Chapter 78 - The Tense Atmosphere of the Hokage Office
Hearing the only good news so far, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
Sarutobi Hiruzen reached out to pick up the pipe placed on the side of the table again, hung it by his mouth, and after a moment of slight silence, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke again:
"Have you confirmed the news with Naruto and the others?"
Iruka nodded, a serious look appearing on his face:
"The general process is already clear. Listening to the description of the three of them, it seems that ninjas from the Konoha Anbu killed Kinoshita Jiro of the Mist Ninja Village."
"Then Team Kakashi was attacked by Mist Ninja Village ninjas, while Jonin Kakashi held off the Mist Ninja Village ninjas, creating an opportunity for Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to escape..."
Speaking up to here, Iruka's voice paused slightly, and he continued: "After that, Naruto somehow caused a leakage of the Nine-Tails chakra. They don't know what happened afterwards."
Konoha Anbu?
Hearing these words, Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyelids twitched slightly. He naturally knew that this could not have been done by the Konoha Anbu, so there was only one result.
The conversation with Danzo back then only mentioned making contact with Kinoshita Jiro, not killing him.
Danzo, you act too recklessly!
A look of ugliness flashed across Sarutobi Hiruzen's face. If he had killed the other party unknowingly, it would have been fine, but now people from the Mist Ninja Village seemed to already know it was them.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a light puff of smoke. Although the information obtained was not comprehensive, he still felt a faint trace of strangeness.
Unfortunately, Kakashi was still in a coma. If he woke up, perhaps everything that happened would become clear.
"Lord Hokage, Naruto definitely did not mean to do that."
Iruka looked at the silent Sarutobi Hiruzen and hurriedly spoke.
After all, although Naruto in his Tailed Beast form had lost consciousness, it was a fact that he hurt people from the same village. Iruka was very worried that Naruto would be punished by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Seeing Iruka's nervous expression, a smile appeared on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face, and he spoke in a relaxed voice:
"Rest assured, Iruka. This matter is not Naruto's fault, and I will not punish Naruto."
"By the way, Iruka, how are the emotions of Naruto and the others?"
Iruka shook his head, his tone carrying a trace of low spirits: "Having experienced this matter, Naruto and the others' spirits are somewhat low, especially Naruto."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, not showing a look of surprise on his face. After all, hovering on the edge of life and death, probably no one's spirits would be high.
However, Naruto could be said to have grown up under Sarutobi Hiruzen's watch. Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally understood Naruto's personality; he would probably recover before long.
So, Sarutobi Hiruzen was not too worried.
"Kakashi won't wake up for the time being. I will leave the three of them to you to look after during this period. After all, you are also their teacher and are familiar with them."
"During this time, I will trouble you, Iruka, to help Naruto adjust his emotions. By the way, do not tell Naruto about the matter of injuring Kakashi for now."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Iruka, a serious look appearing on his face.
"No problem, Lord Third!"
Iruka hurriedly spoke respectfully. Even if the Third Lord did not say it, he would still do so.
Watching Iruka exit the Hokage Office, the smile on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face slowly disappeared.
He reached out his finger and tapped on the table in front of him. Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen was thinking...
The office door suddenly opened, and Danzo walked in with large strides, his face gloomy.
"I said long ago regarding the matter of the Jinchuriki, the Jinchuriki is an unstable factor and must be handed over to Root for supervision."
"And there is the orphan of the Uchiha clan, Hiruzen. You should know what his existence means to Konoha. If something happens to Uchiha Sasuke, you should know the consequences!"
As soon as Danzo entered the office, he went straight to the point without any nonsense, speaking impassionedly to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Uchiha Sasuke was one thing; after all, there was a ruthless person standing behind him. But for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Danzo had always wanted to take him into Root.
And this time, the leakage of the Nine-Tails chakra was a great opportunity for Danzo.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Danzo expressionlessly. Only after Danzo finished saying everything did Sarutobi Hiruzen speak coldly: "Kinoshita Jiro is dead."
Danzo was stunned, unable to react for a moment.
Regarding what happened in the Land of Waves, no one knew what happened except for Team Kakashi. And as soon as Kakashi and the others returned to the village, the Anbu took over everything.
Therefore, apart from knowing about the Nine-Tails chakra leakage, Danzo's knowledge of other information was limited.
"Kinoshita Jiro died at the hands of Root people. It was seen by Team Kakashi at the scene, and they even clashed with ninjas from the Mist Ninja Village. You didn't know about this matter, right?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Danzo coldly.
Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, Danzo's expression changed slightly. He did indeed give secret orders that if Kinoshita Jiro was found, to bring back his head directly.
But all this was premised on secrecy. Based on Root's code of conduct, they shouldn't make such a small mistake.
Moreover, the Root ninjas he sent out had not returned any news yet.
Could it be!
Danzo's expression changed. He raised his head to look directly at Sarutobi Hiruzen and said: "If I say I am not clear about this matter, do you believe it?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned and did not speak.
Although Danzo's methods were sometimes a bit despicable, he shouldn't make such an obvious mistake.
Of course, it was also possible that Danzo did it on purpose, but that possibility was relatively small.
However, there was one thing Sarutobi Hiruzen could be sure of: Naruto and Sasuke probably wouldn't lie.
Bang!
The office door, which had just been closed not long ago, was violently pushed open again.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo frowned at the same time and looked in the direction the sound came from.
They saw two elderly people walk directly in.
In the entire Konoha Village, the people who could enter and exit the Hokage Office without scruples could be counted on one hand.
These two people were the highest officials of the Konoha Administrative Division, responsible for managing Konoha's government affairs, existing like elders: Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
The Administrative Division was a relatively special institution in Konoha. Generally, it would not interfere with the village's internal affairs, but once this department intervened, it meant that something affecting the entire Konoha had happened.
As soon as these two people walked in and saw Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo in the office with a somewhat tense atmosphere, they were slightly stunned.
"Since everyone is here, that is best."
Mitokado Homura looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo and smiled gently, but his voice was somewhat low.
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