Danzo and the others' faces darkened. They naturally understood that Hiruzen wouldn't joke at a time like this.
But why did they know nothing about a contingency left behind by the First Hokage, Hashirama?
As true high-ranking figures and big shots of Konoha, discovering that the village still held secrets they were unaware of was… quite a blow to Danzo, Homura, and Koharu.
"This is something that only successive Hokage are qualified to know."
Sensing the gazes coming from behind him, Hiruzen spoke in an even tone.
The moment those words fell, the three of them were instantly silenced.
Their faces were still somewhat ugly, but they really had nothing to say. If only the Hokage was allowed to know, then they truly had no standing to complain.
Suddenly, something occurred to Danzo. He turned his eyes toward Jiraiya, and at once his expression grew even darker.
Their group moved quickly. It didn't take long before they arrived at the base of the Hokage's office building.
"How could the First's back-up plan be left in a place like the Hokage's office?"
Koharu frowned as she spoke.
As the nerve center of Konoha, who knew how many people went in and out of the Hokage building every day? If there were really any sort of secret hidden there, it should have been discovered long ago.
Hiruzen didn't answer Koharu's question. Instead, he turned to Jiraiya.
"Take out what I gave you, and use the hand seal sequence I taught you."
The moment Hiruzen finished speaking, the corner of Danzo's eye couldn't help but twitch.
Jiraiya froze for a second, then gave a bitter little smile. He'd had his guesses earlier…
But hearing what the old man had just said, it seemed the geezer really did intend for him to be the next Hokage.
From the corner of his eye, Jiraiya couldn't help sneaking a glance at Tsunade beside him—only to find her looking right back.
He hurriedly looked away. In his heart, compared to himself, Tsunade was definitely the best choice for Hokage.
Jiraiya took out an object from his cloak, something that looked like a key, then casually inserted it into the handle of the Hokage office's front door.
Right after, his hands began to flash through a special sequence of seals, moving so fast they blurred into afterimages.
"The contingency Lord First Hokage left behind isn't kept in the Hokage building itself, but in a small pocket dimension located here. That key, and the hand seals I taught you, are the key to opening that space."
Hiruzen explained calmly.
"Then why stick the key into the door handle? And what if the Hokage building gets destroyed by the enemy?"
Tsunade arched a brow and couldn't help asking.
"Ahem… whether the Hokage building exists or not doesn't actually matter. The key only serves to fix the coordinates of the pocket space."
Hiruzen coughed lightly and gave his explanation.
While Tsunade and Hiruzen were talking, Jiraiya had already finished the sealing sequence.
At the same time, a unique wave of energy spread out from the key.
In the next instant, everyone felt that the door in front of them had undergone some strange change, though its surface looked exactly the same as before.
Hiruzen took the lead, stepping forward as if he didn't see the door at all and walking straight into it—his entire body vanishing as he passed through.
The others stared blankly for a second. Before Jiraiya could even move, Danzo shouldered him aside, hurriedly following Hiruzen through.
Jiraiya: "..."
By the time everyone fully regained their senses, they realized they were already standing inside a not-very-large pocket dimension.
The entire space was only about twenty square meters. Not only was it small, it was also extremely bare.
With a single glance, everyone's eyes were drawn toward the three large scrolls standing upright in the center of the space.
Among these three scrolls, two were placed right in the middle, while the third was set off to one side, looking as if it had been left there at random.
Of the two central scrolls, one was nearly a full meter tall.
"So this is what Grandpa left behind as a contingency?"
Tsunade stared at the three scrolls, and as she sensed that faintly familiar chakra, her eyes couldn't help but grow a little red.
Hiruzen and the others also stared blankly at the three scrolls before them, unconsciously swallowing hard.
They didn't know what was sealed inside the scrolls, but just the chakra leaking out of them was enough to make their hearts pound.
"Old man, you've never been here before?"
Seeing the astonishment on Hiruzen's face, Jiraiya asked curiously.
"No. Back then, Tobirama-sensei told me that unless we reached truly desperate straits, we must never use the measures stored here, because those two scrolls in the very middle were left to deal with one specific individual."
Hiruzen's voice was low. If the current situation weren't so critical, he absolutely wouldn't have come here.
"Who?" Tsunade blinked, puzzled.
"First Mizukage Yuto."
Before Hiruzen could answer, Jiraiya seemed to recall something and spoke slowly.
With that name spoken aloud, everyone fell silent at once. They naturally knew that man wasn't dead.
"The two scrolls in the center were left behind to deal with him back then. So what's the deal with that scroll off to the side?"
Danzo narrowed his eyes slightly at Hiruzen.
"That scroll was a jutsu the First Hokage and Tobirama-sensei came up with incidentally while they were researching this contingency. We're here to retrieve that one."
Hiruzen replied in a level tone.
With that, he walked over to the scroll placed at the edge, gently lifted the large scroll into his arms, and came back to the group.
"Danzo, you can't touch those other two scrolls, and you will not touch them. Unless that First Mizukage shows himself in the shinobi world again, even if Konoha is destroyed, those two scrolls are not to be used."
Hiruzen fixed Danzo with a hard stare, his tone carrying clear warning and killing intent.
"You… you're hopelessly rigid."
Seething from the schemes he'd just been entertaining, Danzo could only force out three words.
Ignoring him, Hiruzen turned toward Tsunade, his expression softening.
"Tsunade, you still have the necklace the First left you, right?"
Though that's what he asked, his gaze had already settled on her neck.
A vein twitched on Tsunade's forehead. If Hiruzen didn't look so serious, she might have already raised a fist.
"What about Grandpa's keepsake?"
She glanced down at the necklace hanging from her neck, her tone carrying a hint of discomfort.