Outside the window, the protests of the Konoha villagers grew louder, and more and more people gathered.
A glint flashed in Danzo's eye, and the corner of his lips curved into an almost imperceptible smile.
At this mont, he was secretly delighted.
'Hiruzen, it's ti for you to step down, the position of Fourth Hokage is mine.'
Homura pushed up his slipping glasses and said, "Hiruzen, now is not the ti to be spacing out. Tens of thousands of people have gathered downstairs, and if this continues..."
As if to confirm his words, a deafening explosion suddenly ca from downstairs, and the entire Hokage building trembled slightly. The glass windows rattled, and several shards of glass fell from the window fra.
"Hokage-sama, they... they've started smashing the door!" An Anbu rushed in, flustered, to report.
Just then, there was a knock on the Hokage Office door.
Thump Thump... Thump... Thump Thump...
This was the knocking rhythm of an Anbu mber.
Hiruzen frowned and called out, "Co in."
An Anbu ninja stumbled in, his face pale. "Hokage-sama! Urgent report from the front! The front-line outpost has been overrun by the Seven Ninja Swordsn of the Mist leading the attack, and the entire outpost suffered heavy casualties. Also, more than twenty dical ninjas have been captured."
Hiruzen's hand froze in mid-air, and the face beneath his straw hat instantly aged considerably.
Danzo's single eye narrowed slightly, lost in thought.
Koharu and Homura , the two advisors, were also too shocked to speak.
The office was quiet for a mont.
Hiruzen put down his pipe and waved his hand. "I understand. You may leave."
The two Anbu ninjas had just taken a few steps when Koharu's voice suddenly rang out. "Didn't we send more than 3,000 reinforcents. Why would the outpost still be overrun?"
The Anbu ninja bowed his head, his voice trembling. "The more than 3,000 reinforcents hadn't reached the destination yet when Kirigakure sent the Seven Ninja Swordsn of the Mist to attack the city. They possess seven powerful ninja tools. The last intelligence report from Commander Hiyori before his sacrifice showed that there seed to be a leak of information as well."
Hiruzen slowly walked to the window, looking down at the dense crowd below. He saw angry ninjas, and parents who had lost their children, crying out for an explanation. He saw villagers who had once been loyal to him, holding up banners that read 'Hiruzen Step Down'.
And at the forefront of the crowd, Fugaku was surrounded by everyone, like a triumphant hero, embraced by the Konoha populace.
Hiruzen took off his Hokage hat, straightened his clothes, and said in a low, weak voice, "Prepare the amplification barrier."
Danzo suddenly grabbed his arm, feigning concern. "Hiruzen! What are you doing?"
Hiruzen shook off his hand and walked towards the balcony without looking back. "I'm going to end this farce."
When Hiruzen appeared on the balcony, the crowd below erupted in a deafening chorus of boos. Rotten tomatoes and stinky eggs flew from all directions, splattering stains on the barrier.
"Hiruzen, you liar!"
"Give back my son!"
"Step down, liar!"
Hiruzen raised his hands to signal for quiet, but he was t with even more intense insults.
It wasn't until Fugaku raised his hand and amplified his voice with Chakra, saying, "Everyone, please calm down. Even if the Third Hokage is guilty, we should give him a chance to explain."
Hearing this, the crowd gradually quieted down.
Hiruzen's heart tightened, and his voice spread throughout the entire plaza. "Fellow Konoha citizens, I understand your anger..."
A ninja who had lost both arms roared angrily, "You understand nothing! Do you understand how we felt on the front lines? We crawled back from piles of dead bodies, only to find our young children at ho were tricked by you onto the battlefield. You betrayed us. You are not fit to be Hokage."
Amidst the chaotic crowd, shouts of agreent constantly erupted.
"Hiruzen, you are not fit to be Hokage!"
Listening to the roars from downstairs, Danzo was overjoyed.
'Sensei, you were wrong after all. Only I am suitable to be Hokage. Hiruzen is too soft. If it were , I would have directly sent the Root to suppress them in advance, and then there wouldn't be this ss now.'
Hiruzen had to raise his voice. "We have tried very hard. Moreover, I also sent over 3,000 ninjas to support the Kirigakure battlefield. It's just that this attack by Kirigakure was too sudden, completely beyond our expectations."
A widow holding a baby shrieked, interrupting him, "My husband died six months ago! Because of financial difficulties, I asked you for bereavent pay 3 tis, but I didn't get a single penny. My child almost starved to death, and now you co out pretending to be a good person?"
Cold sweat seeped from Hiruzen's forehead as he said, "That might be soone in the logistics departnt neglecting their duty. I didn't know about any of this."
Seeing the Uchiha clan mbers distributing bread and drinking water among the crowd, and seeing the Kurama clan ninjas treating the wounded, Hiruzen's heart grew increasingly uneasy. It seed all of this was a preditated plan by the Uchiha.
His voice began to tremble. "Because the situation was urgent at the ti, I sent the children to the front lines. This was indeed a wrong decision, I admit."
A young Genin with a scarred face roared like a madman, "Admitting it is enough? My sister's body still hasn't been recovered. She... she was only nine years old!"
The wave of sound rose again, and the angry crowd once again began to charge the barrier.
Hiruzen knew it had co to the final mont.
He shouted with all his strength, "I announce! After the war ends, I will imdiately resign from the position of Hokage! With this, I apologize to everyone!"
Suddenly, the entire plaza fell silent.
Hiruzen's back was hunched, as if this one sentence had drained all his strength. His gaze swept over the angry faces, finally settling on Fugaku. The expression of the Uchiha clan head was very much like a silent provocation.
Hiruzen added with difficulty, "Furthermore, I will donate all of my personal savings to the village."
The anger in the crowd seed to subside a little, but the hatred had not yet dissipated.
At this mont, Fugaku suddenly shouted loudly, "Third Hokage, the most urgent task is to rescue those children in the Kirigakure battlefield. And we should also bring back the bodies of those children who have died, so I request that reinforcents be organized imdiately."
These words were like a spark falling into a haystack, imdiately igniting the emotions of the crowd.
"Yes! Yes! Save our children!"
"Fugaku-sama is right!"
"Attack Kirigakure, we want revenge!"
Hiruzen watched as the hearts of Konoha's people completely turned to the Uchiha, and could only nod bitterly: "Granted..."
As the old Hokage stumbled back into his office, a deafening cheer, like a tsunami, erupted behind him.
Seeing Hiruzen retreat in disarray, Danzo stared at Fugaku with sinister eyes.
In the plaza below the Hokage building, the populace spontaneously began to tear down banners that read "Hiruzen, you are not fit to be Hokage!" and replaced them with banners that read "Support Uchiha, attack Kirigakure, save our children!".
The Third Hokage, once the most popular, now appeared isolated and desolate.
Konoha's power structure, starting today, was about to change.
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