Konoha has never been Hiruzen Sarutobi's Konoha; it belongs to all Konoha ninja.
If the Ninja Army were lost, would the Sarutobi Clan still dare to confront the Uchiha Clan head-on?
That's simply preposterous!
Although the Uchiha Clan has always been plagued by internal strife, ever since the Warring States Period, strength has always been revered.
If Uchiha Sho hadn't awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan and possessed a dōjutsu that grew stronger with every kill, he wouldn't have been able to slaughter the elders and councilors at will.
Once this news spread, the entire Konoha Village would surely laugh at such a ridiculous joke.
Let alone the Sarutobi Clan—even with the two Advisor Elder clans, the Mitokado Clan and the Utatane Clan, they would never be able to defeat the Uchiha Clan.
Ultimately, under the Uchiha Clan's relentless pressure, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the two Advisor Elders had no choice but to resign to protect their clansmen.
By stepping down voluntarily, they could preserve what remained of their reputation. If they were forced out by public opinion, they would be utterly disgraced.
However, after the Third Hokage and the others stepped down, another embarrassing problem arose: the entire Konoha Village couldn't find a suitable person to serve as Hokage.
Among the prime generation, the Sannin were qualified, but Orochimaru had defected, Jiraiya was unwilling to take on the responsibility, and Tsunade's whereabouts were unknown.
Among the younger generation, Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, and the others lacked the strength and prestige required to succeed as Hokage.
As for the even younger geniuses, not only were they only a few to a dozen years old, but all the famous ones belonged to the Uchiha Clan.
Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Izumi, and the others were simply not considered.
The Uchiha Clan had just forced the Third Hokage out of office, so nominating one of their own as Hokage clearly did not align with the Will of Fire.
Furthermore, among Konoha's various ninja clans, they were either too weak or lacked sufficient prestige.
The only truly competitive candidates were Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga Clan, and Akimichi Chōza of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio.
As Konoha's other dōjutsu clan besides the Uchiha, the Hyuga Clan's grassroots strength was not inferior to that of the Uchiha, but there was still a considerable gap in top-tier combat power.
As for Akimichi Chōza, he and Hiruzen Sarutobi both belonged to the generation personally taught by the Second Hokage, giving him an impeccable pedigree.
However, the problem was that he was roughly the same age as Hiruzen Sarutobi. He had already entered old age, and even if he became Hokage, he would not be able to suppress Uchiha Sho.
As for the remaining ninja, they were simply too weak to even qualify as candidates.
After evaluating everyone, they suddenly realized that Konoha Village could not find a suitable Fifth Hokage for the time being.
At this point, the people of Konoha truly realized just how corrupt the rule of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had become.
The once-glorious Golden Age of Konoha had now become a scene of decline and desolation.
Under the leadership of Konoha F4, headed by Hiruzen Sarutobi, Konoha Village had withered to such an extent.
The great tree of Konoha had been drained of its nutrients by these four withered leaves, decaying to the point where almost no fresh leaves could sprout.
Without new buds, the great tree cannot produce new leaves to shelter the village from the wind and rain.
Without the sacrifice of fallen leaves, the Will of Fire will eventually burn out, leaving no light to illuminate the village.
The great tree of Konoha was on the verge of collapse, and the Will of Fire was about to be extinguished.
At this moment, Uchiha Sho instead became the only truly suitable Hokage candidate for Konoha Village.
In terms of character, strength, and integrity, he displayed near perfection.
However, Konoha Village did not dare let Uchiha Sho become Hokage for one simple reason: he was an extreme clan supremacist.
Ever since his days at the Ninja Academy, Uchiha Sho had constantly promoted the idea that "the Uchiha are number one in the world," viewing everyone else as trash.
If such a person became Hokage, what future would the other clans and ninja of Konoha have? Even allowing Hiashi to become Hokage would be preferable to Uchiha Sho.
Therefore, although Uchiha Sho enjoyed extremely high popularity among the lower-ranked ninja, Konoha's elite, the various clans, and the Jonin class all ignored him and would never agree to him becoming Hokage.
...
...
As everyone gazed at Konoha's nearly withered great tree, the two Advisor Elders of Konoha—Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado—felt quite pleased.
In their view, Konoha simply could not function without them.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi shed tears at that moment, realizing he had made a mistake.
Immersed in power, he had forgotten that no matter how tightly they controlled Konoha and eliminated dissenters,
The day would eventually come when they grew old. If Konoha had no new generation of successors to continue carrying the torch, how could Konoha survive in the cruel Ninja World?
Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately decided to act, dispatching all available personnel out of the village to search for Tsunade and Jiraiya.
Now, they were the only two remaining successors capable of bearing Konoha's burden.
They carried the heavy responsibility of ensuring Konoha's future stability and preserving the Will of Fire.
As the largest extraordinary military organization in the Ninja World, Konoha had thousands of registered ninja, along with countless intelligence personnel and subordinate operatives.
Finding someone's whereabouts would take at most one or two days.
However, when Konoha's ANBU brought a heavily intoxicated Tsunade back to Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression became extremely grim, yet he had no other choice.
Afterward, he held a long private conversation with Tsunade, the contents of which remained unknown.
Nevertheless, one thing was certain: Tsunade happily accepted the position of Hokage.
As part of the political compromise supporting Tsunade's appointment, Uchiha Sho, Hyuga Hiashi, and Nara Shikaku became Konoha's new Advisor Elders, forming an entirely new Konoha F4.
In Konoha Year 54, Konoha and Kumogakure ceased hostilities, and the Kumogakure delegation attempted to steal the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan by abducting Hyuga Hinata, the Hyuga Clan's eldest daughter.
However, the plan was discovered in advance by Hyuga Hiashi.
During the battle to rescue Hinata, Hyuga Hinashi accidentally killed the Jonin leading the Kumogakure delegation.
This incident provoked a fierce reaction from Kumogakure, which demanded that Konoha either hand over the killer or resume the war.
Faced with Kumogakure's demands, Tsunade firmly declared that she would never yield.
She resolutely refused to bow to that bastard Raikage, declaring that Konoha would accept no threats of force and feared no war.
Tsunade's firm stance and upright character deeply moved Hiashi.
For every person in Konoha, it was truly fortunate to have such a brave, righteous Hokage who was willing to protect her people.
However, Hyuga Hiashi did not wish to jeopardize the hard-won peace because of the Hyuga Clan's mistake.
Therefore, he decided to atone for this mistake with his own life, choosing to die with honor.
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