Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Mokumu Kōdō paused for two seconds, then shook his head with a helpless wry smile, "I misunderstood."

"Tsunade, are you withdrawing voluntarily?"

The opening for taking in the wind at the Akimichi has been confirmed.

“That’s right, I have no intention of succeeding the Sixth Hokage, and you should absolutely not put me in the position of a candidate,” Tsunade said firmly.

"So, so far, there's only Uchiha Mugen as a candidate... Are there any other recommendations?"

Akimichi Torifu inquired again.

This time,

No one responded.

Konoha isn't lacking in talented juniors, but aside from the Uchiha, there are only a handful of outstanding young people like Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy. Among them, Kakashi Hatake is the most outstanding, but... there's no comparison! How can Kakashi Hatake compare to Mugen Uchiha?

Whether it's strength, power, or popularity,

In Konoha today, apart from the three veteran Sannin, there is no one else who can rival Sogen.

Unfortunately, neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade had any interest in becoming the Sixth Hokage, so after Tsunade clearly stated her position, no one could think of a new candidate to compete with Sogen.

"Is there no one else?"

It's no surprise that Akimichi took the wind.

Rather than saying it was expected, it's more accurate to say it was something that was anticipated.

"If there is no second candidate, then with the consent of the elders and the Hokage, Uchiha Munen can succeed as the Sixth Hokage... One last question: if you have anything to say, say it as soon as possible. Once a decision is made, any objections you may have will be useless."

Strictly speaking, Konoha does not have any explicit succession law regarding the succession of the Hokage.

The succession to the Hokage position is entirely based on gut feeling.

The Second Hokage's succession required no procedures or ceremonies; everything seemed perfectly natural. The Third Hokage inherited the position based on the Second Hokage's dying words, and the succession ceremony was reportedly quite grand.

The Fourth Hokage was elected because there were two candidates, Minato Namikaze and Orochimaru. The election eliminated Orochimaru, who had a poor personal image. The Fifth Hokage was promoted from acting Hokage to the current Hokage.

Looking at it this way...

This reveals that the succession methods of the previous Hokage were all different.

There are no clear rules at all.

However, this does not mean that the Hokage of Konoha is chosen arbitrarily. Although there is no explicit rule, Konoha Village has been established for half a century, and over time it has gradually developed a self-consistent operating system. The focus of the Hokage succession has never been on rules or procedures.

It depends on whether the successor has enough support.

This approval rating doesn't refer to the villagers, but rather to the opinions of ninja clans and ordinary ninjas.

The council of elders, an organization that usually goes unnoticed, came into play at this time because it included members from ninja clans such as the Uchiha, Hyuga, and Aburame, and in recent years, a number of elders from commoner ninjas have also emerged.

Therefore,

If a candidate can secure more than half the support from the elders, the new Hokage is essentially decided. As for the Hokage's opinion, the Hokage never has any; once the decision is made internally by Konoha, the Hokage simply approves it.

After Akimichi Torifu finished speaking, he waited for about three minutes before saying, "In that case, the candidate for the Sixth Hokage is confirmed as Uchiha Sogen. Everyone, do you have any objections?"

"No."

A unified sound rang out.

With the die already cast, no one would dare to jump out and cause trouble for themselves.

"Well then, it's decided. Next, we'll submit the meeting results to the elders for review. As long as we can get past the elders, everyone, we can start preparing for the Sixth Hokage's succession ceremony." Akimichi Torifu finished speaking and let out a long sigh of relief.

pressure,

In that instant, a great deal was suddenly relieved from my shoulders.

Although becoming Hokage was a dream he had held since childhood, dreams have weight! The grander the dream, the greater its weight. Bearing this unimaginable weight, a large part of his deteriorating health over the years was due to the immense psychological pressure.

This is Tsunade's diagnosis.

Being able to unload such a heavy burden might allow me to live a few more years.

Zongxian remained silent throughout, simply enjoying his tea with a relaxed and contented air.

There's nothing more to say, and no need to say anything more. All these years of preparation have paid off, so there's no need to show off now. If Tsunade and Jiraiya were to compete with him, he might have to be on high alert, but if those two voluntarily give up, things could still go wrong.

Then don't even dream of becoming Hokage.

Go back to your clan and reflect on your past actions!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After the meeting held at the Akimichi family ended, everyone left with their own different emotions. As a candidate for the Sixth Hokage, Sogen did not go with anyone to build relationships or exchange benefits. Instead, he went alone to the police department's dungeon.

"Chieftain!"

"Hokage's Assistant"

"minister!"

A jumble of greetings rose and fell.

Zongxian waved his hand, dismissing the guards watching over Hiruko. As Konoha's number one criminal, Hiruko enjoyed '24-hour uninterrupted protection', even though he showed a cooperative attitude after meeting with Jiraiya and Tsunade.

However, even Zongxian could not determine how much of this attitude was genuine and how much was fake.

for safety,

The police department specially squeezed out a temporary guard unit from the already strained personnel, specifically to keep an eye on Hiruko.

"You've come!"

Hiruko, who was hanging upside down in a starfish shape, glanced at Sogen who had walked to the front of the cell, and then lowered his head again.

He was already used to it.

Since meeting with Jiraiya and Tsunade, the young Uchiha clan leader has returned to the dungeon every day or two, but he doesn't say much. He just stares at him from outside the cell. At first, Hiruko felt something was off, but now he doesn't care anymore.

"If nothing unexpected happens, I will probably become the Sixth Hokage soon."

To Bilge's surprise,

Zongxian took the initiative to speak to him today.

Should I say congratulations?

Hiruko raised his head and looked at Zongxian with a puzzled expression, not understanding why the other party would tell him such a thing.

"Your congratulations mean nothing to me. The reason I'm telling you this is so you can prepare yourself mentally. When I become the true Sixth Hokage, you will have to start atoning for the mistakes you've made. I hope you can be prepared and get back to work as soon as possible."

"Aren't you afraid I'll run away?"

Hiruko looked at Sogen in disbelief.

it turns out,

Is he really going to give himself a chance to atone for his sins?

"Not afraid."

Zongxian said decisively.

Scorpion's escape was timely, and besides, Scorpion's value was almost exhausted, so it was no longer worth Zongxian's trouble to hunt him down. As long as Scorpion didn't come looking for trouble again, he couldn't be bothered to care about Scorpion's life or death.

As for Hiruko, unless she is exploited to the point of exhaustion like Sasori, she shouldn't even think about escaping if she encounters a similar opportunity.

Sogen's decisive attitude left Hiruko stunned for two seconds before she came to her senses. "Really... never mind, it doesn't matter. As for atonement, what exactly do you mean by that?"

"What you did in the past, you will probably do in the future."

This time,

Beiliuhu's expression changed.

"you······"

That's all for today. Just be prepared.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zongxian stopped talking. He simply opened his scarlet eyes and continued his work from the past few days, carefully observing Hiruko's form. Hiruko, who had fused with four bloodline limits, including Wood Release, using the Oni-Garaku Technique, had become a very interesting subject for observation.

Zongxian had an intuition,

Perhaps the opportunity to awaken the Rinnegan will fall to Hiruko.

As for Naruto and Sasuke... the Ashura and Indra powers hidden within these two are too obscure. He tried to observe them several times, but without resorting to some unfriendly methods, he ultimately gained nothing.

But Hiruko had no such scruples.

If needed, they can be destroyed at will.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The Hyuga clan's ancestral home.

Listening to Hyuga Masayuki report the meeting results, Hyuga Hiashi remained silent for a long time. "It seems that Konoha is really going to produce a Hokage from the Uchiha clan."

"It's almost certainly true."

Hinata Masayuki echoed in agreement.

"Naruto..."

Hiashi Hyuga looked up at the Hyuga clan crest engraved on the dojo wall and murmured, "I wonder when our Hyuga will produce a Hokage... Do you think he would agree if I asked Sogen to take Hanabi as his student?"

"Huh? But Hinata is from the main family?"

Hinata Masayuki reluctantly raised his objection.

If the clan head were to personally meet with the Hokage's assistant, taking on a disciple shouldn't be too difficult. After all, the Hokage's assistant already has two disciples, and considering the support given by the Hyuga clan, taking on another disciple wouldn't be a problem. However, the key issue is that Hyuga Hanabi is the second daughter, meaning she is from the branch family.

If members of the branch family were to become disciples of the future Hokage, and if Uchiha Sogen were unwilling for his disciples to be branded with the Caged Bird Seal, it's entirely foreseeable what kind of trouble this would bring to the Hyuga clan in the future.

Originally, according to the rules of the Hyuga clan,

Those who have separated from the main family must have a "caged bird" curse mark carved on their foreheads when the eldest son of the main family turns three. The second son and second daughter of the main family must also have a "caged bird" curse mark carved on their foreheads when the eldest son or eldest daughter of the main family has a descendant. This is to prevent the eldest son or eldest daughter of the main family from dying young and thus cutting off the bloodline of the main family.

The Cursed Seal: Caged Bird is not hereditary.

However, the offspring of those who separate from the family will be affected by the caged bird, and their bloodline will be incomplete from birth.

The origin of this curse seal is unknown, with only vague fragments remaining, saying that it came from the first ancestor of the Hyuga clan... In short, because the Hyuga clan lost some documents during the Warring States period, they themselves are now unable to decipher many of the clan's classic texts.

but,