Chapter 150: The Handover of the Hokage

It was the first time Sarutobi Asuma had ever seen his father so helpless.

Facing the approaching ninjas of various clans and looking at his clansmen fallen on the ground, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who could do nothing but tremble all over, no longer looked like the Third Hokage at all.

Yet it was precisely at this moment that Asuma, as if enlightened, suddenly understood everything.

He struggled to stand up, walked slowly to the front of Sarutobi Hiruzen, and knelt on the ground with a "thud."

Asuma's eyes were filled with guilt: "Father, I'm sorry, I've caused you trouble."

"It was me who messed things up for you, causing you to fail to protect Konohagakure, and even the Sarutobi Clan could not be protected..."

"We lost, completely lost..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen was covered in wounds, fresh blood stained his armor red, and tears slid from the corners of his eyes.

He looked at the corpse of Mitokado Homura, looked at the Sarutobi Clan ninjas fallen on the ground, and the ninjas of various clans constantly closing in, his heart filled with pain and remorse.

Sarutobi Hiruzen endured the pain and squeezed out a faint smile: "No, Asuma, this is not your fault."

"You did indeed cause me no small amount of trouble, but that has nothing to do with today's outcome."

"The one who should be saying sorry... is actually me!"

"Tobirama was right; it was I who was too obsessed with power, blinded by the interests of the clan, and indulged Shimura Danzo without bottom lines, which led to today's great disaster."

"The Sarutobi Clan occupied too many interests; it is not that I didn't notice, but I just felt I could handle it and it was no big deal, which is why, under the turning of fate, I have fallen into this desperate situation of annihilation today."

"It is me, I am sorry to Konoha, for causing Konoha to fall into civil war..."

"Thinking about it carefully, I seem to have hurt many, many Konoha Ninja; I really am a Hokage with heavy sins."

Orochimaru appeared before Sarutobi Hiruzen: "I didn't expect it, at the very last moment, you actually figured it out, Teacher Hiruzen."

"It seems that the corruption of the human heart by power is truly terrifying."

"But regardless, Teacher, you have completely lost now. For the peace of Konohagakure and to reduce the losses of the Konoha Ninja, please surrender publicly."

Sarutobi Asuma roared: "Orochimaru, you actually dare to appear before my father!"

Orochimaru gave a carefree laugh: "Asuma, what qualification do you, a rogue ninja, have to yell in front of me?"

Asuma was bewildered: "Me, a rogue ninja?"

"You're talking nonsense, I am not a rogue ninja!"

Yamanaka Chujiu sneered: "You are!"

"You abandoned the order and discipline of Konohagakure and joined the ranks of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve in a personal capacity; you are no longer a Konoha Ninja."

"Look at the headband on your head; you've even thrown away the Konoha Headband, if you aren't a rogue ninja, then who is?"

Sarutobi Asuma reached out to touch his headband, felt the "Fire" character representing the Daimyo on it, and was left completely speechless.

Yamanaka Chujiu said: "Step aside, don't cause trouble for my teacher Orochimaru, and let the two master and student properly complete the handover and succession between Hokage."

At this time, the smaller ninja clans had already cleared out the ninjas of the four great families. Under the orders of Yamanaka Chujiu, two Hyuga ninjas rushed over, pinned down the heavily injured Sarutobi Asuma, and after a simple bandage, dragged him away.

Yamanaka Chujiu himself also retreated a long distance, leaving Orochimaru and Sarutobi Hiruzen alone.

At least, it looked like they were alone.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Orochimaru: "You have grown up; you are no longer the exceptionally gifted, cold and aloof youth who needed my careful care and guidance back then."

"Tobirama made me understand that I was wrong in the past, so can you not make mistakes?"

His heart was filled with mixed feelings—regret, sorrow, and unwillingness—but there was no resentment.

Decades of master-student friendship meant he understood Orochimaru's obsession better than anyone, and he knew he had no greed for power.

There was no emotion in Orochimaru's golden slit pupils: "Teacher Hiruzen, you always say you want to protect Konoha, protect the villagers, and protect the peace of the Ninja World for your whole life."

"But what you have been protecting is long since no longer the existence of Konoha, but a monster that parasitizes Konohagakure, desperately sucking its blood and gnawing its flesh—a rigid and decaying system."

"The Konoha leadership is conservative, holding onto power, suppressing new forces, and clinging to old factional rules."

"The teaching at the Ninja Academy is becoming simpler and simpler, the channels for civilian ninjas to access high-level Ninjutsu are cut off, the barriers of the four great families are strict, and class solidification is severe."

"When you were not the Hokage, Jiraiya and I could become your students, Might Duy could learn the 'Eight Inner Gates Formation', small ninja clans like the Kato Clan could learn the 'Spirit Transformation Technique', and Hatake Sakumo could rise strongly."

"But now, civilian ninjas cannot apprentice under Jonin, and even with a lifetime of effort, it is difficult to be promoted to Chunin."

"Without a steady stream of powerful ninjas rising, Konohagakure appears stretched thin when facing the siege of the four great ninja villages, and has to push ten-year-old Genin onto the battlefield."

"The massive deaths of children made you fall into desperate grief, and you changed into a different person without realizing it."

"You began to endure and concede to the outside world without limit, and became rigid and conservative on the inside, thinking only of living a stable life, completely losing the vitality of progress, and further reducing the opportunities for civilian ninjas to rise."

"When all is said and done, it is because you have been the Hokage for too long, and you yourself have degenerated and rotted into Konoha's greatest enemy."

Orochimaru's analysis was sharp and accurately pierced the long-standing stubborn illness of Konoha.

At any other time, the Third Hokage would absolutely not have listened, and would only have angrily rebuked Orochimaru for talking nonsense and told him to get out.

But after being beaten up by Senju Tobirama and Senju Hashirama, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally listened.

He slowly closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

When Sarutobi Hiruzen opened his eyes again, his gaze had become calm: "Orochimaru, you are right."

"Today you defeat me, not to kill your master or betray your clan, but to cut off the old shackles for Konoha."

"Since the outcome is decided, the future of Konoha shall be entrusted to you."

Orochimaru's lips curled into a very faint arc, but he was not actually smiling: "Finally, Teacher Hiruzen understands my thoughts."

"Konohagakure has been established for nearly fifty years; the former order can no longer adapt to the times, and a Konoha that clings to old rules will only step by step head toward decline."

"I will lead Yamanaka Chujiu to break the old and establish the new, destroy the monopoly of the leadership, open up channels for class advancement, and open up channels for the dissemination of Ninjutsu."

"I will make Konohagakure great again and let it stand firmly at the pinnacle of the Ninja World."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded slightly, supporting his broken body, slowly straightened his back, and handed the damaged Hokage Hat to Orochimaru, which counted as completing the ceremony of the Hokage handover.

His tone was incomparably solemn: "I have governed Konoha for decades; I have had enough success in maintaining the status quo but lacked in pioneering, failing to cure the accumulated ills of Konoha. Now that I am exhausted and defeated, unable to protect Konohagakure, I formally deliver the will of the Hokage and the power of Konoha to you."

"Everything is entrusted to you."