Naruto: Manipulation-Chapter 168: The News Shigen Had Been Waiting For

Inside Konoha Village.

The crisis in Konoha had not yet been fully resolved.

But at the very least, they could afford to be a little less tense.

Senju Hashirama's hands remained clasped together, his entire body radiating Sage Chakra, ready at any moment to apply a new seal onto the restrained Shigen.

"Now..."

"What should we do?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Shigen's half-crouched figure beneath the torii gates and turned back to his teacher, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. "Should we release Lord Shigen from the Edo Tensei, allowing his soul to return to the underworld and rest in peace?"

"It's useless."

Senju Tobirama shook his head, unconvinced that the Edo Tensei could still be undone. "The Edo Tensei technique cast upon him must have already gone out of control. Because last time, when I resurrected Lord Shigen with Edo Tensei, he had already mastered the technique's release method, allowing him to break free from the summoner's control and continue moving independently..."

Crack!

The sudden sound of a torii gate breaking sent a wave of tension through everyone present!

Senju Hashirama immediately cast another technique, summoning more torii gates from the Myojinmon to further suppress Shigen's movements!

"Are we just going to remain in this stalemate?"

Jiraiya felt an unsettling anxiety creeping in.

"Other sealing techniques might not work either..."

Senju Tobirama shook his head, his gaze locked onto Shigen's form, as if he could see the terrifying soul hidden beneath that Edo Tensei body.

Shigen's soul was simply too fearsome!

Even the Shinigami of the underworld dared not oppose it!

However...

The Shinigami was not entirely without use.

At the very least, it could force Shigen's soul to leave his Edo Tensei vessel.

Senju Tobirama was certain that while his Reaper Death Seal technique had not succeeded, it had at least managed to push Shigen's soul back toward the underworld.

"There's still only one option..."

Recalling what he had witnessed in his final moments before death, Senju Tobirama spoke in a solemn tone, "We must use the Reaper Death Seal to drive his soul back to the underworld..."

But...

The Reaper Death Seal required a sacrifice.

Once cast, the user's soul would be devoured and sealed by the Shinigami, with no certainty that anyone in the future would be able to free them, as Orochimaru once did.

Fortunately...

Hokage had never feared sacrifice.

Every Hokage present, no matter how cunning or strategic they were—Senju Tobirama included—was prepared to lay down their life when duty called.

It was their responsibility.

A burden they had long since accepted.

"I will do it."

Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly stepped forward, his voice calm and unwavering. "I have been prepared for this day for a long time."

Moreover...

It had to be him.

Because Edo Tensei resurrected individuals were technically dead, unable to attract the Shinigami's attention. The Reaper only had interest in the souls of the living.

"Third Lord!"

"Old man!"

Both Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya tensed up.

"Monkey..."

A hint of approval appeared on the faces of Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama. The child they had once placed their hopes in had truly grown into a worthy Hokage.

Hiruzen turned to his student, Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, from today onward, you are the Fifth Hokage of Konoha."

At this point...

Hiruzen had no one else to entrust this responsibility to.

There simply wasn't another suitable candidate in Konoha.

"Ah?"

Jiraiya was caught off guard. He instinctively glanced at Tsunade and suddenly proposed, "Isn't Tsunade a better choice?"

Indeed.

Tsunade was a fitting candidate.

But her current state was problematic.

With Shigen's true identity revealed, Tsunade's mind was on the verge of collapse. Hiruzen couldn't be certain she was in the right condition to take up the mantle of Hokage.

"I recommend Tsunade for Fifth Hokage."

Jiraiya didn't deny the validity of Hiruzen's idea, but he offered a compelling argument. He looked at the hollow-eyed Tsunade and said, "If Tsunade shoulders the responsibility of protecting Konoha, she will find the strength to stand tall again..."

Jiraiya, of course, had personal reasons.

First, he didn't want to be tied down by the Hokage's responsibilities. He needed to focus on training Naruto Uzumaki and finding a way to bring his former students, Nagato and Konan, back to the right path.

Second, he couldn't bear to see Tsunade lost in despair. He knew how much Shigen meant to her, and the only way to fill that void was to replace it with something of equal weight.

In the past...

Tsunade had carried Shigen's will.

Now that his will had shattered, she needed something new to hold onto.

And what better choice than the Will of Fire, passed down through generations of Hokage?

"..."

Hiruzen pondered for a moment, weighing Konoha's interests and future. Eventually, he realized that Jiraiya's suggestion might be the best option.

To put it bluntly...

Tsunade might not be able to handle anything related to Shigen at the moment. Her entire life was marked by his presence, and she was no longer in the right mindset to even be a medical ninja, let alone a suitable shinobi.

But if she became Hokage...

If she could recover, her power would be crucial to Konoha's future. The only question was whether inheriting the Hokage title would be enough to bring her back.

"Perhaps... this is for the best."

Hiruzen turned to Hashirama, Tobirama, and Minato. "First Lord, Second Lord, Minato, what do you all think?"

"This is your generation's decision to make."

Hashirama waved a hand dismissively. Then, a sudden realization struck him. "Wait! If little Tsuna becomes Hokage, she won't gamble the whole village away, right?"

"..."

Everyone present twitched.

"She won't."

Jiraiya shook his head. He knew Hashirama was joking, but his gaze fell upon the restrained Shigen. "Actually, Tsunade hasn't gambled in a long time. She's even nearly quit drinking these past years..."

And it was all because of Shigen.

But Shigen remained unmoved.

"Lord Shigen."

Jiraiya felt a heavy weight in his heart. He needed an answer. "Why must you create peace through such terrifying means?"

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"If you could do it yourselves..."

Shigen glanced at Jiraiya.

"I wouldn't have to."

"..."

Jiraiya's throat tightened. A thought struck him, and he quickly pressed on. "But there will be someone who can do it! Like Naruto—you believe in the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, don't you? You believed Naruto was the Child of Prophecy, right?"

"If it's the Toad's prophecy..."

Shigen looked at Jiraiya and calmly asked, "What makes you think... Nagato wasn't the Child of Prophecy?"

"..."

Jiraiya was at a loss for words.

After all, both Nagato and Naruto were his students.

And right now...

Nagato had already begun trying to change the shinobi world.

But his ideology came from Shigen!

Jiraiya firmly believed both Nagato and Naruto were the Children of Prophecy, but he couldn't accept the path Nagato had chosen. He had to find a way to change his student's mind!

If Hiruzen used the Reaper Death Seal to banish Shigen's soul, Jiraiya would immediately set out to convince Nagato to abandon the Akatsuki's war machine!

"Jiraiya."

Shigen's calm voice interrupted his thoughts. "The Toad told you many things, which is why you were always wary of me, wasn't it?"

"Yes..."

Jiraiya nodded, curiosity still burning within him. "But one thing confuses me. The Great Toad Sage told me that you, Lord Shigen, once carried out extreme measures for peace in ancient times. Is he referring to the Akatsuki's war machine plan?"

"If you want to know, I don't mind telling you."

Shigen shook his head, his expression unchanging. "Back then, I simply intended to kill every disciple of the Shinobi Sect—all those who possessed chakra—to prevent it from spreading further..."

"!!!"

A chilling silence fell.

Jiraiya felt a chill run down his spine.

Even the First and Second Hokage, along with everyone present, were visibly shaken.

Killing all those who possessed chakra...

That meant exterminating their ancestors!

This ancient medical ninja had been so extreme, even back in the distant past!

This revelation...

Was utterly terrifying!

Compared to Shigen's indiscriminate slaughter, the Akatsuki's war machine plan suddenly seemed almost merciful in contrast.

"I never would have imagined..."

Jiraiya, knowing that Shigen wasn't one to lie about such things, could only shake his head and sigh. "The legendary medical sage of the shinobi world has such a dark past..."

"For the sake of achieving eternal peace, nothing is too great a sacrifice—just as you claim that anything is justified for the sake of Konoha."

"But..."

"Asura..."

"The ancestor of the Senju and Uzumaki clans."

Shigen turned his gaze toward Senju Hashirama, as if looking at an old acquaintance from long ago. "Back then, he convinced me to abandon that idea..."

"..."

Everyone present felt an unexpected sense of relief.

Even though they already knew that Shigen's plan in ancient times had failed, hearing that someone had successfully convinced him to give it up still provided a small sense of comfort.

"Asura made me a promise..."

"That if people could truly understand one another, there would no longer be war."

"I believed him."

Shigen reached up and touched his eyes, gently brushing his fingertips over his Rinnegan. "And I used the power of these eyes to resurrect all the disciples of the Shinobi Sect I had slain, allowing chakra to once again spread throughout the world..."

"..."

Cold sweat formed on Jiraiya's forehead.

Even the Hokage present felt a sense of unease.

Because they all knew the history of the shinobi world.

The Warring States period that lasted for centuries...

The three Shinobi World Wars that followed...

The people of later generations...

Had completely shattered Shigen's faith in Asura's promise.

"I... truly apologize."

Hashirama, ever the earnest one, bowed his head solemnly toward Shigen, sincerely apologizing for failing to uphold their ancestor's promise.

"..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others could only stand there, feeling too ashamed to say anything.

"..."

Tobirama felt a moment of guilt, but then his sharp mind immediately grasped a crucial point. "Wait... the Rinnegan has the power to resurrect the dead!"

"Lord Shigen, something has happened to Nagato!"

Just as Tobirama made that realization, a voice rang out beneath Shigen's feet.

A creature with a black and white face emerged from the ground, delivering the very message that Shigen had been waiting for.

"Danzo has taken Nagato's Rinnegan!"

"Danzo?"

"Danzo!"

Everyone present was stunned.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, in particular, felt a surge of both shock and fury.

While they had been locked in this desperate battle—while he himself had been prepared to sacrifice his life—Shimura Danzo had been secretly making his move to steal the Rinnegan!

That bastard...

What exactly was he planning to do with it?!

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