Linto stopped walking.
He turned around and looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
This was a very strange scene.
Clearly, Danzo had just died in front of them.
Neither Linto, who had gotten revenge for a "blood feud," nor Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had witnessed the death of an old friend, showed any emotion in their eyes.
There was no joy, no regret, and no extra hatred.
The two were like strangers meeting for the first time, calmly looking at each other, neither able to understand the other's thoughts.
"Old man, do you want to keep me here?" Linto asked.
"You think you can just leave after killing someone?"
Linto pointed to Daichi at his feet: "Danzo and Itachi planned together to kill the Uchiha Clan, blood must be paid with blood, right?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen said calmly, "That's right."
"When I came this time, I didn't plan to kill him. Danzo used a mind trick on me first, and when the talk didn't work, he wanted to kill me. He couldn't kill me, so I took him down instead. That's okay, right?"
"That's right."
"Since everything is okay..."
Linto tilted his head slightly: "Hokage old man, what do you mean by this?"
"Danzo killed countless people and deserves to pay for his sins, Linto, I understand you, but he's not just Danzo, he's a top person in Konoha. You killed him in front of me, so I have to stop you. This is the Hokage's job."
Sarutobi Hiruzen took off his Hokage robe, showing a tight-fitting outfit, and said in a deep voice:
"I need to give the village an explanation."
"Lord Third!"
Jiraiya took a step forward, ready to stop Sarutobi Hiruzen. Suddenly, he found that he couldn't move. Countless raindrops stuck to him, like steel nails, freezing him in place.
Not only Jiraiya, but everyone there was nailed to the spot by the heavy rain, unable to lift even a finger.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had rushed over, now understood what kind of power the old, calculating Danzo had died from.
Linto took a step and walked towards Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Star Platinum appeared.
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned, made a hand sign with one hand, and prepared to use his Ninja skill.
Jiraiya had seen how scary Star Platinum was, and immediately got worried. Ignoring the raindrops piercing his body, he walked forward, ready to stop the fight.
On the other side, Might Guy saw this and quickly got into a horse stance. A strong flow of energy came from his body, clearly ready to open a "gate" and fight Linto at all costs.
Just as the mood was like a tight string, about to break and start a bloody battle, Linto spoke:
"Old man, do you have a next Hokage candidate?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen paused for half a second, without answering.
Everyone stared blankly at Linto.
He picked up the Hokage robe that Sarutobi Hiruzen had thrown on the ground and put it back on him.
"If you don't have one yet, then take care of your health."
Linto glanced at Danzo's body.
"Konoha does have disgusting darkness, but—"
He then looked at Jiraiya, Kakashi, and the thriving village.
There lived many ordinary people, with smiles on their faces that were rare and real in this world.
"There's also the light you need to protect."
Sarutobi Hiruzen stopped making hand signs.
"As for the explanation you mentioned—"
Linto raised his hand, his index finger pointing to the sky. Natural energy from miles around swept in, and the gathered wind, mixed with ripple of energy and thunder, flew into the clouds.
Hidden in the dark clouds, faint golden lightning dragons flashed.
Linto's finger dropped.
Boom!
Lightning fell, the roar making everyone's ears ring, their vision blurred. Along with the lightning dragons, an even more terrifying rain fell than before.
They couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything, even their own shouts sounding weak in the heavy rain.
Five seconds later.
The rain gradually slowed.
Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly opened his eyes and saw that the Uchiha ruins had become a field of rubble...
No, it couldn't be called rubble.
From bricks and tiles to tables, chairs, and furniture, everything had been crushed into pieces smaller than fingernails by the previous rain and spread on the ground.
What terrifying destruction! Even more terrifying, no one was hurt in this round of rain.
The rain had avoided everyone.
This kind of complete control was even more terrifying than the destruction.
Sarutobi Hiruzen understood that if Linto wanted to, he could have killed everyone there just now.
Linto patted Sarutobi Hiruzen's shoulder: "...That's the 'explanation' I'm giving you."
After saying that, he didn't stay any longer and turned to leave.
Asuma put a cigarette in his mouth, wanting to light it, but found it was soaked. He just bit it, smelling the smell of tobacco, and pointed to Linto's retreating figure, saying to Kurenai Yuhi beside him:
"I really want to have another drink with him sometime."
"He's the enemy," Kurenai Yuhi said.
"Is he really?"
Kurenai Yuhi opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.
Yes, was Linto really the enemy?
The four of them had witnessed everything. If Linto hadn't had enough power and alertness, he might have already become a puppet controlled by Kotoamatsukami, or died under the combined Ninja skill of the Root organization's Ninja.
In the end, Linto only killed Danzo. He had done more than enough.
"That's what they say."
Kurenai Yuhi nudged Asuma with her elbow: "You seem a little too happy, don't you think?"
"Ah haha... do I?"
Asuma was very happy, of course. When he was young, he and his father Sarutobi Hiruzen had different ideas, the biggest disagreement being how to deal with Danzo.
Now that Danzo was dead, he wanted nothing more than to sit and celebrate.
Asuma glanced at Danzo's body, then raised his chin towards his old man and whispered, "Look at the old man, all wet and still wearing the Hokage robe."
"He looks like a drowned old monkey."
...
The rain fell all night.
When the sky cleared again, a warm sun appeared on the horizon.
Konan looked back at the direction of Konoha Village and said softly, "This is Konoha, this is the Third Hokage... it's nothing special, just too 'slow' in the end."
Sasuke didn't understand.
"What do you mean by too slow?"
Shouldn't you be talking about "strength," what does "fast or slow" have to do with it?
Konan said: "Last time, when the Uchiha Clan was wiped out, if Sarutobi Hiruzen had been faster and more decisive, he could have stopped the tragedy;
This time, if Sarutobi Hiruzen had come to the scene and, without explaining anything, called on the people of Konoha Village to attack Linto, he might have saved Danzo's life.
After all—"
She looked at Linto's back: "This guy who pretends to be fierce won't kill Kakashi, Jiraiya, or anyone who shows him any kindness."
"Slow to save people, slow to kill, always hesitating. Someone like that as Hokage... it's just that Konoha has a strong base. If this were a small Ninja village, they would have been completely taken over long ago."
Once upon a time, Konan followed Jiraiya to learn Ninja skills. At that time, she was extremely jealous of the people living in Konoha Village, feeling that even the air in Konoha was sweet and the moon was rounder.
But now it seemed that the whole world was the same, only Pain's plan could change things—
Konan stopped her thoughts and looked at Linto walking ahead.
"No... he seems a little different."
---
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