The Village was ravaged by floods, and by the vigorous vines and trees that were still sprouting from the ground. The air was thick with flying yellow sand and pollen.
Countless villagers lay in pools of blood. From the spot where the Hidden Sand Village Ninja summoned the giant snake at the Village entrance, all the way to the Chunin Exams arena, almost every building over three meters tall had vanished. Bodies of Ninja and villagers lay strewn everywhere.
Konoha Hospital's Kanpo director was organizing emergency relief. Ino's fifty Shadow Clones, accompanied by clones of the Slug Sage, immediately joined the rescue efforts. If they saw anyone with pollen allergies, they recommended them to Yamanaka Flower Shop for medicine, as it's always best to treat illnesses early.
Villagers spontaneously rose to help with the rescue. The owners of the BBQ restaurant, Ichiraku Ramen, Amaguriama, Mantendō, and Shueisha, all mobilized their staff to assist.
Older students from the Konoha Ninja Academy also emerged from the shelters. Seeing the devastation in the Village, these half-grown children all stepped forward to help.
Naruto, seeing Ino's fifty Shadow Clones, was greatly inspired. "I know this jutsu! Five hundred Shadow Clones, go!"
Sasuke and Sakura also joined the rescue efforts.
Everyone, including Asuma, who was his biological son, believed that the Third Hokage, who had used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, had perished. The two Advisors, while directing, quietly discussed candidates for the new Hokage.
They were much like Shikaku, with a clear understanding of themselves. They were good at offering advice and making cynical remarks, but when it came to making final decisions, they fell short.
Neither of them had any ambition to become Hokage; they simply wanted to continue being Advisors. Thirty years wasn't too short, and fifty years wasn't too long.
How great it was to be an Advisor! During wartime, the Hokage took the lead. In peacetime, they held high positions of power. And if something truly went wrong, their role was merely advisory, so they bore no responsibility!
"How about... Danzo?" Utatane Koharu asked in a low voice.
Homura Mitokado slowly shook his head. Danzo antagonized everyone. Besides showing a bit of deference to Utatane Koharu, the cun hua of their generation, the other two male members of their F4 group had been repeatedly challenged by him.
Homura Mitokado didn't want to see Danzo's deathly pale face every day.
Moreover, Danzo's methods were too ruthless and disregarded rules too much.
"The Daimyo won't agree to Danzo becoming Hokage," he said, gesturing with his chin towards the white-haired man in the red cloak in the distance, who was Jiraiya, having just arrived from the Village entrance to provide support.
He meant, "What about this guy?"
As a woman, Utatane Koharu naturally felt no goodwill towards Jiraiya, who was like a lecherous fiend. "That old man, the Third, was always peeking around with his crystal ball. I had to activate a barrier just to take a bath. And now what? Do I have to keep being on guard?"
The old woman shook her head vigorously. "No!"
Tsunade, Kakashi, and even Shikaku were within their scope of consideration. The two discussed in low voices.
It turned out that Naruto truly possessed a pure heart. Seeing the Third Hokage lying on the ground like a corpse, he immediately rushed over, wailing.
After only a couple of cries, he realized that the Third Hokage was still alive, albeit with an extremely faint breath.
"That...?" Seeing everyone busy as a hive of bees, he wanted to call someone to treat the Third, but for a moment, he didn't know whom to call.
Kakashi hadn't returned to the Village, Asuma had just led people to the Village entrance, Iruka and others were busy with rescues, and Ino? He was afraid Ino's healing jutsu would accidentally kill his beloved Third Grandpa...
He gestured repeatedly, calling Sakura-chan over.
Sakura-chan's healing abilities were very strong. She had graduated from Lady Tsunade's tutelage in just two years. Her talent in Medical Ninjutsu was indeed high, but she had only just received the "First Hokage's" Medical Ninjutsu and had bought a fish last night. How could she know any Medical Ninjutsu now?
"What? What happened?" Jiraiya, seeing Naruto's anxious expression, immediately came to help.
Naruto's trust in the "Pervy Sage" was far from as high as it would be three years later. If Jiraiya were to take his wallet now, buy an ice cream, and then only give him half of it instead of the whole thing, he would definitely get angry.
But this was at least an acquaintance, so he told him that the Third was still alive.
Jiraiya looked at the Third and also detected the extremely faint breath.
He quickly called Ino's Shadow Clones and the Slug Sage. Ino aside, the Slug Sage's healing abilities were trustworthy.
More and more people gathered here. Konohamaru, crying and shouting, the Third Hokage's loyal retainers, Jonin like Morino Ibiki, Namikaze Raidō, Shiranui Genma, and Yūgao Uzuki, all gathered.
The two Advisors also realized at this point, "What? The Third is still alive? Alive after using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal? This isn't how a Ninja works!"
Their expressions were awkward, but they still rushed over to watch the Slug Sage treat the Third Hokage.
With a large amount of Sage Art Chakra infused, the Third's heartbeat was finally heard by a few people.
Time quickly moved into the evening. Many villagers and Ninja who had lost their homes and families could only spend the night in tents.
The Fifteenth Ino–Shika–Choji and the Sixteenth Ino–Shika–Choji gathered to discuss the next steps for their three clans. In other words, they needed to invest in a new Hokage: who to invest in, and how much resource to allocate.
Actually, for the Ino–Shika–Choji alliance, Shikaku becoming Hokage would be most in line with the interests of the three clans. He was absolutely one of their own, but he himself had given up the position.
"I think Lady Tsunade is more suitable," Shikaku said.
As soon as Tsunade returned to the Village, he took Shikamaru to "report on work," and the Nara Clan's long-term supply of deer antlers to Konoha Hospital also proved that their private relationship was good.
The Akimichi Clan had connections with everyone.
The Yamanaka Clan's relationship with Tsunade was originally average, but now with Ino, that relationship instantly became close.
If Inoichi were to retire now and Ino inherited the position of clan head, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Yamanaka Clan was directly affiliated with the Hokage.
Ino saw the three of them nod and said, "I will leave the Village tomorrow to persuade my teacher to return."
Shikaku was very good at reading expressions and had enough information. He noticed a hint of something in Ino's expression and couldn't help but frown, asking, "Could it be that Lady Tsunade's illness... hasn't been cured all these years?"
Shikamaru and Choji didn't know what illness was being discussed, so they remained silent.
Inoichi and Choza's expressions changed slightly. This was indeed not good news.
No matter how much Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado, the two Advisors, were criticized, at critical moments, they also had to go to the battlefield and kill people.
How could a Ninja who couldn't stand the sight of blood become Hokage?
Shikaku had no intention of explaining to his son and chubby nephew. He pressed, "How serious is it?"
"Only that it's very serious."
The three clans immediately adjusted their plan. Ino would still go to persuade Tsunade. At the very least, they needed to show the attitude of "we thought of you first." If Tsunade didn't agree, then they would ask her whom she supported.
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