"Third Hokage!"
Hearing a muffled groan, the Anbu next to him noticed the blood at the corner of Hiruzen's mouth and asked anxiously.
At this moment, Sandaime seemed to have aged a lot. He lowered his eyes and waved his hand.
"Orochimaru!"
Hiruzen gritted his teeth and spoke in a deep voice, slowly clenching his fists. The last glimmer of hope in his eyes completely shattered.
It was true that Orochimaru was his most proud disciple, but as the Hokage, he regarded everyone in Konoha Village as family.
The living experiments Orochimaru conducted were unforgivably cruel.
As the former Hokage, he could never forgive someone for killing his family in such a bloody way.
From this moment on, Orochimaru was no longer his cherished disciple, but an irreconcilable enemy.
Footsteps approached from behind, and Hiruzen and several Anbu looked over their shoulders.
"Fourth Hokage-sama!"
When the Anbu ninjas saw Minato walking slowly towards them, they immediately bowed and spoke respectfully.
Minato nodded slightly. The smell of blood in Orochimaru's underground laboratory made him frown.
In his perception, Hiruzen's aura had become extremely disordered.
Noticing the blood at the corner of Sandaime's mouth, Minato raised his gaze and looked into the depths of the laboratory.
That was the source of the bloody smell. It was the remains of a boy who looked no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, with most of his organs hollowed out.
Seeing this, even though Minato had killed countless enemies on the battlefield, his deep blue eyes couldn't help but narrow slightly.
In the depths of his eyes, murderous intent began to surge.
Minato quickly suppressed this emotion, because the one who was most devastated at this time was the Third Hokage.
He placed his hand on Hiruzen's shoulder and patted it gently.
"Minato, issue a wanted order for Orochimaru immediately and offer the highest reward for his crime!"
Hiruzen spoke with a trembling voice, and Minato nodded in agreement.
"However, if we want to make an announcement to the public, it is not appropriate to make all the facts public now."
Minato explained that Konoha had just been attacked and was in a sensitive period.
Although Orochimaru wasn't very popular in the village because of his eccentric personality, he was one of the legendary Sannin and held considerable status in both Konoha and the entire ninja world.
If everything he did were made public, it would not only draw ridicule from other major powers but would also be used by people with ulterior motives to create unrest and shake people's faith in the village.
After hearing this, Hiruzen's expression flickered slightly. Then a smile appeared on his old face, which seemed to have been covered with many new wrinkles in an instant.
"I have made many wrong decisions in my life, but there is one thing I'm glad I got right," he said.
"That was handing over the position of Hokage to you."
During the nearly two years since Minato had become Hokage, despite many challenges at the beginning, under his governance, the relationship between the village and the Uchiha had improved significantly.
The Uchiha clan, once considered arrogant and aloof by Konoha's top leaders, was gradually integrating into the village's system.
Among the Uchiha ninjas who once prioritized only their own clan, more and more were now giving everything for the village.
These changes would have been impossible without Minato's bold decisions.
"Please don't say that. If you hadn't supported Konoha until now, how could I alone have guided the village to its current state?"
Minato said he had always believed that among all the Hokage, the First who established the village and the Second who implemented important reforms and established systems had made outstanding contributions.
The Third Hokage had inherited these duties silently and worked hard for the village for decades, which led to Konoha's current prosperity.
He was the greatest Hokage in history.
When Hiruzen heard this, a bitter smile appeared on his face.
He glanced sideways at the Anbu directly under his command standing behind him.
"I'm old and really a little tired."
He sighed slowly, then looked at Minato and said, "I always say that I entrust everything to you, but I still have had some reservations."
"I hope you won't hold a grudge against me."
Hiruzen was referring to his subordinates, naturally, as well as the Anbu personnel who were directly under him.
The atmosphere in Konoha right now was actually a little strange.
Many civilians and ninjas said there were two Hokage in Konoha at the same time.
"What are you talking about? I am still too young and inexperienced. You've kept these responsibilities because you still care about the village."
Minato knew that the Third Hokage's purpose for retaining power was different from Danzo's. It wasn't to accumulate authority.
He still had too many concerns, worrying that Minato alone wouldn't be able to handle the village's affairs well.
"But starting today, I think it's time for this situation to end."
Hiruzen chuckled, looked at Minato and said, "From now on, all of my Anbu will be incorporated into your team."
"This—"
Minato was stunned for a moment, then tried to say something.
Hiruzen waved his hands and said, "Don't say anything. This is my complete trust, and I give it to you."
"Before that, I have only one last request of you."
"Please speak," Minato said solemnly.
"Things like Orochimaru killing his compatriots must never happen again!" Hiruzen's eyes flashed with determination, and his tone was intense.
When Minato heard this, his pupils narrowed slightly, and then he nodded firmly.
"Of course! This is my responsibility as the Hokage."
"Then I'll leave it to you, Yondaime."
After getting Minato's answer, Hiruzen finally had a relieved smile on his face.
He turned his eyes and looked at the Anbu behind him.
These people were all trusted aides of Hiruzen, and they immediately understood what he meant.
They bowed their heads toward Minato to show their loyalty.
"What I just said to the Third Hokage applies to all of us."
"Whether it's me as the Hokage or you, we all share a common identity—we are ninjas of Konoha."
"So, let us protect the village and the families in it together!"
"Yes! Hokage-sama!"
"We are willing to sacrifice our lives for this."
Several Anbu responded in unison, and upon seeing this, Hiruzen completely put his worries aside.
Becoming Hokage doesn't mean you will be recognized by everyone, but only those who are recognized by everyone can become Hokage.
Obviously, everyone in Konoha now, including his Anbu, also recognized Minato as the rightful Hokage.
Minato smiled and nodded, then said: "Clean up this place, then find out the identities of these ninjas and bury them properly. The village will pay compensation according to the highest wartime standards."
"Yes!"
Several people responded.
Minato and Hiruzen exchanged glances, and the latter waved his hand and left the bloody underground laboratory alone.
Looking at the retreating figure that seemed much older now, Minato felt a heaviness in his heart.
However, the current situation did not leave him much time to dwell on these feelings.
There were still many village affairs waiting for him to address.
He glanced once more at the dim underground laboratory, and his figure suddenly disappeared.
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