Chapter 250 Asuma's Awakening!
Konoha, inside the Hokage's office.
After his eldest son Sarutobi Shinnosuke became a disabled person, Sarutobi Hiruzen began to focus on his second son.
However, the situation of Asuma Sarutobi has made Sarutobi Hiruzen feel more and more that something is wrong recently. He was alarmed and finally found an opportunity in the office this time.
However, this communication between father and son directly turned into a fierce conflict.
"Father! What do you want to do? You have been sitting on the position of Hokage for thirty years! Now you are already 57 years old! At this age, you are still unwilling to give up the power in your hands. Do you really want to sit on it until you die?"
Asuma Sarutobi angrily slammed the table and glared at his father, with only intense disappointment in his eyes.
At the same time, facing the questioning of his son, Sarutobi Hiruzen was angry and a little sad at the same time. When did even his own son no longer agree with him?
"Asuma! You disappoint me so much. I have dedicated my whole life to the village, and now you are questioning me, your father!"
Faced with his father's paranoid and angry explanation, Asuma Sarutobi laughed sarcastically.
"For Konoha? But father, do you know? I don't even dare to have a reunion with my classmates now, because among the hundreds of classmates who graduated with me, how many are still around?
Every time I sit together with them at a party, even if I have hidden in the most inconspicuous corner, I still feel uneasy, because everyone is at the front line and I am the only one hiding in the back..."
Asuma Sarutobi shed tears of pain. He, the genius, was nothing more than an ironic joke.
"Father, it's not just me, even our Sarutobi clan... it's because of you that we need to preserve our strength to check and balance the Uchiha clan, but what I saw was that 80% of the elite soldiers of the Uchiha clan were withdrawn to the battlefield!"
"How dare you! Asuma, what do you know? I've done this for the sake of the village Shinnosuke, and you're still like this!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt even colder in his heart, and he looked in shock at his son who was refuting and questioning him.
Before, he had been busy with government affairs, and his attention was always on his eldest son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke. However, when he checked on his second son who had been taciturn recently, he discovered an important problem!
Asuma Sarutobi, his son actually questioned his contribution to Konoha!
"Father, you were once a ninja hero! A hero of Konoha!"
Asuma Sarutobi, who had been silently pent up countless resentments, finally exploded this time when facing his father. He stared at his father angrily.
"The family occupies a high position. Which of the so-called Konoha high-ranking officials does not do things for their own family? These can be explained, but they actually did it for profit during the war...
The food, military rations, and ninja tools in the village are all at a high price. Why are the pensions for so many ninja families who sacrificed their lives and the disabled still…"
When Sarutobi Asuma said this shocking thing, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face suddenly changed, and he said angrily: "You are actually investigating..."
Seeing his father's shock and anger, Asuma Sarutobi felt even more aggrieved. Even if it was just pretend, he could accept it, but his father clearly knew it.
"Father, you know everything about us Sarutobi, Mitomon, Utane, Nara and other families behind the scenes, but why don't you stop it!"
Listening to his son's investigation, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression became increasingly uglier. He didn't expect his son to be so rebellious.
Judging from this investigation information, Asuma Sarutobi has been investigating these matters for a long time.
Facing his son's questioning, a trace of sadness appeared in Sarutobi Hiruzen's turbid eyes. There was nothing more painful than that his own son could not understand him.
But when he thought of his own persistence, Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath, his eyes turned into a firm look, and he said hoarsely:
"Asuma, I don't know who bewitched you, but from your performance today, I can tell that you are just a ninja. I am so disappointed."
When Asuma Sarutobi heard his father's words, he was stunned. He didn't expect his father to say such a thing.
However, Sarutobi Hiruzen silently filled his pipe, and then with a flash of chakra on his thumb, the nature of the fire attribute changed and he directly ignited the tobacco.
After slowly exhaling a mouthful of smoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen said quietly: "Asuma, what you see is just the surface, from your personal perspective, but I am the Hokage of Konoha, and I see the entire Konoha."
"You didn't see how arrogant the Senju clan was. They questioned Konoha's decision with just one clan. You saw the elite of the Uchiha clan go to the battlefield, but you didn't see how many ninjas in the Uchiha clan have opened their Sharingan!
You only saw the Mitomon, Utane, Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Inuzuka and our Sarutobi clan making profits, but you didn’t see the sacrifices these families made on the battlefield…”
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice became heavier and heavier, and at the end he raised his head and stared straight at his strange son.
"After the war, Konoha and the major families suffered heavy losses, but the Uchiha clan's strength has not decreased but increased. Without these forces, how can we check and balance the Uchiha clan?"
Listening to his father's explanation, Asuma Sarutobi felt for the first time that his father was so strange. Shocking pieces of information flashed through his mind.
"Balance! This is what you call sacrifice, right?"
Asuma Sarutobi gave a sarcastic smile. He didn't expect it to be so high-sounding.
"You say I don't understand, but I do! Isn't it just about balance and sacrifice? But why didn't Konoha have the Second Hokage more than 30 years ago?..."
At this moment, a heavy slap came, and Asuma Sarutobi was stunned, looking at his father who was looking at him angrily.
"Asshole! You rebellious son!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was angry and said that what he was most sensitive about was comparing him with the two former Hokage.
Konoha became prosperous and powerful in his leadership. He enjoyed all the glory before the Third War. He believed that he had surpassed the first and second generations in their contributions to Konoha.
But after three battles, not only was he knocked off the altar, but the strength he had always believed in, as well as his fig leaf, were also torn apart.
The real scene is that the first and second generations can ignore the development of the major families with their personal strength, no matter what the Uchiha is like.
However, due to his inner fear, he needs the help of various major families to have the confidence to fight against the Uchiha and Senju.
To put it bluntly, strength is always important in the ninja world!
But how many people in the entire ninja world can reach the level of the first generation, let alone the second generation Hokage?
Therefore, when one's own strength is not enough to suppress everything, this scene will occur. This is also a problem that almost all major ninja villages in the ninja world have faced.
This is the case when the Hidden Cloud Village faces Kinkaku and Ginkaku, and when the Hidden Mist Village faces various bloodline families.
When the power of the Kage is not enough to suppress, external forces are needed. In the original work, the Senju clan, a great bloodline clan of Konoha, almost disappeared, the Uchiha clan was exterminated, and the Hyuga clan was suppressed.
The rest cannot have any impact on the village.
"I don't care what you think! But I want to tell you that for those who want to achieve great things, sacrifice is an inevitable means. Everything you see is only temporary. As long as Konoha is stable, the village will sooner or later become prosperous and strong again!"
When he said this, Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at Sarutobi Asuma with a firm look in his eyes and said in a deep voice:
"All of this is for the village. I cannot hand over a turbulent and chaotic village to the next generation!"
He is the ninja hero Sarutobi Hiruzen! He wants to put a relatively satisfactory end to his reign as the Third Hokage!
He wanted the future generations of Konoha to remember him, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage who came to power during a critical time in a war and led Konoha to the peak.
In the third war against the combined forces of the four major ninja villages, although there were heavy casualties, Sarutobi Hiruzen still trained a qualified Fourth Hokage for the village. Under his personal guidance, Konoha rose again!
His ambition and unwillingness even made him want to personally stay in charge during Konoha's post-war reconstruction period, so that he could step down when Konoha could reach its former peak again. "Hokage-sama!"
At this moment, an Anbu suddenly appeared and interrupted the heated conversation between the father and son. Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at his son deeply and showed disappointment.
Anyone can talk about him, but his son doesn't even understand him!
"What's up!?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath, revealing the aura of a Hokage, while the Anbu beside him lowered his head and said in a deep voice:
"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is in excruciating pain and is about to give birth..."
Suddenly, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression changed suddenly, and he shouted coldly:
"Execute the original plan. Anbu members will be dispatched to secretly protect the five secret bases..."
"Yes!"
After the Anbu took the order and left, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Asuma who looked unconvinced, and he finally said hoarsely:
"Asuma, I hope you can understand my intentions soon."
"Intentions? That's just an excuse for the weak. If the Hokage was Senju or Uchiha now, would they be afraid of our clans?"
Due to Asuma Sarutobi's rebellious personality, he directly confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi with all the frustration that had been pent up for so long, almost causing him to go berserk.
"Get out!"
"Father! You are too extreme. You have transferred your own selfish desires to the village. If the village is in turmoil, it will be too late to regret it!"
"Asuma! I am the Hokage. Everything I do is for the village!"
With a bang, the door of the office slammed shut. After being furious, Sarutobi Hiruzen stared blankly at Asuma who left angrily.
At this moment he felt betrayed and misunderstood by his loved ones.
At dusk, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the setting sun outside the window with a cloudy look. He murmured hoarsely, "The Uchiha clan is too dangerous."
Under the setting sun, in a secret cave of Konoha, with Anbu on guard all around, bursts of painful cries were heard from within the barrier.
"Minato... Minato where are you..."
"Nanako, relax. Minato will be back soon. What you need to do now is relax..."
"Seal the squad quickly!"
Lying on the bed, Uzumaki Nako screamed in pain. It was not only the pain of childbirth, but also the great pain brought by the loosening of the Nine-Tails seal.
When Sarutobi Biwako was nervously delivering the baby, when he saw the seal lines on the abdomen began to change, his face changed and he quickly ordered the ninjas of the Sealing Squad to take action.
When a Jinchūriki gives birth, the seal is at its weakest, and the chakra of the tailed beast may leak out, or in severe cases, the tailed beast may be released.
At this time, at the root of Konoha Village.
"The Kyuubi Jinchuriki is about to give birth?"
When Danzo Shimura received the news, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had already moved away. From this, it can be seen that the Root has always been under the nose of the Third Hokage.
Seeing the Anbu coming to deliver the message, Danzo Shimura couldn't help but frown, then looked at the dark root base and knocked heavily with the wooden cane in his hand.
"We must not be careless at this time. Root, keep a close eye on the Uchiha!"
"Yes!" Root figures flashed in the darkness, and after receiving the order, they flashed away.
In fact, whether it was Sarutobi Hiruzen or Shimura Danzo, they had always regarded Uchiha as a threat to the village, so they were always on guard against Uchiha.
During the Nine-Tails Rebellion, the first order from the Root was to stop the Uchiha from dispatching. You can imagine how vigilant they were.
As night fell, under the bright full moon, a sound of bones breaking was heard over a rocky stream in Konoha.
On the surface of the stream, a masked Konoha Anbu was seen with his pupils dilated as his neck was broken by a hand, and there was a look of disbelief in his eyes.
"He is really careful. The Third Hokage actually randomly chose a safe house at the last minute."
As the hoarse voice echoed, Uchiha Obito, wearing a tiger-skin one-eyed mask, slowly stood up and glanced indifferently at the seven or eight Anbu corpses lying on the water.
He had no sympathy for his former fellow villagers, but only indifference, as if he was crushing an ant on the roadside.
"Hehe, Madara... Lord, I can already feel the chakra leaking from the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. It seems that the birth has reached a critical moment..."
Jue's figure slowly emerged from the soil. At this moment, Hei Jue's eyes revealed a sense of playfulness as he laughed hoarsely, as if he was teasing the world.
However, Obito behind the mask frowned slightly, revealing a hint of dissatisfaction. Every time Black Zetsu called him Madara, he would always drag out the end, as if telling him that it was fake.
"This time, let me see the power of the strongest tailed beast..."
Under Obito's indifferent gaze, his body slowly passed through the barrier and headed inside.
……
As the war on the front line came to a halt, the major powers were signing peace treaties, and Konoha gradually began to revive under the cover of night.
"Asuma, you can't drink anymore."
Ebisu said this worriedly, but Sarutobi Asuma looked distraught, shaking his head and smiling bitterly:
"When the Second Hokage-sama gave them the Third Hokage, wasn't there any turmoil? Did the Senju clan and other families submit at that time? As a result, they always talk about turmoil."
The more this happened, the more Asuma Sarutobi felt that this was a huge joke and was just an excuse for himself.
"Ebisu, you don't understand! They are already living in the dream they have woven, and they are so paranoid that they won't tolerate any rebuttal..."
At this moment, Asuma Sarutobi felt inexplicably the word ugly in his heart!
"Ah..."
When Ebisu was about to persuade him, his ninja instinct seemed to sense something and he looked towards the village gate.
At this time, Konoha, shrouded in the night, seemed to sense something. As the ninjas looked sideways, the birds and beasts in the village flew away in panic, becoming restless.
Seeking support
(End of this chapter)
