Chapter 154: The First Hokage of Pots — The Ninja World Owes Me Two Pots
ROAR!
The roar of a colossal beast echoed from the eastern end of the village all the way to the west.
Whether indoors or outside, every villager simultaneously felt a sinister chakra wash over their entire body. It was like standing naked in the middle of winter, with an icy chill penetrating from head to toe.
"The Nine-Tails?!"
"Why did it suddenly appear in the village? Did the jinchuriki who sealed the Nine-Tails lose control?!"
"Where are Lord Third and Lord Fourth?"
"Run! Get to the shelters!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Hearing the chaotic footsteps outside, the ANBU shinobi stationed near the Hokage Tower looked up at the Nine-Tails.
Their faces instantly turned pale.
They rushed into the office, found the Third Hokage, and dropped to one knee.
"Lord Third Hokage, the Nine-Tailed Fox has appeared inside the village!"
"Hmph!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the Nine-Tails roaring within the village.
He exhaled a cloud of smoke into the air, determination flashing in his eyes.
Then he tore off his outer robes, revealing the black combat uniform beneath. He tightened the forehead protector around his head and ordered the ANBU beside him,
"I'll suppress it. All of you, protect the civilians while evacuating them."
"Yes!"
The moment his words fell, Hiruzen's figure vanished from the room.
The next instant, he appeared atop the Hokage Tower.
Standing on the roof, he looked down over the entire village.
The moment he saw the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes, his heart sank.
He bit his finger, rapidly formed a series of hand seals, and shouted,
"Summoning Jutsu!"
BOOM!
White smoke billowed outward.
When it cleared, the summoned Enma looked toward the enormous orange fox in the village with a solemn expression.
"The Nine-Tails... Has its seal been broken?"
"Yes!"
Hiruzen came to Enma's side.
Thinking of Biwako, Kushina, and the others whose lives were in danger, he spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Open—"
Before he could finish, the two of them watched as the Nine-Tails ignored the attacks surrounding it.
It suddenly leaped out of the Konoha shinobi's range.
Its four limbs tensed.
Its sharp claws dug into the ground.
Then it suddenly charged in another direction at full speed.
That direction?
Enma tilted his head slightly.
He first looked at the direction the Nine-Tails was running.
Then he looked at the Sharingan in its eyes.
After a moment of silence, he hesitantly turned toward Hiruzen.
"Sarutobi, is it possible that someone from the Uchiha clan was bribed and is controlling the Nine-Tails, intending to deal a devastating blow to the Uchiha?"
Hearing this, Hiruzen's aged face darkened.
What the hell is he talking about?
Before he could explain, Enma suddenly wore an expression of realization.
"This really does seem like something Danzo would do. All he would need to sacrifice is one Nine-Tails jinchuriki, and he could eliminate the threat."
"Even if you managed to resolve the Nine-Tails crisis in the shortest possible time tonight, the Uchiha clan's strength would inevitably be greatly weakened, since their compound is the primary impact zone."
"Afterward, when the Uchiha angrily questioned the village, the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes would be the best evidence."
"Their own people attacked their own people. They even extracted the Nine-Tails from the jinchuriki."
"The villagers wouldn't interfere with you. That alone would demonstrate considerable restraint."
As he spoke, Enma even glanced toward the Root headquarters and sighed.
"As expected of Danzo. He's still as composed as ever."
"This arrangement is flawless. There isn't a single loophole."
Bang!
After listening to this elaborate conspiracy theory, Hiruzen slapped his forehead hard.
His expression became even darker.
"Enma!"
He watched the Nine-Tails charging toward the Uchiha compound.
After taking several deep breaths, he spoke in an urgent, hoarse voice.
"The person who sealed the Nine-Tails is Minato Namikaze's wife."
The jinchuriki is the Fourth Hokage's wife?
Thinking of that short-tempered Uzumaki girl, another flash of realization passed through Enma's mind.
He became emotional.
"Danzo really did think this through."
"The Uzumaki possess extremely powerful vitality. Even after the Nine-Tails was separated from her, she should still be able to survive temporarily."
"At that point, Danzo would only need to find a way to preserve Kushina's life and allow her to completely escape her status as a jinchuriki, returning to the life of an ordinary Uzumaki woman."
"Furthermore, he would undoubtedly earn the gratitude of the Fourth Hokage and his wife. That would be an enormous political bargaining chip for Danzo."
"Do you know, Hiruzen? There isn't actually any ninjutsu in the shinobi world capable of saving someone who is already on the verge of death."
"And if his plan were even more thorough, and he could exert some control over the Nine-Tailed Fox..."
"Danzo would have won this time."
"???"
The nearby ANBU shinobi stared blankly at the monkey spewing increasingly outrageous conspiracy theories.
There wasn't technically anything logically wrong with what he was saying.
Some of it even sounded quite convincing.
But so what?
Was Lord Danzo really that kind of person?
Noticing the confusion in everyone's eyes, Enma crossed his arms and lowered his voice.
"Of course, we have no evidence. But there is one flaw."
Everyone's attention immediately focused on him.
Enma scratched his white fur before pointing toward the Nine-Tailed Fox, which had already smashed through the gate of the Uchiha compound.
He shook his head.
"Didn't you notice that the Nine-Tails abandoned everyone else and is now fighting the Uchiha clan?"
At this very moment.
On a certain mountaintop.
Danzo was already numb.
Tonight, he stood atop the mountain with the Root headquarters beneath his feet and the village clearly visible in the distance.
He simply stood there in silence.
Yet Danzo could clearly feel the position of Hokage drifting farther and farther away from him.
The night air on the mountain was cold.
But it wasn't nearly as cold as his heart.
If Minato Namikaze lived as long as Hiruzen, he could become Hokage for at least thirty years.
Thirty years later...
Would he still stumble several times while climbing stairs?
Would he fall off a bicycle?
Sigh.
Just as Danzo sighed inwardly, he suddenly saw a white column of smoke rising a hundred meters into the air from the distant village.
He stared at the smoke in confusion.
Then a sinister chakra swept over him, blowing his black-and-white hair backward.
"???"
Hearing the roar of a beast from within the village, Danzo stared at the fox-shaped figure revealed as the smoke dispersed.
Several question marks appeared in his mind.
"Where did such a huge fox come from?"
This fox... looks strangely familiar.
I feel like I've seen it somewhere before.
"Hm?"
The next moment, he saw the fox raise nine enormous tails high into the air.
Danzo needed only one second to put the pieces together.
His tightly shut eyes suddenly widened.
His mouth unconsciously opened slightly.
Cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
He stared dumbfounded at the enormous fox in the village and let out a long sigh.
"The Nine-Tails?!"
The moment he spoke, a large group of shinobi appeared behind him.
Among them were ANBU in their uniforms as well as shinobi wearing their respective clan attire.
After sensing the sinister chakra, they had immediately left the dormitories and rushed outside the base.
"???"
They stared at the roaring fox inside the village.
For a moment, their expressions were blank.
Then their faces changed dramatically.
"The Nine-Tails?!"
"Am I still dreaming? Why did I see the Nine-Tails the moment I opened my eyes?"
"Nonsense! The Nine-Tails' chakra is blowing straight toward us! How could this possibly be a dream?"
"Did you notice? The Nine-Tails is behaving strangely tonight. Its eyes..."
Following the man's pointing finger, everyone on the mountaintop simultaneously looked toward the Nine-Tails' eyes.
Although its enormous eyeballs were bloodshot, everyone could still clearly see the strange patterns within them.
Gulp.
They swallowed with difficulty.
Then they silently took a step backward, instinctively reaching for their ninja tool pouches as they widened the distance between themselves and the nearby Uchiha clan members.
The Nine-Tails appeared?
Uchiha Asuka narrowed his eyes as he stared at the enormous fox in the village.
From this moment onward, the village's attitude toward the Uchiha clan would undoubtedly change completely.
Sigh.
Clan. Village...
"Asuka."
At that moment, Kurama Unkai leaned closer to Asuka.
His chin lightly touched the Nine-Tails insignia on his clothing as he whispered,
"Have you noticed that the Nine-Tails' movement is a little strange? If I remember correctly, the only people in that direction are members of your Uchiha clan, right?"
"???"
A row of question marks instantly appeared above Asuka's head.
He had noticed it too.
The Nine-Tails' direction was indeed somewhat strange.
It had appeared in the village.
Logically speaking, shouldn't it have destroyed the surrounding buildings indiscriminately?
Why was it charging toward the distant Uchiha compound?
Isn't this what happened in the original story?
The people around them noticed the Nine-Tails' strange behavior as well.
As they considered the various possibilities, the Nine-Tails suddenly raised one enormous paw.
Bang!
It slapped away the clan plaque bearing the three characters—
Uchiha.
The enormous plaque spun through the air several times before crashing to the ground and shattering.
Everyone's expression immediately became strange.
This Nine-Tails is being controlled by the Sharingan.
So why does it look like it has a grudge against the Uchiha clan?
Is the person controlling the Nine-Tails actually going to fight the Uchiha?
Their gazes quietly shifted toward Danzo.
The Uchiha clan wasn't particularly popular.
But hatred?
They had lived together in the same village for more than fifty years. There wasn't actually much genuine hatred between the clans and the village.
But here...
There was someone who held a grudge against the Uchiha.
Danzo was hostile toward the Uchiha clan.
He had even found an excuse to gather the young, influential, and powerful members of the Uchiha at this exact moment.
And, coincidentally, the Nine-Tails incident happened tonight.
Even more coincidentally...
The Nine-Tails had run from the eastern end of the village all the way to the west, clearly heading toward the Uchiha compound.
"???"
There were simply too many coincidences.
They glanced at Danzo.
Then they looked solemnly at the Uchiha clan members.
Without saying anything, they took another step backward, putting even more distance between themselves and Danzo.
Why is everyone looking at me?
Seeing everyone's eyes fall upon him, Danzo immediately straightened his back.
His expression was solemn as he explained,
"I have a clear conscience in this matter. If I didn't do it, then I didn't do it."
"The training is temporarily suspended. All of you go support the village."
"I need to coordinate the overall situation and prevent outsiders from taking advantage of the chaos."
"Yes!"
Looking at Danzo's completely composed expression, everyone silently took several more steps backward.
Then they picked up their weapons, accepted his explanation, and turned around to run toward the village.