NOVEL NEXT Chapter 289: Fourth Hokage
Thinking of this, Ren immediately used his time ability to pull the Time Anchor from Minato's body and swallow it. This was the fifth one.
Then, with a flick of his finger, he sealed the man's barely living body into a Different Space.
He then looked at the group and explained, "He won't die for now, so the Doom Companion's time limit won't end. Our own world will remain still while we're here."
"So that's how it is."
Now everyone understood. Ren wasn't killing him temporarily for this exact reason.
The end of a normal Doom Companion mission means returning, which also means less free time. This way was just right; 30 days were plenty.
"Was everything that happened just now real? Why weren't we hurt?" Mikoto, who had been struggling with the question, bravely asked Ren. Her three-tomoe Sharingan couldn't detect any trace of genjutsu.
Ren briefly explained it to her. "You can understand it as a type of space-time ninjutsu. I created a Different Space that is separate from the world, yet parallel to it."
"Everything you saw, including Namikaze Minato, was inside that space."
"And since we were in this space, we were not affected."
"So that's how it is… I thought it was some unknown genjutsu," Uchiha Mikoto said, her curiosity satisfied.
Kurumi silently observed and noted it down. This man not only possessed incredibly powerful time and destructive abilities but also strange spatial powers.
So strong… Perhaps he really could kill the Spirit of Origin.
"This is resolved. Let's not delay any longer. Next timeline, let's go."
Ren clapped his hands and decisively activated the King of Chronos.
Konoha Year 51, Konoha Village.
"Danzo, what more do you have to say?"
Tsunade crossed her arms, her ample chest held high. Her sharp gaze was fixed on Shimura Danzo, who was kneeling on the judgment platform—charred, covered in scars, and lifeless.
Below the platform, all the villagers of Konoha had gathered. The heads of every major clan were also present.
Everyone watched in shock as the Hokage's advisor was being tortured by Lady Tsunade, one of Konoha's Sannin. This was all happening while the Third Hokage himself had summoned them to witness it.
The clan heads stood in solemn readiness: Hyuga Hiashi, Akimichi Choza, Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Uchiha Fugaku.
Whether commoner or clan member, everyone understood one thing: Konoha was about to change.
Sarutobi Hiruzen saw that most people had arrived. He stepped forward and began to announce the purpose of the gathering, systematically recounting Danzo's evil deeds.
"!!!"
The villagers felt a chill just hearing the sheer darkness of his crimes. The clan heads, who secretly knew some parts, were still shocked by the rest.
Even more shocking was the fact that some of these matters clearly involved the Hokage. Why was he revealing them? Was he not afraid of being exposed?
This point was seized by the venomous Danzo, who threatened loudly, "Hiruzen! Have you forgotten that my mouth can also speak horrifying truths! You will regret this!"
These words did not scare Sarutobi Hiruzen. Instead, they scared the nearby Konoha advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
The emperor wasn't worried, but the eunuchs were. They quickly advised, "Lord Hokage, now is not the time to say such things."
"Yes, everything should be thoroughly investigated first."
Seeing the two speak up for him, Danzo relaxed slightly and smiled with his bloody mouth. From his understanding of Hiruzen, he would be afraid; he would back down.
Tsunade sneered from the side. "Indeed, a bunch of parasites."
"Too bad. You're all going to be disappointed."
Everyone watched as Sarutobi Hiruzen indifferently scanned the three of them. His voice was utterly cold. "Danzo, I am the Hokage."
Then he raised his hand, took off his Hokage hat, and knelt heavily.
His face showed sorrow and regret. Under everyone's astonished gaze, he began to reveal his own evil deeds, as well as those of the two advisors. He turned all the disgusting secrets of Konoha's high command inside out.
"Hiss!!!"
Several clan heads gasped in cold air, dumbfounded. The villagers, too, went from initial shock to pure anger. Some had even started cursing loudly.
As Hiruzen's words continued, the hearts of Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Danzo sank to rock bottom. They never would have thought that Hiruzen would expose them in a mutually destructive confession.
Why? For what reason?
Such questions filled their minds.
The moment Sarutobi Hiruzen finished speaking, Tsunade shouted with full vigor.
"...You have all seen it! The Konoha high command is riddled with corruption! From today on, I will eradicate all of it and return to everyone a truly bright Konoha!"
Tsunade waved her hand.
Boom! Crack!!!
Countless bolts of lightning suddenly descended from the sky. They struck the four individuals directly, as well as all other implicated criminals.
The lightning's glow was blinding, yet everyone saw Tsunade as if she were a deity.
Afterward, Tsunade officially became the Fourth Hokage and began a full overhaul of Konoha Village.
The first thing she did was root out all the darkness. Next, she communicated and cooperated with the various clans, especially the Uchiha.
Tsunade had no prejudice against them and proposed better ways for them to truly integrate into the village, instead of merely doing police work that drew resentment. She offered many suggestions that even made Uchiha Fugaku's eyes light up. He truly saw the hope of peaceful coexistence in Tsunade.
That evening, Uchiha Fugaku made the most decisive choice of his life: to purge the radical faction within his clan. Not by killing them, but by temporarily restricting their power, allowing them to witness the changes in Konoha firsthand.
The other clans, upon hearing the news, immediately and without hesitation began to align themselves with Tsunade. Her decisive actions had truly frightened them.
Dozens of high-ranking officials, including the Third Hokage, and numerous Root members were all annihilated by the lightning judgment. The previously high and mighty adults had all turned into a pinch of black ash.
Such terrifying power, coupled with Tsunade's immense popularity among the villagers, made her a Hokage no one dared to resist.
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