Naruto: Konoha’s Trickster, Starting as the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki Chapter 440: Exciting News

Danzō was furious—absolutely seething. In the Agakure operation, his subordinate Abura Ryōma and ten Root mbers 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 ant 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 ant. Danzō didn't want peace; he wanted to press Konoha's advantage while they had montum.

Unfortunately for him, he wasn't the one in charge.

"Peace doesn't co easily, and I won't throw the village back into war on a whim."

"Koharu, draft the truce agreent. 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 seed the Daimyō hadn't made a decision yet.

Hiruzen nodded, not in any hurry. He trusted the Daimyō would make the right call.

...

anwhile, Kazuyama Gekkō had already flashed out of the Hokage's office with Flying Thunder God and gone straight ho—no fuss, no delay.

He knew the days ahead would be calr. With the war winding down, it was finally ti for him to start laying out his plans.

But he barely had ti 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, Chōi was full-blown feral from starvation.

With no other option, Kazuyama had to run to the Abura Clan's compound to find him sothing to eat.

The Abura lived on the edge of the village, closer to the forest—a necessity, since they bred insects and needed the right environnt to do it.

Using Chōi's sense of sll, Kazuyama specifically hunted down the fattest, juiciest bugs he could find, which made Chōi so happy he couldn't stop laughing.

But while searching, Kazuyama suddenly paused.

He'd spotted soone familiar—Shibi Abura.

The future head of the Abura Clan. And next to him stood soone 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 Abura?

That na made Kazuyama's brows lift.

He knew the na—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 Abura 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 Abura's voice was calm and direct, but what he said was the truth.

Tatsuma Abura had been the Abura Clan's representative in Root. Now that he was dead, it was their duty to send soone else in his place. That was the responsibility their clan bore.

"Kazuyama, was that Tatsuma the one you took out?"

Crunch.

Chōi asked casually while munching on a bug. Kazuyama Gekkō nodded in response.

He really had forgotten about the Abura Clan's arrangent with Danzō. If he'd rembered, he might have spared Tatsuma—those poisonous insects were nothing to joke about. Even he found them terrifying.

"Alright, Chōi, that's enough bugs. Let's go."

"I think Pakura's class is about to finish."

After settling Chōi'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 et our standards, I'll cut off your Kenjutsu training myself."

As the eldest brother, Kazuyama had no intention of letting Hayate follow the sa path he once did.

Hayate, still full from the al, 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 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 ssage 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 ant.

Inside the office, Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the scroll brought by ANBU, his hands trembling with excitent.

The scroll contained just four characters.

But those four characters made Hiruzen burst into laughter.

They read: Minato Namikaze.

"Hahahahaha!"

"I knew my judgnt was right!"

"Spread the word—Minato Namikaze will beco 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 beco 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 agreents.

The Third Shinobi World War was officially over!

...

(100 Chapters Ahead)

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