"Yami, Danzō, entering the Hokage's office without permission has already crossed the line. Yami, leave the Hokage's seat at once."
"The new Hokage will be back in the village soon. Don't create unnecessary misunderstandings."
Mitokado Homura frowned and scolded. Utatane Koharu also looked at Danzō with visible displeasure, signaling with her eyes:
Yami is still young and reckless. But you, an old man, are still acting so boldly?
Aren't you afraid Tsunade will give you trouble when she returns?
However, what the two elders didn't expect was that Danzō said nothing in response to their accusations. He simply gave them a cold glance and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.
Buzz~!
A strange sound echoed, and both elders' expressions changed.
A barrier?!
"Yami, what do you intend to do?!" Koharu shouted in alarm and anger.
Yami spread his hands and smiled. "Nothing. I just don't want anyone interrupting our conversation."
"I heard you chose Tsunade as the Fifth Hokage. Is that true?"
"Yes," Mitokado Homura replied in a deep voice, not mentioning anything about their earlier reproach. "Yami, you're still too young. Taking on heavy responsibilities too early isn't a good thing. After Tsunade becomes Hokage, Koharu and I will recommend you as her assistant."
"Study under Tsunade for a few years. Once she steps down, there will be no one who can compete with you for the Sixth Hokage position."
Yami chuckled and shook his head again. "Since when did the position of Hokage get decided by the elders?"
"Let me be direct. I don't agree with Tsunade becoming Hokage."
The boy picked up the Hokage hat placed nearby and put it on his head. "The Hokage seat belongs to me, Shimura Yami."
"No. To be exact, only when I, Shimura Yami, become the leader of this village can this position truly be called Hokage."
"If anyone else dares to lay a hand on it, then Konoha has no value in existing."
Mitokado Homura glared. "Shimura Yami, you're planning a coup?!"
"That's right… finally, you understand."
The boy nodded, unbothered. "Without me, Konoha would have suffered massive losses during the Konoha Crush. Without me, Five Tails' Jinchūriki would've launched a Tailed Beast Bomb straight at your heads."
"Since I am the strongest in Konoha, who is more qualified than me to be Hokage?"
Utatane Koharu shook her head desperately. "Politics has never been about strength. A Kage cannot rely on brute force alone. Can you kill all your enemies?"
Yami pointed at them. "I don't know if I can kill all enemies, but killing you two won't take much effort."
Both elders froze, taking two steps back in discomfort.
At most, they were just Elite Jōnin. Against Yami, who ended the war alone, they had no hope of resisting.
"Yami, don't do anything foolish. If you kill us, you won't be Hokage," Mitokado Homura tried to reason.
"It doesn't matter. I can eliminate all opposition."
The young man spoke coldly with a calm smile. "And what are you relying on? Jiraiya?"
"My subordinate Pakura can easily hold him back. What about the others? With Anbu under my control and the Root left by the old man, who in Konoha can stop me?"
"It's really odd. Are the two of you that old and still this blind?"
"Tsunade as Hokage? Believe it or not, I can make sure her appointment doesn't even make it out of this building. Then what? I become a rebel?"
"Do you even realize that I now stand on equal footing with the Hokage?"
"A bunch of fools, rotten elders. Who do you think you are? If Hiruzen hadn't respected you, would you even have the reputation you enjoy today?"
After the sharp rebuke, Yami threw over a scroll. "Take a look."
The two elders exchanged a gloomy glance. Finally, Mitokado Homura picked up the scroll. Upon reading its contents, their faces turned so dark it was as if their insides had exploded.
The scroll contained the joint signatures of several ninja clans, expressing their support for Shimura Yami to become the Fifth Hokage.
Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Hyūga, Aburame—all had signed.
Each signature was made using Chakra seals unique to the current clan heads. It was impossible to forge.
With the power of these clans combined with Yami's own faction, even without counting himself, he already controlled over 50% of Konoha's military strength.
"Damn it. Are these clans trying to force the Hokage to abdicate?" Homura couldn't help cursing.
"This is called democracy."
Yami smiled as several sharp wooden thorns sprouted from his hands.
"A group of elite shinobi with foresight and deep concern for Konoha's future have made the best decision for the village. You two, leftovers from Hiruzen's era, want to oppose public opinion?"
"Elder Koharu. Elder Homura. There are two paths before you now."
"First, use your remaining reputation to follow public opinion and support me as the Fifth Hokage. I'll give you six more months to retire from the center of power. As for your descendants, I won't make things difficult."
"Second, stick to your decision and support Tsunade. If that's the case, I'll bring out the Wooden Dragon today and flatten Konoha, then rebuild a new shinobi village on its ashes."
The room fell silent for a while. Finally, Mitokado Homura sighed. "Yami, must it really come to this?"
"Enough talking." The boy's brows furrowed. Clearly, he'd lost all patience. Though he hadn't released his Chakra, the pressure was suffocating.
"Do we have a choice?"
Mitokado Homura accepted reality and sighed again. "I support you becoming Hokage. Koharu, what about you?"
"...Me too."
Utatane Koharu had no other choice either. "We'll convince Jiraiya ourselves. No need to find Tsunade."
"That won't be necessary."
Seeing their cooperation, Yami's tone eased. "Tsunade's medical ninjutsu is needed in Konoha. I have no objection to a Sannin returning to the village."
"Don't worry about the rest. I'll make the arrangements."
Now that the line had been crossed, neither elder dared to push back. Facing Yami's near-commanding tone, they could only accept it.
They both understood clearly that the elders' era had ended.
Soon, news spread throughout the village that Shimura Yami would succeed as the Fifth Hokage.
To the villagers, it didn't matter much which big figure became Hokage. There wasn't much of a reaction.
Many even found it natural.
In the days following the Konoha Crush, Yami's achievements had been widely publicized through Anbu and Root, leaving a strong impression on the public.
Public opinion is very useful before seizing power. It represents democracy.
But once Yami became Hokage.
What?
You don't support me?
Fine. Starting now, you're a traitor. A spy sent by enemy villages.
But Jiraiya, after hearing the news, was stunned. He immediately rushed to find the two elders.
"What's wrong with you two? Didn't you say Tsunade would be the next Hokage? Why did you choose Yami instead?"
Faced with his questioning, Mitokado Homura gave a vague reply. "We don't even know if you can find Tsunade. Even if you do, can you be sure she'll accept the position?"
Jiraiya argued anxiously, "But it can't be Shimura Yami. He's not fit for the role."
"The villagers and the major clans support him."
Utatane Koharu offered a reasonable explanation. "Iwa and Suna should've already received word. We need a strong leader to take charge of negotiations. This task can only be handled by Yami."
"One month."
Mitokado Homura added, "If you can't find Tsunade within one month, Yami will officially succeed as the Fifth Hokage."
Jiraiya couldn't refute their arguments, so he could only agree and leave in a hurry to search for Tsunade.
Just as Koharu had said, Iwa, Suna, and even other factions had already received news from Konoha.
Iwagakure.
Ōnoki sat behind his desk all morning, face full of gloom.
The Five Tails' Jinchūriki was captured, his granddaughter was taken, his trusted aide was killed, and out of 800 Iwa shinobi, only a few dozen made it back to the border.
The moment he saw the frontline report, Ōnoki felt like the sky had collapsed.
Eight hundred shinobi meant nothing. Iwa had never lacked soldiers. But the capture of Han and Kurotsuchi would affect the village's future development.
"If I'd known, I'd never have agreed to let Kurotsuchi go to Konoha."
Regret filled Ōnoki's face. He hadn't originally planned to let her take the Chūnin Exam, but he couldn't resist her constant pleading.
He could be cold to his son Kitsuchi, but he loved his granddaughter deeply.
Now, because of his soft heart, he was at the brink of disaster.
Who would've thought Shimura Yami had mastered the First Hokage's Wood Release and reversed the war on his own?
"Capturing instead of killing shows Kurotsuchi is temporarily safe. Konoha won't kill her now. They'll keep her as a bargaining chip."
Having weathered many storms, Ōnoki forced himself to stay calm. He began thinking of a counter-strategy.
How to appease Konoha and recover Kurotsuchi, Han, and the surviving Iwa shinobi at minimal cost?
"We'll go together with Suna. The two villages will negotiate as one."
Ōnoki quickly decided. "Given Konoha's current weakness, if we take a submissive stance, pin everything on Orochimaru, and sign an alliance under Konoha's leadership, with the two villages' joint deterrence, we may not even need to pay much compensation. We can reduce a big conflict to a small one, and a small one to nothing."
He had used this method many times. Hiruzen always accepted symbolic compensation to show Konoha's magnanimity. This time shouldn't be an exception either.
Even if Hiruzen was dead, this was Konoha's long-standing diplomatic style. It couldn't change overnight.
"Send someone to Suna immediately!"
Sunagakure.
Unlike Iwa, which had a seasoned old fox in charge, Suna had lost both their Kage and their only Jinchūriki in this Chūnin Exam.
Their already small shinobi force had taken heavy losses.
In the midst of internal chaos and indecision, Ōnoki's envoy arrived. The spineless Suna officials quickly agreed to the plan, deciding to follow Iwa's lead.
Together, they set out for Konoha.
Land of Water, Southwest Border.
Uchiha Itachi sat quietly on a cliff, gazing into the distance. But his eyes were blank, as if deep in thought.
At that moment, Tendō Pain's voice echoed in his mind.
"Something has happened in Konoha. Orochimaru's plan succeeded."
Itachi's eyes refocused, but his body didn't move.
Pain continued, "The Third Hokage died in the conflict. Shimura Yami awakened Wood Release."
"I want someone to investigate Orochimaru's whereabouts and monitor Yami's current status. Also, update the information on the Five Tails' Jinchūriki."
"I'll go."
Uchiha Itachi stood up calmly.
(To be continued.)
***
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