The Third Raikage arrived at Konohagakure very quickly. He seemed to be in a hurry, taking less than a week to cross the Land of Lightning, Land of the Moon, and Land of Hot Water to reach Konohagakure in the Land of Fire with a team of his men.
This was actually the first time the Third Raikage had come to Konoha. As soon as he entered the gates, his expression was filled with emotion. The scenery of Konoha was completely different from their Kumogakure.
Although he could see some signs of suppression and sadness, Kumogakure's economy wasn't doing very well. They had just suffered the bitter consequences of defeat and rebellion, and the entire village was at a low point. There was no life, and everyone who went out had a somber expression on their face.
In contrast, in Konoha, although many people had sadness in their eyes, they were still filled with hope for life. At the same time, because the Mitsumine Group was headquartered here and provided a large number of jobs, Konoha's economy was still very good. Even after a war, it still felt vibrant and prosperous.
Just by looking at it, the Third Raikage could see the gap between Kumogakure and Konoha.
"If Konoha didn't also need peace and balance, we might have suffered an even more tragic fate..." the Third Raikage whispered softly to himself.
As soon as the Third Raikage and his team arrived at Konoha, Danzō Shimura, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado came to greet them and lead them to the Hokage Residence to meet with Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage.
Danzō was still officially part of the Anbu, but the Root was already beginning to take shape. Hibari estimated that when the time was right, Danzō would likely propose to separate the Root from the Anbu and turn it into its own independent department.
Hibari didn't plan to object to this. After all, it was a good idea to decentralize the massive Anbu. Otherwise, under his influence, the Anbu's power and authority were too great, which was not good for the village's long-term development.
Moreover, Hiruzen was too soft-hearted and emotional, and Hibari didn't want him to be caught in the middle. Most importantly, he wasn't ready to have a falling-out with Danzō just yet. He might still need him in the future.
As for Homura and Koharu, they had now become 'advisors' and were specifically tasked with helping Hiruzen handle the political affairs of the village, making them part of the village's leadership.
This was inevitable.
This position didn't exist in the past.
On one hand, Konohagakure was not yet fully developed and didn't have such a large political body. The Hokage could handle everything alone.
On the other hand, Tobirama was a genius at governance. When his brother, Hashirama, was Hokage, he had already been watching from the side, and it could be said that he handled most of the political affairs. When he became Hokage himself, he was a very skilled leader and basically didn't need anyone to assist him.
On top of that, the first two Hokage were so powerful that even if others wanted to assist them, they had to see if they were qualified and could keep up with them.
But Hiruzen was different. Tobirama had already been half a Hokage before he even took the position, so he wasn't unfamiliar with it. However, although Hiruzen had been trained by Tobirama for a while, he was still lacking in some areas and wasn't as skilled at handling various matters.
Therefore, the position of 'advisor' came into being to assist him in handling the political affairs of Konohagakure so he could focus on the things a Hokage should do.
Originally, Hiruzen had also invited Hibari and Danzō to be advisors, but Danzō was completely focused on creating the Root. In his opinion, the position of advisor was just an honorary title with no real power. If they met an easygoing Hokage, they might be able to offer a few opinions. But if they met a Hokage with a strong charismatic presence, they would have no real presence at all.
It was better to quietly develop his own power and prepare to compete for the position of Fourth, Fifth, or even Sixth Hokage. He refused to believe that he could never become a Hokage in his life. He couldn't always be worse than that clown Hiruzen, could he?
As for Hibari, he really didn't care for the position of advisor. He also couldn't stand Koharu and Homura, much less work with them. That was a no-go.
He was genuinely afraid that he wouldn't be able to control himself and would just beat up these two people, who sometimes had problems in the head.
Therefore, both Danzō and Hibari decisively rejected the offer, which made Hiruzen a little awkward, but their relationship was still very good, so the matter was dropped.
"Raikage-sama, welcome to Konohagakure. The Hokage-sama has been waiting for a long time. Please follow us..." Koharu stepped forward and said in a very poised manner.
Danzō also looked down on his 'teammate,' but at this moment, he also felt that Koharu and Homura were very easy to use. It was also quite good to have them handle these miscellaneous visitors, so having them as advisors was a good thing for him.
The Third Raikage nodded. As he followed the three of them towards the Hokage Residence, he asked softly, "I wonder how the health of Second Hokage-sama Senju Tobirama is? The things that happened before truly made everyone in Kumogakure feel ashamed beyond measure. So I came here to personally apologize to Second Hokage-sama Senju Tobirama..."
Danzō knew very well that Tobirama was not in any serious danger, as he was one of the participants in the plan. But Homura and Koharu were not. It was best for as few people as possible to know about such confidential matters.
So even though they were a bunch of advisors, they had no idea about Tobirama's true condition. They genuinely believed that Tobirama had been severely injured.
And since Tobirama was their sensei, their expressions became gloomy after hearing the Third Raikage's question, and there was a hint of hatred in their eyes. But due to the current situation, they suppressed their indignation.
Homura said in a deep voice, "Second Hokage-sama is currently recuperating at home. Due to his physical condition, he cannot handle the affairs of the village, and he has passed the Hokage title to Third Hokage-sama. Therefore, many matters of Konohagakure are now handled by Third Hokage-sama. Second Hokage-sama has already announced that he is not accepting any visitors. Even we are unable to see him. So, although we will report your apology to Second Hokage-sama, we hope that you, Raikage-sama, do not hold out too much hope."
During the questioning, the Third Raikage had been carefully observing the expressions of the three people. But Danzō was an old fox and would naturally not reveal anything. Homura and Koharu didn't know anything, so their genuine reactions made the Third Raikage even more certain that Tobirama was indeed severely injured and could no longer serve as Hokage.
If that was the case, although his side might have to pay a greater price and would inevitably be exploited by Konoha, he still felt a little 'secretly happy' deep down. After all, Tobirama was one of Konoha's top masters. If something happened to him, it would be a weakening of Konoha's strength. So it wasn't so difficult for him to bleed a little.
"That's truly a pity that I can't personally express our apologies from Kumogakure to Second Hokage-sama..." the Third Raikage said, shaking his head with a feigned look of regret.
Then, under the guidance of the other three, the Third Raikage's group quickly arrived at the Hokage Residence. Of course, Hiruzen wouldn't receive the Third Raikage in his office, so they didn't go in that direction. Instead, they soon arrived at a large meeting room.
Torifu and other guards were standing at the door of the meeting room. Hiruzen, wearing the Hokage hat and a ceremonial robe with the words 'Third Hokage' on it, was holding a smoking pipe and waiting in the meeting room for the Third Raikage's arrival.
As soon as he saw the Third Raikage enter, Hiruzen said, "It must have been a tough journey for you, Third Raikage-sama. I have been waiting for your arrival for a long time."
Although Hiruzen's words sounded very polite, his demeanor was anything but. He didn't even get up. He was in a condescending posture, and with a smoking pipe in his hand, he looked a bit aggressive.
This was the atmosphere he was deliberately trying to create. The two nations had just been fighting to the death not long ago, and a formal peace treaty hadn't even been signed yet. When you got down to it, the two villages were still in a state of war. On top of the previous 'rebellion and ambush,' it would be strange if he gave the Third Raikage a warm welcome. That would only make the Third Raikage think that Konoha was easy to bully.
To be more precise, Konohagakure was the 'victor' of the war. It was only natural for him to have a superior attitude when the losing nation came to apologize.
Although the Third Raikage felt very wronged by Hiruzen's demeanor, for the sake of his village, he, as the Raikage, had to endure it.
So he forced a stiff smile onto his face and said, "I apologize for making you wait, Hokage-sama."
After some unwilling pleasantries, Hiruzen was the first to ask, "May I ask the purpose of your visit to our Konoha, Raikage-sama?"
The Third Raikage was silent for a moment, then said, "Due to the various events that have taken place, the misunderstandings between our two nations and villages have deepened. Therefore, I have come here to apologize to everyone in Konohagakure. The matter of Kinkaku and Ginkaku was a major mistake on the part of Kumogakure, which has caused immeasurable losses and heartbreaking realities for both sides. On the other hand, I also want to inherit the will of my sensei and completely end the war between our two nations. I also hope that our two nations can sign a peace treaty and even... become allies!"
Hearing this, Hiruzen's gaze under the Hokage hat became more oppressive. He said softly, "To be honest, it is very difficult for us to believe that Kumogakure truly holds a desire for peace. Therefore, the signing of a peace treaty may not be as simple as you think, Third Raikage-sama..."
The Third Raikage also looked at Hiruzen with an oppressive gaze and said, "I am very willing to reassure Konoha that Kumogakure has indeed come with sincerity and a desire for peace!"
While these two 'Kage' were clashing with each other, Hibari was at the Senju clan's main residence, working on some inexplicable things with Tobirama and that fellow Kakuzu.
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