Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Chapter 240 The Steadfastness of the Village Elder

Finally, Madara Uchiha's gaze fell on Tsunade.

As the old man saw Tsunade's silhouette gradually overlap with someone in his heart, a complex emotion flickered across his usually calm face.

"Hashirama's granddaughter..."

Tsunade's heart skipped a beat.

This title gave her a sense of absurdity, as if time and space were out of sync.

"Ha, this savage vitality and monstrous strength is indeed in his blood."

Madara Uchiha chuckled softly, as if recalling some distant memory. "Give my regards to Mito...if she still remembers this old codger."

Just as Tsunade and the other three were reeling from these comments, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally made his move.

"Cough cough..."

Gently patting the broad arm of Akimichi Torifu that was blocking his way, he slowly walked out from the defensive circle he and Danzo had formed.

He stood before Madara Uchiha again, composed, as if the tense atmosphere just moments before was merely a harmless joke.

"Alright, Tsunade, Danzo..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, his voice calm yet carrying an unquestionable authority.

"Do not be nervous."

"teacher!"

Tsunade blurted out, taking a step forward. The chakra in her fist, which had just calmed down, began to boil again. "But, he..."

"Tsunade."

Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted her, his voice still calm, but the weight it carried made Tsunade's next words stuck in her throat.

"I know who he is, and I know why he came."

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to look at his disciple, his deep black eyes carrying a calming power.

"When we get back to the village, I will explain everything to you in detail."

In one sentence, the source of all doubts was shut down.

"..."

Tsunade opened her mouth, but ultimately swallowed her words back in reluctance.

She could distrust anyone, but she couldn't distrust the man in front of her.

This was her mentor who pulled her out of the pain of losing her loved ones and guided her on the path of life.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze then turned to Danzo Shimura.

"Danzo, you're the same."

"Our enemy has fallen."

He gestured with his chin towards the Third Mizukage, who lay unconscious in a pool of blood not far away.

These words were like a key, instantly enlightening the four people present.

Yes.

Now, the Third Raikage is dead, the Third Mizukage is in a coma, and the Allied Fleet is leaderless.

This war has ended in a complete victory for Konoha.

The Uchiha Madara in front of them never showed any killing intent towards them from beginning to end.

"..."

Danzo remained silent.

He took a deep look at his dear friend.

Hiruzen's calmness was not a pretense.

It was an absolute confidence that came from having everything under control.

He slowly released the hand seal.

Following Danzo's actions, Akimichi Torifu and Uchiha Kagami also relaxed their bodies.

Their trust in Hiruzen Sarutobi was ingrained in their very bones.

Tsunade was the last one.

She stared at Madara Uchiha's wrinkled face, as if trying to find some flaw in it.

But after meeting Hiruzen Sarutobi's affirmative gaze, he finally deflated, his clenched fists slowly loosening.

Madara Uchiha witnessed this entire scene.

He watched as Hiruzen Sarutobi, with the simplest of words, made them suppress their fighting instincts and choose unconditional trust.

"This is a good team..."

Madara Uchiha's laughter was low, yet it was filled with an unusual penetrating power.

He ignored the four still wary juniors and instead strode slowly to the unconscious Third Mizukage.

She looked down at the disheveled man and let out a disdainful snort.

"Hidden Mist Village, heh..."

"In order to divert attention from internal conflicts, they gambled the fate of the entire village on a foolish war."

"This Mizukage is nothing but a fool driven by his own ambition and fear."

As soon as he finished speaking, he reached out and lifted the Third Mizukage, Mizuki, off the ground with one hand, as if he were carrying a worthless piece of merchandise.

Madara Uchiha, carrying the dying Mizukage, turned around and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi again.

"The inside of this village is rotten."

"If we leave it unattended, it will eventually bring new trouble to Konoha."

His words carried an undeniable assertion.

"Before returning to the village, I plan to visit Kirigakure first."

Go to Kirigakure?

Taking an unconscious Mizukage to Kirigakure?

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Madara Uchiha's actions without any emotion, and even felt a little amused.

Door-to-door delivery, plus after-sales service?

Mr. Ban, you're actually a pretty nice guy.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and went along with it, saying, "I also think that Kirigakure needs a gift to remember the lessons of this war."

"Um..."

Madara Uchiha, carrying the Mizukage, continued speaking:

"Afterwards, I will go back to the village to take a look."

His voice drifted away in the wind.

"Look at that... Konoha, which you've transformed completely, is a different place."

As the last word fell, Madara Uchiha's figure receded further and further into the distance, gradually disappearing onto the reef.

It came suddenly, and it left without any warning.

All that remains is a promise that lingers in the sea breeze, and four Konoha leaders whose brains have crashed and whose worldviews have been repeatedly crushed.

Silence fell upon the rocks.

For a long, long time.

"teacher……"

Tsunade's voice trembled slightly and sounded unreal. She rubbed her eyes, as if trying to confirm that what she had just seen was not a hallucination.

"Um..."

"The war is over."

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around and looked at Tsunade, Danzo, Torifu, and Kagami, who were still in a state of great shock. Finally, a genuine, weary but relieved smile appeared on his face, a smile that belonged to someone his age.

He had his back to the setting sun and was facing the direction of Konoha.

"We're going home."

All four people's bodies jolted simultaneously.

Come back home.

This incredibly simple word has acquired unparalleled weight after experiencing this thrilling and dramatic war.

They looked at their Hokage's back, which wasn't particularly tall, but at that moment it seemed incredibly reliable.

All the questions, all the shock, all the confusion were temporarily suppressed at this moment.

What replaced it was the sense of security that came with victory in the war, and absolute trust in the leader.

The four of them straightened their backs and responded in unison to the figure's retreating back.

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

call----

The sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy smell, caressed everyone's faces.

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around, no longer looking in the direction where Madara Uchiha had disappeared.

His steps were steady as he walked toward the center of the ravaged battlefield, where the body of the Third Raikage, Ai, lay quietly. Even in death, his steel-like body was still impossible to ignore.

This is a worthy opponent.

Hiruzen Sarutobi crouched down, took out a blank sealing scroll from his ninja tool pouch, and quickly began to draw on it.

The intricate runes were completed in one go.

He gently placed the scroll on the Raikage's body and formed hand seals.

"seal up!"

With a low shout, the Third Raikage's massive body turned into a cloud of white smoke and was completely sucked into the scroll.

After doing all this, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up and carefully put the scroll away.

He didn't turn around, but spoke calmly.

"Let's go, it's time to go back."

Tsunade and the other three followed silently behind him, without uttering a word.

Everyone's mind was still a jumbled mess. The appearance of Madara Uchiha, the existence of the Rinnegan, and that bizarre conversation—any one of them was enough to overturn the common sense of the ninja world.

But looking at their Hokage's composed back, they felt a strange sense of peace.

It's as if even if the sky were to fall, this person could hold it up.

Five figures leaped off the reefs, treading on the waves, and sped towards the massive fleet flagship in the distance.