"Tsunade, Jiraiya… so even you two are like this?"
"This old man raised three traitorous disciples!"
"Not only do you believe rumors fabricated by others, you even take the initiative to create rumors about me and slander my reputation."
"And now, you have joined hands to overthrow me, your own teacher."
"Very good!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was gloomy.
"And the Land of Fire is only trying to use this opportunity to seize greater control. Tsunade and Jiraiya cooperating with the Land of Fire is no different from seeking skin from a tiger."
"This is betraying Konoha!"
"After committing such acts, what right do they have to claim they are doing this for Konoha?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes flickered.
"I cannot let them succeed."
"Right now, they are spreading this news to build momentum and attract shinobi to defect to them."
"They can slander me and ruin my reputation. Then I can do the same."
Hiruzen Sarutobi gave an order.
Very quickly, an elderly member of the Sarutobi clan appeared.
"Clan Head."
This man was an elder of the Sarutobi clan and deeply trusted by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
More than even the ANBU.
After all, the same blood flowed through them.
And the interests of the Sarutobi clan were all tied to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Go spread news about Jiraiya and Tsunade. Emphasize their selfishness."
"When the village needed them, they wandered outside, caring only about themselves."
"People like that are not worthy of being Konoha shinobi at all."
Sarutobi Kazuhiko nodded.
"Yes, Clan Head."
Compared to Hiruzen Sarutobi, the one who panicked even more was actually Shimura Danzo.
Danzo had planned everything well.
Those who could compete with him for the Hokage position had died one after another, or left Konoha.
He no longer had any competitors.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi's reputation and prestige were getting worse and worse.
More and more people in the village no longer trusted Hiruzen Sarutobi and were dissatisfied with him.
Danzo could feel it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi would not be able to hold on much longer.
As long as something else happened, or the right opportunity appeared, Hiruzen Sarutobi stepping down would become inevitable.
And once Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped down, the only person who could rise to power would be him.
He would finally obtain the Hokage position he had dreamed of for so long.
But now, the situation was different.
He had gained another competitor.
And that competitor was Tsunade.
"She refused to return to Konoha for so many years, yet now she suddenly wants to come back and fight for the Hokage seat."
"What does she take the Hokage position for?"
"I have worked diligently for the village for so many years!"
"I have sacrificed so much!"
"I love this village more than any of you!"
"What right do people like you have to come and compete whenever you please?"
Danzo's eyes turned bloodshot.
Because he knew very clearly that against Tsunade, he had no advantage.
If the current situation continued to develop, then either Hiruzen Sarutobi would not step down…
Or once Hiruzen Sarutobi did step down, the one with the highest chance of becoming Hokage would be Tsunade.
"Damn it!"
"If only Hiruzen and Tsunade both died!"
Danzo suddenly seemed to think of something.
"That's right. If they both die, the Hokage position can only fall into my hands."
"I can secretly design, push, and create a situation where they kill each other."
"Let them both die!"
As news of Jiraiya and Tsunade appearing in the Fire Daimyo's capital spread, Sunagakure found another opening through the rumor about Hiruzen Sarutobi persecuting Orochimaru.
Sunagakure's ANBU rumor squads appeared across the shinobi world and began a new round of rhetoric.
"Tsunade came to speak up for Orochimaru!"
"Hiruzen Sarutobi went too far. Even Tsunade could no longer stand by and watch."
"Konoha has already been turned into a complete mess by Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"Tsunade is the rightful Hokage successor with the purest roots!"
An old man who held a deep, sentimental admiration for the Senju clan leaned on his cane and stood trembling.
"That is the Princess of the Senju clan."
"She left the village for decades because of grief and no longer cared about fame or profit. Yet even Tsunade has stepped forward now. That alone proves how excessive Hiruzen Sarutobi's actions must be!"
"Konoha was created by the Senju clan."
"They were the truly selfless ones. For the future of the village, they even gave up their own surname."
"Tell me, aside from the Senju clan, what other shinobi clan could do such a thing?"
"Such a selfless clan. Such a devoted clan."
"I will always support the Senju clan!"
"I support Tsunade-sama!"
A middle-aged man sighed.
"What a pity I'm not a shinobi. Otherwise, I would go join Tsunade-sama."
"Konoha is collapsing, vile traitors hold power, and Hiruzen Sarutobi is incompetent and muddleheaded. He deserves death."
"It is because of him that Konoha became what it is now."
"It is all his fault."
"He clung to the Hokage position, lusted after power, persecuted the loyal and talented—Sakumo Hatake, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Minato Namikaze… all of them suffered under Hiruzen Sarutobi's poisonous hand. They were truly pitiful."
One Uchiha recalled the earlier rumors.
"And there was Uchiha Kagami of our Uchiha clan."
Sunagakure used the Senju clan as its entry point.
By emphasizing the sacrifices the Senju clan had made for Konoha, it instantly attracted the attention of many people.
Because the sacrifices of the Senju clan truly had been enormous.
Giving up their surname was something unprecedented, and no one had followed after them.
Before the Senju clan, nothing like that had ever happened in the shinobi world.
And even after the Senju clan set such an example, nothing similar had happened again in Konoha.
Not once.
"The current Sarutobi clan is Konoha's undisputed number one shinobi clan."
"It was never like this before. The Sarutobi clan used to be a large clan, but it could not be counted among the noble clans. It had no way to compare with clans like the Senju, Uchiha, or Hyuga."
"But look at these decades when Hiruzen Sarutobi has been Hokage."
"Konoha declined, while the Sarutobi clan grew stronger."
"Isn't that obvious enough?"
"Hiruzen Sarutobi is sucking Konoha's blood to feed his own Sarutobi clan. On top of that, he persecutes shinobi clans like the Uchiha and Hyuga. Who will be next?"
However, these civilians were not shinobi.
Even if they respected the Senju clan, even if Sunagakure's ANBU rumor squads stirred them into deep dissatisfaction toward Hiruzen Sarutobi, all they could do was verbally support Tsunade.
But some wandering ninja saw an opportunity.
"We'll go join Tsunade!"
"This is a chance to build achievements!"
"Our strength isn't weak. We simply couldn't rise because our backgrounds were poor."
"Once Tsunade inherits the Hokage position, we'll have the merit of following the dragon. We can become Konoha's upper echelon, enjoy endless wealth and glory for the rest of our lives, and choose from all kinds of powerful ninjutsu and secret techniques!"
"This is our best chance!"
Sunagakure.
Rasa looked at the number on the system panel and revealed a smile.
"The points from this rumor have been coming in very smoothly."
"I barely even needed to put in effort. The opportunity delivered itself straight to my door."
The next moment, Rasa's thoughts stirred.
"Thirty-pull, begin!"