Chapter 161 Acting as Hokage
The next morning, in the office of the third generation.

The Third Hokage, who had not slept all night, first drank a sip of coffee, then lit the pipe beside him, and barely perked up under the effect of nicotine.

As a ninja, the Third Hokage knew the disadvantages of smoking.

Smoking will paralyze the nerves, reduce the ninja's nerve reaction speed, and cause a variety of unpredictable consequences.

But after experiencing the turmoil of last night, he just wanted to numb himself by smoking and relieve the pain and melancholy in his heart.

After a long sigh of relief, the Third Hokage opened the window and flipped through the reports sent in by various departments. The reports recorded the number of buildings destroyed in the village last night, casualty reports, and economic losses.

The Third Hokage read through the reports with a heavy heart and sighed inwardly.

Because the battle last night took place outside the village, not many buildings were destroyed in the village, and the number of villagers injured or killed was not large.

It would only take a few weeks at most to restore order in the village.

But what was hard for the Third Hokage to accept was that the village had lost one-fifth of its backbone jonin, and the Fourth Hokage and his wife, as well as his own wife, also died in last night's turmoil.

That's right, after searching all night and still failing to find any trace of the Fourth Hokage and his wife, the Third Hokage had already determined in his heart that Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki were dead.

If the loss of one-fifth of the jonin was a serious blow to Konoha, then the loss of the Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was a heavy blow to the village.

Minato Namikaze is not an ordinary ninja. If Minato Namikaze was not there, the war on the Iwagakure side would not have ended so easily, and the war on the Kirigakure side might have still been stuck in a stalemate.

And although Kushina did not contribute much to the war, the existence of the Jinchūriki itself was a great deterrent.

After losing Kushina, the mature Jinchūriki, Konoha lost the means of deterrence with the Tailed Beast Ball in a short period of time, and the originally peaceful border would become turbulent again.

At this moment, the door of the third generation's office was suddenly knocked, and several figures walked in.

These people are the advisory duo Utane Koharu, Mitokado En, and the leader of the Root organization, Danzo. Like the Third Hokage, they are the absolute top leaders who have been in charge of Konoha for decades.

While the Third Hokage stayed awake all night, the three of them also took action on their own.

Looking at the gloomy-faced third-generation descendant sitting on the desk, Utane Koharu sighed softly and said:
"Sarutobi, I have already finished the task of resettling the villagers. Haven't you found Minato and Kushina yet?"

Hearing this, the Third Hokage shook his head slightly: "I have sent people to search overnight, but there is no trace of Minato and Kushina, not even their bodies have been found."

"You haven't even found the body?"

Mitomon En frowned and said:

"Could it be that the bodies of Minato and Kushina were taken away by the attackers? But if the attackers took their bodies away, it would be impossible for Naruto, who became the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, to be left behind."

“That’s what I’m confused about, but it’s the truth.”

The Third Hokage showed a helpless expression, and then said: "Unless Minato was hit by the Nine-Tails using the Tailed Beast Ball before he performed the Demon Sealing Technique, and I don't know why they didn't take Naruto away."

At this time, Utatane Koharu seemed to have thought of something and said, "Can we start from the attacker's motive? They must have a reason for attacking the Konoha Village."

The Third Hokage picked up his pipe and analyzed while smoking:

"The attackers didn't take Naruto away, which means they have no interest in the Nine-Tails, nor do they want to completely change the balance between the five great nations. They may simply want to kill Minato and Kushina." "So, the attackers are enemies of Minato and Kushina?"

Utatane Koharu showed a puzzled look, and then said: "But when did Minato and Kushina provoke such a powerful ninja? They would rather attack Konoha than take revenge on Minato and his wife."

"And if the murderer is a ninja from the other four major ninja villages, they..."

"I don't know about that..."

The Third Hokage spread his hands, his face full of helplessness, but he continued to analyze in his mind.

Last night's Nine-Tailed Fox Rebellion was full of suspicious locations, but when they were piled together, it made people feel like they couldn't start.

First of all, according to the report from the senior ninja who was at the scene at the time, the one who attacked Minato and his wife was a ninja who mastered the ability of time and space.

This space-time ninja not only knew the exact time of Kushina's delivery, but also had the ability to control the Nine-Tails. He successfully used the Nine-Tails to transfer most of Konoha's power and got the opportunity to fight Minato one-on-one.

Secondly, this space-time ninja was no match for Minato. He lost the contest and fled in panic.

But later, in order to seal the Nine-Tails, Minato used the Shikigami Seal Technique and died together with the Nine-Tails. The space-time ninja took this opportunity to destroy Minato and Kushina's bodies.

Just as the Third Hokage and the duo of advisory ninjas were analyzing the situation, Danzo Shimura, who had been silent for a long time, spoke.

Shimura Danzo leaned on a cane and said expressionlessly: "We can slowly investigate the murderer. Right now there is a very important matter that we need to deal with."

Hearing this, the Third Hokage and the duo of advisors all looked towards Danzo.

Danzo said calmly: "The Land of Fire cannot be without a Daimyo, and Konoha cannot be without a Hokage. Since Minato Namikaze may be missing or dead, we should select a new Hokage as soon as possible."

"If the Fifth Hokage cannot be elected soon, the village will inevitably fall into chaos."

After saying that, Danzo's gaze fell on the Third Hokage and the duo of advisors, his eyes full of anticipation, he couldn't wait to become Hokage.

Hearing this, everyone frowned.

They know that Danzo has always wanted to become Hokage, but the village is still in chaos. Are you a little impatient? And from last night until now, your roots seem to have no effect.

After thinking about this, Mito Kado En cleared his throat: "What Danzo said makes some sense. The village now needs a Hokage to deal with this chaotic situation."

"But now that Jiraiya and Orochimaru are not in the village, it seems that there is no particularly suitable candidate."

"Why not just let..."

At this point, Mito Kado En paused, and Utane Koharu next to him continued, "Why not let Sarutobi be the acting Hokage, and when the village is restored to order, we will re-elect the Fifth Hokage."

Hearing this, Danzo's face instantly darkened and he looked at the Third Hokage standing beside him.

The Third Hokage stroked his beard, then glanced at Danzo and said slowly: "Since the village needs a former Hokage like me to return, I will temporarily serve as the acting Hokage."

(End of this chapter)