A Surprising Decision

"What?"

As soon as Sarutobi Hiruzen finished speaking, the entire meeting hall erupted. Gu Sheng himself had his mouth hanging wide open. How had things gone so wrong? Why had the old man Sarutobi suddenly slapped this title on him? Hokage—that was the Hokage!

Although it was only the temporary position of Acting Hokage, anyone could imagine how many benefits came with it.

"Teacher!"

Orochimaru and Tsunade were both startled. They could not figure out Sarutobi’s intentions, nor could they put their own feelings into words. The Acting Hokage was Gu Sheng, not White Fang or Dan Katō. Unexpectedly, they found that far easier to accept.

"Ah!"

Sarutobi’s gaze swept unnoticed over the people beside him. White Fang’s expression had not changed. Dan Katō had clenched his fists. Tsunade and Orochimaru both looked surprised, while Gu Sheng’s mouth was hanging open the widest of all.

He had made this decision only because he had no other choice. He did not trust Danzo not to cause trouble. Sending Orochimaru back would not work either. Orochimaru had too many thoughts in his heart—even Sarutobi could not see through him.

As for Tsunade, she was still too inexperienced. Sending her back to deal with a group of old, wily advisers would never work.

The old veterans of the Senju Clan could certainly help Tsunade, but Sarutobi had already been trying to diminish the Senju’s influence. If Senju members took power again, the situation would likely become complicated once more.

Moreover, the recent connections between the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga made him even less willing to let the Senju step forward.

Although White Fang’s Hatake Clan was also one of Konoha’s founding clans, it had few members. Besides, White Fang was more like a lone assassin and was not suited for this kind of work.

Dan Katō’s strength and prestige were still insufficient. Compared with White Fang, he gave the Third Hokage even less confidence. The Spirit Transformation Technique sounded impressive, but the moment an enemy reached his main body, he would be finished. His main body was far too weak, and he was not even a direct disciple of the Hokage. He was not a suitable candidate for the position.

Sarutobi had also chosen this candidate with the intention of nurturing the next generation of Hokage. He had chosen Gu Sheng partly because Gu Sheng had already become Orochimaru’s disciple.

Furthermore, a few days ago, Orochimaru had Gu Sheng sign his name on the Summoning Scroll of Ryūchi Cave. This meant that Orochimaru intended to have Gu Sheng inherit his legacy.

There were political considerations as well. Sarutobi had a good relationship with Kagami Uchiha, and his views on the Uchiha were closer to the First Hokage’s idea of integration than the Second Hokage’s policy of using them while remaining wary of them. He certainly had no intention of following Danzo’s path of destruction and rebellion.

The names Konoha and Hokage actually carried profound meaning. Konoha represented the Senju of the Forest, while Hokage came from the Uchiha’s proficiency in fire release.

If the Second Hokage had not opposed it with all his might back then, the First Hokage might have been Madara Uchiha. In truth, when considering candidates for the Second Hokage, the First Hokage had also thought about nurturing someone from the younger generation, especially a young Uchiha. However, before that idea could be implemented, he and Madara had parted ways because of their differing ideals.

After the battle at the Valley of the End, the Uchiha were marginalized and divided under the Second Hokage’s arrangements. Some Uchiha, led by Kagami Uchiha, remained close to the Hokage. If they had been allowed to lead the clan’s development, the Uchiha might well have fully integrated into Konoha.

But no one could predict the twists of fate. The Second Hokage died in battle, and Kagami Uchiha died during a shinobi war. Later, Danzo won over the two advisers Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu with promises of mutual benefit and vigorously promoted the theory of the Uchiha threat among the higher-ups. This caused both the Second Hokage’s arrangements and the Third Hokage’s ideas to collapse, leaving the Uchiha outside Konoha’s leadership ever since.

The appearance of Uchiha Sheng, also known as Gu Sheng, had once again given Sarutobi hope that the Uchiha could integrate into Konoha. He was born an Uchiha but had only an ordinary relationship with the Uchiha leadership. He was a direct disciple of the Hokage, possessed outstanding strength, and would have no trouble reaching Kage Level in due course. His conditions were excellent in every respect, making him highly suitable to take over from Orochimaru.

That was right. Although Sarutobi was very satisfied with Gu Sheng, he had no intention of skipping over Orochimaru’s generation at this point. In his view, the person best suited to take charge as the next Hokage was still his beloved disciple, Orochimaru. As Orochimaru’s disciple, Gu Sheng would be well suited to succeed him as the Fifth Hokage.

The current situation was tangled and chaotic. Sarutobi needed someone to return and hold Danzo in check—someone with ability, background, and prestige.

He had already witnessed Gu Sheng’s ability. Gu Sheng had deduced from Sarutobi’s words that Danzo, rather than the other advisers, was the one plotting behind the scenes. That showed he paid close attention to Konoha’s upper-level affairs, understood Sarutobi’s intentions, and possessed a sharp political instinct.

Heaven help him—if Gu Sheng knew what Sarutobi was thinking, he would surely cry out that he had been wronged. He had guessed it was Danzo not because of any so-called sharp instinct.

It was simply that Danzo, known as the greatest schemer in the world of Naruto, was far too famous. No matter what happened, Danzo always seemed to have contributed his share of "credit." There was absolutely no way to wash his hands clean. In his previous life, whenever Gu Sheng saw people trying to whitewash Danzo, saying that his intentions had been good and that he had done everything for Konoha, he felt an urge to roll his eyes.

It was undeniable that Danzo did have feelings for Konoha. However, neither his intentions nor his goals were good. Or rather, he believed that what he did was best for Konoha, and that only a Konoha under his Absolute Control could be considered a good Konoha.

Looking at everything he had done, one could say that he targeted the Akatsuki because he had sensed their threat to Konoha. One could say that he moved against the Uchiha because they had a history of wrongdoing. But sabotaging White Fang by exposing the mission’s details, then cooperating with and reporting Orochimaru—that was simply his way of eliminating dissent and dealing with his rivals.

Later, during the Nine-Tails Attack, he stopped the Uchiha-led Security Force from rescuing the Fourth Hokage, yet did not send anyone himself. If one forced an explanation, saying he had been guarding against hidden threats, it could barely count as a reason.

But when Orochimaru carried out the Konoha Crush Plan and Pain attacked Konoha, Danzo’s obstruction became obvious. One time, he caused the Third Hokage’s death; another time, he nearly got Tsunade killed.

Root’s strength was not weak. It was an organization focused on internal affairs, and Konoha itself was well within its jurisdiction. Yet during several crises in Konoha, Root showed not the slightest intention of taking action.

Danzo’s intentions were obvious. He wanted the Hokage in power to die so that he could take the position himself. He had tried it once during the Fourth Hokage’s era, but Sarutobi Hiruzen would rather shoulder the burden again himself.

After Sarutobi Hiruzen’s death, Danzo made another attempt, but no one supported him, and Tsunade ultimately took power. After finally scheming until Tsunade was nearly incapacitated, Kakashi was embraced by everyone instead.

Danzo was truly pitiful when you thought about it. After successfully seizing power, he had to face the other four Kage. Sasuke came over to cause trouble. Then, just before dying, he tried to clear his name, but Obito refused to give him the chance. In the end, he sealed away an entire bridge, and even Kabuto Yakushi had no intention of reincarnating him. He did not even get a share of the final appearance of the reanimated dead. He had ended up utterly miserable.

"Everyone, calm down!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand, signaling everyone to stop arguing for the moment. "Everyone has witnessed Uchiha Sheng’s strength. This time, thanks to him stopping Chiyo and the Kazekage of Sunagakure, the battle situation was able to stabilize…"