can locate her."
"You really are full of cunning tricks."
Danzo curled his lip and muttered.
"I'll leave these matters to you three."
Hiruzen slowly stood up and walked to the window.
Gazing at the Hokage Rock not far away, he spoke helplessly:
"I don't have much time left.
During this remaining period…
I want to spend it properly with my family.
And take one last good look at the village."
"Understood."
The three of them nodded in unison.
Then they slowly stood up, preparing to handle the arrangements.
"Danzo, don't forget what you promised me."
"Hmph."
Danzo gave a cold snort, said nothing more, and walked straight out.
Hiruzen didn't mind.
He simply stood quietly by the window, gazing at the scenery outside.
Eyes slightly narrowed, pipe in his mouth.
Facing the sunlight, a faint smile lingered on his face.
"As long as there are places where leaves dance… there will be fire.
The Will of Fire will illuminate the village… and nurture new leaves."
...
The news that the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen was gravely injured, had overexerted his life force, and was about to die soon spread like wildfire.
Very quickly, it swept through the entire village.
In an instant, a heavy atmosphere of grief filled every corner of Konoha.
However.
Byakuya's bookstore was unusually lively.
Ever since Hyūga Hinata displayed such astonishing power,
Byakuya had also become famous by association.
Everyone was extremely curious.
Curious about how exactly Byakuya had made Hinata so powerful.
How he had given her chakra reserves far beyond normal.
Thus—
Many people came to the bookstore under the pretense of buying books,
trying every possible method to fish for information.
For example:
Kakashi: "Yo~ Byakuya, do you have any collector's editions of Icha Icha Paradise here?"
Byakuya: "No."
Kakashi: "What a shame~
I really wanted to get a collector's copy…
I've searched so many bookstores and couldn't find it.
Now I've completely lost the motivation to train…
Who knows when my chakra reserves will ever increase…"
Byakuya: "Oh."
Kakashi: "..."
Another example:
Jiraiya: "Hahahaha~ Brat, do you have Icha Icha Paradise here?"
Byakuya: "No."
Jiraiya: "How can such a masterpiece not be stocked in a bookstore?!"
Byakuya: "I don't stock 18+ novels."
Jiraiya: "Hey hey, don't say that in front of the original author, come on~
Hahaha~
Since you run a bookstore, you must have read a lot, right?
Wanna discuss literature with me?
I'm a pretty famous writer, you know!"
Byakuya: "I'm not yet eighteen.
The women's bathhouse is that way. Have a nice day."
Jiraiya: "..."
Another example:
One night, Kumogakure jōnin Yūchō Saburō sneaked into Byakuya's bookstore.
"Hmph~
Konoha really is nothing special.
To actually let such an important person live alone like this."
Yūchō Saburō sneered coldly. "If this were in Kumogakure, he would be protected layer upon layer!
But no matter.
Byakuya-kun, I've come to rescue you!"
With those words,
he began creeping toward Byakuya's bedroom.
Yet before he could take more than a few steps—
he completely vaporized.
Vanished from the face of the earth.
...
Although the bookstore was unusually lively,
it didn't actually affect Byakuya's daily life very much.
He continued living like a salted fish every day.
Occasionally disciplining Team 7 a little.
His small days passed quite leisurely and comfortably.
After hearing the news that Hiruzen was about to pass away,
he actually felt a bit depressed.
"The power of fate really is terrifying~
I've pulled him back how many times already?
And he still has to die.
Sigh…
But…
If I give him one more pull now… wouldn't I make a huge profit?"
Byakuya fell into deep thought.
Uchiha Izumi and Karin were almost back already.
Moreover, they were bringing two new reserve members with them.
Plus Rin, who was currently in his attic.
He already had five core subordinates.
Each one possessed super Kage-level strength.
"It's time to make a really big move."
Byakuya decided to give Hiruzen one more pull.
Not only that—
he also decided it was time to start some major operations!
So.
Once again, in the dead of night, he left the bookstore.
Carrying some clothes, he arrived at the Konoha cemetery.
"What would happen if Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato came back to life?"
A smile slowly spread across Byakuya's face.
"It would definitely earn me a massive amount of plot points, right?
But for now… I can only revive Kushina first.
Once Izumi returns,
I can have her copy Karin's resurrection ability and bring Minato back as well."