Before Toneri could react from his thoughts, he followed Sarutobi Hiruzen's Anbu ninja and left the root base.

When he arrived at the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen was the only one inside.

Standing in front of the huge window behind the desk, with his hands behind his back, he looked out at the bustling scene of Konoha.

"Sandaime-sama, the Toneri jounin is here."

After saying that, he let Toneri enter, leaving only the two of them.

Toneri looked at this familiar environment. The last time he came here, he and Minato were promoted to jounin.

At that time, he, Minato, and Kushina were all washed away by the boundless joy, so they did not notice Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression at that time. Thinking about it now, it seemed that they could detect something strange.

I just don't know if Sarutobi Hiruzen really knows anything about White Fang, or even participated in it, or if he only knows about it now.

This is critical.

This may determine his attitude towards Konoha as a whole and Sarutobi Hiruzen as the Hokage.

"Sheren, you're here, come."

Sarutobi Hiruzen was not surprised when he saw Toneri and waved to him.

Slowly walked to Sarutobi Hiruzen, and looked at the entire Konoha with him.

He gently put his hand on Toneri's shoulder and patted him, looking at him with a hint of relief.

"It's been more than four years since you came to Konoha, right? I was just such a tall kid at the beginning, but now I have grown so tall that I have surpassed me." Sarutobi Hiruzen said.

"Four years and three months." Toneri looked at the bustling streets of Konoha.

"Four years and three months have passed. Time flies so fast..." Hiruzenha Sarutobi sighed.

More than four years ago, he was still the "forbearance hero", but four years later, he can clearly feel that his body is not as good as it was day by day, and it continues to weaken.

This is a limitation of age and a limitation of the body itself.

Now, he has officially passed his peak period.

Even just four years ago, he still felt that even if he was the only one, he was still confident that he could support the entire Konoha.

But now, he no longer has this confidence.

And when he loses this self-confidence, all kinds of thoughts will appear in his mind. The more things he thinks about, the more things he worries about.

He himself also knew that the word "endurance" could no longer be applied to him.

Toneri tilted his head slightly and looked at this old man whose body had become slightly rickety. He was not that tall and majestic, but he was bearing pressure that most people could not imagine.

"Duanzo told you a lot of things, right?

But I hope you won’t blame Sakumo. From his perspective, his choice was not wrong."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked directly into Toneri's eyes, and what he said really came from his heart.

Hatake Sakumo is a Shura who seems to outsiders to be ruthless and murderous without batting an eyelid, but only those who have really come into contact with and understand him know that he is actually a very thoughtful, emotionally rich and complex person.

Indifference towards enemies and tenderness towards companions are a rough summary of Hatake Sakumo's heart.

It may not be completely accurate, but it is well-founded.

Toneri nodded and said: "Uncle Shuomao once taught me swordsmanship. He can be regarded as my enlightenment teacher of swordsmanship. Even if I only look at him a little, I will not blame him."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded happily.

Immediately afterwards, Sarutobi Hiruzen continued: "Your teacher Orochimaru came to see me. He told me about your situation. We all know that nothing happened to you."

Hearing this, Toneri was stunned: "Teacher Orochimaru has been looking for you? Then why do others think..."

"Because someone is deliberately promoting it, I believe that with your intelligence, you should be able to guess it.

As early as more than a year ago, Sakumo and Orochimaru became the important candidates for the Fourth Hokage in the eyes of everyone in Konoha, and from that moment on, someone was making plans.

This mission is the last move of his entire game..."

Before Sarutobi Hiruzen could finish speaking, he was suddenly interrupted by Toneri's shout.

"Uncle Three Generations!"

Toneri shouted without hesitation, and the sudden sound made even Sarutobi Hiruzen a little stunned.

This time, it was Toneri's turn to look directly at Sarutobi Hiruzen, without giving in, and asked word for word: "Since you knew it so early, why didn't you stop it?"

Looking into Toneri's eyes, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a little uncomfortable and slowly turned his head and continued to look at the entire Konoha.

But he didn't notice that at the moment he turned his head and shifted his gaze, a flash of disappointment flashed deep in Toneri's eyes.

I still feel guilty after all...

"It's not that I don't want to, you also know that the roots have an impact on the entire Konoha, and the benefits definitely outweigh the disadvantages, so before their plan is truly confirmed, I can't stop it, and the group of elders won't let me stop it," said Hiruzen Sarutobi on his face.

Showing a hint of bitterness.

It's not that I can't, but I don't want to...

Sheren added silently in his heart.

But soon, these thoughts and thoughts were hidden deep in my heart.

"Go and see Sakumo. Your appearance should make him feel relieved a little bit from the guilt in his heart." Sarutobi Hiruzen said.

Toneri nodded and said nothing more. He glanced at the corner of the office from the corner of his eye, stepped on the window, jumped down, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Toneri in the distance with his eyes in trance.

After Toneri really left, a figure appeared in the office, carrying a huge scroll, and walked straight to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Looking at the prosperity of Konoha.

"This little guy has become even more powerful in just one year. He can actually detect my existence." Jiraiya, with his trademark white hair, said with a sigh.

He had been hiding in the corner of the office because he wanted to see Toneri's attitude and whether he was on Danzo's side or on Sarutobi Hiruzen's side.

Listening to Jiraiya's words, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not answer, but his eyes that had been lost in thought refocused.

The bitterness on his face was undisguised.

Jiraiya saw it and let out a long sigh, "Old man, you...really did something wrong this time..."

Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression changed slightly, and then the bitterness on his face became more obvious, "Do you even think I did something wrong?"

Jiraiya didn't answer, he knew that Sarutobi Hiruzen had the answer in his heart.

"Alas - maybe I really did something wrong this time."

Immediately afterwards, Sarutobi Hiruzen said this to himself as if he regretted or sighed.

Hearing his respected teacher so obviously blaming himself, Jiraiya didn't feel very comfortable.

But even so, Jiraiya still disagreed with his actions this time.

In fact, Sarutobi Hiruzen did anticipate some of the root's behavior this time, but the hesitation in his heart kept him from making a choice.

He held it in until the end, everything had happened, and he still didn't make a choice.

If he doesn't do anything, it seems like he is not at fault.

But by not doing anything, he actually provided the greatest help.

It chilled some people's hearts.

Jiraiya knew why Hiruzen Sarutobi was like this. As he got older, he began to be sentimental and hesitant.

He also doesn't want the teacher who was once upright and upright in his heart to slowly turn into the kind of person he hates the most.

But now it seems to be going on...

Sarutobi Hiruzen's acquiescence of inaction made many people think that he acquiesced in this incident.

Although it is true.

But as a result, many people or families who had the ability to help Hatake Sakumo chose to remain silent.

No one dared to offer help because they would consider whether Sarutobi Hiruzen himself meant this.

This is the greatest sadness.

"Old man, what you are thinking about...

Do you think Shuo is that kind of person? Don’t you still understand his character and conduct?"

This is what Jiraiya cannot accept the most.

He was obviously a person he knew very well, but Hiruzen Sarutobi did nothing because of the concerns in his heart.

"I hope that kid Toneri can resolve the emotions in his heart." Sarutobi Hiruzen's face became increasingly bitter.

He had stopped Danzo's behavior and only hoped to be able to reverse it in time.

"I hope..."

...

Toneri, who was running quickly on the Konoha house, felt a little cold in his heart at this moment.
To be continued...