Chapter 178: Tsunade Returns to the Village
Only three candidates remained.
Ordered by age, they were Danzo, Jiraiya, and Kakashi.
Danzo's ascension would align with the interests of the Yamanaka clan, but not necessarily those of the Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka clans (Ino-Shika-Cho). As the saying went, Danzo was a man who disregarded rules and possessed a rigid personality, making him difficult for the ninja clans to deal with.
As for Kakashi, he simply lacked the necessary experience. Furthermore, his role had always been that of a frontline attacker, and he hadn't demonstrated his leadership capabilities. The Third Hokage had consciously been grooming him for higher-level leadership, but time was too short. Now, Kakashi was also out of the village, wasting a golden opportunity to prove himself.
The remaining choice was Jiraiya.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio quickly divided their tasks.
Ino went to find Tsunade and inquire about her opinion.
Shikaku continued to support Danzo. Regardless of who became Hokage, the intelligence network and Root ninjas couldn't be ignored. With Ino's presence, the Yamanaka clan had someone operating both overtly and covertly, placing them in an unassailable position.
Choza immediately left the village to find Kakashi, probing the Copy Ninja's thoughts on the new Hokage. If he had no interest in the position, then he would also persuade him to support Jiraiya.
Choza, with his amiable nature, went to find Jiraiya.
In his younger days, Choza had been a teammate of Minato Namikaze for a period, and he was also very familiar with Minato's teacher, Jiraiya.
A day later, Kakashi first encountered Shikaku. Upon learning about the attack on the village by Orochimaru and Sunagakure, he immediately abandoned his mission to find Danzo. Traveling through the night, he led the Anbu ninjas back to the village.
Without needing much persuasion from Shikaku, Kakashi clearly stated that he had no interest in the Hokage position. If there was no one else, he would reluctantly step up, but with other candidates available, he preferred to continue as a frontline ninja.
He also joined the Ino-Shika-Cho in persuading Jiraiya.
Jiraiya's initial stance was firm: absolutely not! Not even if he were killed! His student was the Fourth Hokage, and now for him to become the Fifth would be too embarrassing.
Shikaku was adept at understanding people's minds. He spoke frankly, using himself as an example. He said he was someone with many methods but few original ideas, while Jiraiya was the opposite – full of ideas but lacking in practical methods. Often, Jiraiya knew what needed to be done but not how to do it.
A strategist like Shikaku was the perfect support for a Hokage with Jiraiya's personality.
"You're the Hokage," Shikaku explained, "You say what you want to do and what goals you want to achieve. As your strategist, I'll come up with three plans – upper, middle, and lower – and you can choose the most suitable one and execute it. That's all there is to it."
"You won't be stressed, and I won't have any psychological burden. We're a perfect fit."
Shikaku further stated that his own ninja talent was insufficient, and he wished to focus on being a strategist. He was willing to step down from his position as the Jonin Commander. Then, Jiraiya could choose either Kakashi or Asuma to take over the role.
Jiraiya's attitude softened slightly, indicating that he would seriously consider the matter.
On the same day, the two advisors, representing the village, assigned Ino a B-rank mission: find Tsunade and bring her back to the village at all costs.
Three more days passed. Having heard that Orochimaru was dead, Danzo didn't need anyone to look for him. He lifted his ambush and returned with his Root ninjas on his own.
Danzo was furious!
What was going on? Orochimaru was dead, but the Third Hokage wasn't?
On the fifth day after the failure of the Konoha Crush, Ino returned, having made a round trip to bring Tsunade, Shizune, and her pet pig Tonton back to Konoha Village.
The Third Hokage's injuries were too severe. The Slug Sage had only managed to restart his heart, but his physical body was too weak. He couldn't even stay awake, let alone get up and handle official duties.
The Slug Sage was also helpless against the fragility of human bodies and souls. What the Third Hokage needed now was medical treatment, not senjutsu chakra.
Asuma was coping, but Konohamaru had fainted from crying several times.
Ino carried the hopes of the entire village as she came to ask Tsunade to return.
It wasn't like she was going back to become Hokage; it was just to see a patient. This shouldn't be difficult.
Tsunade held some resentment towards the Third Hokage, but not to the extent of watching him die. If she could save him, she would.
On the way, Ino directly asked Tsunade if she had any plans to become Hokage.
Unsurprisingly, Tsunade refused, using her hemophobia as the reason.
The trio and the pig quickly returned to the village. As soon as they arrived, without any time for sentiment, they rushed to the Konoha Hospital.
"Please, please, you have to save my grandpa!" Outside the hospital room, Konohamaru was crying his eyes out.
This was the sight Tsunade was least patient with. "Who is your grandpa? There are so many injured people in Konoha who need treatment. Do you think I can save everyone?"
She grabbed Konohamaru by the collar, didn't even ask, and with a whoosh, threw him away.
Jiraiya, Ino, Shizune, and Tonton all wore stern faces, looking somewhat shaken.
Naruto, on the other hand, ran out, shouting, to catch Konohamaru.
"Thank you for your hard work." The filial Asuma gave Ino a deep nod.
Without Ino's connection, it wouldn't have been so easy to find Tsunade, nor to bring her back so quickly. Now, saving lives was like putting out a fire. Delaying even for two days could mean the difference between life and death.
He was extremely grateful to Ino.
Ino accepted the gratitude, feeling it was well-deserved. If it weren't for me... Hehe, we'd be at the funeral feast right now!
She had earned this thanks.
"Are you all doctors? Unnecessary personnel, get out! Scram!" Tsunade roared, driving out everyone like Jiraiya and Asuma from the hospital room.
Only her two disciples and her pet pig Tonton remained.
Tsunade's medical skills were indeed formidable. A day later, the Third Hokage finally slowly regained consciousness. Along with him, Tsunade also healed Hayate Gekko, who had been unconscious in the next room.
Hayate said that the Sunagakure Jonin Maki was the one who had attacked him, indicating a conspiracy from Sunagakure.
Ino smiled and gestured for the former flower shop VIP customer to rest well. His information was just a little bit late.
When the Third Hokage opened his eyes, he himself was very surprised. He had actually survived the Reaper Death Seal?
Tsunade also didn't know what had happened.
"You're asking me? How would I know? You're the one who used the Reaper Death Seal, not me!"
After treating the Third Hokage, Tsunade wanted to leave, but under the pleas of many acquaintances, she agreed to stay for a couple more days, at least until those who were seriously injured were out of danger.
The Third Hokage's soul had been damaged too much, and coupled with his aging body, although he still had one hand that could move, he would never be able to use ninjutsu again in his life.
Someone who couldn't use ninjutsu was naturally not a ninja, let alone capable of serving as the Hokage of Konoha Village.
The Third Hokage still had a large number of loyal followers, plus the support of people like Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi, so his authority hadn't been greatly affected yet. However, he knew his own situation. His organs were failing, his lifespan was counting down, and he couldn't use ninjutsu. He had to quickly arrange for a successor, the sooner the better. The time left for him was very short.
He successively sought out Jiraiya and Tsunade, Jiraiya first and Tsunade second, and had earnest talks with them, hoping they would take over the position of Hokage. Unsurprisingly, both of them refused.