chsdbacks Chapter 55 The Curse of the Fourth Shadow
Chapter 55 The Curse of the Fourth Shadow
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi's fingers were tightly gripping the reply from the Fire Country's daimyo.
The emblem of the Land of Fire on the letter was written clearly and solemnly: "The Sarutobi, Utatane, Mito, and Shimura clans are permitted to relocate to Daimyo Prefecture, and from this day forward, they shall be directly under the protection of the Land of Fire."
Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a long sigh of relief, his tense shoulders finally relaxing.
He looked up at the window and saw tens of thousands of villagers surrounding the Fire Shadow Tower, making it hard for him to breathe.
He called out in a deep voice, "Someone, go and invite Fugaku Uchiha, the heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, Hiashi Hyuga, the head of the Kurama clan... to the Hokage Building for a meeting immediately."
Inside the Hokage Building's meeting room.
Fugaku Uchiha sat upright at one side of the long table, with Mitsunaka Uchiha and Hachidai Uchiha standing behind him.
Opposite them were the leaders of the Ino-Shika-Cho triad: Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Akimichi Choza.
Beside him were Hiashi Hyuga, the clan leader Kurama, and others.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked haggard, with deeper wrinkles around his eyes than ever before: "Everyone, I've invited you all here today for the sake of Konoha's future."
The room was silent, and all eyes were on him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath and suddenly bowed deeply: "First of all, I want to apologize to all the ninjas and villagers of Konoha... During the Third Shinobi World War, the Sarutobi, Utatane, Mito, and Shimura clans... failed to fulfill their responsibilities and even harmed the interests of the village for their own selfish gain. As the Hokage, I cannot shirk my responsibility."
The crowd had various expressions, but no one interrupted.
Hiruzen Sarutobi straightened up and continued, "Therefore, I have decided!"
"First, immediately remove Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado from their positions as advisors and elders."
"Secondly, I resign from my position as Hokage and recommend Uchiha Fugaku... to succeed me as the Fourth Hokage."
As soon as he finished speaking, a hushed discussion erupted in the meeting room.
Without pausing, Hiruzen Sarutobi took out a document bearing the seal of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire from his robes: "Furthermore, the Sarutobi, Utatane, Mito, and Shimura clans... will completely withdraw from Konoha and go to serve in the Daimyo's office. This is the Daimyo's letter of authorization."
The document was passed from hand to hand. Nara Shikaku glanced at it, his brows furrowing slightly.
Uchiha Mitsunori shook his head slightly and sighed, "Sigh, they escaped pretty quickly."
The clan chief of Kurama asked in a low voice, "It's a good thing that the four great clans are withdrawing from Konoha, but how will the positions they left behind be distributed?"
When the document was returned to Hiruzen, the discussion in the conference room had not yet stopped.
Uchiha Mitsunori sneered, "The key issue is that they've emptied the village's coffers! During the war, they also skimmed a lot of profits from the village, and now they want to just walk away?"
"Shops, properties, ninja tool workshops... all of these must be confiscated!" the Kazami clan chief roared, slamming his fist on the table.
Hiruzen Sarutobi listened to the accusations with a calm expression, but a hint of suppressed anger flashed in his eyes.
He bowed deeply again, his voice almost pleading: "Gentlemen... before our four clans leave Konoha, we are willing to donate all the shops and houses in the village to the village as compensation. We only ask... that Clan Chief Fugaku protect our four clans and allow us to leave Konoha safely with our personal property."
Uchiha Mitsumine's voice was as cold as a knife as he interjected, "No, last month's ninja salaries haven't been paid yet, and the village's finances are in deficit of at least 170 billion ryo. The Sarutobi, Utatane, Mito, and Shimura clans must leave behind all the embezzled money."
His Sharingan stared directly at Hiruzen Sarutobi, the three tomoe slowly rotating: "Otherwise, don't even think about leaving here safely."
Mitokado Homura, sitting to Hiruzen Sarutobi's left, slammed his fist on the table, his face ashen. "Uchiha Sanfeng! Don't push your luck!"
On the right, Koharu Utatane's shrill voice echoed in the conference room: "There are only 10208 ninjas left in Konoha, while our four clans combined have 3695! If we leave, you'll only have a little over 6000 ninjas left!"
She stood up, a glint of threat in her eyes: "Even if we go to the Daimyo Prefecture to take up our posts, we will still be part of the Fire Kingdom's power. If you insist on a fight to the death... will you still be able to defend the Fire Kingdom's territory then?"
The temperature inside the meeting room seemed to drop to freezing point, and it fell silent instantly.
Nara Shikaku's gaze shifted between Utatane Koharu and Uchiha Fugaku, as if he were calculating something;
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained bowing, but his back was stiff.
Fugaku Uchiha remained silent for a moment, unsure of what to do next.
So he gave a wink to Uchiha Mitsunori beside him.
Uchiha Mitsumine stepped forward and said, "Ninjas make money quickly, but they also spend it quickly. The village economy revolves around ninjas. The problem is that before the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha had 24163 ninjas, but after the war, only 10208 ninjas remained. After the four clans left, only more than 6000 ninjas remained. Konoha's economy is only a quarter of what it was before the Third Shinobi World War."
Many of the people in the meeting room were ninja clan leaders.
Although they didn't understand economics, they were still taken aback by such an analysis.
Ignoring the expressions of those around him, Uchiha Mitsunori continued, "Because of the drastic population decrease, property prices will definitely plummet. The shops and properties owned by the four clans, before the Third Shinobi World War, would have been worth about 160 billion taels, but now they're worth at most 40 billion taels. So we still have a shortfall of 130 billion taels. As long as your four clans can raise 130 billion taels, you can leave safely!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi straightened up angrily: "Handing over the shops and properties is our bottom line. If you don't agree, then we'll have no choice but to fight!"
Uchiha Mitsumine placed his hands on the table and leaned forward: "Sarutobi Hiruzen, I knew all along that you had bought a lot of real estate and land in Daimyo Prefecture. Dream on, thinking you can go there and enjoy the good life!"
The atmosphere in the meeting room became tense!
Seeing how things had developed, Fugaku Uchiha frowned and slowly said, "I agree. Your four clans can leave Konoha safely with your personal belongings!"
Uchiha Mitsunori said incredulously, "Clan leader, how could you agree to this? They have ruled Konoha for 32 years and have embezzled at least 1000 billion ryo. Even if they spent a large portion of it, it shouldn't be a problem for them to come up with more than 200 billion ryo."
Hearing the defiant voice, Fugaku Uchiha's expression darkened: "Sanmine, I am the clan head!"
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's tense body finally relaxed.
He smiled and said, "Fugaku, congratulations on becoming the Fourth Hokage!"
......
As the meeting concluded, two ANBU ninjas slowly emerged, each holding a brand-new announcement.
The crowd immediately stirred, and the villagers stood on tiptoe, their eyes fixed on the thin piece of paper.
Seeing the crowd growing larger, one of the secret agents cleared his throat and loudly announced:
"Effective immediately, Hiruzen Sarutobi resigns as the Third Hokage, and Fugaku Uchiha becomes the Fourth Hokage. Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado are removed from their positions as advisors and elders. The Sarutobi, Utatane, Mito, and Shimura clans are all to withdraw from Konoha, and their shops, clan lands, and other real estate are confiscated. Starting tomorrow, members of the four clans must leave Konoha with their personal belongings."
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd fell silent for a moment, then burst into cheers.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi is finally gone!"
"It's wonderful that Fugaku Uchiha has become the Fourth Hokage!"
Uchiha Mitsumine sighed inwardly, "Foolish Fugaku, being the Fourth Hokage isn't easy! I'll take good care of Mikoto!"
According to the original story, the Fourth Hokage of each village seemed to be cursed. The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, died at the age of 24. The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, and the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, also did not live long. The Fourth Raikage, A, lost his left hand...