Hashirama Senju, the Hokage, was the first to arrive at the top floor of the Hokage Residence. The area had already been set up as a spacious podium by Sasuke and the others.
When Hashirama Senju, clad in the First Hokage's ceremonial robe, appeared in the sight of the crowd, the previously quiet multitude immediately stirred.
"Hokage-sama, are you feeling well?"
"Thanks to you, Hokage-sama, we can live peacefully in this village! You must take care of yourself!"
"Hokage-sama, we will always support you!"
Listening to these sincere words of concern, a smile involuntarily appeared on Hashirama's face, and a sense of warmth rose in his heart.
He had personally killed his own best friend. To say that Hashirama felt no pain or regret would certainly be impossible. During this time, he often thought of his friendship with Madara and often recalled the scene where he plunged his sharp katana into Madara's back at the place now known by the villagers as the 'Valley of the End'.
Every time he thought of these things, his heart would ache as if pricked by needles. But at this moment, as he looked at the smiling faces of the people below the stage, as he saw Konohagakure getting better and better, he felt that this pain was all worth it!
"Madara, you always said I was wrong, but you should have seen this, seen these scenes. You would surely understand... It wasn't me who was truly wrong, but you!" Hashirama murmured softly.
And these words were heard by Hibari, who stood beside him, wearing a mask.
'It's useless. Madara-jiisan has his own pursuits...' Hibari thought to himself.
Long ago, when Hibari was learning Fire Release ninjutsu with Madara, he had considered whether to try and change 'Madara-jiisan's' mindset and ideas.
But Hibari quickly gave up on that idea.
The reasons were simple: firstly, Madara was an extremely proud person, and the prouder a person is, the less likely they are to change their mind easily. Similarly, Madara was incredibly powerful, which was also his capital. With that level of strength, only someone of equal strength would be qualified to say such things to him.
And unfortunately, that qualified person wasn't truly able to change his heart.
The second point was that Hibari couldn't expose the conspiracy behind it. Would it make sense for a mere child like him to suddenly tell Madara ancient stories about the Sage? Wouldn't that be ridiculous? Madara would have to be out of his mind to believe Hibari's words.
Even putting himself in Madara's shoes, if Hibari were him, comparing family records with the words of a child, which would he believe? Was there even a choice?
As Hibari pondered these matters, many people in the audience below were actually wondering about the two mysterious figures, one on his left and one on his right, standing beside Hashirama.
It was the Hokage's first public appearance after his recovery, and various clans from the village had sent representatives. After all, even if some disliked Hashirama, the proper procedures still had to be followed, and the necessary respect still had to be shown. Otherwise, they might be accused of disrespecting the Hokage, and what if they were subtly ostracized in the future?
At the forefront of the crowd, in the ranks formed by various ninja clans, Eizumi Uchiha looked at the figures of Hiruzen and Hibari, feeling somewhat strange. He frowned slightly and asked Kagami Uchiha, who was beside him, "Kagami, you have the best relationship with the Hokage. Who are those two standing next to the Hokage? Could it be that the Hokage is being held hostage?"
It wasn't surprising for him to have such a thought, as the sudden appearance of two strange individuals beside the Hokage would naturally spark curiosity.
Kagami glanced over and softly said, "I heard before that Hokage-sama was forming a brand new team, directly subordinate to the Hokage. It's a special unit, and no one else has the authority to command them. So, if nothing's amiss, those two should be the experts Hokage-sama found, right?"
"A special unit directly subordinate to the Hokage?" Eizumi was stunned, filled with doubt.
However, after thinking for a moment, he said, "How glorious it is to be able to serve Hokage-sama! Kagami, you must work hard and see if you can become a member of the Hokage's direct unit. If you succeed, then our Uchiha clan can grow closer to Hokage-sama."
Before this, the Hokage Residence had intended for their Uchiha clan to establish the security system. However, before that matter could be finalized, Madara Uchiha, the head of the Uchiha clan, brought the Nine-Tails to cause trouble in the village, almost wiping it out with a Tailed Beast Bomb.
This completely plunged the Uchiha clan, whose reputation was already not great, into a 'crisis of trust' within the village. The matter of forming any security force was completely dead in the water.
But Eizumi knew very well in his heart that his clansmen were already prepared to replace their clan head; why would they blindly go along with Madara to destroy Konoha?
However, his personal understanding was useless. Recently, whenever he went out, he always felt people pointing fingers behind his back, which greatly disturbed him.
Therefore, now, both to alleviate the impact the Uchiha clan suffered in this turmoil and to regain control over the security force matter, Eizumi was prepared to fawn over the Hokage Residence.
If Kagami, the clan member most admired and trusted by the Hokage Residence, could enter that special unit directly under the Hokage, it might become an opportunity to turn the tide, thereby deepening the relationship between the Uchiha clan and the Hokage Residence!
Actually, even without Eizumi mentioning it, Kagami himself had wanted to offer his services in the past couple of days and join that special unit directly under the Hokage.
It had nothing to do with profit or other disputes; he simply wanted to become the Hokage's strength, simply wanted to contribute to the Hokage, and thereby build a better Konohagakure.
"I understand, Elder. I will strive to join this unit," Kagami replied softly.
Looking at Kagami, Eizumi sighed and said, "Although we've had some ideological differences before, Kagami, what I'm doing now is all for the clan, for the village."
Leaving aside whatever the Uchiha clan was up to, the Hyūga clan, also a prominent family, also noticed Hibari and Hiruzen Sarutobi. Although the Hyūga clan was a bit slow, they were still a wealthy and prominent family in Konohagakure, and their intelligence network was very well-informed. Even if they couldn't understand everything, they knew that those two were likely part of the 'Hokage's Direct Unit' that had been subtly rumored recently.
"It seems that matter truly wasn't unfounded... In that case... our Hyūga clan should also contribute to Hokage-sama," the Hyūga clan head frowned, thinking thus.
As all these people harbored their own thoughts, Hashirama Senju, the Hokage, began to speak into the microphone.
"Thank you all for your concern. My body is currently fine; I'm just still a little uncomfortable and need some time to slowly recuperate."
Hashirama first sincerely thanked everyone for their concern and greetings. Then, once the scene gradually quieted down, he cleared his throat and said, "I believe many of you have already heard about a major event that occurred recently. That is, Byakuren, the First Mizukage of Kirigakure in the Land of Water, passed away due to illness not long ago. Now, Kirigakure has been taken over by Gengetsu Hōzuki, the Second Mizukage..."
Pausing slightly, Hashirama's tone grew somewhat wistful as he continued, "This matter has had quite an impact on me. Thinking about it carefully, I've served as the Hokage of our Konohagakure for over ten years now. I dare not claim to have made great achievements; I can only say I've done my utmost. Byakuren's passing has also made me realize that this era has begun to change. My abilities seem to be somewhat lacking in these areas, making me unable to continue bearing the heavy responsibility of the Hokage position..."
As Hashirama spoke these words, the crowd below immediately stirred. Not only that, but everyone in the village listening to the broadcast stopped what they were doing, their faces showing an expression of disbelief.
Even Orochimaru, who was reading at home, was stunned, wondering what he was thinking.
"Hokage-sama!!! No matter what, we will always support you, so please, do not say such things again!!"
"That's right, Hokage-sama!"
Listening to these words from the audience, Hashirama was also very emotional, almost wanting to follow the atmosphere and say that he would continue to work hard and so on.
However, he ultimately calmed down, opened the speech manuscript Tobirama had prepared for him, read it, then smiled and folded the manuscript, putting it away.
Then Hashirama said with a chuckle, "Although it might be somewhat inappropriate for me, as Hokage, to say these things, I also don't want to use overly official language to deceive everyone. In truth, I'm very tired. Perhaps many people think I am a qualified Hokage, but in reality, all of this is because I have many people behind me offering advice. This is not my achievement alone. Perhaps those who are familiar with me know that I am a bit slow-witted and cannot figure out many problems, always causing some embarrassing situations..."
His words actually made the previously restless crowd quiet down. Tobirama, standing not far away, had a face full of black lines, and even Hibari's masked face wore a half-smile, half-frown expression.
But then he thought, isn't this Hashirama's style? He was never one to stick to a script when giving a speech; this was the true First Hokage!
"In short, on one hand, it's for the sake of the village, and on the other, I also want to rest. So, after much careful deliberation, I have decided to step down as the First Hokage of Konohagakure starting today!" Hashirama said decisively, without hesitation.
As soon as his words fell, although everyone had already sensed some hints, their eyes still widened in shock.
What the heck?
How did a perfectly good speech turn into a resignation announcement?
Our Hokage-sama is quitting?
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