"Tsunade… Jiraiya… you are even blaming Nawaki's death on me?"
"What does that have to do with this old man?"
After Rasa gathered all the points from the tenth rumor, he officially established Nawaki's death as the eleventh rumor. With Sunagakure's assistance, the spread of Nawaki's death greatly intensified.
"I understand now! So this is why Tsunade left Konoha."
One person revealed a look of realization.
"Before, Konoha's people said Tsunade and Jiraiya had never cared about Konoha, that they weren't qualified to represent Konoha, and that they ignored Konoha during its most difficult times."
"They said those two had no sense of responsibility and were unworthy of being Konoha shinobi."
"Now everything is clear. Konoha wronged them first."
At that moment, Tsunade issued a new speech.
"For Konoha, the Senju clan abandoned its surname. Yet this is the treatment we received in return."
"That is enough to prove that Grandfather's decision back then was wrong!"
"The decision to abandon our surname was wrong!"
"I wish to rebuild the Senju clan."
"We Senju should not disappear just like this. Right now, only the surname has vanished. In the future, perhaps even the bloodline will be severed. We cannot continue down this mistaken path."
"Rebuild the Senju clan! Restore the glory of the Senju clan!"
Within Konoha, more and more people began to waver.
Especially those who knew that Senju blood flowed through their bodies.
In this world, bloodline identity was an extremely important existence.
Not everyone believed that the village was greater than the clan.
For most people, family mattered more than anything else.
An old man's eyes flickered with light.
"Tsunade-sama is right. We Senju gave so much for Konoha, yet now we have ended up like this. This is too unfair. Too unreasonable."
"Other than our Senju clan, what other shinobi clan was willing to sacrifice?"
"Those shinobi clans that grew stronger… weren't they all drinking the blood of our Senju clan?"
"A Konoha like this is simply not worth it."
"We are members of the Senju clan first."
Some people began leaving Konoha and heading toward the Fire Daimyo's capital.
Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to stop them, but all he could do was strengthen gate checks and patrols. He did not dare kill those people directly.
After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi's situation in Konoha was already extremely poor.
Once he did something like that, it would inevitably cause even more people to feel dissatisfied.
Then it would evolve into resistance similar to the Uchiha.
That was not something Hiruzen Sarutobi could endure.
But if he did not kill, then he definitely could not stop them.
Those with Senju blood flowing through them, as well as those who had suffered unfair treatment in Konoha and felt depressed and unrecognized, had already developed the idea of leaving Konoha in large numbers.
A small squad relied on the cover of night, found a side path, and secretly slipped out.
The one leading the group was a chunin named Mizuki.
Mizuki looked back in Konoha's direction, his eyes flashing with intense dissatisfaction, as well as anticipation for the future.
"Konoha, under Hiruzen Sarutobi's rule, has become a complete rotten mess. People with real ability are never valued. Only those who curry favor can obtain benefits."
"Someone as mediocre as Iruka actually beat me in competition."
"How am I inferior to Iruka?"
"I am far stronger than Iruka."
"Konoha treated me unfairly. Then I simply won't serve it anymore. Tsunade-sama definitely won't be like Hiruzen Sarutobi. If I have ability, I will surely be valued."
"And right now, Tsunade-sama is short on people. If I go now, I'll be sending charcoal in the snow."
"My future is bright!"
At that moment—
Suddenly.
A masked figure appeared.
"Hokage-sama has issued a strict order. Those who leave the village without authorization are to be treated as traitors."
"Kill!"
Before Mizuki and the others could react, that person had already begun the slaughter.
The gap was too great.
The fact that Mizuki could serve as captain was already enough to prove the strength level of this squad. As for the masked attacker, he had already reached jonin level.
The two sides were not on the same level at all.
"This is ANBU!"
"It was the Hokage… no, Hiruzen Sarutobi who sent him to kill us!"
"Damn it, we haven't done anything yet!"
"Just because we left the village's territory, he directly sent someone to kill us?"
"Cruel, tyrannical—someone like that is not worthy of being Hokage!"
…
Facing the masked man's attack, Mizuki and the others had no way to resist.
They could only scatter and flee.
Only then would they have a chance to survive.
Mizuki did not dare look back. The moment he found an opportunity, he rushed out at his fastest speed, condensing chakra into his legs. Mizuki swore he had never run so quickly in his life.
"I can't die!"
"I must live!"
"My life should not be this mediocre!"
The sounds of kunai piercing flesh rang out one after another.
The sounds of bodies falling to the ground followed.
Dawn arrived.
Out of the entire squad, only two or three people survived by luck.
Within the forest, corpses lay scattered everywhere.
Hokage Building.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the announcement Tsunade had issued in his hand.
"Tsunade, are you truly determined to oppose me, your teacher?"
"Nawaki was not killed by me. It had nothing to do with me."
"You actually believe Jiraiya?"
"Jiraiya has already gone mad. Are you going to believe that madman and continue down the wrong path?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not care much about wandering ninja from the Land of Fire joining Tsunade.
After all, wandering ninja were limited in number and limited in strength. They could not stir up any real waves.
Within Konoha, some people still supported him. Even those who did not support him would not easily side with Tsunade. They were still observing. Still weighing their options.
But Tsunade using the banner of rebuilding the Senju clan was too ruthless.
Bloodline and surname possessed extremely powerful force.
That restraint was even stronger than the restraint of the village.
Hiruzen Sarutobi understood this point very clearly.
Just like the Sarutobi clan.
Hiruzen Sarutobi believed that even if he broke with Konoha, the Sarutobi clan would certainly support him, rather than choose to stand against him.
"By relying on the two words 'Senju,' Tsunade can indeed attract many people."
"This force is already enough to pose a certain threat to Konoha."
"The stronger Tsunade's faction becomes, the more likely the village's neutral factions are to side with her."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was gloomy.
"I need to think of a way. I need to think of a way."
At that moment—
An ANBU shinobi quickly entered.
"Hokage-sama!"
"Right now, people in the village are saying that you deliberately designed secret paths out of the village, Hokage-sama, in order to lure members of the Senju clan into taking them, then sent ANBU shinobi to ambush and kill them."
"They say you hold the old Senju clan genealogy in your hand and are preparing to exterminate the Senju clan according to the names on it!"
"More than a hundred people have already suffered your poisonous hand."
"Eyewitnesses personally confirmed that it was indeed ANBU wearing ANBU masks who attacked."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened.
"What? When did I kill them?"
Then Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to think of something, and he flew into a rage.
"Danzo!"
"What have you done this time?"