The Third Hokage fell silent for a long time. He instinctively reached for his pipe, wanting to numb the unease in his chest… only to realize it wasn't there.
Jiraiya wasn't wrong.
Ever since the night of the Nine-Tails attack, his suppression of the Hyuga clan and his tolerance of Danzo had slowly eroded the prestige he had built since the Second Great Ninja War.
On the surface, the Konoha jonin still obeyed him.
But behind his back?
Disobedience had long since taken root.
And those jonin held key positions across the village. Even as Hokage, he couldn't just act against them without reason.
Now, even his supposed supporters—the Ino–Shika–Cho clans, even his own disciples—were opposing him.
At this point… the only force he could still fully command was ANBU.
And that realization made one thing clear.
It was time to step down.
The Third Hokage slowly looked up at Jiraiya, then took out a pen and paper. Calmly, he wrote a document relinquishing his position.
When he finished, he handed it over, his gaze carrying a strange weight.
"Give this to the ANBU commander… he'll know what to do."
With that, he stood up, walked to the window, and silently gazed out at Konoha.
...
After securing the Third Hokage, Jiraiya moved quickly.
He contacted the ANBU commander and brought in the two elder advisors—Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane.
When they saw Jiraiya's determined expression and the signed resignation document, both advisors were stunned.
But in the end… they accepted reality.
This wasn't like the Uchiha incident.
This was closer to a prince's rebellion—an internal transfer of power.
Handled properly, it wouldn't cause large-scale chaos. At worst, a few scapegoats would be thrown out to stabilize public opinion.
With the advisors' cooperation, Jiraiya smoothly took control of ANBU.
He quickly installed his own trusted people into key positions—captains, squad leaders—and Kakashi played a major role in ensuring the transition went without resistance.
But sitting in the Hokage's office?
That was only the beginning.
The real problems came next.
Stacks of documents needing approval.
Decisions about the Third Hokage and Danzo.
And most importantly… reform.
Executing the Third Hokage was out of the question.
At most, he could be placed under house arrest.
Anything more than that?
Jiraiya himself wouldn't accept it—and neither would the village.
In Konoha, the bond between master and student was sacred. It was part of the very foundation of the Will of Fire.
Destroy that… and the entire village's morale could collapse.
What Jiraiya needed was a way to expose the Third Hokage's mistakes—without completely destroying his legacy.
A balance.
And honestly?
Most of these thoughts came from his discussions with Naruto.
Clicking his tongue, Jiraiya shook his head. Thinking too much wasn't helping.
There was one thing that couldn't wait.
Danzo.
He had to be brought down.
Just then, Tsunade pushed open the office door, her expression dark.
Jiraiya immediately stood up.
"Tsunade, how did it go? Did you capture Danzo?"
Tsunade shook her head, clearly irritated.
"Nothing but traps in the Root base."
"Danzo's gone. He fled Konoha with a group of his men."
"And to make things worse, he's already spreading news about our coup."
Jiraiya's face darkened as well. He turned to the advisors.
"Danzo's forces were supposedly restricted by the old man. So where the hell did he get the resources to support so many subordinates?"
The advisors stayed silent.
They weren't involved in building private armies—and they had no intention of getting dragged into that mess.
Their silence said everything.
Jiraiya already knew the answer anyway.
The Third Hokage.
But now?
The old man had already stepped down and relinquished control of ANBU.
Tsunade didn't bother with the advisors. Her tone turned even colder.
"Danzo escaping isn't the main issue."
"The real problem is what we found in Root."
She paused, her eyes sharp.
"He's been using my grandfather's cells to conduct Wood Release experiments."
"And that's not all—there were Sharingan and other bloodline samples in the base."
"He's been experimenting on Konoha's own shinobi… turning them into weapons."
The room went dead silent.
Homura and Koharu's expressions darkened instantly.
They had thought Danzo was being kept in check.
Instead, he had just gone underground—and escalated everything.
This wasn't ambition anymore.
This was madness.
At that moment, Kakashi walked in, his face as calm as ever.
"It gets worse."
"Danzo has been secretly cooperating with Orochimaru."
"Their research focuses on the Uchiha's Sharingan."
"They even sent people to try and steal my Sharingan."
"And the one who attacked Uchiha Shisui back then… was Danzo."
He glanced at Tsunade.
"Frankly, Tsunade-sama, it's a good thing you didn't run into him."
"With a Mangekyō Sharingan, he might've actually tried to take you down."
Everyone exchanged glances, slightly surprised at Kakashi's involvement—but it made sense.
Without him, even with the Third Hokage's written order, ANBU wouldn't have submitted so easily.
The ANBU captain had been crucial to this coup.
And a teacher and student joining forces against their former superior?
That was just Konoha politics at work.
At its core, this was simply a shift of power—and a purge of Danzo.
"…Orochimaru is still working with him…" Jiraiya muttered through gritted teeth.
Kakashi chose not to comment.
After all, Jiraiya and Orochimaru's relationship wasn't exactly simple either.
Instead, he got straight to the point.
"Right now, the priority is to declare Danzo a rogue ninja."
"And we need to appoint the Fifth Hokage immediately to stabilize the village."
As soon as he said that, everyone's gaze fell on Jiraiya and Tsunade.
One of them had to take the position.
Leaving the Hokage seat empty?
That was just asking for chaos.
Tsunade crossed her arms, staring directly at Jiraiya.
"I'm not interested in being Hokage."
"I'll leave Konoha again sooner or later."
"And this whole situation? You started it."
"So the Fifth Hokage… is you. No arguments."
Jiraiya glanced at the mountain of documents on the desk, swallowed hard, then shook his head.
"Tsunade-hime, you're the First Hokage's granddaughter and the head of Konoha's medical system."
"You're far more suitable than me to become the Fifth Hokage."
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