Sora entered the conference room. Apart from Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Fugaku, all of Konoha's top officials and clan leaders were present. Even Orochimaru had attended this time.
No one was sitting near Orochimaru, so Sora greeted him with a respectful "Master Orochimaru" before taking a seat beside him.
Sora surveyed the scene with confusion.
This meeting was supposed to discuss post-disaster reconstruction after the Nine-Tails attack, yet Namikaze Minato was unexpectedly absent.
Sora glanced at Orochimaru beside her. He shook his head slightly, indicating that he too was unaware of the situation.
Orochimaru had been in the middle of his research when an ANBU suddenly summoned him to attend.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up from his seat and addressed the room with a somber expression. "Now that everyone has arrived, I want to thank you all for your contributions during the Nine-Tails crisis.
There is one matter that everyone needs to be made aware of—the Fourth Hokage is currently unconscious and shows no signs of awakening."
Sora's brows instantly furrowed.
Namikaze Minato was unconscious? What had happened?
The surrounding clan leaders, unaware of the situation, exchanged puzzled glances.
Hiruzen explained, "The Fourth Hokage's chakra was almost completely depleted, and while in this weakened state, he suffered a severe blow. Although he remains alive, we don't know when—or if—he will regain consciousness."
Sora felt speechless. So that was the reason.
Chakra was the product of an equal mixture of spiritual and physical energy.
When both spiritual and physical energies are exhausted, death follows.
For example, in another timeline, Kakashi had died fighting the Deva Path of Pain after depleting his chakra.
Minato had teleported a Tailed Beast Bomb once, and then teleported himself along with the Nine-Tails. His chakra was nearly depleted after that, not to mention his battle with Uchiha Obito and his use of the Eight Trigrams Seal twice.
He had also attempted the Reaper Death Seal. Although the Shinigami didn't devour his soul, simply summoning the death god consumed an enormous amount of chakra.
In the end, when Minato was sealing the Nine-Tails into Miyuki, his remaining chakra wasn't enough to complete the Eight Trigrams Seal. Being knocked away by the Nine-Tails' chakra became the final blow that overwhelmed him.
Minato was indeed powerful, but he had no special talent for chakra reserves. At best, his chakra capacity was only slightly above that of an ordinary shinobi. He couldn't compare to ninjas like Sora and Uzumaki Kushina, who possessed massive amounts of chakra.
From this perspective, it was fortunate that Minato wasn't dead—just unconscious.
After explaining Minato's condition to everyone, Hiruzen continued, "Although we successfully defeated the Nine-Tails, the sacrifice we made was too great. We have no time to wallow in grief."
Utatane Koharu picked up where Hiruzen left off. "Since we don't know when the Fourth Hokage will awaken, and Konoha has suffered such a devastating blow, the villagers are understandably panicked.
Moreover, news of the Nine-Tails attack has surely spread to other hidden villages by now. It's possible that our enemies will seize this opportunity to attack us.
Therefore, we must select a suitable successor to become Hokage and stabilize the village's situation.
The purpose of this meeting is to discuss who will succeed as the next Hokage."
Several people in the conference room turned their attention to Sora and Orochimaru.
After the Third Great Ninja War, Orochimaru had been the recognized candidate for Fourth Hokage, but was blocked by Hiruzen, who chose Minato instead.
As for Sora, she was acknowledged as a ninja equal to Minato in reputation and strength.
Moreover, Orochimaru was Hiruzen's disciple, and Sora was Orochimaru's student. Both were part of the same lineage.
Therefore, some clan leaders believed that the Fifth Hokage would likely be either Sora or Orochimaru.
Danzo noticed the attention being directed toward the two and his expression soured immediately.
Sora had completely fallen out with him, and Danzo no longer maintained any connection with Orochimaru.
The position of Hokage, he believed, must not fall into their hands.
Danzo spoke up. "Lord Third, before choosing a Hokage, I believe there's someone who needs to be held accountable!"
Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura all turned to look at Danzo, wondering what he was plotting now.
Danzo pointed directly at Sora. "When Uzumaki Miyuki was giving birth, Sora and a team of ANBU were guarding the perimeter. Why were all those ANBU killed?
I sent Root to examine the bodies, and they were all killed with a single strike—yet you emerged unscathed.
And I heard from Hiruzen that while the Fourth Hokage was attempting to seal the Nine-Tails, you were present, but you were also fighting against two invaders elsewhere. In other words, you used the Shadow Clone Technique.
Whether you were personally fighting or using a clone, it's obvious you had enough capacity to abandon that battle and assist with subduing the Nine-Tails, yet you didn't appear until much later!
Furthermore, the cave where Uzumaki Miyuki gave birth was clearly sealed, but those seals weren't triggered. The only people who knew how to enter without activating them were you, the Fourth Hokage, and Hiruzen's wife.
How did the intruder enter the cave, kill Hiruzen's wife and an ANBU, and kidnap the Fourth Hokage's child?
And... the Nine-Tails suddenly appearing in Konoha means someone summoned it. The only person I know capable of summoning Tailed Beasts died long ago—and you, Sora, are known to have been closest to him.
Aren't these incidents rather suspicious?"
Hearing Danzo's accusations, everyone's eyes turned to Sora.
She raised her gaze to meet Danzo's and asked expressionlessly, "So Danzo's suggesting that I colluded with the enemy? That I was the one who let them enter the cave to target Miyuki and her child? That I released the Nine-Tails and summoned it to Konoha to cause destruction?"
Danzo snorted coldly. "I'm not suggesting it—I'm merely pointing out that your actions are suspicious, and I have reason to doubt you!"
Sora glanced around at the surrounding shinobi, then fixed her gaze on Hiruzen. "So, Lord Third, do you feel the same way?"
Hiruzen replied solemnly, "Of course I trust you, Sora, but it would be best if you could explain your actions."
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