Chapter 138: The Civil War of Konohagakure Begins

Sarutobi Hiruzen certainly did not lose his conscience; he was simply too fond of power and too soft-hearted, becoming someone prone to compromise before he even realized it.

Facing the Second Hokage's interrogation, Sarutobi Hiruzen no longer had the heart to quibble.

"I am sorry. It was I, your student, who was blinded by power and coerced by the interests of my clan."

"It was my jealousy at work, fearing the reputation of Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru, afraid they would threaten my position as Hokage, afraid they would threaten the interests of the Sarutobi Clan, which is why I tacitly allowed Danzo to suppress them. But I truly never imagined that Danzo would actually kill Konoha Ninja..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen wept bitterly in repentance, his posture humble to the extreme.

"I am not a qualified Hokage. I have failed you, Teacher, I have failed Orochimaru, Hatake Sakumo, and those Konoha Ninja persecuted by Danzo. I have failed the Konohagakure that Shodai Hokage built!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's repentance was very sincere, and his tearful words moved many Konoha Ninja.

A glimmer of sympathy and identification appeared in the eyes of many ninja as they looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

But the ninja of the Sarutobi Clan could not accept their clan head, the Third Hokage of Konohagakure, bowing his head in repentance to a "puppet."

Sarutobi Masao stepped forward quickly, grabbed Sarutobi Hiruzen to help him up, and said sternly: "Lord Third! You cannot bow your head to him!"

"You are the Hokage of Konoha, the pride of our Sarutobi Clan, and the 'strongest Hokage in history'!"

"How can you repent to a puppet controlled by Orochimaru?!"

Another Sarutobi Elder spoke up: "Masao is right!"

"Lord Third! The position of Hokage of Konoha was passed to you by the Second Hokage back then, and history has long proven that it was the most correct and wise choice!"

"This Second Hokage brought forth by Impure World Reincarnation is merely a manifestation of the will of that rogue ninja Orochimaru. He has no qualifications to boss you around, and is even less worthy of judging the Hokage of our Sarutobi Clan!"

"The prosperity Konoha enjoys today is all thanks to the contributions of our Sarutobi Clan!"

"During Lord Third's tenure, he has worked conscientiously to guard the peace of Konoha. Our Sarutobi Clan has sacrificed far too much for Konoha; Konoha was always meant to be our Sarutobi Clan's, and we must never let outsiders lay a finger on it!"

Sarutobi Masao's voice grew louder and louder, his greed and arrogance becoming impossible to conceal: "This is a fake Second Hokage, a tool for Orochimaru to subvert Konoha and seize power!"

"As long as we kill Orochimaru, this puppet will be useless, and Konoha will still be our Sarutobi Clan's!"

His words completely ignited the ambition and greed of the Sarutobi Clan ninja.

The Sarutobi ninja raised the ninja tools in their hands and roared: "Konoha belongs to the Sarutobi Clan!"

"Kill the fake Second Hokage! Kill Orochimaru!"

"Protect Konohagakure, protect the Sarutobi Clan!"

Seeing this, the ninja of the Shimura Clan echoed in succession: "Avenge Lord Danzo! Kill the fake Second Hokage!"

"The Shimura Clan will never back down!"

The ninja of the Utatane and Mitokado clans also gripped their ninja tools tightly, the chakra around their bodies growing increasingly dense, their eyes filled with the will to fight.

There was no turning back now: either kill Senju Tobirama and preserve their own clan's interests;

or be defeated by Senju Tobirama and lose everything they currently possessed.

Senju Tobirama remained calm throughout.

Sarutobi Hiruzen wept and repented, but he showed not a hint of expression.

The ninja of the four clans were frantically restless, radiating undisguised greed, hatred, and arrogance, yet he felt no anger.

But the Second Hokage's gaze grew increasingly icy, and the chakra around his body grew increasingly sharp.

It was not until the ninja of the four great clans called for his death and openly shouted that "Konohagakure belongs to the Sarutobi Clan" that Senju Tobirama finally sneered.

"The Sarutobi Clan's interests?"

"Konoha is the private property of the Sarutobi?"

Senju Tobirama looked at the weeping Sarutobi Hiruzen and said coldly: "Will you not stop your own clansmen?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen only wept louder, even kowtowing desperately, but he simply would not open his mouth to stop his clansmen.

Senju Tobirama was thoroughly disappointed: "I still remember the scene back then when my older brother Senju Hashirama and Madara Uchiha joined forces to establish Konohagakure here."

"The head of the Sarutobi Clan at that time was Sarutobi Sasuke—upright, kind, powerful, fair and strict in his dealings, and responsible. He was an excellent ninja whom even Madara Uchiha had to acknowledge."

"Look at you now; where is there even a trace of your father in you?"

"If it weren't for Sarutobi Sasuke, how could you, Sarutobi Hiruzen, have become my student?"

"And another thing, I remember that when the Sarutobi Clan joined Konohagakure, there were over a hundred ninja. Now, there are actually... several thousand."

"No wonder they would shout the preposterous claim that 'Konohagakure belongs to the Sarutobi Clan.' This is what happens when you steal enough—you start to think it all belongs to you."

"Sarutobi Hiruzen, you listen to me!"

"Konohagakure was established by my older brother Senju Hashirama and Madara Uchiha!"

"The establishment of Konohagakure was to allow various clans to lay down their hatred, fight side by side, jointly guard the Land of Fire, protect the children, and prevent the people from suffering the pain of war and being displaced!"

"Konohagakure belongs to all Konoha Ninja; it does not belong to any single ninja clan!"

"To achieve this goal, I deliberately suppressed the Uchiha Clan, and even went so far as to disband the majority of the Senju Clan, letting them completely integrate into Konohagakure!"

"But you... you have actually treated Konoha as the private property of your own clan, letting the interests of the clan override the interests of Konohagakure!"

"Konohagakure belongs to the Sarutobi Clan..."

Senju Tobirama's gaze swept over the Sarutobi ninja: "What bold words!"

"For you paranoid, greedy, incompetent, and foolish Sarutobi ninja to actually view Konohagakure as private property—you are simply courting death!"

Sarutobi Masao roared: "Nonsense!"

"A fake puppet dares to speak so brazenly? Then don't blame me for being impolite!"

The fire-attribute chakra around his body erupted, and his hands quickly formed seals: "Go to hell, you counterfeit fake!"

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball erupted from his mouth, carrying a scorching heat as it smashed fiercely toward Senju Tobirama.

Sarutobi Masao's attack caused the civil war in Konohagakure to erupt completely.

The Sarutobi ninja launched Fire Release Ninjutsu one after another, attacking Senju Tobirama, Orochimaru, and Yamanaka Chujiu.

Great Fireball Technique, Katon: Goka Messhitsu, and Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu danced across the sky in a dense swarm, dyeing half the sky red.

A scorching wave of heat erupted madly, instantly igniting the trees nearby.

The ninjas of the Sarutobi Clan ignited the flames of war, and the ninjas of the Shimura Clan followed immediately.

They erupted with Wind Style chakra, quickly forming hand seals to cast Ninjutsu, providing assistance to the Sarutobi Clan's Fire Release.

The Utatane Clan and the Mitokado Clan hesitated slightly, but finally followed suit and launched their attacks.

Earth Style Ninjutsu such as Doton: Doryuheki and Doton: Doryudan were cast in succession, surrounding Senju Tobirama completely to prevent him from dodging the Ninjutsu attacks.