Chapter 242: The End for the Fourth Hokage and His Wife
Every pair of eyes fixed on the opening emergency room door, hoping for good news. The medical ninja who emerged removed his mask, his expression dark and heavy, instantly shattering their hopes.
"How is Lord Hokage?"
Hiruko asked urgently.
But the medical ninja didn't answer his question. He looked at Hiruko, Akimichi Torikaze, and Inuzuka Jaw with a respectful demeanor. "Lord Hokage Advisor, Elder Advisors, Lord Hokage requests your presence inside."
The corner of Hiruko's eye twitched. He took a deep breath and rushed into the emergency room.
Akimichi Torikaze and Inuzuka Jaw followed close behind. The three quickly entered, and the emergency room door closed again, cutting off the gazes of those remaining in the hallway.
Uchiha Fugaku stood among them, his fists clenched tight, his crimson Sharingan filled with pain and confusion.
Inside the emergency room, the thick smell of disinfectant filled the air.
Minato lay on the bed, his face pale as paper. His once-brilliant golden hair had lost its luster, as though covered by a layer of dust. His azure pupils no longer held their piercing radiance, showing only the stillness of a deep pool.
But what shocked them more was Uzumaki Kushina sitting on a stool beside the bed. The Nine-Tails jinchuriki of the Uzumaki clan no longer showed any trace of her former vitality. Her red hair, symbolizing her clan's tremendous life force, had turned pale. Fine wrinkles covered her once-smooth skin. Her life energy had weakened like a candle guttering in the wind.
"Lord Hokage!"
Hiruko rushed forward, unable to suppress the surging grief. Since becoming Hokage Advisor, his cooperation with Minato had been exceptionally pleasant. Though in his heart, his precious student Ritsu remained the most outstanding genius, Minato ranked a close second.
Seeing Minato barely clinging to life, his heart filled with sorrow.
Akimichi Torikaze's face showed grief.
Inuzuka Jaw's eyes reddened, barely holding back tears.
"Lord Hokage, you..."
Hiruko looked at Minato lying on the bed, suddenly finding himself at a loss for words. No matter what he said now, nothing seemed appropriate.
Minato remained calm. He looked at the speechless Hiruko and the two advisor elders with sorrowful, heavy expressions, even managing to pull at the corners of his mouth in a difficult smile.
"Advisor Hiruko, my time has come."
"Lord Hokage, please don't say such things! I've already ordered the Hyuga clan, Yamanaka clan, Aburame clan, and many ninja skilled in sensory techniques to be dispatched. They'll find Tsunade at the fastest speed and bring her back to the village. Once Tsunade arrives..."
"Advisor Hiruko, my life ends here. Even if Tsunade returns, it won't help. The time Kushina has bought me is limited. Please let me finish."
Hiruko immediately fell silent, indescribable grief brewing in his chest.
Minato paused, glancing at his wife sitting on the low stool beside the bed, watching him intently. He smiled, then turned to face Hiruko and the two elders standing on the other side.
"Though my time as Hokage was brief, and my abilities were limited, I believe I fulfilled my duties and protected the village with everything I had. Unfortunately, time proved insufficient. Many of my aspirations remain unrealized. But perhaps that's what life is—always filled with incompleteness and regret."
"After my death, Advisor Hiruko will temporarily assume the Hokage position. Afterward, you will select the Fifth Hokage."
"Kushina will... leave with me. The Nine-Tails has been sealed inside our son Naruto. As parents, we're not particularly competent—leaving him just after his birth."
"Advisor Hiruko, please... please look after Naruto in the future."
He finished these words in fits and starts.
After speaking, his condition visibly worsened. His gaze scattered, his consciousness barely maintained. But he still struggled to turn his head toward his wife sitting on the stool beside the bed, the corners of his mouth holding a smile. The light in his pupils gradually disappeared completely.
Kushina tightly gripped that hand still holding warmth. Crystalline tears welled in the corners of her eyes.
But she made no sound. She simply leaned gently against Minato, resting her head on his shoulder, slowly closing her eyes and completely stopping her breath.
At the same moment, the blonde-haired infant lying nearby seemed to sense something and let out a loud wail.
Witnessing all this, Hiruko and the others stood frozen.
News of the Fourth Hokage's death quickly spread throughout the entire village. Instantly, cries of grief echoed everywhere. Though Minato's time in office had been brief, his image was excellent, his affinity abundant, and during his administration, the village's situation had steadily improved.
Therefore, many villagers expressed genuine sorrow over the Fourth Hokage's passing. Among them, the Uchiha clan mourned most deeply.
Their clan had only just begun attempting to integrate into Konoha's larger community during the Fourth Hokage's administration. Now, with the Fourth Hokage dying in his prime, their clan's future had been cast in uncertain shadow.
Hokage Building—
The great conference room.
Konoha's prominent figures gathered. The last time so many had assembled was during the election between Namikaze Minato and Orochimaru for Fourth Hokage. This time, it was due to Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato's sudden death.
Uchiha Fugaku sat on one side of the conference table, his seat position quite forward—not marginalized as during the Third Hokage's tenure. But his mouth turned downward, nearly writing his unease across his face.
"Ahem!"
Hiruko, seated in the primary position, cleared his throat lightly, drawing everyone's attention to himself.
His expression was exceptionally heavy. "I regret to inform everyone of terrible news. Last night, the missing-nin Uchiha Tatsuhata attacked the village during the chaos. Lord Hokage fought the enemy to the death to protect the village, successfully driving out the missing-nin Tatsuhata. But he and his wife Uzumaki Kushina both suffered fatal injuries and perished."
"According to Lord Hokage's final orders, I will temporarily assume Hokage authority. But I'm very aware of my own limitations. In peaceful times, I could probably manage reasonably well."
"But now we cannot enjoy peace. The threat of missing-nin Tatsuhata still hangs over our heads. Last night's attack could happen again at any moment. Moreover, according to intelligence provided by Clan Head Hyuga, the missing-nin Tatsuhata and Orochimaru have likely colluded. While Tatsuhata attacked Konoha last night, Orochimaru also launched an assault on Iwagakure, attempting to steal the Rinnegan."
"Though Orochimaru was driven back by Clan Head Hyuga, shortly after Clan Head Hyuga was brought back to Konoha by Lord Hokage, Tatsuhata struck Iwagakure again, killed the Rock ninja Kitsuchi, and stole the Rinnegan!"
At these words, shock rippled through the room.
Most present only knew of the Fourth Hokage's death, but this subsequent intelligence was news to them. After hearing it, they sat restlessly, unable to conceal the worry and gravity on their faces.
Those qualified to attend this meeting basically represented a department, a clan, or a sufficiently large civilian ninja group. In short, they were all vested interests in Konoha village, naturally hoping the village would grow stronger and more prosperous.
They didn't want the village to suffer tremendous upheaval that might affect their own interests or even safety.
"How did Tatsuhata and Orochimaru end up working together? Did they know each other when they were in the village?"
"They didn't know each other. How old is Tatsuhata? He had no connection with Orochimaru. But they're both missing-nin from Konoha. The enemy of my enemy is my friend—even if Tatsuhata is too young to understand such simple logic, how could Orochimaru not?"
"I heard Uchiha Madara appeared during last night's battle? Is that true or false?"
Everyone talked over each other in noisy discussion.
Hiruko didn't stop them but gave everyone sufficient time to discuss, carefully listening to each person's comments, his gaze flowing uncertainly along both sides of the conference table.
The two advisor elders sat to his left and right.
Closer on both sides sat Ritsu, Uchiha Fugaku, Nara Shikaku, and others. The rest were arranged in order according to clan strength and personal position.
But Jiraiya's face couldn't be seen here.
Jiraiya wasn't present.
Ever since the raid on Amegakure ended, Jiraiya seemed to have wandered away from the village again, grieving over his student's death. Because he had a Hokage teacher and a Hokage student, no one objected to this "willfulness."
Jiraiya hadn't participated in last night's battle either.
Whether Minato hadn't contacted Jiraiya or simply couldn't reach him, in any case, Jiraiya wasn't currently in the village. Most likely, he didn't even know about Minato and Kushina's deaths yet.
Hiruko's thoughts wandered slightly. His claim about sending people to find Tsunade wasn't false. Even though Minato and Kushina had both passed away, he hadn't announced an end to the search for Tsunade. He'd even added personnel to search for Jiraiya's whereabouts.
He felt Konoha currently needed Tsunade and Jiraiya's strength.
Looking at last night's detailed intelligence report made his heart race with fear. The enemies had been the missing-nin Tatsuhata, the reanimated Uchiha Madara, and replicas of the First and Second Hokage controlled by Tatsuhata.
Even thinking about such a lineup now made his scalp tingle.
Therefore, he felt they needed to find Tsunade and Jiraiya—these top-tier combatants who had left the village but hadn't betrayed it. Only then could they counter the massive threat posed by that damned missing-nin Tatsuhata.
Of course, his precious student Ritsu disagreed with this approach but didn't stop him from doing it. Ritsu simply watched everything before him like an observer.
"Lord Hokage Advisor!!"
The loud call instantly snapped Hiruko from his distraction. He didn't panic but looked gravely at Nara Shikaku, who had called him.
He said nothing, simply staring at Shikaku.
Shikaku clearly understood Hiruko hadn't heard what he'd just said, so he took a deep breath and spoke again. "Lord Hokage Advisor, I was saying that everyone is now acutely aware of this severe situation, but we still don't understand the main purpose of this meeting."
"Need you ask?"
Hiruko glared. "Obviously, to pool our wisdom and figure out how to deal with the missing-nin Tatsuhata!"
Nara Shikaku smiled bitterly without a sound.
The others also fell silent.
They had no damn solutions.
Battles between ninja appeared full of uncertainty, but actually weren't that complicated. Essentially, the strong took everything. The reason the ninja world enjoyed peace while the First Hokage lived was because the First Hokage possessed the strength to dominate the entire ninja world. So no one dared give the First Hokage an excuse to act.
But after the First Hokage died, with no one strong enough to dominate everything, the five great ninja villages began their decades of warfare.
Now, the missing-nin Tatsuhata probably wasn't as formidable as the First Hokage. But even someone as capable as the Fourth Hokage had sacrificed his life. What methods could they possibly devise that would surpass what the Fourth Hokage had tried?
Impossible!
Hiruko's brow slowly furrowed. His gaze swept over everyone who remained silent, and he asked gravely, "What? Can't anyone think of even a single solution?"
Only weak breathing sounds filled the silence.
Hiruko's frown deepened.
At that moment, Uchiha Fugaku spoke. "Lord Hokage Advisor, I believe the urgent priority is to quickly select the Fifth Hokage."
Hiruko's brow relaxed slightly. He nodded in agreement. "Clan Head Uchiha, you're absolutely right. In this situation, we must select a truly capable and powerful person to inherit the Fifth Hokage position and lead the village through this crisis. I've already ordered people to search for and invite back Tsunade and Jiraiya. I hope either of them will inherit the Fifth Hokage position."
"What do you all think?"
He asked again.
Surprise and confusion flashed across many faces among those present.
Many of them had assumed Hiruko intended to make himself—the temporary Hokage Advisor—into the actual Fifth Hokage.
But now Hiruko was openly stating before so many people that he hoped Tsunade or Jiraiya would inherit the Fifth Hokage position. Surely he wouldn't lie to this many people...
"Clan Head Uchiha, what do you think?"
Seeing everyone still keeping silent, Hiruko couldn't help but call on people by name. Unsurprisingly, the first person named was Uchiha Fugaku, who had proposed selecting the Fifth Hokage.
Fugaku didn't panic. He'd prepared himself mentally before speaking. "Lord Hokage Advisor, I believe Lord Jiraiya is the suitable candidate! He was the Third Hokage's student and the Fourth Hokage's teacher. No one is more suited than him to shoulder the Hokage's burden in such difficult times!"