The crowd of "big shots" kept growing, but faced with Senju Mori drenched in blood and the corpse of Senju Tobirama strapped to his back, no one dared be the first to speak.
At last, an elder of the Senju clan took the lead. With a long sigh, he said, "Ah—tell us, boy Mori. What on earth happened?"
Senju Mori seemed to forget how fiercely they had clashed at the clan meeting in the shrine a few days ago. He put on the look of a junior finally seeing his elder and couldn't hide his excitement.
This was exactly when he needed the golden plaque of "the Senju clan."
His eyes were rimmed red. His voice was hoarse and low. "Lord Hokage fought few against many and was besieged by the Gold and Silver Brothers and their men from Kumogakure. He cut down Ginkaku by himself and several Cloud jōnin, but by the time I arrived, his wounds were already beyond saving. There was nothing left to do."
"At the very end, Lord Hokage still fought on. Together we slew Kinkaku, who was likewise gravely injured. Fearing more Cloud reinforcements, I had no choice but to bring Lord Tobirama's remains back to Konoha."
Mori's voice caught in his throat, sounding like true feeling laid bare, and the onlookers couldn't help but be moved.
Except… the Hokage's disciples present.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was far too quick-witted. However heartfelt Mori's performance seemed, Hiruzen still picked out the malice threaded through it.
"Outnumbered." "Surrounded." "Almost perished together with the enemy." And at the end, a quiet hint that "there were no further Cloud reinforcements."
Who Mori was aiming at was already obvious.
But since Mori hadn't torn the veil in public, Hiruzen naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to jump out and draw fire. He even pulled Danzō, who was about to protest, back into place.
Even without speaking, Hiruzen could still feel many ambiguous gazes landing on him.
Not all of them friendly.
After hearing Mori's account, the Senju elder who had just asked the question felt things getting thorny. He hesitated a moment, then forced himself to say, "Mori, boy, you look badly hurt. Shouldn't we have the medical corps shinobi…"
"Old thief, how hateful."
Mori didn't voice it, but he cursed in his heart.
Old men who ignore clan interests "for stability," for the so-called "greater good," ought to be executed one by one under the clan rules passed down from the Warring States.
But there was no way Mori would let him steer the topic aside. He ignored the man outright and raised his voice to address everyone present.
"Everyone! In years past, Lord Hashirama fell in battle to protect Konoha. Today, Lord Tobirama also sacrificed himself to shield the younger generation and fully uphold the Will of Fire."
"Though we are still beneath the clouds of war, though we have just lost our most beloved Hokage—"
"Do not hesitate, and do not lose heart. As they say, 'Where the leaves dance, the fire burns ever on.'"
"I will inherit the Will of Fire of these two lords. With my life and blood I will protect our village, our comrades, our juniors. I will protect every person of Konoha."
When Mori finished, the crowd erupted in applause.
The sight of him, gripping the Banana Fan and a huge scroll, with the former Hokage Senju Tobirama on his back, seared itself deep into every heart.
Having said his piece, Mori did not linger. Surrounded by the clan's younger members, he parted the crowd and left.
Prepare Tobirama's funeral. Plot to contend with Sarutobi Hiruzen for the Hokage's seat. Start courting the major clans in the village…
He had many things to do.
…
By his count, there were three and a half days left until the "Hokage Election Day" the Konoha jōnin had agreed upon.
After handing Tobirama's remains to his clansmen for temporary care, Mori did not hurry back to the Senju compound. Instead, he headed to the Akimichi family's yakiniku shop and ate to his heart's content.
Out in the field there had been no chance or time to cook. He had been living on soldier pills for days. His stomach needed a proper reward.
An aside: every yakiniku shop in Konoha is run by the Akimichi, just as every flower shop in Konoha is run by the Yamanaka. They all share the same name—"Yakiniku Q."
If you must tell them apart, you can only label them in your head with names like "Yakiniku Q (West of the Hokage Building)."
Mori rolled his neck to shake off the pointless mischief in his head, then ate while listening to the chatter around him.
Channeling chakra to the ears can't match the Inuzuka clan's secret arts, but slightly boosting one's hearing isn't difficult.
After a few minutes, a satisfied smile crept onto Mori's face.
Seems Yu did well. The five of Sarutobi Hiruzen had already become the "hottest topic" inside Konoha.
Of course, it wasn't all negative.
Thanks to Hiruzen's old good name and real strength, quite a few shinobi didn't believe he and the others would abandon the Hokage and flee.
Ironically, among ordinary civilians, the slander found a market. Many villagers now wore open disdain the moment Hiruzen's name was mentioned.
Fed and watered, Mori walked straight for the door.
Not because he meant to throw his weight around and dine and dash, but because his family was, in effect, a minority owner of this Yakiniku Q.
Back when Konoha was first built, at least half the key posts were held by Senju.
If the clansmen of the "God of Shinobi," First Hokage Senju Hashirama, only wanted to co-invest in a yakiniku shop with you—without stiffing you—were you really going to hem and haw?
Of course, that had been his father's generation's investment. Strictly speaking, Mori was a second-generation heir.
"Sigh—"
Thinking of this, Mori couldn't help but sigh again. Under the operations of the Second, Senju Tobirama, the splendor the Senju had enjoyed in Hashirama's day was gone for good.
Unlike the easygoing Hashirama, who would compromise on any non-principle issue, Tobirama showed little favor even to his own clan.
Take apprentices, for example. The old fossils in the clan had pressed him at least five times, and Tobirama never budged an inch.
"That evil white-haired old ghost!"
"Good thing he's finally dead!"
Humming a nameless tune, Mori stepped into the Senju compound.
The Senju compound sits very close to the center of Konoha. From the rooftops you can clearly see the upper half of the Hokage Building.
So it didn't take long to get there after leaving Yakiniku Q (West of the Hokage Building).
It was land allotted when the village was founded. No matter how little favor Tobirama showed, he couldn't force the clansmen to move for no reason.
Oh—almost forgot.
Mori smacked his forehead as it came back to him.
Tobirama had been preparing to dissolve the Senju as a clan. Once the Senju no longer lived together, there'd be no need for such a large compound.
"That evil white-haired old ghost."
"Good thing he's finally dead~"
...