Chapter 340

Senju Hashirama turned around and looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's body trembled, then bowed his head low before Senju Hashirama. "First Hokage, my lord, I am here."

To others, Sarutobi Hiruzen was the dignified and benevolent Third Hokage.

But Sarutobi Hiruzen knew himself—no matter how high he stood,

before Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama, he was still just a child.

"I never expected that the little kid back then would now have become the Hokage of Konoha!"

Senju Hashirama's voice carried a hint of nostalgia; after a brief pause, he spoke softly again.

"Monkey, I know you're heartbroken over Danzo's matter... but nine times out of ten, he really did collude with the Uchiha clan."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's body froze.

Even if he wanted to refute it, he didn't know where to begin—Senju Hashirama had said this; what could he do? Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen's lingering reluctance, Senju Hashirama added lightly:

"Most importantly, there are several people here whose strength rivals mine and Uchiha Madara's peak."

"Monkey... you'd better think this through carefully."

Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly lifted his head, his expression utterly stunned.

His voice carried shock and disbelief.

"First Hokage... what did you just say?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen nearly thought he'd misheard! Several people rivaling my and Uchiha Madara's peak... this information was overwhelming.

Not just Sarutobi Hiruzen and the two Hokage advisors.

Even those who had prepared themselves, upon hearing this, twitched their lips slightly.

After a brief silence, all of Sarutobi Hiruzen's grief and outrage vanished, replaced by solemnity.

As if Danzo had never died.

His emotions were calm; his voice was steady.

"Fourth Hokage, you now take charge! Quickly handle post-disaster reconstruction."

Sarutobi Hiruzen ignored all other issues.

He no longer questioned Bofengshui Gate.

He truly didn't know what background Su Han and his group came from, but it was certain they were connected to Bofengshui Gate.

Since Su Han's group included multiple individuals possessing strength equal to Uchiha Madara's or Senju Hashirama's peak, what more needed to be said? Senju Hashirama himself had vouched for their power.

No one could question it.

Sarutobi Hiruzen now clearly understood: if he truly angered these people, even if they wanted to utterly destroy Konoha, it would be effortless. Considering this, even though his heart ached and he felt Danzo's death was unjust, whether for Konoha or for other reasons,

he had to swallow his anger and pretend this never happened.

With a light sigh, Senju Hashirama's face quickly resumed a boyish grin as he stepped before Hou Jue Wo Ban, staring at his face, speaking slowly and seriously:

"Aside from Madara, I've never met anyone who could beat me so badly!"

"The only pity is... I'm already dead now.

I can't fight you in a living state."

Hou Jue Wo Ban sneered. "You're lucky you're dead! Without the Edo Tensei technique, you'd have died ten or twenty times over under my hands."

Senju Hashirama waved his hand, stopping Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others, whose faces showed faint resentment, then shrugged.

"Who could have known?"

"At my peak, I wasn't just this strong.

Perhaps then, it would have been a rare, fierce battle."

Su Han glanced at the group and directly interrupted Senju Hashirama.

"Since matters here are settled, we should leave."

"Leave now?"

Bofengshui Gate was the first to react.

Ignoring Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others, he stepped before Su Han, his voice earnest.

"This time, you, the President, have truly helped me immensely! Please don't leave yet—let me at least have a chance to thank you!"

Su Han smiled, shaking his head.

"No need. Konoha is in ruins; you'll be busy in the days ahead. Our staying here would only be a disturbance."

Hou Jue Wo Ban's face was expressionless. "The mission is complete. We should have returned long ago."

Bai Hu Zi laughed heartily.

"It's a pity we didn't fight a living Uchiha Madara—but still, it was satisfying enough."

Wugeng Liuli glanced at those present, her lips moving slightly, but ultimately said nothing.

This battle served no purpose other than strengthening her resolve to grow stronger.

All she realized during the livestream was how vast the gap was between her and these masters present.

With merely a Major-General's strength, she had only the privilege to livestream, not the capital to touch the battlefield.

"Then it's settled."

Su Han nodded to Bofengshui Gate and Xuanwozhang Sect.

"Farewell, both of you!"

Without hesitation, Su Han clicked "Submit Mission" in his mind.

In the next instant, brilliant light flashed, and Su Han's group vanished instantly.

Only the Uchiha estate, now turned into a forest, remained, along with Uchiha Fuyue, Bofengshui Gate, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and others staring at each other in silence.

Xuanwozhang Sect scanned the crowd, then turned and floated effortlessly outward, as if weightless, toward the edge of Konoha.

"Fourth Hokage... since the matter is resolved, I'll leave ahead of schedule."

Bofengshui Changmen could only smile bitterly and wave his hand, "Safe travels."

After Xuanwozhang Sect departed, the scene sank into a long, heavy silence.

Much later, Sarutobi Hiruzen was the first to speak, breaking the silence.

"Fourth Hokage..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath.

He calmed his emotions.

He glanced at the still-unfading Senju Hashirama, straightened his armor, and spoke with the utmost complexity in his voice.

"I hope you can take a moment to explain clearly what exactly happened."

Bofengshui Changmen also smiled bitterly and said, "Though it's difficult, I'll do my best!"

The affairs of the guild could not be mentioned, so Bofengshui Changmen would have to fabricate an explanation acceptable to everyone.

Deceiving this group of old foxes was undoubtedly a mentally exhausting task.

Bofengshui Changmen's mind raced with thoughts as he changed the subject, "But everyone, right now we should focus on rebuilding Konoha."

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