[Sponsored] Chapter 233: All for Konoha

[This Chapter Is Sponsored by Gorama27! Everyone, please thank him in the comment!]

Konoha, a tavern.

"What kind of village are we living in now?"

"Poor ninjas, the poverty of the elderly and the weak, and the problem of their support. Why is the marriage rate of young ninjas getting lower and lower, and the birth rate of children is also decreasing?"

In the tavern, Uchiha Yoru, under the attention of everyone, faced the gaze of countless people, and questioned everyone with a tone full of inquiry.

And all the listeners, after hearing such questions, fell silent one after another. These were never issues they considered, but they were also questions they needed to face.

It can be seen in the original work that the marriage and childbirth rates of young people in this period are alarmingly low. For example, nearly all of Kakashi's contemporaries are single. It's known that the ninja world is a society that values early marriage and childbirth.

"Why does no one want to let their children be born in Konoha as it is now?"

Looking at everyone, Uchiha Yoru angrily rebuked in a passionate tone: "It's because we are falling into the abyss, but the corrupt people in our village pretend not to see it."

At this point, Uchiha Yoru, suppressing the anger in his heart, looked at everyone and calmly said: "Do you know how much the housing prices are within the central area of the village now?"

He slowly stretched out five fingers, and in front of everyone, Uchiha Yoru angrily rebuked with deep disdain: "The most prosperous phase one square meter costs five hundred thousand! A full five hundred thousand!"

"And the reward for a B-rank mission in the ninja world is eighty to two hundred thousand! The reward for an A-rank mission is one hundred fifty thousand to one million! But whether it's B-rank or A-rank, these missions need a Jounin level leader, aside from the danger of the mission, just speaking of the consumption, personnel allocation, and part of the reward that the village takes."

"A B-rank or an A-rank mission, tell me, how many can a Jounin complete in a non-war period in a year?"

"And after every mission, there's the need for physical recuperation, re-purchasing of blades, etc…"

Uchiha Yoru, pointing at everyone, angrily rebuked: "A well-coordinated team of one special Jounin and three Chunin, working tirelessly throughout the year, accumulates less than a million in rewards!"

"A high-level medical ninja who has reached Jounin level, for a house in the village, he has to bear a huge mortgage!"

At this moment, Uchiha Yoru, with high emotions, pointed at everyone and shouted angrily: "It is because of the incompetent leaders within the village, they are foolish! Greedy! Sitting in the village that we protect with our blood, shamelessly enjoying everything."

"Do you know! After the three wars, all the major ninja villages are intensively recovering their economies, even increasing military power, and now the military power of the Cloud Village and the Rock Village in the ninja world has surpassed that of Konoha!"

"And the senile, greedy Third Hokage, greedily sitting in the position of Hokage, they suck the nutrients of the village, turning the once unknown Sarutobi clan into the second wealthiest clan in Konoha now."

Over three years, Uchiha Yoru gradually shifted from subtle hints to directly naming and exposing corruption. This bold behavior gradually gained acceptance, and in the tavern, countless ninjas listened with flushed faces and excitement, slamming the table.

"Sarutobi Asuma! First and foremost, you are a ninja of Konoha, and then the son of the Third Hokage! Now tell me, is there any falsehood in what I have said?"

Suddenly, Uchiha Yoru pointed a finger, and instantly everyone's gaze turned to the ninja hidden in a dark corner, drinking silently - it was Sarutobi Asuma.

Three years ago, after returning from the Fire Temple, Sarutobi Asuma encountered Uchiha Yoru. Their initial hostility turned into mutual respect.

In front of everyone, Sarutobi Asuma slowly stood up, took a deep breath, and looked at all the ninjas in the village, having made up his mind.

"Indeed, the military strength of the Cloud and Rock Villages is increasing. In contrast, Konoha, in terms of military strength, is no longer the first in the ninja world."

This statement, coming from the son of the Third Hokage, was more powerful than any evidence, causing a stir.

Three years ago, Sarutobi Asuma, filled with prejudice against the Third Hokage, encountered a series of changes before he could mature, and was hastily recalled.

Upon his return, he met Uchiha Yoru, who became the center of controversy. Uchiha Yoru sneered at Sarutobi Hiruzen's tactics to turn Itachi, so he decided to turn the son against him.

"The same treatment for the same deed."

At that time, Sarutobi Asuma was in his rebellious phase. Confronted with many harsh realities, he exploded, almost standing in opposition to the Third Hokage.

"We cannot deny the Third Hokage's achievements, but his huge command errors in the three wars led to Konoha's damage. The Third Hokage resigned, but after the Nine-Tails incident, his top officials used the excuse of a temporary return to power, and that has continued to this day!"

"Not a word about the position of the Fifth Hokage!"

Uchiha Yoru looked at everyone and finally pointed at Sarutobi Asuma, shouting excitedly: "We can no longer indulge in the dream of being the first ninja village. The three wars nearly brought us down. How many years has it been, have we forgotten?"

"Now! We need a new Hokage! A young and strong one with vision and courage to grind the enemy's bones to dust! He has arrived! He lives in our era! He will lead Konoha to victory again!"

"We need unity! A strong and unified Konoha to dominate the ninja world again!"

"Victory will be ours!" With Uchiha Yoru's impassioned oath, the tavern's atmosphere surged, as simple ninjas shouted excitedly.

Sarutobi Asuma, his face flushed with excitement, shouted, "Jiraiya and Tsunade are back! Uchiha Yoru! You are not the only choice!"

Watching Sarutobi Asuma approach angrily, as if opposing him, Uchiha Yoru did not get angry but opened his arms with a smile.

"Of course! Jiraiya and Tsunade are also candidates. Konoha needs fresh blood, not dependent on young people fighting to death at the front while a group of old, greedy people occupy high positions, always talking about the village!"

"I, Uchiha Yoru, propose that the village needs a Fifth Hokage! Not the old, corrupt high officials of the Hokage!"

With three years of guidance, everyone's suppressed emotions finally found an outlet, roaring wildly.

Their outlet for frustration was the new Hokage. As Uchiha Yoru repeatedly exposed the corruption of the village, the older generation held high positions, and even the better jobs in the village were monopolized by the clans of these elders, filling them with anger.

Overthrowing them was unthinkable, but the return of the Third Hokage was supposed to be temporary. Now, under Uchiha Yoru's leadership, they found a new direction.

Electing the Fifth Hokage!

Asuma looked at Uchiha Yoru, the most important person in the crowd, with deep jealousy and envy in his eyes. He also deeply despised the current corruption but didn't want to see his opponent become the new Hokage.

So, from the beginning, Asuma's goal was clear: to elect the Fifth Hokage from among Jiraiya and Tsunade, he would never choose Uchiha Yoru.

In the fervent tavern, as Uchiha Yoru's speech stirred emotions, some people in the crowd became agitated. At this moment, Sarutobi Asuma inadvertently saw someone, causing his pupils to shrink.

"What are you trying to do!"

Asuma suddenly grabbed the wrist of Ebisu, who was wearing small sunglasses. Ebisu's face showed fanaticism, but his eyes were incredibly calm as he looked at Asuma.

"Sorry, Lord Asuma, for the mission."

Though Ebisu didn't say much, his lip movements shocked Asuma. The next moment, under Asuma's horrified gaze, Ebisu formed hand seals and uttered the final word.

"Explode!"

Boom! A sudden explosion in the tavern set it ablaze, throwing the already agitated crowd into chaos.

Uchiha Yoru, on the podium, smiled at this scene. Finally, they arrived, having waited so long.

"Put out the fire! Order the police to maintain order!"

"Don't panic, someone is deliberately causing chaos, everyone stay calm!"

Ninjas are highly efficient. Even if someone intentionally caused chaos, they wouldn't disrupt but instead calmly maintained order.

The chaos was quickly contained, but seeing the arrested, everyone showed anger.

The arrested Ebisu, though disheveled, shouted at Uchiha Yoru: "Madman! You slander an elder who devoted his life to the village. Evil Uchiha, the events of the Nine-Tails night are not yet cleared, disgusting!"

Along with Ebisu, Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki were arrested. After their capture, they publicly denounced the injustice.

"Take them to jail!"

The head of the arriving police, Kurenai Yuhi, efficiently led the team and took the three instigators away.

The ordinary disturbance ended there, but Uchiha Yoru then faced Asuma.

After facing each other, Asuma took a deep breath and said firmly, "Release them."

"Release them? As an elite ninja of the village, you should know the meaning of rules."

Uchiha Yoru, visibly upset, left abruptly, while Asuma felt something was amiss. The determined look in the eyes of the three arrested gave him a bad premonition.

"Damn it!"

Asuma cursed loudly and hurriedly left the tavern. He now needed to go back and ask the old man what exactly needed to be changed.

"Yoru!"

Kurenai Yuhi appeared beside him, her eyes showing a hint of worry, but Uchiha Yoru narrowed his eyes, raising his hand with a smile and said, "Don't worry, at least this time we know, it seems that the Third Hokage is full of determination."

These three people are probably just bait, a bait to put his conflict with the higher-ups of the Hokage in plain sight.

When Asuma returned home in a rage, he pushed open the door to find the Third Hokage with white hair writing calligraphy, just finishing the character for 'Nin' (忍).

"Old man, what exactly do you want Ebisu and the others to do!"

He burst in and angrily questioned, facing his son's loud questioning, Hiruzen calmly raised his head and lit his pipe.

"Asuma, have I really disappointed you that much!"

He never thought that being busy with state affairs would eventually lead to his own son doubting his intentions.

"Disappointed?"

Looking at the aged appearance of the Third Hokage, Asuma sneered, "I've said it before, in your youth, you were a great ninja, but look at what you are doing now!"

"The clans occupy high positions, and which of the so-called higher-ups isn't making things convenient for their own clan? Let's not talk about that, why do you still insist on clinging to the position of Hokage? It's been so many years! Do you know what people say when I go out on missions?"

"All the ninjas are talking, saying that you are clinging to power, unwilling to give up the position of Hokage, holding the title temporarily, and won't step down until death."

Asuma loudly rebuked, not just outsiders, even he could see that his father had no intention of handing over the powers of Hokage.

Faced with his son's reprimand, Hiruzen sighed sadly, his cloudy eyes filled with melancholy, but when he thought of his perseverance, his eyes turned firm again.

"Asuma, you don't understand! Konoha is everything to me, and the Uchiha clan will only bring disaster to the village. As a ninja of Konoha, you shouldn't let the ambitions of the Uchiha succeed."

"The Sharingan in the eyes of the Nine-Tails! I can't hand Konoha over to an ambitious Uchiha."

Hiruzen said firmly, now in his eyes, he couldn't leave a mess for the next generation. He had to eliminate or at least suppress the Uchiha clan as a hidden danger before that.

"Then what about Ebisu, Izumo Kamizuki, and Kotetsu Hagane, those three!"

Asuma Sarutobi stared at his father, not believing that just the three of them would create chaos and confront Uchiha Yoru.

Faced with his son's questioning, Hiruzen was silent for a long while, then after exhaling a puff of smoke, he said indifferently, "Asuma, you really aren't suited for politics."

"To achieve great things, sacrifice is an inevitable means."

"You!" Shocked at his father's words, Asuma seemed to have guessed something, then angrily wanted to rebuke, but what he met were a pair of cold and murky eyes.

"All of this is for the village! I cannot hand over a chaotic village to the next generation!"

At this moment, Hiruzen became more paranoid and stubborn, staring at his son, he would not allow even a stain on his political career.

This time he called Jiraiya and Tsunade back to the village, naturally preparing for the Fifth Hokage, but he couldn't leave a memory of a mess he left behind to the world.

He is the Third Hokage, a great ninja! He must once again push the evil Uchiha back into the corner and put a more satisfactory end to his political career.