Chapter 82: Orochimaru Becomes Hokage!

When Sarutobi Hiruzen thought that the anger of the Konohagakure villagers and Konoha Ninja was directed at the coercion of the Hyuga and at his own compromise toward Kumogakure.

And at most, dissatisfaction with Danzo's despicable conduct, things had already developed in an unpredictable direction.

Ignoring the ban, the Hyuga activated their Byakugan in Konohagakure and seized ironclad proof of Root spreading rumors.

This was not just seizing evidence against Danzo and putting the Third Hokage in an awkward position; the entire Hokage group also encountered an unprecedented crisis of trust.

"You tell me, if Root is spreading rumors about the Hyuga Clan today, then could the rumors from six years ago that forced Lord Hatake Sakumo to commit suicide also be related to them?"

"?"

"!!"

Rumors were often popular in Konohagakure, but pointing fingers at rumors was a taboo topic.

Because there was once a ninja driven to suicide by rumors, and in the end, it was left unsettled.

Hatake Sakumo was no ordinary Konoha Ninja; he wore the Hokage's half-sleeve and was officially appointed by the Hokage as the Jonin Commander.

He was closer to the position of Hokage than anyone else, and once, more naturally than Orochimaru, he was viewed by Konoha Ninja as the successor to the Hokage.

Including Yamanaka Chujiu, no one expected that when the Hyuga Clan seized the ironclad proof of Root spreading rumors, the first thing the Konoha Ninja would recall was the suicide incident of Hatake Sakumo.

This was actually quite reasonable; after all, only six years had passed.

Many ninjas who had seen Hatake Sakumo with their own eyes and followed his orders under his command were still alive and well!

But to tell the truth, there were indeed not many old people left alive.

Therefore, the Hatake Sakumo incident was unable to stir up waves on its own and could only serve as a catalyst to heighten emotions.

Regardless, it was still much stronger than just bubbling up after twelve years.

In the plaza, Hyuga Hiashi also heard the intelligence and took the opportunity to bring up the topic of Hatake Sakumo, which stirred up a strong resonance among the Konoha Ninja.

His speech attracted more and more villagers, and almost all the Konoha Ninja gathered in the plaza to support the Hyuga Clan.

The Uchiha Clan was the boldest and also the most naive; they actually publicly demanded that the Hokage come out to give an explanation, formally demanding the punishment of Shimura Danzo of Root, and demanding that the Konoha leadership issue a public apology.

But no matter how noisy the Konoha Ninja became, the Third Hokage and his associates refused to appear.

Sarutobi Hiruzen used the same strategy he had employed to deal with Hatake Sakumo's suicide: playing dead and not responding, letting time wear down the ninjas' agitated emotions, letting the matter go from big to small, and eventually leaving it unsettled.

Just then, a small snake appeared at Hyuga Hiashi's feet, and the intense chakra fluctuations attracted the gaze of all the Hyuga ninjas.

In full view of everyone, the small snake opened its mouth and spat out a larger snake, and then the large snake spat out a scroll radiating special chakra fluctuations.

Many ninjas recognized it immediately.

"It's Lord Orochimaru's chakra!"

"It can't be wrong, that gloomy feeling, it's Lord Orochimaru!"

"It's a message from Lord Orochimaru!"

"Clan Leader Hyuga, hurry and look, what message did Lord Orochimaru send you?"

Hyuga Hiashi picked up the scroll, opened it, and after one glance, stood frozen on the spot.

His stunned appearance made the Konoha Ninja in the plaza anxious to death.

"Clan Leader Hyuga! Don't just stand there, is it a letter from Lord Orochimaru?"

"What exactly did Lord Orochimaru say?"

Hyuga Hiashi slowly raised his head and said in disbelief: "Lord Orochimaru, he... he wrote this letter to me from the Land of Lightning."

This sentence exploded in the plaza like a thunderclap.

Instantly, all the discussion vanished; the Konohagakure villagers and ninjas stood frozen in place, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.

Who am I?

Where am I?

What did I just hear?

Didn't Lord Orochimaru defeat the Cloud Hidden Army at Sakurahara and force Kumogakure to send people to sue for peace? How did he suddenly appear in the Land of Lightning?

After a while, people seemed to wake up suddenly and shouted all sorts of things.

"What? What did you say?"

"Lord Orochimaru breached Kumogakure?"

"That's impossible, right? Although the Cloud Hidden Army was defeated, it was only in the offensive battle; the number of Cloud Ninja is still large, and their strength is still very strong..."

"So what? That is Lord Orochimaru; he never lies to Konoha Ninja!"

"But no matter what, there is no reason for Orochimaru to go to the Land of Lightning alone; this is too irrational, too unbelievable."

"Yeah, it's too unbelievable! That monster, the Fourth Raikage, how could he watch Lord Orochimaru run to the Land of Lightning and not be afraid of his own home being turned upside down?"

Hyuga Hiashi shouted loudly: "You all guessed wrong; Lord Orochimaru is not alone. He led four thousand Konoha Ninja and fought all the way from Sakurahara to the Land of Lightning!"

"Is this true?"

"Lord Hyuga Hiashi, you aren't lying to us, are you?"

The Konoha Ninja shouted frantically; in fact, they didn't even know what they were shouting themselves, and they didn't care; they were just venting their own excitement.

Hyuga Hiashi raised the scroll in his hand and said affirmatively: "It is true!"

"This is a letter written personally by Orochimaru. He said he heard that Cloud Ninja attacked the Hyuga clan grounds and caused quite a farce in Konohagakure."

"Lord Orochimaru said that as the frontline commander of Konohagakure, he could not abandon his duties to return to Konohagakure to teach the Cloud Ninja a lesson."

"Therefore, Lord Orochimaru ordered Yamanaka Chujiu to lead troops to break through the blockade of the Cloud Hidden Army, and with the force of a bamboo being split, they punched through the Land of Fire, the Land of Hot Water, and the Land of Cloud, fighting all the way into the Land of Lightning."

"As of now, the Konoha army has fought the Cloud Hidden Army three times in succession, achieving victory every time, and they are not far from Kumogakure!"

"Lord Orochimaru said he will break Kumogakure, force the Fourth Raikage to bow his head, obediently sign a surrender treaty, and submit to Konohagakure!"

"As long as Kumogakure is thoroughly defeated, even if the Cloud Ninja in Konohagakure are dead, it will not affect the arrival of peace."

After Hyuga Hiashi finished speaking, the plaza fell into silence once again.

Everyone's face was filled with shock, excitement, and unbelievable joy.

That arrogant and overbearing Kumogakure, the hostile village that directly provoked Konohagakure in two consecutive wars and that the Third Hokage was willing to sacrifice the Hyuga clan to appease, is about to be defeated by Lord Orochimaru!

This is simply wonderful news; the humiliation of Konohagakure will soon cease to exist!

"Great! How satisfying!"

"Lord Orochimaru is so amazing! He's actually about to reach Kumogakure!"

"Aren't the Cloud Ninja very arrogant? They clearly came to sue for peace, yet they still dared to cause so much trouble; once their village is burned by Lord Orochimaru, let's see how they can still be arrogant."

"Lord Third Hokage, do you see this?"

"The Kumogakure you forced the Hyuga clan to sacrifice for is about to be defeated by Lord Orochimaru!"

"Long live Lord Orochimaru!"

"Hokage! Let Lord Orochimaru be the Hokage!"

"The Fifth Hokage, Lord Orochimaru!"