Chapter 261: Elders

*

A few days later.

A lot has changed in Konoha in the past few days. First of all, restoration work began. Orochimaru's snakes damaged a lot of buildings, but these destructions were restored quite quickly. There were also funerals for several of those killed in this mess. The interrogations of the Sand shinobi had begun, and negotiations with the remaining elders of the enemy village were now expected. This time, many of the Kazekage's men directly participated in the battle, and he himself fell on the battlefield. Even if this raised Shikamaru's fame, the main thing here is the fact that the enemy is attacking. They lost, and now for Sand, everything will definitely not end with simple apologies, even though they have lost the strongest shinobi. Of course, it was not worth counting on a counterattack, not only Hiruzen was against it, but Shikamaru was not going to leave the village for such boring things. And who would even take it into his head to seize these lands? The Land of the Wind is more trouble than good, and with a recent attack, they've made their situation even worse...

As a result, the Third suddenly informed everyone about the decision to leave the post of Hokage. At the same time, I did not forget to mention the forthcoming selection of the next candidate. Many Jonin even had no doubts about the new replacement. Having defeated the Kazekage and personally participating in the most dangerous battle, Shikamaru showed himself to be a very strong and truly capable person. Huge chakra, terrible power and terrible allies in the form of spiders. It was only Shikamaru's call that day and his own actions that, in fact, repulsed the entire attack of the enemy forces. All the Anbu captains who personally witnessed that battle were filled with great respect for this young talent, because for military people, strength comes first. People didn't even think about his leadership qualities or some kind of ninja rank. The strength alone was enough for them to be confident in Shikamaru's ability to protect the village. But they didn't even suspect that their prospective candidate was not going to lead the government in Konoha. The future Hokage is a long-term deal.

While the village was recovering from the battle. Shikamaru was still sitting in meditation, comprehending the basics of the Yang element. After overcoming a serious boundary with the help of the Blood Release and the new bloodline, he directly approached its very essence. But, comprehending day after day, something constantly eluded him ...

“Eh… it’s better to focus on more useful things.” I have almost perfected the jutsu, now it remains only to pass the combat tests. I need to leave Konoha...

The deadline agreed with Tsunade had almost arrived, just the right time to step out of the shadows.

Shikamaru lifted his head and looked thoughtfully at the door. Then Sasuke ran into the training area.

“Sensei,” the guy bowed slightly nervously, “here... In general, the Hokage, ahem, or rather the former Hokage, said to pass it on to you,” pulling out the scroll, the guy quickly gave it to the man.

"Hmm..." Skimming his eyes over the inscriptions on the paper, Shikamaru nodded with a grin.

- This is expected. It looks like these old people want to see me in person, they want to make sure of everything ...

- What are you speaking about?

- Mm? Shikamaru turned his attention to his student and smiled slightly. - taking a dark box out of the ring, he took out a pill from it and threw it to the boy:

- This is the first one! You now have three tomoe, I think you are ready!

“Ah... what is it?” the Uchiha asked nervously, with a noticeable gleam in his dark eyes. Sasuke immediately realized that he received something special that could increase his strength at times! In his opinion, any action of the sensei can affect anything. If he gave him a pill, it can only mean one thing - he finally decided to make him stronger!

“Indra's chakra gives you many benefits, but this pill will allow you to enhance them even more. Swallow it, I want to demonstrate to these elders the potential of my disciple. Don't look like that, you'll find out about Indra and the second gift later, swallow it!

Sasuke nodded in embarrassment and immediately swallowed the round pill, then hesitantly asked:

— And now what?

"Better sit down, you'll find out soon enough..."

*

While Sasuke Uchiha struggled with the terrible effect of the Emotional Surge Pill. In one spacious meeting room, in the residence of the Hokage, several people gathered. First of all, this is Hiruzen himself, in his dark shinobi clothes. He, as always, carelessly silent, immersed in his own thoughts. Not far from the Third sat his student - Jiraiya and dozed bored. Long white hair in a messy hairstyle reached him to the waist. A green kimono with a red haori was his daily attire. Not far from him stood a large scroll.

Sitting opposite the two were two elders: Mitokado Homura, an old man with green-rimmed glasses, and Koharu Utatane, an old woman with a long, sharp needle in her hair. These two were the reason for this little meeting. Even though they had heard of Shikamaru, they still wanted to see him in person. They did not doubt Hiruzen's words, they believed that his new student was very strong. It's hard not to believe that almost everyone in the village knew the legendary hero who defended Konoha and slew the Fourth Kazekage, it is said, with little difficulty. The Lord of the Spiders, able to grow wings and soar in the sky like a bird, was known to any ninja.

“Eh, you shouldn’t have called him,” Hiruzen sighed heavily: “He’s not the way you describe him. You must have heard of Hyuuga, so you must understand that I am not his boss...

The old man was seriously worried no matter what his student did. However, all of his students are not ordinary people, but Shikamaru was famous for his strength and complete unpredictability. He knew his old friends firsthand, and who knows how they will behave...

"Another headache..." Third could only sigh.

Jiraiya looked at his aged sensei with curiosity.

“You say that like he’s going to start a fight here… Ha, I like this guy!”

Hiruzen shook his head and waved his hand. He didn't even have a word to say...

Homura frowned and calmly replied:

“Even if he is as strong as they say, he is still the genin of this village. He should follow the rules and orders of his superiors. I don't understand why you didn't punish him for that Hyuuga thing. I heard that he almost killed their elder, which is no joke. Even if Orochimaru's attack is repulsed, who knows how the rest of the villages will behave, we may be on the verge of a new war.

Koharu paused for a moment and said:

"He let go of Orochimaru, that raises questions too." Besides, I don't understand, Hiruzen, why did you decide to hand over the post to Tsunade? What about Jiraiya, in my opinion...

The hermit immediately laughed and slapped the table:

“Even if they asked me, I would immediately refuse! I'm all for Tsunade! Although, here's what confuses me ... - looking at the former Hokage, Jiraiya asked:

“She will definitely refuse, so why do you insist on her candidacy if you have such a talent that can even defeat you?” Don't make that face, everyone already knows that!

- This is already a settled issue. Third replied calmly. He wasn't going to tell them about Danzō, or that Shikamaru was responsible for choosing the Fifth Hokage, and he didn't want to divulge the reason for choosing Tsunade. Of course, he didn't mind laughing at Jiraiya's expression if he knew the truth, but he still managed to resist.