"Tsunade agreed to return to the village?"
In the Hokage Office, upon hearing the news from the Anbu, Hiruzen almost lost his grip on the tobacco pipe in excitement and dropped it on the ground.
"It's absolutely true, Hokage-sama! Tsunade-sama has agreed to return to the village."
The Anbu member who reported the report also had a hint of joy in his tone.
After getting Tsunade's answer, they immediately returned to Konoha without stopping anywhere to rest.
They needed to report this positive news to the Hokage as soon as possible.
Hiruzen took a deep breath to calm down the joy in his heart.
Konoha right now could be described as a mess.
Danzo was dead, and without his help, the pressure on his shoulders increased several times.
As long as Tsunade returned to the village, all of this could finally change.
The Anbu member hesitated for a moment and then added, "It's just that Tsunade-sama has a condition. She doesn't want to participate in political struggles. She just wants to come back and see the Wood-style ninja."
Hiruzen nodded.
"I understand."
Tsunade didn't like to get involved in political fights, and he certainly knew that.
But as long as Tsunade came back to Konoha, there would be room for manipulation in many things.
Namikaze Mirai, Minato's younger brother, almost openly admitted that he had his eye on the Hokage's position.
But becoming Hokage could not be achieved simply by strength.
The election of Hokage had three stages.
The first stage was to determine the Hokage candidates, who must have all three qualities namely: strength, reputation and ability to be elected.
The second stage was the Jonin voting, and this competition was based on the power behind the candidates.
The Hokage candidate with the most Jonin votes would eventually succeed as Hokage, which is the final stage.
Mirai had an obvious disadvantage in this regard. Uchiha was almost the only force behind him. Even if everyone in the Uchiha votes for him, he was still inferior to Tsunade.
As the granddaughter of Senju Hashirama and the princess of Konoha, Tsunade's name was deeply rooted in the Konoha masses.
It was definitely not something that Mirai could easily shake.
Hiruzen had decided to use all his strength to push Tsunade to the Fifth Hokage's position.
'We must build momentum for Tsunade first.'
Hiruzen took a deep breath and made up his mind.
"Spread the news immediately that says that Tsunade, the princess of Konoha, will return to the village soon."
"Yes!"
The half-kneeling Anbu member responded immediately.
…
"Is Tsunade-sama finally coming back to the village?"
"Great! The princess of Konoha is coming back!"
With Hiruzen's push from behind the scenes, the news that Tsunade wanted to return to the village spread throughout the village almost overnight.
The older generation of villagers were so excited that they had tears in their eyes.
They were also those who had personally experienced the Hashirama's era, so they paid more attention to Tsunade's bloodline.
'Is the princess of Konoha finally coming back?'
Ninjas from all major ninja clans also received the news immediately.
But unlike the villagers, most of these ninjas were keen and sensed a hint of political undertone in this news.
Unlike ordinary villagers, they had learned much more and knew much more information.
With this advantage, they could better guess the meaning behind it.
Konoha right now was riddled with holes.
The news of Tsunade's return to the village was released with such great fanfare, naturally to give the sluggish village a shot in the arm.
No, not just Tsunade.
News of the Wood-style ninja also spread in the village.
After Senju Hashirama, the second Wood-style ninja was born in Konoha and it also caused a heated discussion in the village.
Even combined with the news of Tsunade's return to the village, a strange chemical reaction occurred, making this discussion even more heated.
While the outside discussion was heated, in the Uchiha clan, Mirai and Fugaku were leisurely sipping tea.
It was as if the enthusiasm of the outside world had nothing to do with them.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen probably wants to push Tsunade to the Fifth Hokage position."
After careful consideration, Fugaku said this in a deep voice.
This kind of fanfare, even releasing the news of the Wood-style ninja, was completely inconsistent with Hiruzen's usual style.
The only possibility was that he had a deeper purpose.
After much deliberation, Fugaku could only think of this possibility.
"He's afraid."
Mirai put the tea cup on the table, with a hint of contempt and amusement in the tone of his voice.
"Danzo is dead."
"The next step is to start the fight for the Fifth Hokage position."
"How could Sarutobi Hiruzen just watch me become Hokage?"
"The bigger the movement, the harder it is to hide his fear."
"Hiruzen is already panicking and had no choice but to choose such a path."
Fugaku nodded in agreement.
The only person who could scare the "Strongest Hokage in history" recorded in the textbooks of Konoha was Mirai.
"It seems that the Jonin vote will be the real focus of the next round of our battle."
Mirai smiled faintly.
He could guess what Hiruzen was thinking.
If there was more than one candidate, Hokage's final election would depend on the number of Jonin votes to conclude the final winner.
Tsunade had deep-rooted support in Konoha.
As the granddaughter of the God of Shinobi, this identity alone was enough bring her extra votes, not to mention her own accomplishments.
Hiruzen wanted to snipe him in this stage.
"What should we do Mirai?"
Fugaku felt a little nervous.
The number of Uchiha Jonin was not low, and they could be called the ninja clan with the most Jonin in Konoha.
However, the number of Jonin in the Uchiha clan alone could not be compared to the number of Jonins behind Tsunade, who was fully supported by Hiruzen.
'Once he loses in the Jonin vote...'
"Don't panic."
Mirai looked quite calm.
"If my guess is correct, there will probably be some movement in the foreign villages."
Danzo was dead, and his Root members were all uprooted.
Konoha's overall strength had once again declined sharply.
Mirai didn't believe that the other villages would not notice such a big movement.
He estimated that they were already ready to make a move.
Perhaps, there would be a new round of friction.
But, this was also a huge opportunity.
The God of Shinobi of the past was no longer be rembered as good as the God of Shinobi of today.
The era of Senju Hashirama had passed.
A new era was coming.
"Fugaku, a strong wind is coming. How far you can fly with this wind depends on your choice."
Mirai looked at Fugaku opposite the low table with a faint smile.
Fugaku held his breath.
He knew what Mirai wanted to hear from him.
Looking at the smiling blond face in front of him, Fugaku's thoughts echoed, recalling the scene where Mirai explained his dream.
He wanted to change the ninja world, starting with Uchiha, then Konoha, and finally the entire ninja world.
Riding on this new wave of Mirai, Uchiha would definitely fly very, very high.
Fugaku's eyes turned scarlet and he took a deep breath.
His voice was solemn and sincere.
"Mirai, no matter what, Uchiha will advance and retreat with you."
*****
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