Chapter 177: Danzo: I Will Become the Hokage, or Else I'll Blow Up Konoha

Back then...

When the Uchiha Clan fled from Konoha, countless people cheered and celebrated, thinking that the tumor had finally been expelled, and that better days were on the horizon.

Who would have thought that less than a month later, the Shinobi Alliance would invade the Land of Fire, bringing the war right to Konoha's doorstep.

The people of Konoha were stunned.

Since then...

Due to dissatisfaction with the village's higher-ups and a pessimistic view of the war situation, there had been several defections from Konoha in recent times.

Seeing morale plummeting...

The Konoha higher-ups decided to hold a mobilization meeting, calling on all Konoha ninjas to fight alongside the village to the last man.

"Where the leaves dance, the fire also continues to burn..."

On the rooftop, the Third Hokage was recounting his philosophy of the "Will of Fire", delivering a passionate speech.

Unfortunately, the response was sparse, and the effect was not good.

After all, everyone remembered...

Last time, after the Third Hokage gave such a speech, Konoha's three thousand strong army went to the Land of Rain, only to be swiftly annihilated.

Hiruzen Sarutobi.

This Hokage, who was once respected and trusted by all of Konoha, had made blunder after blunder. His reputation in the village had been exhausted.

Just then...

A commotion erupted from the back of the crowd.

"Hm?"

On the rooftop, the Third Hokage, Jiraiya, and others followed the sound, their pupils constricting at the sight of an unexpected figure.

Danzo.

This former aide to the Hokage, who had disappeared for half a month, had chosen to show up again at this very moment.

Under everyone's gaze...

He calmly walked through the crowd with his cane, making his way to the front of the Hokage Building.

"That old man, he dares to show his face?"

"If he hadn't stolen Shisui's eyes, the Uchiha Clan wouldn't have broken away from the village. If the Uchihas hadn't left, the major ninja villages wouldn't have declared war on Konoha..."

"Don't forget, Danzo tried to manipulate the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki with Shisui's Sharingan, which led to the Nine-Tails running amok and almost destroyed Konoha."

"Danzo is the root cause of the village's current state!"

The Konoha ninjas were filled with righteous indignation, glaring furiously at Danzo. If looks could kill, he would have been torn to shreds long ago.

Whoosh.

A few Anbu appeared, silently surrounding Danzo and drawing their ninja blades.

They were just waiting for the Third Hokage to give the order, and they would take Danzo down, even execute him on the spot.

"Danzo, do you have no shame?"

The Third Hokage looked down at Danzo, scolding him harshly. He raised his hand, ready to order the Anbu to act.

To everyone's surprise...

Danzo looked up at the Third Hokage and others, a flash in his eyes, and suddenly spoke:

"I want to be the Hokage! Only I can save Konoha in its current state!"

When he said this, there was silence all around, and everyone had a look of surprise on their faces.

Had Danzo... gone mad?

This old man, instead of admitting his wrongs, had the audacity to declare his intention to become Hokage, saying that only he could save Konoha.

It sounded like the ravings of a lunatic.

However, just as the Konoha ninjas were about to mercilessly ridicule Danzo...

"Hmph."

Danzo snorted, and his cane heavily hit the ground.

The next second...

Boom! Boom! Boom!

To the west of the Hokage Building, a series of explosions suddenly erupted from a group of buildings. Flames and thick smoke rose into the sky.

That was... the Sarutobi Clan's residential area.

In an instant...

A large number of the Sarutobi Clan's residences were destroyed by the explosions. The clan's ninjas were either killed instantly, engulfed in flames, or buried under the rubble.

There were heavy casualties in a short time.

"Danzo, you!"

Seeing this, the Third Hokage was both shocked and furious. He jumped off the rooftop and, filled with murderous intent, rushed towards Danzo.

Danzo remained calm, only sneering:

"This is a warning, Hiruzen. If you take one more step, I'll blow up all of Konoha."

Blow up Konoha.

When these words came out of Danzo's mouth, the Third Hokage was instantly taken aback, stopping dead in his tracks.

"Danzo, stop your alarmist talk!"

Jiraiya, Koharu, and Homura also jumped down from the rooftop, sternly rebuking Danzo.

"Oh? It seems you don't believe me."

Danzo casually responded, picking up his cane again, and struck the ground with a "thud".

Boom!

The nearby Konoha News Building immediately exploded, collapsing in the shocked gazes of everyone.

"How... how did you do it?"

The Third Hokage was visibly shaken, his voice trembling.

Danzo glanced around, satisfied with the expressions of fear on everyone's faces. Then he slowly explained:

"A man named Genō, an elite ninja from the Yōgan Village in the Land of Mountains, whose son died at the hands of Konoha ninjas years ago.

To avenge his son, he infiltrated Konoha posing as a carpenter, and stole blueprints of the village's important facilities from the village foreman's house.

Genō eluded everyone's sight, filling all the buildings and even the underground of the village with explosive tags. Once detonated, it could turn the entire Konoha into ruins.

Genō is now dead, and all the mechanisms he left behind have been taken over by me.

Hiruzen, is there anything you don't understand?"

By the time Danzo had finished speaking, the Third Hokage had turned as pale as a ghost.

The surrounding Konoha ninjas were even more horrified, falling into a state of chaos.

Byakugan, open!

Led by Hyūga Hizashi, a group of Hyūga ninjas activated their Byakugan, aiming it at the buildings around them. Sure enough, they found explosive tags and triggering mechanisms within the buildings.

"Hokage-sama."

Jiraiya gave the Third Hokage a look.

The Third Hokage immediately understood his pupil's meaning: to capture Danzo immediately. Then, let the Hyūga Clan dismantle all the explosive tags and mechanisms in the village.

But their thoughts were seen through by Danzo in an instant.

"Hiruzen, are you treating the lives of tens of thousands of people in Konoha as a joke?"

Danzo stared intently at the Third Hokage, questioning him, and confidently said, "Do you think that these explosive tags are all there is?

Even if you dismantle every single one of the explosive tags, I still have a way to destroy the entire Konoha.

If you don't believe me, feel free to try."

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage and others exchanged glances and no longer dared to act rashly.

After a silence of ten seconds...

"Danzo, why... why are you doing this?" The Third Hokage looked at his lifelong friend, asking heartbrokenly.

"Hiruzen, I thought I've made it clear."

Danzo shook his head, feeling quite disappointed that the Third Hokage couldn't understand him.

Then, in front of everyone, he slowly confessed:

"Since the day I became a Konoha ninja, everything I've done has been for the village. Over these years, there has never been anyone like me who has devoted all their effort and made every possible sacrifice for Konoha.

Now, the village faces life and death...

"In the face of life and death, to prevent Konoha from being destroyed by you all, I must become the Hokage.

Because...

Only I, Danzo Shimura, am the savior of Konoha, only I can save this village!"

Danzo grew more passionate as he spoke, until finally, he was practically roaring.

That day...

He fell under the influence of Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan jutsu—Kotoamatsukami, and was implanted with an almost realistic illusion.

In that illusionary world, Danzo saw himself overthrowing the Third Hokage and finally achieving his long-held dream of becoming the Fifth Hokage.

He saw himself leading Konoha in battles across the lands, finally unifying the Five Great Nations, and becoming the ruler of the shinobi world.

He would become the greatest Hokage in history, bringing eternal peace to the shinobi world, his name immortalized for all time!

Danzo firmly believed that he was the chosen one.

"Danzo, you've gone mad."

The Third Hokage, looking at his friend who had fallen into madness, also shook his head firmly, "No matter how you threaten, I will never let you become the Fifth Hokage."

Hearing this, Danzo suddenly laughed, the laughter growing louder and louder until he finally roared:

"So be it, then Konoha has no reason to exist, let it be destroyed!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he raised his cane with both hands, preparing to fiercely stab it into the ground.

Not good.

Seeing this, everyone was so frightened they turned pale as death.

Just at this critical moment...

"Halt!"

The Daimyō, accompanied by his ministers, rushed out of the Hokage Building, stopping Danzo.

He walked panting into the middle of the two, his anger raging as he scolded:

"Stop fighting amongst yourselves! At a time like this, you all are still fighting internally, are you trying to drive me to my grave?"

The Third Hokage, hearing these words, changed his expression and quickly explained:

"Daimyō-sama, it's Danzo who has made an unreasonable demand, wishing to become the Hokage. Not just me, but all of the tens of thousands of people in Konoha, none of us can agree to his terms."

The Daimyō widened his eyes, asked incredulously:

"So, you'd rather see Danzo detonate the explosive tags in the village, turning the entire Konoha into ruins, and everyone buried with him?

Is it the so-called position of Hokage that's important, or are the lives of the tens of thousands of people in Konoha more important?"

In the Daimyō's eyes...

Danzo was here to negotiate, but the Third Hokage kept provoking him with a hardline stance, pushing Danzo on a path of mutual destruction with Konoha.

Compared to Danzo, it was the Third Hokage who seemed more mad, valuing the position of Hokage above all else.

"The Daimyō sees clearly."

Danzo gently put down his cane, speaking to the Daimyō of the Land of Fire, "I never intended to destroy Konoha, what I just did was merely to test Hiruzen.

The truth is, he would risk the safety of the entire Konoha, even the lives of all Konoha villagers, just to keep his position as the Hokage from being taken away.

Such a person, what qualifications does he have to be the Hokage of Konoha?"

His voice was loud, so everyone around could hear clearly.

For a moment, countless eyes fell on the Third Hokage, questioning, angry, disappointed... People's patience with this Hokage had reached its limit.

The Third Hokage's face turned extremely unpleasant. He stared at Danzo, and said in a deep voice:

"Danzo, you're wrong.

I never clung to the position of Hokage, I had to stand firm in this position for the sake of Konoha.

As long as the Daimyō and the villagers of Konoha have a suitable candidate in mind, I am willing to abdicate immediately and hand the future of Konoha into that person's hands.

But I am very sure, that person, will not be you."

Unexpectedly...

The Third Hokage had just finished speaking when he was contradicted by the Daimyō.

"Danzo, do you really have a way to lead Konoha to victory in this Great Ninja War?" The Daimyō stared at Danzo, asking this question.

To this, Danzo answered without hesitation:

"Of course! As long as I become the Hokage, all the problems Konoha faces will be solved."

He had infinite confidence in himself.

The Daimyō considered for a moment, his eyes flickering, and finally declared:

"Alright, from now on, I appoint you as the Fifth Hokage of Konoha! I hope you don't let me down, and don't let down Konoha, and the people of the entire Land of Fire!"

In the Daimyō's eyes...

Anyway, the Third Hokage and the other Konoha higher-ups couldn't find a solution. Since that's the case, he might as well see what Danzo is capable of.

Moreover...

Danzo was in control of the mechanisms left by Genō, and could detonate the entire Konoha at any time. The lives of everyone present were in his hands.

Under such circumstances...

What other choice did the Daimyō have?

Not only the Daimyō, but all the people of Konoha present also realized this.

If they didn't let Danzo become the Hokage, everyone would be blown up immediately. The only ones who might survive would be the most powerful among them—

Which were the Third Hokage and the other higher-ups like Jiraiya.

And for the rest of the people of Konoha, in order to survive, they probably could only agree to Danzo's conditions.

For that slim chance of survival.

"Daimyō-sama, this is absolutely not right!"

The Third Hokage couldn't accept it and immediately objected to the Daimyō's appointment.

However, in response, he received the Daimyō's cold gaze.

"All of Konoha's Jōnin, step forward!" At the Daimyō's command, the Jōnin of the village all walked out from the crowd.

The Daimyō looked around, and began to speak:

"I have decided to appoint Danzo as the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, now we will conduct a Jōnin vote of confidence."

The appointment of a Hokage in Konoha must go through three processes.

Nominations from the higher-ups, appointment by the Daimyō, and finally, the Jōnin vote of confidence.

The previous candidate, Jiraiya, smoothly passed the first two processes but fell on the third step.

And Danzo...

He was indeed nominated by a former Hokage's aide, Uchiha Dan, so he met the criteria. Now he has also received the Daimyō's personal appointment,

only the final Jōnin vote of confidence was left.

As soon as the Daimyō finished speaking...

The Jōnin of the four major clans of Konoha—the Yamanaka, Akimichi, Nara, and Hyūga—successively raised their hands in agreement.

Their resentment towards the Third Hokage surpassed their animosity towards Danzo.

If they had to choose one of the two to be the Hokage, they would rather choose Danzo, the obvious villain, over the hypocritical Third Hokage.

Under the lead of the four major clans, other Jōnin of Konoha also started raising their hands one after another.

The Jōnin of the Inuzuka, Yūgao, and other clans, as well as some civilian Jōnin like Might Guy, all chose to abstain.

However...

The number of votes supporting Danzo had already surpassed half.

Thus, Danzo successfully completed all the procedures of the Hokage appointment. From this moment on, he officially became the Fifth Hokage of Konoha!

The Third Hokage staggered back as if all his strength had been drained, almost falling over.

Luckily, Jiraiya was there to support him in time.

From now on, he could no longer shout at Danzo, "I am the Hokage."

With a sharp gaze, Danzo walked in front of the Third Hokage and declared in the tone of a victor:

"Hiruzen, I told you before, you will regret this."