Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 198 Minato, who do you think is suitable to be Hokage?

While Aburame Shisei was enjoying the beauty of the natural storm, the situation within the ninja world was gradually becoming chaotic.

The first place to descend into chaos was Konoha. Due to the power struggle between the Hokage and the various ninja clans, spies from different countries quietly infiltrated Konoha. In stark contrast, Takigakure was secretly evacuating.

Ryuji Ida was an extremely intelligent businessman. Although he had not been by Aburame Shisei's side for the past few years, he had accumulated a great deal of wealth for Taki no Kuni through continuous business dealings.

At the same time, as his horizons broadened, his political thinking and overall perspective also continued to improve, and his vision even surpassed that of many other countries.

He quickly realized that with the increasing number of spies from various countries, Konoha would only become more and more chaotic.

But Konoha is not a pushover. Right now, they are just fighting for power internally and their strength is scattered. Once external pressure touches their core, they will quickly unite against external forces, and those spies will surely be purged.

Therefore, the best way to avoid getting involved is to leave as soon as possible.

Not only were personnel evacuated, but all kinds of goods and overseas investments he brought with him were also withdrawn simultaneously.

His departure immediately reduced Konoha's land tax revenue and fiscal income by one-third.

Even on the carriage leaving Konoha, Ryuji Ida remained deeply shaken.

Kurosaki Ichiro wiped his sword, not understanding what he was afraid of. With him protecting them, they would be safe and sound unless a powerful ninja descended.

The only pity is that all the rent they paid over the years will be wasted when they leave Konoha.

However, this also made them realize from another angle that the ninja village is still a ninja village. Even though they have been lying low all these years and have not sent any information, they are probably still targets because they are so rich.

Sure enough, just a few days after he left, the Root ninjas of Konoha were mobilized again to launch a large-scale purge of Konoha.

Those foreign merchants with questionable identities and residents who had moved to Konoha all disappeared overnight.

Neighbors living nearby could even smell a faint odor of blood, and some even witnessed the nighttime carnage. But by the next day, everyone tacitly kept quiet.

Konoha remains the same Konoha with its simple and honest people, and its people who are optimistic and positive.

Those spies were uprooted, implicating a large number of people who either disappeared without a trace or were imprisoned in dungeons.

Without a doubt, the Uchiha clan was chosen to be the ones openly responsible for making arrests and carrying out dirty and tiring work.

This caused the Uchiha clan's reputation, which had just begun to improve, to plummet, and the voices of public support for Uchiha Fugaku to become the Fourth Hokage completely fell silent.

It was only then that the Uchiha clan suddenly realized that it wasn't just the Hokage lineage that was targeting them and preventing the Uchiha from producing a Hokage, but also the entire Konoha ninja clan.

"As expected, those who aren't envied are just mediocre. They're just jealous of the Uchiha clan's talent and strength, afraid that once you become Hokage, the Hokage position will belong entirely to the Uchiha."

After getting drunk with his Uchiha friend, a commoner Jonin spoke these heartfelt words to his friend, who possessed the Sharingan with three tomoe.

These words sounded like a joke coming from an ordinary person, but the Uchiha people took them seriously.

He also brought these words back to his clan, and the Uchiha clan, already filled with anger, instantly became even more arrogant.

That's right, that's exactly it! Only those who aren't envied are mediocre!

The Uchiha clan are born into privilege, noble by nature, and should be in a superior position. Why should they have to listen to the opinions of commoners or others?

As a result, the guards became increasingly decisive and ruthless in their actions, and when they went out for meals and drinks, they always adopted an arrogant and condescending attitude.

Fugaku Uchiha was extremely distressed by this, and he returned home exhausted and with a worried look on his face every day.

"There are more and more hawks in the clan now. At today's clan meeting, some people even proposed to seize power and compete for the position of Fourth Hokage."

Mikoto Uchiha, supporting her belly, placed a small plate of fried fish in front of Fugaku Uchiha.

"Don't think about it anymore, let's eat first."

"The Hokage position isn't really that great. Do you really want to be Hokage, or is someone in your clan just vying for the position?"

Mikoto Uchiha succinctly pointed out the key point: "They've just been suppressed for too long and want to prove themselves."

The Uchiha clan may be arrogant and flamboyant, but they are never power-hungry. They would rather focus on themselves and improve their strength.

"I know they just want to vent their anger, but it's precisely because they're acting on impulse that they're harder to deal with."

In truth, fighting for this pride is meaningless; perhaps it only matters to the Uchiha clan.

Mikoto Uchiha stepped forward to support Fugaku Uchiha, who then pressed his ear against her belly, quietly listening to the baby's heartbeat.

"Such a lively heartbeat, the child will definitely be healthy in the future."

"Yes, after all, he's your child."

"Mikoto..." Fugaku Uchiha grasped her hand, looked up, and said, "It's been half a year..."

"Okay." Mikoto Uchiha tucked her hair behind her ear, giving him a helpless look, and said softly, "But be gentle, don't hurt the baby."

……

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's temples were graying, and he was exhausted both physically and mentally.

Since the Ino-Shika-Cho trio announced that they would no longer unconditionally follow the Hokage's lineage, other small and medium-sized families have also begun to waver: some have joined the Elders' Council, some have remained neutral, and some have simply shut themselves away and ignored everyone.

The power of the Hokage lineage was severely weakened.

Even more critically, spies from various countries began to infiltrate the village. After the battle with Yugakure, Konoha's strength was weakened, and its intelligence system was compromised, allowing spies from various ninja villages to flood in.

Spies from various villages, including Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure, are active in Konoha, stealing intelligence and winning people over.

Even though Konoha had launched a large-scale purge, it was just pushing all the blame-making work onto the Uchiha clan.

Nowadays, among the common people of Konoha, the call to elect a new Fourth Hokage is growing louder and louder, and who should become the Fourth Hokage has even become a topic of conversation among the people.

According to the latest report from the Anbu, a family was discussing candidates for the Fourth Hokage after dinner, and Orochimaru and Tsunade were the most popular choices.

The family couldn't convince each other, and in the end, they even smashed the dishes, the couple argued, and the children gave each other the cold shoulder.

While this story may be exaggerated, it does illustrate that he was a complete failure as the Third Hokage.

Just then, Minato Namikaze pushed open the door and entered.

At this time, he was already a squad leader in the Anbu and had been promoted to Jonin. He had just returned from a mission and was reporting the situation to the Third Hokage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, placed the documents handed to him aside, and then asked:

"Minato, who do you think is the most suitable person to serve as the Fourth Hokage?"