章 29: Chapter 29: Confrontation with Third Hokage

"Lord Hokage!"

"Lord Ryu!"

"..."

The Konoha jonin, who had been stunned throughout the entire battle, regained their composure and approached Ryu with the utmost respect. It was clear that witnessing Ryu's incredible Wood Release techniques and Orochimaru's lifeless body had deeply convinced them of his power and the potential changes he could bring to Konoha.

Acknowledging their salutes with a nod, Ryu felt satisfied with the impact he had made. There was no need for further formalities.

Ordering the sealing and transportation of Orochimaru's body to the analysis team in Konoha, Ryu recognized the value of studying the body of such a powerful and notorious ninja, even in death. It was a common practice to analyze the remains of fallen ninjas to gather information about their abilities and other aspects.

Yamanaka Inochi, the leader of the Analysis Team in the village's Intelligence Division, promptly responded to Ryu's instructions and stored Orochimaru's body in a sealing scroll for further research.

With Orochimaru's demise, the once-famous Sannin had met his end, leaving behind a complex mix of emotions among the gathered ninjas.

Just as Ryu was speaking, he detected a presence rapidly approaching from behind the crowd. The figure soon revealed itself to be the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"It's the Third Hokage," Hiashi remarked.

Everyone present had their own thoughts and emotions regarding the arrival of the Third Hokage. Ryu, seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi approaching, considered it a perfect opportunity to address some unresolved matters.

"Third Hokage, I'm glad you're here. There are certain issues that need to be addressed," Ryu said calmly, directing his words toward Hiruzen.

The crowd instinctively looked at Ryu, and upon his confirmation, Yamanaka Inochi, holding the sealing scroll with Orochimaru's body, spoke up, "Third Hokage, the renegade ninja Orochimaru has been killed by Lord Fourth Ryu, and his body has been recovered."

Hiruzen closed his eyes momentarily, his aged appearance conveying the weight of his responsibilities and the burdens he carried.

Observing Hiruzen's reaction, Ryu felt no sympathy. He questioned Hiruzen about his failure to capture Orochimaru, reminding him that as the leader of the team that initially pursued Orochimaru, he had allowed personal sentiment to overshadow his duty. Ryu pointed out that Hiruzen had witnessed his own disciple's descent into darkness and betrayed the village, yet failed to take decisive action.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, sighing heavily, admitted to his mistakes. He acknowledged that personal connections had clouded his judgment, preventing him from fulfilling his duty as Hokage.

Ryu's words had a profound impact on everyone in the crowd, including Minato Namikaze. As the Hokage, it was simply unacceptable for Hiruzen Sarutobi to knowingly allow a traitor to escape, regardless of any personal connections he may have had. The primary responsibility of a ninja is to carry out their missions, and although friendship and loyalty among comrades are valued, they do not extend to those who betray the village.

The Third Hokage's actions greatly damaged his reputation among the Konoha ninjas. They felt betrayed and saw his lack of action as a complete disregard for their trust. It was as if their leader had abandoned them at a crucial moment, leaving them to face the danger alone. This comparison was reminiscent of soldiers who would be ready to fight to the death while their leader surrendered without a fight. The Konoha ninjas couldn't help but feel disappointment and resentment towards the Third Hokage.

Upon witnessing the situation, Ryu became certain that Hiruzen Sarutobi's actions had irreparably damaged his reputation. With a serious tone, Ryu addressed him once more, saying, "Lord Third Hokage you had the opportunity to read the evidence scroll I provided earlier. It contained information connecting Orochimaru to only four missing persons. However, the truth is that over the past few months, and even the past decade or more, Orochimaru has subjected numerous individuals to his experiments. You saw it with your own eyes—the secret base filled with glass jars containing human organs. Do you believe that only a select few could achieve such a scale?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into silence.

Ryu continued, "Orochimaru's descent into darkness was not a sudden occurrence. For several years, he wasted his life engaging in forbidden research that Konoha explicitly prohibited. It might have been challenging for you to accept initially, but my question is..."

At this point, Ryu's expression turned serious, "After Orochimaru ruthlessly killed the ANBU ninjas who were accompanying you, why did you choose not to take action and let him escape? Are the lives of those Konoha ANBU not deserving of your attention?"

Upon hearing these words, the Konoha ninjas present erupted in outrage, and Hiruzen Sarutobi's face turned pale.

Ever since Orochimaru's sound-based technique was used against the secret base, the team of ANBU accompanying Hiruzen Sarutobi had fallen one after another. While not all of them had perished, some had indeed lost their lives, and the survivors were left severely injured.

Hiruzen Sarutobi witnessed it all but made the grave mistake of not intervening.

One's disciples hold importance, but shouldn't the lives of subordinates be equally valued?

Furthermore, these individuals were traitors.

At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen's standing in the eyes of everyone present had suffered a significant blow.

"Lord Hiruzen, you..."

I wasn't happy with how the Third Hokage dealt with Orochimaru, but he had been the Hokage for a long time and had done a lot for Konoha. Some of the Konoha ninjas found it hard to accept when he admitted his mistakes and accepted the consequences.

But then, Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted them with a wave of his hand.

He wasn't being fake or pretending, he knew when something was wrong and was ready to face the consequences.

And by saying that, he was also showing that he was ready to step down and give power to Ryu.

To be honest, he had already thought about this when he let Orochimaru escape before. But he didn't expect Ryu to act so quickly. Young people can be really surprising!

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Ryu, and with his experience, he knew that Ryu had a hand in everything that happened that day.

But the choice was in front of him, and he chose to go down a path from which he couldn't turn back. He couldn't blame anyone else.

And right now, the village couldn't handle any more problems.

"Ryu, I'm leaving Konoha's future in your hands." Hiruzen Sarutobi let go of everything and looked at Ryu seriously, with a touch of sadness.

"I promise Konoha will thrive under my leadership." Ryu's face was determined.

This was the real passing of power from the Third Hokage to the Fourth Hokage.

On the side, leaders from the Hyuga, Uchiha, Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Yume clans, and other important people of Konoha, like Minato and Kakashi, saw it all happen.

Ryu's plan had succeeded completely.

From that day forward, Ryu truly had the power of Konoha and became the Fourth Hokage everyone acknowledged.

After a simple but impressive ceremony, the people of Konoha left that place without any sadness.

On their way, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally heard about Ryu awakening Wood Release. He was shocked, but he also thought about the First Hokage.

Maybe Ryu could make Konoha even better!

Thinking about that, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt more at ease.

An hour later.

In the big, ruined battlefield left by Ryu and Orochimaru.

A small white phosphorus snake, no bigger than a palm, came out of a snake corpse that Ryu had cut earlier. Its eyes were gold and had a mix of emotions. It looked towards Konoha and then disappeared into the forest.