When Koharu and the others heard Danzo's words, they exchanged glances, their eyes revealing an expression of knowing certainty.

Then Koharu stepped forward and confronted him, "Danzo, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?!"

Can't you see how great a contribution Jiraiya made this time?

But at the crucial moment, neither the root nor that person could be seen at all!

"you!"

Danzo was struck by Koharu's straight punch and clutched his chest, unable to speak. He could only express his anger with his wide-open one eye.

Seeing Danzo's reaction, Mitokado Homura immediately interjected, "Koharu, that's not what Danzo meant. He was just worried that Jiraiya was still young and not mature enough to be a good Hokage."

Mitokado Homura initially acted as Danzo's translator with an understanding and tolerant expression. Seeing that the atmosphere between Koharu and Danzo had eased slightly, he then turned to look at Danzo...

"Speaking of which, Danzo, I must say that we still need to trust the young people. After all, we are getting old, and the future depends on them!"

Danzo's brows twitched at these words, and he thought to himself, "You're the ones who are getting old. I can still fight for the Hokage position for another twenty years."

However, he couldn't directly reveal that his body had been modified by Wood Release and that he was still very young, saying, "You three old geezers are all rotten while I can still live a good life."

Therefore, Danzo had no choice but to suppress his anger and turn his attention back to attacking Jiraiya.

"Believe him. He's been gone from Konoha for so many years. He only came back briefly last month and then disappeared again."

Where was he when this turmoil in Konoha happened? Who knows where he was spying on women!

"Cough cough cough..."

Before Shimura Danzo could finish speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya suddenly coughed awkwardly in unison, leaving Mitokado Homura and the others speechless. You two truly are worthy of being master and disciple.

The awkwardness lasted for a few seconds. Koharu Utatane suppressed her inner doubts and continued to confront Danzo, saying, "This action to protect Konoha has greatly increased Jiraiya's prestige among the villagers, and the ninjas of Konoha also support Jiraiya."

Compared to someone who has completely disappeared, Jiraiya should have no problem passing the Jonin trust vote.

The ward then became a battleground between Danzo, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado, with their verbal sparring and sarcastic remarks never ceasing. Danzo was so angry that he glared and puffed out his beard several times, but he could never get to Koharu and Homura, who worked together so well.

Enraged, Danzo turned his anger on Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was slumped on the bed, shouting, "Hiruzen, you are the Hokage! Now that you are seriously injured and unable to handle affairs, shouldn't someone step up and take on the responsibilities of the Hokage?!"

After watching the show from his hospital bed for a while, Hiruzen Sarutobi rolled his eyes. At this moment, do you guys remember that there's a Hokage lying here?

"I am indeed not capable of serving as Hokage right now, and someone needs to fulfill the duties. As for who it will be, we can talk about that later. For now, let's talk about the current situation in the village."

Amidst the complex gazes of Danzo and Jiraiya, Hiruzen Sarutobi changed the subject, intending to first learn about the specific situation of the village.

Realizing that Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to give Danzo a hard time, Homura Mitokado quickly chimed in, "According to preliminary statistics, approximately 5 Jonin, 67 Chunin, and 283 Genin were killed in action, and more than 1,200 civilians were also affected. There are about 1,300 ninjas and civilians who are seriously injured and unable to get out of bed."

Mitokado Homura's voice grew increasingly hoarse as he spoke. He paused for a moment before continuing, "The casualty figures I just mentioned don't include the Sarutobi and Shimura clan territories, or the buildings. Approximately one-seventh of Konoha's buildings were damaged or collapsed, and there may still be people alive inside. We are currently using ninja dogs and the Aburame clan's parasitic insects to search..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi listened so intently that he didn't even want to open his eyes. In fact, he had already made some predictions about the losses. Lying in his hospital bed, he could see vast ruins and wastelands through the cracks in the window. It was self-evident how serious the damage to Konoha this time was.

"The damage and losses suffered by the village this time are far more severe than in the previous upheavals. At least in the previous ones, the civilians were not affected as much. We must start reconstruction immediately and redeploy our forces, otherwise I'm afraid other villages will take the opportunity to attack!"

As soon as Mitokado Homura finished speaking, Utatane Koharu seamlessly followed up, "The village has lost and consumed a lot of resources over the years, but it is still far from enough. The Land of Fire has also suffered considerable losses in recent years, and the Daimyo already has a lot of grievances against Konoha. Even if he is willing to provide support, the resource gap will be significant."

"Besides reconstruction, there's also the treatment of the wounded. Too many ninjas and civilians are injured; the order of treatment must be carefully arranged. Unfortunately, some people may have to..."

Koharu stopped talking at this point, unwilling to elaborate on the rest, so Mitomon Homura continued.

"In addition, we must intensify the detention, interrogation and investigation of prisoners. We still have a large number of prisoners of war to deal with. There are also prisoners and some ninjas from other villages in the village. If things go wrong, there could be another upheaval!"

Another issue is how to handle the backlog of tasks. If a large number of tasks cannot be completed, it will affect Konoha's image and cause people to lose faith in Konoha.

Most importantly, the defense forces must be rearranged, and we need to pay attention to the reaction from the Sand Village. Even though we have temporarily transferred some ninjas to the border, the overall strength is still insufficient!

......”

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu chatted back and forth seamlessly, glancing at Danzo after each sentence, which quieted Danzo down considerably.

To be honest, he had always advocated rule by iron fist, and hearing about so many things made his scalp tingle. Suddenly, he felt that sitting in the Hokage position might be too hot to handle.

After listening to Koharu and the others, Hiruzen Sarutobi, with Jiraiya's help, managed to sit up slightly and slowly spoke. "The losses Konoha suffered this time were too great; this is my dereliction of duty as Hokage."

However, the backlog of tasks cannot be ignored. Currently, the only suitable ninjas in Konoha are Jiraiya and Kakashi. Compared to Jiraiya, Kakashi is far too inexperienced, so it seems Jiraiya will have to take over!

Hiruzen Sarutobi had just given it some thought, and Jiraiya was indeed the most suitable person for him to take over. In any case, given Jiraiya's personality, although he wouldn't specifically favor the Sarutobi clan, he would still show some bias, which was enough for the Sarutobi clan, whose strength had been greatly diminished.

Moreover, he was Jiraiya's teacher, and Jiraiya, as the Hokage, had to respect him!

Upon hearing that Jiraiya and Kakashi were the only suitable candidates for Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo was greatly alarmed. "Hiruzen, how could you forget about me?"

He coughed forcefully a few times, his face flushed, and said, "I think I can do it too. This time, let this old man protect Konoha!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew Danzo's thoughts perfectly well. He opened and closed his eyes, his gaze towards Danzo revealing endless coldness. "Give up. Whether it's a vote of confidence or the daimyo's approval, you will not pass."

Not a single person from the Root organization showed up during this turmoil, and there was absolutely no intelligence before or after it happened. You'd better think about how to explain this first!