Chapter 221 That person is Hiruzen Sarutobi! (64K)

Chapter 221 That person is Hiruzen Sarutobi! (64K)

Chapter 221 That person is... Sarutobi Hiruzen! (6.4K)

The breeze blew by, and the leaves swayed in mid-air, and speckled leaves fell on the high platform.

Today is the day when the funeral and memorial meeting of Hatake Sakumo, the hero of Konoha, will be held. In order to reflect the village's memory and remembrance of this hero's "unfortunate" death, the village specially arranged an open space outside the village as the venue for this event. The scene of the memorial service.

Due to Hatake Sakumo's "good popularity" in the past, and the village's intention to use this conference to eliminate the influence of previous public opinions, after publicity and promotion, it is expected that most Konoha villagers will come by then Arrive at the scene and send off Hatake Sakumo, the hero who sacrificed everything to protect Konoha, on his last journey.

And all the arrangements here have been completed a day ago. The huge black and white portrait of Hatake Sakumo is currently hanging high in the center of the high platform of the venue, quietly gazing at this specially prepared for him. During the funeral, there was still that familiar gentle smile in the corner of his eyes.

"I never expected that Sakumo-senpai would die in such a way..."

Jiraiya stood under the shade of the tree, leaning against the tree, looking at the huge statue of Hatake Sakumo in the distance, and spoke with a faint tone.

As a ninja who is more than ten years older than the Sannin, Hatake Sakumo is worthy of the title of "senior" of the Sannin in terms of age, strength, and merit.

Especially in the time before the Sannin grew up, Sarutobi Hiruzen was busy with official duties, and the Sannin often received advice from this gentle and kind-hearted senior.

The three of them were all in their teens at the time. It can be said that Hatake Sakumo not only guided them in ninja practice, but also set an example and deeply influenced them in terms of character and other aspects.

In a sense, Hatake Sakumo can be regarded as a beacon on the road of growth for these three people.

Therefore, even the most withdrawn Orochimaru actually felt a little emotional about Hatake Sakumo's death.

"...It's really a pity."

Orochimaru's pale face looked in the direction of the venue, his eyes lowered, covering his golden pupils.

During this period, Orochimaru, although he regarded life as experimental consumables, he still had a trace of fetters in his heart, and he was far from being indifferent to everything in later generations.

Since Tsunade was still far away in Kirigakure Village at this time and did not know about Hatake Sakumo, only Jiraiya and Orochimaru attended Hatake Sakumo's funeral.

"The hero who dedicated everything for the village did not die on the enemy's battlefield, but committed suicide due to the slander of his own people. How ridiculous is this!"

As Jiraiya spoke, he punched the big tree behind him hard, causing the tree to shake. Falling leaves continued to fly, and several fell on him.

Regarding the death of Hatake Sakumo, even Orochimaru was a little disturbed, especially Jiraiya, whose character was very similar to Hatake Sakumo.

It can be said that Hatake Sakumo's emphasis on the "will of fire" and his companions could not have more influence on Jirai.

Therefore, regarding the death of Hatake Sakumo, Jiraiya felt an inexplicable sadness that he could relate to.

Orochimaru turned his head and stared at his companion who had grown up together since childhood, silently and without speaking.

Unlike the sunny, warm-blooded, carefree Jiraiya, Orochimaru, who had been in contact with Shimura Danzo for a long time, would naturally not be as naive as Jiraiya, and simply attributed Hatake Sakumo's death to the villagers' rumors.

In the past few years of working under Shimura Danzo, Orochimaru's perspective on things has long been beyond the ninja perspective. Although Shimura Danzo did not reveal his plans to Orochimaru out of confidentiality,

But judging from Orochimaru's IQ, coupled with the information he has mastered after working under Danzo for so many years, he is 80% sure that Danzo Shimura must be behind the matter of Sakumo Hatake.

Even considering that this incident was so big, the village did not come forward and Danzo was not punished in any way, it is very likely that his own good teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was also involved.

And the reason... Orochimaru turned his head again, looked at the huge portrait, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

"The position of Hokage...is really a sweet poison!"

Orochimaru himself had no idea about the position of Hokage that most people in the village were eager to do.

If there is, it can only be said that he values ​​the endless experimental resources that the position of Hokage can bring to him.

The reason why later generations are not angry with Sarutobi Hiruzen and the Namami Feng Shuimen for being able to overpower him to become the Fourth Hokage is because they are angry that their teacher cannot understand them.

He did not comment on his teacher's behavior.

After all, he himself is such a person. Compared to Hatake Sakumo, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Jiraiya are closer to him. The fact that he can appear here to see Hatake Sakumo off for the last time is enough to prove that Hatake Sakumo's place in his heart was over.

"What a pity. If Tsunade was here, maybe she could have saved Sakumo-senpai before he really died..."

Jiraiya looked at the fallen leaves flying in the sky and couldn't help but miss Tsunade endlessly.

It was only after he came back that he learned that Tsunade actually agreed to go to Kirigakure Village to be a medical ninjutsu instructor for three years in order to let Kirigakure Village act as a peacemaker.

Now Tsunade has been in Kirigakure Village for two years, and it will take another year before she can come back.

This also temporarily frustrated Jiraiya's little thoughts after learning about Kato Dan's death.

"Stop dreaming, you know, his body was only found the next morning. Not to mention Tsunade, even the Sage of Six Paths is helpless in the face of this situation, right?"

Orochimaru did not hesitate to use reality to dispel his companion's wishful thinking.

Jiraiya sighed. How could he not know that this was his delusion?

Amid the conversation between the two, time gradually passed, and the crowd participating in the funeral gradually gathered.

Bustling villagers, dressed in black or plain clothes, some with bouquets of white flowers in their hands, arrived at the funeral site. They gathered spontaneously and orderly under the high platform, silently waiting for the funeral to begin.

But this is after all a place where villagers and low-level ninjas gather. As a member of the ninja clan or a mid-to-high-level ninja, there is naturally a special VIP viewing area.

Maybe it was out of respect for Hatake Sakumo, or maybe he wanted to see the village's jokes. In short, all the ninja clans in the village, big and small, basically attended the funeral as long as someone from the clan was in Konoha.

The Hyuga clan, the Inarakacho clan, Inuzuka, Aburame, Kurama... and among them, the Uchiha clan was naturally included.

Uchiha Homura and Uchiha Fugaku sat quietly in the VIP area, quietly waiting for the funeral to begin.

If they didn't know the cause and effect, just looking at the scene in front of them, uninformed people might really think that Hatake Sakumo was so famous in the village!

As the time approached noon, the number of people watching the ceremony increased. Looking down from the high platform, it was dark under the stage. At this time, if an unknown perfect Jinchūriki fires a tail beast jade from a distance, Konoha will probably be seriously injured.

But it's a pity that the perfect Jinchuuriki was in Kirigakure Village at this time, receiving the loot extorted from Danzo Shimura, and was not here, so this tragic scene did not happen.

After the crowd gradually filled up the venue, the real owner of the funeral finally appeared in front of everyone.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was dressed in black, with a delicate chrysanthemum on his chest, and nodded with a serious expression.

Following behind him was the widow of the protagonist of this funeral, the wife of Konoha hero White Fang, and the new widow Hatake Nao.

At this time, Hatake Nao did not apply makeup on her face. Perhaps it was because she had been having trouble sleeping for the past few days after her husband's death. Faint dark circles and red and swollen corners of her eyes could be vaguely seen.

The milky-white pearl necklace around her neck couldn't suppress Mrs. Hatake's fair complexion at all. She was wearing a black dress that tightly wrapped her plump figure, and her legs wearing black stockings were looming as she walked.

This outfit, combined with the hint of sadness between her eyebrows, really makes me feel pity for her. It truly explains what "a girl should be pretty and be filial".

And Nao Hatake's combination of milky white skin and black dress can't help but make some people with ulterior motives nod secretly.

After Nao Hatake, there are three high-level consultants of Konoha, Danzo Shimura, Koharu Koharu and Mito Kadoen. The three of them are also dressed in black and follow closely behind them with serious expressions.

But for some reason, Hatake Kakashi did not appear here and did not come to attend his father's funeral.

Seeing the rightful owner appear, the crowd present spontaneously gave way to a path and watched the five people pass through the crowd and reach the high platform.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood on the high platform. After seeing the huge black and white portrait of Hatake Sakumo, he couldn't help but gently closed his eyes. This was the first time he had seen Hatake Sakumo since he last parted. Goodbye to him.

However, he never expected that this would be the scene when they meet again.

"Sakumo, whether you believe it or not, my original intention was not to kill you... I just wanted to suppress you..."

Perhaps out of guilt, or out of comfort, Sarutobi Hiruzen said silently in his heart.

Even if he didn't talk about Hatake Sakumo's powerful fighting ability, just based on Hatake Sakumo's character, he didn't want such a person to die like this.

However, Sarutobi Hiruzen was a famous "Ninja" after all, and this trace of regret in his heart quickly disappeared. When he opened his eyes again, the third Hokage of Konoha appeared at the funeral.

"Today, the reason why we gather here is to mourn a person, a great hero who has made great contributions to our Konoha and protected Konoha for decades... He once went to the Kingdom of Wind to fight with one person His power turned the Sunagakure Village's defense line upside down; he also used one enemy to defeat many people, so that the Ninja Village had to issue the order 'If White Fang is seen, the mission can be abandoned'..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's heavy voice sounded, and he began to detail the many contributions Hatake Sakumo had made to the village and his great reputation in the ninja world, and then began to explain his "will of fire".

"He is our pride, and he is also an outstanding talent cultivated under the influence of our Konoha 'Will of Fire'... He is Hatake Sakumo!"

Then, Sarutobi Hiruzen changed the topic and said in an extremely angry tone:

"It's just a pity that such outstanding talents like us fell into the conspiracy of Kirigakure Village because of the village's negligence..."

That's right, after thinking about it, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt that Shimura Danzo's three strategies could not perfectly get rid of the pot on his head, so he accidentally involved the Ghost Light Crescent Moon in order to divert the village's attention. He threw the pot from his head to Gui Deng Xinyue's head.

After all, you, Ghost Light Crescent Moon, have a history of manipulating public opinion to harbor deep ill will towards Konoha. Sarutobi Hiruzen's explanation can definitely win the trust of most of the unknown people in the village.

Moreover, you, Gui Deng Xinyue, are far away in Wuyin Village. Is it possible that you can still stand up and refute him now? As long as he doesn't refute, then Hiruzen Sarutobi will have the confidence to give him the blame here!

What's more, with Ghost Lantern Crescent Moon as a good target, he could use White Fang's death on this special occasion to stir up everyone's hatred for Ghost Lantern Crescent Moon, express their anger towards Kirigakure Village, and take the opportunity to gather together Supporting people's hearts and stabilizing their position, this is simply killing two birds with one stone!

Not knowing that he had accidentally found the real mastermind behind the scenes, Sarutobi Hiruzen was still talking there, talking about his dissatisfaction with Kirigakure Village, and promised to launch an attack on Kirigakure Village when the village was recuperating. , to avenge White Fang this time.

Under the excellent eloquence of Sarutobi Hiruzen, coupled with the "unjust death" of the great hero Sakumo Hatake, the audience was already excited and clamoring to give Kirigakure Village a good look.

Under such circumstances, naturally no one would pay attention to the village's inaction when rumors spread.

Seeing the undisguised hatred towards Kirigakure in the crowd, Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded with satisfaction.

In this case, my position is finally saved!

But unlike the crazy villagers in the audience, the ninja clan leader sitting on the stage was not so easy to deceive.

Their rich experience means that they will not be fooled by Sarutobi Hiruzen at all. After all, the rumor has been flying in Konoha Village for a whole week. If he in Kirigakure Village has this ability, you Sarutobi Hiruzen can still sit here. ?

It's just that Hatake Sakumo is dead after all, and there are no suitable Hokage candidates now. In addition, Sarutobi Hiruzen has secretly recruited a group of ninjas from the ninja clan to fill the ANBU, so they can only remain silent. Watching Hiruzen Sarutobi perform on stage quietly.

As Sarutobi Hiruzen finished his speech, the emotions of the villagers below gradually calmed down.

At this time, Nao Hatake, the real owner, finally came to the stage and expressed his gratitude to everyone who came to attend her husband's funeral.

The widow's plump figure followed Hatake Nao's bow, trembling and doing Brownian movements under the black dress. The eyes of everyone present could not help but focus on this sad little woman.

However, whether intentionally or unintentionally, when the widow bowed and stood up, it seemed that she accidentally glanced sideways at Danzo Shimura who was sitting there.

Immediately, a gentle voice mixed with a little sadness resounded through the entire funeral venue under the influence of a loudspeaker.

"...Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to attend your late husband's funeral..."

While Nao Hatake was talking about the past of her late husband Sakumo Hatake and expressing her gratitude to everyone present, Hiruzen Sarutobi was still thinking about the many impacts this funeral had on him.

The first point is that White Fang's death means that no one can shake his position as Hokage in a short period of time.

Secondly, this funeral eliminated all the unfavorable rumors about him in the village to the greatest extent, including the previous heavy casualties of ninjas in the village due to the Second Ninja War, which will also be dispelled with the wind.

The last point is to take this opportunity to allocate the sewage to Ghost Lantern Crescent in the Hidden Mist Village, which integrates the internal atmosphere and unites people's hearts, which is of great benefit to his next move.

Looking at it this way, Hatake Sakumo’s death was not unjust this time!

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt inexplicably excited as he thought of this.

In his excitement, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't notice the inexplicable smile on Danzo Shimura's lips not far from him.

The two people with evil intentions just listened to Hatake Nao's speech quietly until...

"...Everyone can come here to attend Sakumo's funeral. On behalf of the Hatake family, I am very grateful here... However, there is one last thing. I hope that everyone can witness it on this special occasion."

Nao Hatake's last unusual words immediately attracted the attention of everyone present.

Because of this situation and these words, it is easy to think that Mrs. Hatake wants to express her position on this occasion that she will take good care of Kakashi Hatake as an adult and will never marry again in her life, as a way to prove it. His loyalty to Hatake Sakumo.

So everyone present raised their necks in unison and looked at this pretty woman.

Naturally, Sarutobi Hiruzen was not immune. Huai Dai had the same thought and looked over with curiosity.

However, what surprised everyone present was that Nao Hatake's last words not only had nothing to do with what they imagined, but were also completely different from what they thought!

"...Here, in front of many villagers, and under the witness of many virtuous people of the Ninja clan, I want to confess something to everyone.\

,"When Nao Hatake said this, the sadness between her brows became even more intense, her lips trembled for a while, she took a deep breath and said slowly:

"That is...I am already an unclean body. After Sakumo died, I had to do things that were sorry for Sakumo."

Wow!

When they heard this, everyone present looked at the widow on the high platform with incredible eyes, thinking that they had heard wrongly.

But after noticing the shocked eyes of the people around him, he quickly realized that this was no joke, and the crowd was instantly in an uproar.

Hatake Sakumo, the hero of Konoha, has just died, and you are stealing people, and you even shamelessly revealed this at your late husband's funeral. What do you want to do?

Immediately there were shouts and curses, shouted at Nao Hatake on the stage.

Even Jiraiya and Orochimaru, who were watching silently from a distance, couldn't help but have a look of astonishment on their faces, as if they didn't believe that Mrs. Hatake would say such a thing on such an occasion.

But unlike the angry crowd at the scene, there was a faint uneasiness lingering in Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart.

It was originally a perfect funeral for him, but after Nao Hatake messed with it, it suddenly turned bad.

He naturally knew that Nao Hatake was not a stupid person, so it was impossible for him to make a slip of his tongue. So at Hatake Sakumo's funeral, witnessed by most of the people in the village, Mrs. Hatake talked about this incident, What is her purpose?

But before Sarutobi Hiruzen could think of a way to stop Hatake Nao's words or calm the turbulent emotions of the villagers in the audience, something happened that caught him off guard.

"When I say these things on this occasion, under the portrait of my late husband, I certainly don't mean to show that I am a dissolute woman."

Under the influence of the loudspeaker, Hatake Nao's voice echoed leisurely throughout the venue.

"In fact, I was forced. That person used his power to threaten me and said that if I didn't obey, he would attack Kakashi... So in order to protect Kakashi, I can only give up this skin. …”

Perhaps recalling the scene at that time, Hatake Nao choked up and said in tears:

"...The reason why I would talk about this kind of thing on this occasion is because that person's power is too high. I hope that by telling this matter in public, everyone present can seek justice for me. "

What?

There are still people who dare to go to the Hatake family and use their power to insult the widow after the death of the Konoha hero?

As soon as this statement came out, the villagers in the audience immediately went into a frenzy, and the discussion was even louder than before.

After all, just now it could be said that Nao Hatake had a personal moral problem, but now the impact of this matter has risen to the point where powerful people use their power to bully heroes' widows, orphans and widowed mothers.

After all, there are many powerful people in the village, and most of them may not even get the status of "heroes". In this case, even the hero's widow may be bullied, let alone them. ? How can this not make the group of ordinary people in the audience feel the same and get excited?

Moreover, many villagers looked at the pitiful and beautiful widow on the stage, with a few tears on her face adding to the sadness, and felt a bit jealous of the unknown high-ranking person. Envious.

Damn it, you really deserve to die!

In an instant, heated discussions broke out, and the villagers present cursed the unknown person one after another.

At this time, Sarutobi Hiruzen already had the idea of ​​getting up and trying to stop Hatake Nao from continuing.

Naturally, he wouldn't think that Nao Hatake would be confused at this time, so there was a high probability that that person existed.

There are only a few people in the entire village who can be called "highly powerful" by Nao Hatake.

Judging from the current situation, no matter who it is, as long as Hatake Nao says it, that person will definitely be unlucky.

He doesn't care about this, he cares about Konoha's reputation!

After all, at the funeral of Konoha's hero, the hero's widow stood up and accused someone of using their power to insult her. How would others view Konoha and Sarutobi Hiruzen when this news spread?

Especially when Hatake Sakumo's death cannot withstand scrutiny, Hatake Nao's current actions have made him even more passive.

Thinking of this, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but feel a little bit resentful towards Hatake Nao. Can't you tell him this kind of thing in private? Do you have to say it on this occasion?

Don't you know that "starving to death is a small matter for a woman, but losing her integrity is a big deal"?

Why do you have the nerve to make such a fuss?

But before Hiruzen Sarutobi could stand up to stop him, Nao Hatake blurted out the man's name.

"That person is..."

She slowly turned sideways, and her emotionless eyes slowly glanced at Shimura Danzo. In his subtle nod, with a little resignation, he slowly raised his right hand and pointed at that person. :

"The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen!"

There was a dead silence in the whole place at first, and everyone was wandering between Sarutobi Hiruzen and Hatake Nao with incredible eyes.

Then, the atmosphere at the scene boiled like an erupting volcano!