MTLNOVEL Chapter 440: Exciting News
Danzō was furious—absolutely seething. In the Amegakure operation, his subordinate Aburame Ryōma and ten Root members had all been wiped out.
Don't ask how he knew they were dead. With the kind of conditioning he instilled in Root, if any of them were still alive, they'd have crawled back to the base even if it meant dragging their guts behind them.
Kazuyama Gekkō was back. They weren't. That told him everything he needed to know.
And worst of all, they'd been taken out by Kazuyama himself.
He'd had his eye on Kazuyama from the start, but things had gone sideways fast. Not only had he failed to recruit him, but the situation had spiraled so far out of control that Kazuyama had ended up on the opposite side entirely.
It was frustrating—but Danzō Shimura wasn't the kind of man to dwell on a single failure.
"Hmph! Fine, whatever."
"I have other matters to attend to. I'm leaving."
"But Hiruzen, regarding the truce—I still stand by my position."
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Danzō leave, fully understanding what he meant. Danzō didn't want peace; he wanted to press Konoha's advantage while they had momentum.
Unfortunately for him, he wasn't the one in charge.
"Peace doesn't come easily, and I won't throw the village back into war on a whim."
"Koharu, draft the truce agreement. I'll have it delivered to the Daimyō's estate."
"By the way, has the Daimyō sent word on the new Hokage?"
Koharu Utatane shook her head. It seemed the Daimyō hadn't made a decision yet.
Hiruzen nodded, not in any hurry. He trusted the Daimyō would make the right call.
...
Meanwhile, Kazuyama Gekkō had already flashed out of the Hokage's office with Flying Thunder God and gone straight home—no fuss, no delay.
He knew the days ahead would be calmer. With the war winding down, it was finally time for him to start laying out his plans.
But he barely had time to sit down before a screeching voice nearly blew his eardrums out.
"Kazuyama! My bugs!"
"I'm starving!"
"Move it! You're back in the village—I want insects!"
Hunger could drive anyone insane, and for a Tailed Beast, it was no different. Right now, Chōmei was full-blown feral from starvation.
With no other option, Kazuyama had to run to the Aburame Clan's compound to find him something to eat.
The Aburame lived on the edge of the village, closer to the forest—a necessity, since they bred insects and needed the right environment to do it.
Using Chōmei's sense of smell, Kazuyama specifically hunted down the fattest, juiciest bugs he could find, which made Chōmei so happy he couldn't stop laughing.
But while searching, Kazuyama suddenly paused.
He'd spotted someone familiar—Shibi Aburame.
The future head of the Aburame Clan. And next to him stood someone else—tall, composed, and completely stone-faced.
Kazuyama didn't recognize the other man, which piqued his curiosity.
"Shihei, are you really set on this?"
"Joining Root isn't a decision to take lightly."
Shibi lowered the insect in his hand and looked at his fellow clansman with a rare seriousness.
Shihei Aburame?
That name made Kazuyama's brows lift.
He knew the name—and so did half the village.
It represented elite combat strength.
He was a full-fledged Jōnin, not just a Special Jōnin.
Unlike most of the Aburame Clan, who raised kikaichū, Shihei bred a highly specialized strain of nano-scale venomous insects—and had developed a personal immunity to their poison.
Anyone else infected would die from massive cellular destruction.
These insects could only survive inside living cells, where they reproduced by breaking them down. Once the host died, the bugs died too.
Terrifying creatures that made Shihei a truly lethal fighter.
And in the future, his son would also serve in Root. Kazuyama hadn't expected the father to be joining up as well.
"Tatsuma is dead, and Danzō has requested the village send another ninja to join Root."
"Shibi, you're going to be the next clan head—so I'll go."
Shihei Aburame's voice was calm and direct, but what he said was the truth.
Tatsuma Aburame had been the Aburame Clan's representative in Root. Now that he was dead, it was their duty to send someone else in his place. That was the responsibility their clan bore.
"Kazuyama, was that Tatsuma the one you took out?"
Crunch.
Chōmei asked casually while munching on a bug. Kazuyama Gekkō nodded in response.
He really had forgotten about the Aburame Clan's arrangement with Danzō. If he'd remembered, he might have spared Tatsuma—those poisonous insects were nothing to joke about. Even he found them terrifying.
"Alright, Chōmei, that's enough bugs. Let's go."
"I think Pakura's class is about to finish."
After settling Chōmei's appetite, Kazuyama Gekkō once again used the Flying Thunder God Technique and vanished.
...
That evening, after dinner, Kazuyama Gekkō called Hayate Gekkō over.
"Hayate, I know what you've been up to."
"You can train in Kenjutsu, but you can't neglect your Kekkei Genkai and ninjutsu."
"Starting tomorrow, your sister-in-law and I will each train you. If you don't meet our standards, I'll cut off your Kenjutsu training myself."
As the eldest brother, Kazuyama had no intention of letting Hayate follow the same path he once did.
Hayate, still full from the meal, stood frozen. It suddenly felt like all that delicious food had turned to ash in his mouth.
Helpless, he glanced over at Ebisami and Ebisu beside him.
But the two of them just stifled a laugh, clearly having no intention of stepping in.
"I get it! You want me to train in ninjutsu? I'll train, alright? Happy now?"
Satisfied with his answer, Kazuyama Gekkō nodded approvingly.
...
Days passed peacefully. One week later, the village finally received a long-awaited message from the Daimyō's Manor.
The new Hokage had been chosen!
That day, every shinobi in the village instinctively gathered outside the Hokage Building. They all knew what the arrival of news from the Daimyō meant.
Inside the office, Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the scroll brought by ANBU, his hands trembling with excitement.
The scroll contained just four characters.
But those four characters made Hiruzen burst into laughter.
They read: Minato Namikaze.
"Hahahahaha!"
"I knew my judgment was right!"
"Spread the word—Minato Namikaze will become the Fourth Hokage!"
"The inauguration ceremony is tentatively set for one month from now!"
With Hiruzen's hearty laughter echoing through the office, the news that the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, was to become Hokage spread like wildfire across the village.
In an instant, the entire village erupted in joy and celebration.
Not long after, both Iwagakure and Kirigakure signed the ceasefire agreements.
The Third Shinobi World War was officially over!
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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