WebNovels

Chapter 25 - Chapter 25

"Third Hokage-sama, what about Tsunade-hime? If there's anyone suitable for it, it's her." said one of the clan leaders.

"Tsunade's situation and condition is not quite good, right now." Hiruzen replied. "Besides, I understand your feelings, but Shikaku will stay in the village and help my student to lead the village."

"Doesn't that make your student a puppet leader of the Nara clan?"

"Then is the Sarutobi clan leading the village now?" Hiruzen asked.

"..."

"Third Hokage-sama, you are you. You don't represent the Sarutobi clan just because you're Hokage."

"So does my student." Hiruzen replied.

"..."

"But you won't easily become a puppet of another clan."

"Besides being Hokage, I am also the Sarutobi clan leader. Does that make me a puppet of the Sarutobi clan?"

"..."

Hiruzen knew they were envious of Shikaku, who could easily become advisor to the young, easily deceived leader. Unfortunately for them, they didn't know that his student was not at all what they imagined.

It was precisely because of Souji's influence that he took this step.

"Third Hokage-sama, what about Danzo-sama? I think he is suitable to be your successor." said one of the clan leaders, who Hiruzen knew was on Danzo's side.

"In that case, I will withdraw Danzo and ROOT from the front lines and let your clan face Suna. Are you willing?" Hiruzen asked.

"..."

'Isn't that clearly destruction for my clan? No, thank you.' the clan leader thought.

"I apologize for my mistaken thoughts, Third Hokage-sama." he said, apologizing to Hiruzen. Hiruzen responded with a nod.

"If you strongly object to my student, then let Shikaku take over the village while I am on the front lines." Hiruzen said. This time, the other clan leaders strongly protested.

Fugaku was annoyed and angry with Hiruzen. He could have become the village leader while Hiruzen was away. Instead, Hiruzen chose his student, who was still in the academy. Now, Hiruzen prefers Shikaku over Fugaku and anyone else.

The Hokage distributed his power to those closest to him. He did not choose the strongest person in the village or someone with a wealth of experience.

Fugaku hated that and was even more determined to carry out a coup, especially since Hiruzen was going to the front lines.

'This is the right time.' Fugaku thought.

"If many object to my appointment as village leader, then I support Tendou Souji as Sandaime-sama's replacement." Shikaku said.

"I agree." Inoichi and Choza agreed.

"..."

"I disagree."

"I also disagree."

"..."

Many of the clan leaders disagreed, and some did not vote.

"..."

"If more of you disagree, then I will assign those of you who disagree to the front lines to face Iwa. You will not be allowed to return to the village until you succeed in repelling Iwa, Kusa, and Taki back to their territories." Hiruzen said firmly.

The clan leaders and Konoha advisors who disagreed with Hiruzen's student becoming his replacement, were angry when they heard his decision to send them on a suicide mission.

They realized that they were no match for Hiruzen, if he faced Onoki and his forces, Konoha would have a chance of winning.

But what about them? Onoki was famous for his Dust Release. Not to mention, there were rumors that Iwagakure was including their Jinchuriki as well.

And don't forget about Takigakure, they have a Jinchuriki too.

Jiraiya?

They didn't mean to underestimate him, but if he fought two Kage-level opponents at once, he would also be helpless.

What about themselves?

They could only achieve the Jonin level at their life.

Hiruzen really wanted to sacrifice them to become cannon fodder for Iwa, Kusa and Taki.

"Enough!" Hiruzen said, and they all fell silent.

"I won't say it again. Agree with Souji, or agree with those of you on the front lines." Hiruzen added, "If you remain silent or say you disagree, Then I will consider it as your agreement to go to the front lines." Hiruzen said firmly.

"..."

'This is madness!' They all thought.

"I agree with Tendou Souji as Sandaime-sama's replacement." Shikaku said again, and the other clan leaders agreed.

"I agree."

"Me too."

"..."

Hiruzen smiled at that. "Good, very good."

"Now, let's discuss how to deal with the ninja forces from Kumo." Hiruzen continued, "Are there any clan leaders willing to help?"

"Sandaime-sama, the Hyuga clan is willing to help." Hiashi said.

Hiruzen nodded. "I will also send ninja from the Sarutobi clan."

"..."

Several clans offered to help fight against Kumo, which reduced Kakashi's burden. Even the Uchiha clan helped. Of course, this was because of Hiruzen's orders, not because Fugaku wanted to.

Fugaku wondered if Hiruzen knew about their plan to carry out a coup. Hiruzen had deliberately kept them all away from the village.

If Hiruzen knew about the plan, then the traitor in the clan was his eldest son, Itachi.

'Itachi... you disappointed me.' Fugaku thought.

A few days ago, Itachi had met with him and asked him to stop the coup, but Fugaku had told Itachi that the plan would go on with or without him. As clan leader, he couldn't do anything about it.

Fugaku argued with Itachi. In the end, Itachi chose to leave. He packed his things and moved somewhere else.

"..."

'This plan will still proceed.' Fugaku thought.

He couldn't let this opportunity slip away, especially since the leader who replaced Hiruzen was no match for him.

'Just an academy student.' Even if he could injure Itachi, it's just an accident. It's not like he could easily defeat Itachi.

"..."

"The clan in charge of guarding the village is the Inuzuka clan and Aburame Clan, of course, assisted by the reserve ninjas in the village." Hiruzen said.

"Understood, Sandaime-sama." Inuzuka Tsume and Aburame Shibi replied.

"All right, then. We'll end this meeting here." Hiruzen said, then handed it over to Shikaku.

"..."

"..."

———————————————————

Not long after the meeting, Danzo, who was in the Land of the River, received news from one of the clan leaders who sided with him.

Bang!

Because there was no door, Danzo could only slam his hand on the table.

'Hiruzen!'

Bang!

'Hiruzen!'

How could Hiruzen entrust the village to an academy student?

'Has Hiruzen become senile?'

"..."

'I won't let you, you damn brat, sit in the Hokage seat for long.'

"What about the Uchiha clan? Have they made any moves?" Danzo asked his subordinates.

"There are some strange movements, but we don't know what they are for sure."

Bang

"Then find out!" Danzo ordered, annoyed at his subordinates.

"Find out as soon as possible! Find out what the Uchiha Clan is planning!" Danzo ordered.

"Yes, Danzo-sama." Then, his subordinate quickly left.

"..."

'This is all because of Suna. If they hadn't attacked, the Hokage seat would be mine.' Danzo thought, annoyed.

"..."

'Suna, huh?'

"... "

'If I let Suna attack the village directly and then let that kid gain a bad reputation for being unable to handle it, Isn't that a good idea?' Danzo thought. 'In a difficult moment, I'll come save them and be recognized as a hero.'

"..."

'Hiruzen... Hiruzen...'

'What you've built... I will destroy it all.'

"..."

"..."

 ———————————————————

Hokage office.

"Don't worry, Itachi. I have kept the Uchiha ninjas away from the village to help fight Kumo, so you don't need to worry about their coup plan." Hiruzen said.

A few days ago, Itachi met with Hiruzen and informed him that the Uchiha clan was planning a coup. Hiruzen was certainly surprised by this, but that didn't mean he hadn't considered such a possibility.

He also didn't want to tell anyone about it, not even Danzo.

He instructed Itachi not to inform the other village elders, but made an exception for Souji. He told Itachi that if anything happened to the Uchiha Clan, Itachi could trust Souji and serve him as a Hokage. Then, Itachi agreed.

"What is my mission, Sandaime-sama?" Itachi asked.

"I want you to stay in the village and assist Souji and Shikaku." Hiruzen replied. "I'm sure that when I leave, there will be people trying to disrupt the village's stability."

"Don't forget about spies from other villages. They might try to create chaos by spreading rumors or provoking civilians."

Itachi nodded upon hearing this.

"Yes, Sandaime-sama."

"..."

"..."

 ———————————————————

In the Uchiha District, at the Naka Shrine.

"The Hokage sent us to the front lines. What should we do now, Fugaku?" one of the Uchiha ninjas asked.

"..."

"I have a plan, but it's risky. I've only thought about it so far. But before That, Does anyone else have a plan?" Fugaku asked, looking at the others.

"..."

Twitch

Fugaku's usually expressionless face finally twitched when he saw that his clan members were thinking only of a coup and the Hokage. Not even helping him to think.

Was the clan leader just a slave to them?

Not even a slave felt the burden he felt.

Meanwhile, he not only did it, but also thought about it.

"..."

"In that case, my plan is that we will be at the very back lines. When the time is right, we can use shadow clones to deceive the ninja forces marching with us. Then, we can quickly return to the village and carry out the coup." Fugaku explained. "What do you think? Does anyone object?"

"..."

The Uchiha ninjas who heard him were silent, and thinking.

"..."

"I don't object."

"Me neither."

"I'm the same."

Fugaku nodded his head. "This plan will begin in a few days, so until then, prepare and stay vigilant."

"Of course." the others replied.

"..."

"..."

 ———————————————————

The training ground.

Souji and the others were doing their usual training.

Souji himself was trying to sense natural energy. If he could sense a soul, then he should be able to sense natural energy, right?

"..."

'Let me remember...to become one with nature...' Souji thought.

"..."

Okay, Souji was having trouble becoming one with nature.

Should he lie down on the ground?

What about soaking in water?

"..."

Souji took off his clothes and sat at the edge of the stream.

He tried to become one with nature, to become the water, to become the stream.

"..."

Some fish approached his body and considered him not a threat but rather an object in the river or even part of the river itself.

[Ding.]

[Extra skill obtained.]

[Nature Sense LV1 (1/100)]

"..."

'Woohoo!' Souji thought joyfully.

[+1]

'Time for shadow clone jutsu.'

Poff Poff Poff

Souji made 50 shadow clones to increase his nature sense.

[+50]

"..."

'While waiting for my nature sense to max out, can I create my own bloodline limit? Or even a Kekkei Tota?' Souji thought.

However, Souji only had Water, Yin, and Yang. He didn't know if those two special attributes could be combined.

"..."

Luckily for him, all three of his nature transformations had reached level 10.

Thanks to Iruka-sensei, he could improve his Yin release. Iruka-sensei taught him basic genjutsu : the False Surrounding Jutsu. Iruka also taught him the Substitution Jutsu, which made him doubt whether academy lessons were useful for Souji. He could have actually become a ninja before the current rules were set.

Souji was grateful to Iruka and treated him and his group, Naruto, Ino-Shika-Cho, and Hinata to eat ramen at Ichiraku.

Souji even let Naruto, Choji, and Hinata eat their fill. Everyone was surprised when Hinata defeated Naruto and Choji in a competition to see who could eat the most ramen.

Souji also made money from the sale of his books, but not much. Even so, sales were very good, and they had to reprint his books.

However, Souji thought he would immediately become rich, but that didn't happen.

Because of that, he tried to make money quickly. By gambling.

With the help of his shadow clones, who used astral projection to see his opponents cards and relay the information to him, he could make money very quickly.

In fact, he was always suspected of cheating and was investigated several times, but they couldn't find any evidence.

He also met Kizashi during one of his gambling sessions, but he didn't know if Mebuki knew about it. He used transformation jutsu while gambling so that no one would recognize him.

That's why he was planning to treated his friends to dinner at Yakiniku Q later.

'If you know how to win, then play the game.'

"..."

"..."

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