Iruka held the wet Scroll of Seals and immediately sensed something was wrong with it.
Could it be that Lord Hokage had anticipated this long ago and allowed Naruto to steal a fake Scroll of Seals?
Oops! If the Scroll of Seals was fake, wouldn't he have been exposed in advance?
Will Mizuki come out again?
Mizuki, whom they were waiting for, never appeared, and Naruto did not make a breakthrough in this incident, leaving him delayed in the Ninja Academy by Iruka.
That night, Iruka returned to the Hokage Building with the wet Scroll of Seals.
In fact, he had suspected that the Scroll of Seals might have been replaced, but since he had been following it closely, the other party shouldn't have had a chance to act!
With anxiety in his heart, Iruka presented the Scroll of Seals to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
And Sarutobi Hiruzen could tell at a glance that the Scroll of Seals had been stolen!
This is fake!
When the Scroll of Seals was stolen, Sarutobi Hiruzen's first suspicion wasn't Mizuki or Naruto but Iruka!
So the ANBU captured Iruka directly and took him in for interrogation.
The result of the interrogation was naturally not what people expected.
Iruka didn't take the Scroll of Seals!
Uzumaki Naruto didn't take it either!
Mizuki had also disappeared!
Various signs seemed to indicate that Mizuki had replaced the Scroll of Seals at some point!
He, the majestic Hokage, had actually been outwitted by a mere chūnin! He also lost the extremely important Scroll of Seals!
In anger, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately listed Mizuki as an S-ranked rogue ninja of Konoha!
You want him alive, or you want his corpse!
That night, countless ANBU were dispatched, just to capture this lowly chūnin!
But Mizuki was already dead, and they were destined to return without success.
The arrest operation lasted for a week.
The whole of Konoha was in turmoil for a week!
Although no one knew what had happened, the sudden increase in ninja activity, even to the point of house-to-house searches, made it clear that something big must have occurred in Konoha!
However, because the Scroll of Seals was stolen, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't announce it to the world. If he did, the entire Land of Fire would likely plunge into chaos.
Who knows how many people with ulterior motives would flock to the Land of Fire for the Scroll of Seals!
Who knows how many disloyal Konoha ninjas would be swayed by this news and turn rogue!
The most terrifying possibility was that his prestige in Konoha could diminish because of this incident!
The Scroll of Seals that housed all of Konoha's most dangerous forbidden techniques had been stolen from under his nose by a mere chūnin teacher!
What a display of incompetence!
This must not be leaked! Especially not to the two advisors and Danzō.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's mobilization of all the Jōnin to recover the Scroll of Seals couldn't be hidden!
Not only did his subsequent actions not stop, but they intensified. Even a fool could see that Sarutobi Hiruzen had messed up!
After hearing the news, Danzō immediately came to the Hokage's office to launch a tactical taunt at him.
"Sarutobi, you couldn't even safeguard the Scroll of Seals—it was stolen by a mere chūnin teacher. I think you should abdicate!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's response was silence. He was responsible for this matter and had no way to shirk it.
This also left him with no confidence to argue with Danzō.
After a while, the two advisors also arrived.
Koharu Utatane: "This is simply absurd! Sarutobi Hiruzen, as the Third Hokage, how could you do something so foolish? Using the Scroll of Seals to bait a chūnin traitor? Is this your idea of a good deal?"
Homura Mitokado: "The most outrageous part is that you were actually fooled! A lowly chūnin outsmarted you, a great ninja. If word spreads, the other villages will laugh at us for years!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe and sighed: "I've already done my best to make up for it."
"Hmph, make up for it?"
"You dispatched all the ANBU and Jōnin to capture Mizuki. It's been a week. Has it worked?"
"And the most critical issue now is that not only has Mizuki not been caught and the Scroll of Seals not been recovered, but all of Konoha has also been thrown into chaos because of this! Anyone looking at the situation might think we're about to launch a war against another village!"
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, you're growing more confused as you age!"
Shimura Danzō seized the opportunity to sneer at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
For so many years, he had been suppressed by Hiruzen Sarutobi, and it was only because Hiruzen Sarutobi had brought peace and stability to Konoha.
This had always endeared him to the two advisors.
Now that something like this had happened, he would undoubtedly take the chance to belittle Hiruzen Sarutobi and gain the support of the two advisors!
"I think you should leave this matter to me. We can act more discreetly at our base, without plunging all of Konoha into chaos!"
Hearing that Danzō was offering to clean up the mess,
Not only was Sarutobi Hiruzen not happy, he was actually a little angry.
What's that supposed to mean?
What I, the Hokage, can't handle, you, the head of Root, can?
Are you saying you're better than me?
"No need, I will handle this matter myself. There's no need to trouble Root."
Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's response, the two advisors were clearly unhappy.
"Sarutobi, Konoha can't remain in chaos. In our opinion, this should be handled by Root."
The ANBU and Jōnin's activities were so conspicuous that everyone knew something was wrong in Konoha!
But without the ANBU and Jōnin, Sarutobi Hiruzen would have no one left to deploy.
After thinking it over, Sarutobi Hiruzen said: "I'll recall all the Jōnin and let the ANBU continue tracking Mizuki's whereabouts."
"Sarutobi, are you determined to have your own way?"
Danzō immediately said angrily when he saw that even the advisors' intervention was ineffective.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't intimidated by Danzō. After being Hokage for so many years and successfully keeping Danzō in check, he naturally wasn't afraid of him.
He glanced at Danzō coldly and said calmly: "I am the Hokage, and I have the final say in everything in Konoha, including you, the head of Root!"
"You!"
Danzō's expression was cold; Sarutobi's words reminded him of the night six years ago when he was dismissed from his position as the Hokage's assistant under a pretext from Sarutobi.
Without the title of Hokage, he was ultimately powerless!
"You will regret this, Sarutobi Hiruzen!"
"Snort!"
With a cold snort, Danzō stormed out.
The two advisors didn't concern themselves with Danzō's intentions. They just looked deeply at Sarutobi.
"Sarutobi, it's true that you're the Hokage, but there are some things where you need to heed our advice."
"But since you want to handle this matter yourself, then we won't interfere. However, Konoha cannot remain in this state of chaos."
"Understood?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen held his pipe and said indifferently: "I will take care of it."
"Alright."
The two advisors nodded and left.
Between Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi, they still preferred Hiruzen Sarutobi.
This was not only because Sarutobi Hiruzen was the Nidaime's appointed successor, but also because of Sarutobi Hiruzen's accomplishments over the decades.
Konoha needs peace!
It always will.
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