The search for the Third Hokage had lasted several hours, yet the shinobi of Konohagakure had found no trace of him. Though they continued their efforts, deep down, they already knew the answer.
A shinobi as powerful as the Third Hokage would not simply vanish without reason. The most likely explanation was that he had fallen victim to an enemy's plot, sacrificing himself to protect the village. Such tragedies were not unheard of.
Years ago, the Fourth Hokage and his wife had also disappeared defending Konoha, only to later be confirmed dead.
With a quiet sigh, the ANBU captain ordered his subordinates to keep searching while he delivered the report to the Hokage Building for the village's higher-ups to review.
At the moment, the Konoha leadership was overwhelmed.
Not only did they have to deal with the aftermath of Orochimaru's attack, but they also had to placate the dignitaries and wealthy merchants who had attended the Chunin Exams. Failing to appease them would only make Konoha's future more difficult.
Handling these influential figures naturally fell to Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane.
Though not the most socially adept, their seniority and experience allowed them to manage the situation with practiced ease. A few carefully crafted reassurances were enough to temporarily soothe the guests' concerns.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya took charge of hunting down the remaining Sound shinobi and rogue ninja hiding within the village, as well as overseeing the conclusion of the Chunin Exams.
After such a major disruption, continuing the exams was impossible. Fortunately, the top eight contestants had already been determined in the earlier rounds, at least showcasing the younger generation's strength.
When the ANBU captain handed him the report, Jiraiya let out a quiet sigh.
As much as he hated to admit it, the chances of the Third Hokage still being alive were slim. Orochimaru had gone to extreme lengths to kill his former teacher, setting up assassins in advance and even resorting to the forbidden Edo Tensei jutsu.
After such unforgivable actions, Jiraiya could no longer find it in himself to forgive Orochimaru. Once the village had a new interim Hokage, he would set out to track down Orochimaru himself and drag him back to answer for his crimes before the old man's spirit.
Just then, a Hokage's assistant approached Jiraiya, reminding him to attend the high-level meeting.
Jiraiya frowned slightly but nodded. He had little interest in the usual bureaucratic squabbles, but he knew his presence was unavoidable this time.
Upon entering the meeting room, he found only three others present, the two elders (Homura and Koharu) and Danzo, the leader of Root.
These four represented Konoha's core leadership at the moment and no other shinobi, not even elite jonin, were permitted to attend.
The agenda for this emergency meeting was straightforward, deciding who would serve as interim Hokage and selecting the Fifth Hokage candidate.
Before Jiraiya could speak, the two elders took the initiative.
"Jiraiya, with Hiruzen currently missing, the role of interim Hokage must fall to you. You're the only one who can shoulder this responsibility."
"..." Jiraiya remained silent for a few seconds before nodding.
Shisui, who was also present, did not object to the elders' suggestion, tacitly accepting their decision.
With the interim Hokage matter settled so quickly, the discussion shifted to broader topics.
After a brief pause, Homura Mitokado spoke gravely.
"The foreign dignitaries have been somewhat appeased. They won't demand additional compensation, but we can expect far fewer missions from their affiliates in the future."
Jiraiya and Koharu Utatane nodded solemnly.
The failure of the Chunin Exams and the Third Hokage's disappearance had dealt a severe blow to Konoha's reputation. Not only would clients begin doubting the village's capabilities, but the Daimyo would likely use this as leverage to cut military funding.
Shisui (Danzo) let out a light chuckle and said, "I've always said those outsiders can't be relied on. If Konoha wants to grow stronger, we must replace those merchants and nobles and establish our own industries."
Faced with Shisui's sarcasm, the two elders could only sigh helplessly.
Originally, Root, which had once functioned as a specialized branch of the ANBU, relied on funding from the Hokage's office. But ever since the Third Hokage disbanded Root, the organization had found alternative means of financial support.
Now, while nominally still under the ANBU's jurisdiction, Root had effectively become semi-independent from Konoha's shinobi forces.
Ignoring Shisui's remarks, the two elders pulled out the village's damage and casualty reports, passing them around for review. Judging from the data, Konoha's losses, while severe, were still within acceptable limits.
Since the battles had taken place outside the residential districts and within the Forest of Death, the village itself had suffered minimal structural damage. The participating shinobi had also avoided heavy casualties, aside from a few unfortunate souls who had fallen to unknown attacks, the greatest loss was the Third Hokage himself.
And losing their aging, stubborn Hokage might not have been entirely a bad thing for the village. After all, at his age, he would have passed away sooner or later.
Perhaps dying in battle to protect Konoha was a more honorable end than wasting away on a sickbed.
Come to think of it… was Orochimaru's true goal simply to give his old teacher a dignified death?
Dismissing the absurd thought, the group shifted their focus to reconstruction efforts.
Thanks to Yamato's Wood Release, rebuilding wouldn't be much of a challenge. At most, it would take a few weeks for Konoha to return to its former state.
After half an hour of discussion, the meeting finally reached its last agenda item, selecting the Fifth Hokage.
Naturally, Jiraiya, who was already serving as interim Hokage, was the most suitable candidate. In terms of contributions, seniority, and status, he perfectly met all the requirements. However, Jiraiya flatly refused the position and instead proposed hunting down Orochimaru.
But without Jiraiya, the village had no other viable candidates for Hokage.
As the atmosphere grew tense, Shisui, imitating Danzo's tone, spoke up,
"Since the position of Fifth Hokage remains undecided… perhaps this old man should take the role."
"I may not compare to the First or Second Hokage, but I am more than capable of stabilizing the current situation."
Unsurprisingly, the two elders immediately vetoed the suggestion. As members of the Second Hokage's guard, they believed anyone could become Hokage, except Danzo.
If Shisui hadn't been indifferent to the Hokage title, he might have found Danzo's perspective downright pitiable.
After decades of toiling for Konoha, Danzo had never even been nominated for Hokage, a perpetual failure in the race for the title.
Logically, as fellow "failures," Danzo should have sought an alliance with the Uchiha.
Yet he had spent his entire career antagonizing them, dragging both sides into an abyss where neither could ever claim the Hokage's seat. Truly, a twisted fate.
After a long silence, Jiraiya finally spoke, "How about we bring Tsunade back? I think she'd make a better Hokage than me."
The two elders exchanged glances and nodded. For now, this was their only option.
Shikaku Nara didn't mince words and laid out his analysis.
He believed that the primary goal of the rogue ninja Orochimaru in attacking Konoha was to kill the Third Hokage, to prove that his own path was not wrong.
But Rasa's motives were far more puzzling.
As a former Kazekage, Rasa had no reason to assault Konoha. If his aim was to reclaim his position as the Fourth Kazekage, he should have taken advantage of Sasori's departure and attacked Sunagakure instead.
Yet Rasa had joined forces with Orochimaru to strike Konoha. This suggested a deeper scheme, possibly a coordinated plan between Rasa and Sasori to weaken Konoha's strength and force the village to annul its treaties with Sunagakure.
Given Rasa's former status as Kazekage, this theory held significant weight. However, there was another possibility, Rasa might have orchestrated this to sow distrust between Konoha and Sunagakure. By doing so, he could ensure that, upon his eventual return to Sunagakure, Konoha would no longer be a reliable ally.
More importantly, Shikaku suspected the involvement of the Masked Man.
Though the Masked Man hadn't appeared during the Chunin Exams, his past manipulation of the Fourth Mizukage for years made it highly likely he was pulling strings behind the scenes.
After hearing this, the gathered jonin grew increasingly uneasy about Konoha's future. While the immediate crisis of Konoha's collapse had passed, new threats were already brewing. Did they truly have the strength to protect the village?
Among the crowd, Asuma Sarutobi was visibly agitated.
As the Third Hokage's son, he had been rebellious since childhood, resenting the rigid expectations of his lineage. After repeated clashes with his father, he had left to serve as a guardian ninja for the Daimyo.
Now, with age came understanding, and he had longed to reconcile. But before he could apologize, his father had vanished, without even a body to recover.
Meanwhile, Might Guy glanced at Kakashi, his eyes filled with questions. While he mourned the Third's disappearance, he couldn't shake Kakashi's earlier words.
Kakashi had once asked him, "What matters more, the village, or the Hokage?"
That question now seemed eerily prophetic. Even though the jonin had received intel about Orochimaru's infiltration beforehand, Guy couldn't shake the feeling that Kakashi knew more than he let on.
Stepping closer, Guy lowered his voice.
"Kakashi… do you know something? Is the Third really dead?"
Kakashi met his gaze briefly before replying, "I don't know. I hope he's alive."
Truthfully, Kakashi was just as lost. He had assumed that after the Third's disappearance, Kushina would step forward to take charge. Yet she remained absent, possibly due to Obito's influence… or perhaps Byakuya's.
Guy studied Kakashi but didn't press further. He trusted his rival's words and saw no deceit in his eyes. Even if Kakashi was hiding something, Guy knew he'd share it when the time was right.
That was their bond, a promise forged in the fires of youth.
If Kakashi knew Guy's thoughts, he might have laughed bitterly. Because the truth was, he had no answers for Konoha's uncertain future.
---
Meanwhile, at the Training Grounds, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stood together, their usual banter replaced by a heavy silence.
Just recalling the chaos of the Chunin Exams made Sakura shudder. The battles between those elite shinobi, were those even within the realm of normal ninja combat? She was just a genin. Why did she keep getting dragged into encounters with monsters?
If she faced opponents like that on a real mission… would she even survive long enough to complete it?
Her gaze drifted to Naruto and Sasuke, stirring complicated emotions. Even before graduation, she'd known she lagged behind them. At first, she'd blamed it on lacking a jonin sensei's guidance.
But as time passed, the gap only widened.
Enemies she struggled against were effortlessly crushed by Naruto and Sasuke. What could she possibly do to catch up? To avoid becoming dead weight?
Overwhelmed, she retreated under a tree, sinking into self-doubt.
After a silent glance, Naruto broke the tension,
"Hey, Sasuke, wanna spar? Let's see who's improved more."
Sasuke nodded, and the two formed the Seal of Confrontation.
As their clash began, Naruto suddenly asked, "Where's the Third Hokage really at? And when are you planning to leave with Orochimaru?"
Sasuke's eyes sharpened. "How do you know about that?"
Naruto shrugged. "Your power's skyrocketed lately. That cursed seal's gotta be involved. Figured you'd ditch the village eventually. You'd pay any price to kill Itachi, right?"
Sasuke shook his head. "Wrong. I am seeking Orochimaru… but not for revenge."
"Then why?"
"To become Hokage." Sasuke's voice was steady. "After I defeat Itachi, I'll be your rival for the title."
Naruto blinked, then grinned. "Heh, I won't hand it over! But if you're gonna follow that snake bastard, watch your back!"
A pause. Then, casually,
"Oh, and when's your Uchiha clan stepping out of the shadows? Done hiding?"