Silence.
Deathly silence.
Uchiha Madara rested his right hand on his forehead, unsure of where things had gone wrong.
Twice now, White Zetsu sent to Konoha had gone missing.
Wasn't it said that White Zetsu's spore technique would never be detected by Konoha's people?
And yet, what happened? Just this?
Madara knew that when they said "missing," it probably meant they were eliminated.
After all, White Zetsu clearly wasn't human.
For a monster like this that could infiltrate a village, Madara's approach was to kill one as soon as it appeared.
Who would have thought that White Zetsu would catch the interest of Senju Tobirama?
Instead of being eliminated immediately, it was placed in a secret laboratory.
"Madara-sama, what should we do next? Continue sending White Zetsu to Konoha?"
Madara looked up at Black Zetsu, who claimed to act on his will.
At this stage, Madara didn't fully trust him.
This was a good opportunity to test him.
"Black Zetsu, why don't you go to Konoha yourself and see what Tobirama is up to?"
Black Zetsu didn't mind going to gather information.
With his abilities, most people wouldn't even notice him.
To him, Konoha was like a public restroom—easy to enter.
However, he also had one ability that was inferior to White Zetsu's: he couldn't possess others silently.
If he ended up in a relatively open or small space, there was still a risk of exposure.
"I might not be as thorough as White Zetsu."
"That's okay, just do your best."
"Understood, Madara-sama. I'll head to Konoha now."
---
In Konoha, year 61.
Today was supposed to be a normal day. Kakashi was lazily sitting on a tree, engrossed in reading Jiraiya's latest work.
Suddenly, he overheard a conversation from the street below.
"Have you heard? That kid Naruto Uzumaki isn't a demon fox but the Fourth Hokage's son."
"What? That's impossible. How could he be the Fourth Hokage's son?"
"It's true. There's even an announcement from the Hokage's office."
"Are you sure? I need to check this out."
Watching the passersby leave, Kakashi quietly put away his book and vanished in a flash.
At the base of the Hokage Tower, it was truly bustling with activity.
Both ordinary villagers and ninjas in the village were very curious about Naruto Uzumaki's identity.
They wanted to know how the boy who had been called the "demon fox" for so many years had become the Fourth Hokage's son.
"Old man, aren't you going to step in and manage this?"
On the Hokage Tower, the Fifth Hokage Jiraiya and the Third Hokage stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the crowded scene below.
"It's fine. The Anbu are maintaining order; there won't be any trouble. But Jiraiya, is it really okay to reveal Naruto's identity like this?"
Last night, after the curtain fell, the Fifth Hokage Jiraiya had a long discussion with the Third Hokage for a long time.
The purpose was to take the opportunity to reveal Naruto's true identity.
When Naruto didn't know his background, they could use the excuse of stabilizing his emotions to keep his identity hidden.
Now that Naruto knew he was the Fourth Hokage's son, it would be pointless to continue hiding it.
So, it was better to make it public.
After all, the Fifth Hokage Jiraiya didn't want Naruto to live his whole life as the "demon fox."
"This is all Danzo's fault. If he hadn't spread rumors in secret, Naruto's childhood wouldn't have been so miserable."
Hearing this, the Fifth Hokage Jiraiya glanced at the Third Hokage with a smile but didn't respond.
Whether it was Danzo's fault or the Third Hokage's, Jiraiya no longer cared to pursue it.
Because it was meaningless.
Right now, it was better to think about how to calm the villagers' anger.
Yes, anger.
These people didn't think their actions were wrong. They were so kind and friendly, and knowing that Naruto was the Fourth Hokage's son, how could they have spoken ill of him?
So, everything was the fault of Konoha's higher-ups.
It was these higher-ups who gave them the wrong information, making them believe Naruto was the reincarnation of the demon fox who killed the Fourth Hokage.
Afterward, Konoha's higher-ups hadn't come forward to explain everything, leaving them in the dark.
All of this was the fault of Konoha's higher-ups.
Yes, that's right. Everything was the fault of Konoha's higher-ups. They were just misled and deceived.
They were victims too.
There were many villagers with this mindset. If not handled properly, it might cause some trouble.
"Don't worry, I've already come up with a solution."
"What solution?"
The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe and said, "Just tell the truth and put blame on Danzo."
"Sure, that's a good plan."
I have to admit, Danzo is really the perfect scapegoat.
Just opening up some files about what Danzo did back then would definitely catch people's attention.
And since it was indeed Danzo who did those things, it adds to the credibility.
Using a defector to handle this issue is perfect.
It's just a bit unfair to Danzo, though, even if he's a defector, he still gets blamed by the Third Hokage.
But Jiraiya, the Fifth Hokage, thinks Danzo probably wouldn't mind; after all, he's used to being the scapegoat, right?
Of course, Danzo is a treasure trove of misdeeds. It would be a waste to reveal everything all at once.
It's better to pull out a few things from his bad deeds, and if there's ever a need to calm villagers' anger again in the future, Danzo can be brought out to take the blame once more.
It's not a one-time blame; recycling is the way to go.
Danzo: Jiraiya, do you have any manners?
While the two were discussing which of Danzo's misdeeds to expose, the elderly versions of Koharu and Homura, ignoring the Anbu's obstruction at the door, barged into the Hokage's office.
"Hiruzen, Jiraiya, you've gone too far. Why didn't you discuss the disclosure of Naruto Uzumaki's identity with us?"
"That's right. Publicly, we're Konoha's advisors and have the right to know everything about the village. Privately, we've been partners for decades. Hiruzen, how could you reveal Naruto's identity without consulting us? That's really going too far."
Koharu and Homura's attitude made Jiraiya raise an eyebrow, and he wasn't planning to tolerate them.
However, since these two were old friends of the Third Hokage, Jiraiya stopped himself from lashing out.
"Jiraiya, let me handle this."
Seeing the serious expression on the Third Hokage's face, Jiraiya nodded.
"Alright, I'll leave it to you, Hokage."
Jiraiya didn't call him "old man" but "Hokage," meaning this was a formal matter.
The Third Hokage understood that if this wasn't handled to Jiraiya's satisfaction, it probably wouldn't end easily.
****
Support me on my ko-fi account and read upto 15 early chapters,
https://ko-fi.com/aayume