Chapter 217 Konoha's decision

   Mid-October.

  In this season, there is already a hint of refreshing coolness in the air.

  Three days ago, Nine Tails raided Konoha, bringing countless disasters and pains to Konoha.

  Accompanied by a fierce battle, although Konoha successfully suppressed the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, he also paid an extremely heavy price for it.

  Three nights ago, Konoha killed and injured more than a thousand powerful ninjas in the battle late at night three days ago. The Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato and his wife even sacrificed their lives in this battle to put down the disturbance in Kyuubi.

   This heart-wrenching fact made many people in Konoha unbelievable.

  But after the third Hokage Hiruzaru Sarutobi personally confirmed this matter, everyone had to accept such a cruel fact.

  Konoha in the early morning was shrouded in a solemn and sad atmosphere.

  Everyone in the village wore black mourning clothes, silently followed the crowd, and walked towards the ninja cemetery with grief.

  Everyone maintains a silent and sad expression on their faces. Silence or complexity can be clearly seen from their faces.

   It wasn’t just the Fourth Hokage couple who died in the Kyuubi War, there were also many pillars of the family who died in the battle.

  Compensation for these families must naturally be implemented in place, and the lives of heroes cannot be sacrificed in vain. But the most important thing right now is to mourn the ninjas who died in the Nine-Tails War, to hold a funeral, and to see off the heroes who died fighting the Nine-Tails.

   "The village finally regained peace with the efforts of the four generations of adults. I didn't expect this kind of result... Sigh..."

   I don't know who said this kind of words, which caused more sorrow and spread quickly among the crowd.

  Three days ago, the night of the battle with Kyuubi, the situation was extremely dangerous.

  Although with the joint efforts of Konoha Ninja, Kyuubi was suppressed for a while, but he couldn't hurt Ninetails' body at all.

   That was a real natural disaster. If the Fourth Hokage couple hadn't sealed Kyuubi with their lives in time, Konoha would not have killed or injured thousands of ninjas.

  A disaster of that level cannot be resisted by manpower.

   At the forefront of the team, there are naturally three generations of Naruto Sarutobi Hiruzen and other high-level executives, and the half-retired root leader Shimura Danzo is also among them.

  Compared to the laments of the others, there was no expression on his face all the time, he just stared at the name on the memorial monument—Namifeng Minato with indifferent eyes, making people wonder what he was thinking in his heart.

  Besides, Turning Sleeping Xiaochun said in a low voice: "Go back, Ri Zhan. Next, we have more important things to deal with."

   It is already the greatest grace time to take time out of your busy schedule to mourn.

   It’s not that I don’t want to remember the contributions of the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato here, but that the dead are gone, and Konoha now needs to elect a new leader as soon as possible.

  Because of the sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage, it is impossible to hide it from the rest of the village. No matter how hard you try to hide it, I believe that the kages of the rest of Ninja Village will also get the news that the Fourth Hokage sacrificed to seal Kyuubi at this time.

  Sand Yin and Yan Yin suffered a lot of losses in the previous battle, so it is not a concern for the time being.

  However, Yun Yin's strength was not damaged too much in the war, and he still stared at Konoha.

   There is also a Kirigakure village with the most complete strength preservation. Konoha must take action as soon as possible to deploy defenses on the border to prevent the ninjas of Yunyin and Kirigakure from attacking the Land of Fire.

  Although Konoha and Kirigakure did not communicate much in the past, and Kirigakure has never publicly expressed hostility to Konoha, but under the premise of the fourth Hokage's sacrifice and death, it is inevitable that Kirigakure will not be careful.

  Hi Zhan sighed lightly, closed his eyes and nodded.

   Indeed, now is not the time to mourn the dead.

   No matter how regretful it is, the sacrifice of the Minato couple is an iron fact, and nothing will be changed because of his regret.

  As the third Hokage, he has more important things.

   How to make Konoha overcome the next difficulty and prevent other villages from raiding the Fire Nation is the key point.

  ◎

  The mourning party is still going on, and the send-off team of the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the Battle of Nine Tails is still huge and will not decrease.

  Kakashi did not participate in such a team, and for him, going there would only add to his sadness.

  He sat alone on the top of the water tower of Konoha Hospital, quietly watching the white clouds in the sky, and was lost for a while.

   Not long after, clear footsteps sounded from behind, and someone was approaching him.

   Kakashi, who was interrupted from thinking, twisted his eyes and saw an adult woman in a white coat walking towards him at a leisurely pace. There was a pair of black framed glasses on her chest, and her eyes always revealed the light of intelligence and wisdom.

   But the appearance is relatively ordinary, not particularly outstanding.

  Asami Masumi, director of the Pharmacy Department of Konoha Hospital, is a well-known figure in Konoha.

   Kyuubi caused trouble for Konoha and caused the sacrifice of the fourth Hokage couple, and part of her credit is also in it.

  Because she was the first to pass on the information about Kushina's childbirth, which led to the Nine-Tails Riot and indirectly caused a series of tragedies.

   "It seems that you are in a bad mood. Are you still sad about the four generations?"

  Asami Masumi walked to Kakashi's side, her voice was very soft.

"What are you doing here?"

  Kakashi didn't answer the question.

  The other party is one of Shiraishi's special spies who stayed in Konoha. So far, it is unknown how much information has been sent to the ghost country.

   "Come out to get some air. I don't really like crowded places, and I don't like attending funerals either. Whoever's funeral, to a doctor, means that life is dying in the world."

   "It's really not like what a person like you can say."

  Kakashi pulled the mask on his face.

  Asami Masumi smiled slightly: "I'm just doing what I can. But I'm not lying, I hate death, whether it's myself or others. This is the professional ethics of a medical ninja."

   "Really? I thought you were laughing to yourself."

   "How could it be? After all, this is the village where I grew up. I'm more or less a person who misses old love. However, I'm sorry about the four generations."

  Looking straight into Kakashi's eyes, Asami Masumi's smile subsided and she apologized earnestly.

   "No, I'm the one who should apologize. I knew everything, but I just turned a blind eye to Minato-sensei's affairs and watched them die with my own eyes. In the end, we are all the same kind of people."

   Kakashi stood up from the edge of the water tower, then jumped down, and left along the downstairs corridor.

  Asami Masumi watched Kakashi leave, with her hands in the pockets of her white coat, her shoulder-length black hair fluttering in the wind.

   "The same kind of people? That's right, we are no longer part of this village..."

   Asami Masumi muttered to herself.

   It sounds a bit self-deceiving.

  Obviously doing work that endangers the village, but because of betraying information, he will be condemned by conscience.

   Without a strong and firm mind, you cannot do such a job.

   And this kind of work is just the beginning.

  In the future, there will be more Konoha ninjas who will die because of her information.

  ◎

  In a secret meeting room on a certain floor of the Hokage Building, four people were sitting. The retired former Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, the two advisors Mitomon Yan, Zenju Koharu, and the half-idle root leader Shimura Danzo.

  Because of the accidental sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato, the four of them had to reunite and hold an emergency meeting here.

  After the Nine-Tails incident passed, the wrinkles on Hizaki's tired face became deeper, as if he had aged many years all of a sudden.

   There was no sound in the conference room, Hirizhan looked at his former comrades-in-arms and Jinxi colleagues next to him, and finally his eyes fell on Danzo.

  The opponent carries all the darkness of Konoha, and is the most radical hawk in the village.

  Because he secretly studied Mutun before, and through Yuyin's prospecting, used secret channels to trade human beings and conduct human experiments, and was then monitored by his dark department.

  If the deal between Danzo and Amame Kanzo is exposed, it will be tantamount to discrediting Konoha's face.

   At that time, Konoha will not only suffer from verbal criticism.

   Konoha Ninja Village, which has always had a good image in the ninja world, will also be tarnished by Danzo's actions, resulting in a bad reputation.

  He spent a lot of time and energy dealing with follow-up matters for Danzo,

   "According to the battle damage statistics produced by Anbu, the night when Kyuubi attacked Konoha, including Minato and Kushina, a total of 473 ninjas died, and more than 1,700 people suffered injuries of varying severity and are currently recovering."

  Ban Zhuan Xiaochun took the lead in breaking the quiet atmosphere in the conference room.

  What she is talking about now is the Konoha casualty data from the battle with Kyuubi.

   Taking Nine-Tails, the strongest tailed beast in the legend, as an opponent, he suppressed Nine-Tails only by sacrificing hundreds of people, which can be said to be a complete victory.

   However, for this result, the four of them felt a little heavy.

  The reason is that the four Hokage couples were killed in battle. Konoha’s loss this time should not just be based on superficial data.

  The importance of the Fourth Hokage to Konoha is self-evident. The reason why Konoha restored peace so quickly is inseparable from the strength of the Fourth Hokage.

  In this era where frequent wars have just ended and the transition to peace has begun, the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato is Konoha's greatest peace guarantee.

  The name of the yellow flash is known to everyone, and it has become Konoha's golden signboard to deter other Ninja villages. In the future, it can protect Konoha for decades, so that Konoha's international situation will not be passive.

  It's a pity...all this beautiful vision was lost on that night a few days ago.

   "The villagers and buildings were not damaged in the slightest, only the area outside the village was affected, which is a blessing in misfortune. In this way, the recovery work will be much easier. But the problem is still on the side of Yunyin, and there is another Wuyin whose attitude is temporarily unknown."

   Mitomonyan frowned and expressed his concerns.

   "Kumin, I have sent Tokaze to be on guard, and I have also given the order to return to the village to Jiraiya and Tsunade who are traveling in the ninja world."

   "With the two of them coming back to sit in town, there shouldn't be much problem with Yunyin. Wuyin... How are you going to deal with Riza?"

   Mitomon asked.

   Just as Hirizhan was about to speak, Danzo, who was standing aside with an indifferent face, suddenly inserted:

   "According to the spies I planted in Kirigakure, a piece of extremely important news just came early... Kirigakure had an earth-shattering civil war two days ago."

   "Civil War?"

  The three of them were slightly taken aback.

  Danzo nodded and replied: "That's right. In order to seek the position of the fourth Mizukage, Kirigakure Jōnin Yakura launched a coup and successfully ousted the third Mizukage. Because of this infighting battle, most of the Kirigakure Village was destroyed. At least thousands of ninjas died in the coup, and countless injured. Without more than three years, Kirigakure will never recover."

  Danzo gave a more precise time.

   "Kuju Yakura... is really a scary guy. But this is a good thing for Konoha now."

   Turning to bed Xiaochun breathed a sigh of relief, finally there was good news.

  None of them were surprised that Danzo planted spies in Wuyin.

  Because this is the root of the external mission, at the forefront, doing the most dangerous work.

  Although the level of spies may not be very high, and they cannot reach the core of Kirigakure, but such a big event as the coup d'etat cannot be covered up even if they want to.

  The external affairs have been largely resolved. Even though the fourth Hokage couple has been lost, Konoha will not lose its deterrent power to the outside world.

  Even if the yellow flash is not there, Konoha with Shibakan and Sharingan, various secret ninjas, and three ninjas will not be exhausted.

   What's more, among the new generation of ninjas, there are talents like Hatake Kakashi, and in a few years, there will be another Konoha Shirato, who can become a sharp blade to deter other countries.

  As long as these geniuses are given enough space to grow, the big tree Konoha will be able to support in the future.

  In the past 20 or 30 years, Konoha's younger generation of ninjas have never been disappointed by them. They will thrive one by one and become the cornerstone of the big tree of Konoha.

   "Compared to the pressure from the outside, the internal hidden dangers are actually greater. For example..." Danzo paused here for a while, not implying anything, but directly announcing who should be guarded against: "...the Uchiha clan."

  Ri Zhan, the three of them had different thoughts on their faces.

   "Kyuubi was liberated when Jinchuriki was giving birth, and the raid on Konoha was by no means accidental, but a well-planned plan by some people in an attempt to subvert Konoha. The Uchiha clan is the most suspected, and their Sharingan can control Kyuubi. But because of the Fourth Hokage, their conspiracy went bankrupt."

   "Danzo, Uchiha is also a member of the village, so they shouldn't be treated differently."

  Hi Zhan frowned tightly.

   "However, Uchiha's ninjas didn't come to help that night, and many ninjas in the village were also dissatisfied with Uchiha. They didn't say anything, but they thought in their hearts that the Uchiha clan's ninjas controlled Kyuubi and attacked the village."

   Mito Menyan also expressed his thoughts.

   "That's because someone changed my order without authorization. My original intention was to let Uchiha's ninjas come over and use Sharingan to restrict Kyuubi's actions and buy more time."

   Having said that, Hirizhan took a deep breath.

   Didn't specifically say who it was, but Mitomonyan and Zhuanju Xiaoharu who were next to him suddenly realized, and glanced at Danzo vaguely.

   "Maybe this is in their favor."

  Danzo is still relentless.

   "Danzo!"

  Ri Zhan's face turned livid.

   "So, how do you explain the kaleidoscope Sharingan?"

   Danzo looked at Hizan with sharp eyes, not afraid.

  Sunri was dumbfounded.

  Kaleidoscopic Sharingan... Thinking of this, Hizan's heart began to beat. This matter...wasn't it really the work of the Uchiha clan?

   "Xiaochun told me that the fourth Hokage's last words were to let us be careful about Chiba Shiraishi and Kaleidoscope Sharingan's space-time ninjutsu, right? The Fourth Hokage is not a random person. He said that, which means that he probably fought with the holder of Kaleidoscope Sharingan, and confirmed that the other party's Kaleidoscope Sharingan ability is related to time-space jutsu."

   "However, it cannot be concluded that the Uchiha clan did it. Anyway, in the previous war, they also made great contributions."

   "The reason why they are so desperate is that they want to get their hands on the position of the Fourth Hokage. Their intentions are so bad that they cannot be trusted at all. Moreover, when it comes to controlling Kyuubi, Uchiha Ruri did it a few years ago.

  Associating the Kaleidoscope Sharingan with the name "Chiba Shiraishi", Danzo has to think of such a thing.

  Because this possibility is the greatest, Uchiha Ruri has such strength and qualifications.

  Otherwise, why did Fourth Hokage put the name of Kaleidoscope Sharingan and 'Chiba Shiraishi' together as a reminder?

   This in itself is already express.

  The masterminds behind the planning of Kyuubi's attack on Konoha were none other than Konoha's S-class defected ninjas Chiba Shiraishi, Uchiha Ruri, and Hyuga Ayane.

  Danzo’s words are irrefutable, because no matter how much you defend the Uchiha clan, according to the hints left by the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato, such a guess is the most appropriate, and there are no logical loopholes.

   "Danzo's words are not unreasonable. Among the Uchiha clan, there may be spies left by them who are monitoring every move of the village and tipping them off. Moreover, any ninjas related to Chiba Shiraishi and the others should be thoroughly investigated."

  Ban Zhuan Xiaochun also felt that she should proceed with caution.

  Mito Kakashi frowned and said: "But in this case, Kakashi Hatake is the most suspicious. His father was once the leader of the three Jonin. Before he defected, Kakashi and them were also very close."

  Hearing what Mitomenyan said, Danzo couldn't help but feel a little tight.

   Hirizhan opened his mouth to defend Kakashi: "Impossible. Before that, Kakashi had been with the Anbu people and had no chance to pass on information. He is an excellent Jonin who inherited the will of fire, and he is definitely not a tip-off."

"Can…"

   "It's really ugly." Danzo snorted coldly: "If Kakashi was a spy they deliberately planted in the village, then why did Kakashi desperately save Jiraiya who was seriously injured by the Xuanzu people a year ago? Wouldn't it be more in the interests of those three people to let Jiraiya die at the hands of the mercenary group Xuanzu?"

   Mito Menyan just gave up.

   After being reminded by Danzang, he also knew that he was thinking too much.

  Kakashi was very suspicious, but he risked his life to save Jiraiya, one of the Sannin.

  As Konoha's high-end combat power, the importance of Jiraiya is self-evident.

  Kakashi's ability to risk his own life and not give up the belief of his companions is enough to prove that he has inherited the will of his father Sakumo Hatake. He is an excellent ninja who truly cares about the village, and is definitely not a traitor.

  Hiichi nodded in agreement, he had the same idea as Danzo on this matter.

  Kakashi who can achieve this level is definitely not a spy planted by the enemy inside Konoha.

   It's just that Danzo defended Kakashi in this way, which made Hiruzen a little surprised.

  However, Hirizhan didn’t doubt anything. Although Danzo’s ideas are often radical, he is never ambiguous when it comes to right and wrong.

   "Compared to Kakashi who is Anbu, I think the probability of problems in hospitals and schools is greater. Chiba Shiraishi has worked in ninja schools and hospitals, and it is easy to put his own eyeliner there. Especially if the information about Jinzhuli's childbirth is leaked, the hospital is the most likely."

  Danzo shifted the focus of everyone's suspicion.

  His opinion naturally made the three of Ri Zhan nod and agree with him.

  Indeed, when it comes to Jiu Xinnai's delivery, the hospital had a bigger mistake.

  After careful deliberation, the clues to the Nine-Tails Raid have become very clear.

  The behind-the-scenes mastermind is Chiba Shiraishi, and Uchiha Ruri awakened the kaleidoscope Sharingan with the time-space pupil technique.

   At the Konoha Hospital, there is a high probability that there are spies to inform them.

  As for the Uchiha clan, they can’t relax their vigilance either. The probability of spies appearing inside is greater than that of Konoha Hospital.

   "Send the Anbu to monitor the Konoha Hospital. In addition, we must further gather the Uchiha clan to facilitate their control. These rebels have attacked Konoha again and again. If the internal hidden dangers are not eliminated, the use of Nine Tails to attack Konoha will happen again."

   This is obviously a prejudice against Uchiha, but Danzo's statement is not unreasonable.

   On the contrary, thinking along Danzo's thinking, Uchiha does have such a problem.

   "I'll take care of Uchiha's problem."

  Hizan considered it for a while, but still didn't feel at ease letting Uchiha's question to Danzo.

  Danzo's approach will definitely anger the Uchiha clan, causing the Uchiha clan and the village to become at odds.

  Even if Danzo’s statement is logically valid, it can only prove that some Uchihas have problems, and most people still have a heart for Konoha.

   "However, if similar things happen again, how will you be responsible? Don't be hesitant about this kind of thing."

  Danzo implicitly implies persecution.

   Hizhan was unmoved, but just replied lightly: "Don't worry, I have a suitable candidate. When I went to the Uchiha clan last time, I met the descendants of Kagami."

   "Mirror..."

  The three of Danzang looked dazed, as if recalling some dusty past events in the past, and they were thinking about something.

   "His name is Uchiha Shisui. Like the mirror, he is an excellent ninja with the will of fire that can jump out of family thinking and reflect. As a member of Konoha, he will become a bridge for friendly communication between the village and Uchiha."

  Hi Zhan is so firm, Danzo is inconvenient to say anything, he just mentioned his own affairs at the end:

   "In this case, let him monitor the Uchiha clan. However, the root's mobility needs to be restored, and the personnel must be expanded on a large scale. The whereabouts of some rebellious ninjas must be followed up in time. Those three people are too harmful to Konoha. Is it okay, Hizhan? Mudun ninja has already been recruited by you. If you train him well, you don't have to worry about the problem of Kyuubi going berserk in the future."

  Danzo meant something, made Hirizhan silent, then sighed, nodded, and agreed to let Danzo restore the root authority and expand his manpower.

  Danzo is right, the whereabouts of the three rebels must be grasped as soon as possible, and they cannot be left alone.

  This time they dared to use Kyuubi to kill the Fourth Hokage, and next time they dared to formulate a plan to destroy Konoha.

  His Anbu needs to deal with the situation inside Konoha and Yun Yin at the same time, and has been unable to deploy more manpower to focus on rebellion.

   At this time, let the roots of Danzo resume their functions, and always pay attention to the movements of the three of Baishi, so that the village can be prepared in advance, and it can relieve him a lot of pressure.

   "That's it. I will update the arrest warrants for those three people, publicly stating that they are trying to touch the tailed beasts of the major ninja villages, and arouse the common hostility of other ninja villages towards them."

   It is not clear whether the three of Baishi have any plans to get their hands on the tailed beast.

  But it doesn't mean that he can't make a big fuss in this regard, divert attention, and arouse the vigilance and hostility of the rest of the Ninja Village towards the three Shiraishi.

  Anyway, rebels are a group of dangerous existences who have abandoned their homeland and have no faith. Their voices are completely ignored internationally. They will not speak out, and it is meaningless to speak out.

  Hokage, one of the five kages, personally proved it, which undoubtedly further increased his persuasiveness.

  (end of this chapter)