Chapter 524: Selling the Hokage Position Through Tears

After deciding to relinquish the position of Hokage, Uchiha Izuna felt as if a thousand-jin burden had been lifted from his shoulders; the haze that had long lingered in his heart was swept away.

He picked up his wine cup and took a sip, only to be surprised to find that the liquid, which had tasted bitter just moments ago, was now exceptionally sweet. A look of deep emotion immediately appeared on his face.

"Phew... I never expected that after following my true heart, even the taste of wine would be different."

"You brat, that was the honey wine I had such a hard time getting from the Land of Earth!"

Uchiha Gin, who was busy bragging to his nephew Fuyou, froze upon hearing this. He turned his head, only to discover that the cup Izuna had just drunk from was his own prized vintage.

Uchiha Izuna smacked his lips, and after savoring it, he truly tasted a hint of exotic flair. He immediately asked for more without a shred of shame.

"It tastes pretty good. Got any more? Give me a few jin."

"If you want to drink, go buy it yourself!"

This wine was something Uchiha Gin had spent a fortune smuggling from the Kamizuru clan. It wasn't necessarily expensive, but it was rare; every bottle was precious.

"So stingy."

Izuna pouted after being rejected and muttered under his breath, not daring to let Gin hear him, for fear that his stingy cousin wouldn't give him his New Year's red envelope.

"Father, are you really going to give up the Hokage position?"

Thinking of the beautiful life of bullying the common folk that was about to slip through his fingers, an unreconciled Uchiha Fuyou decided to make one last attempt at persuasion.

"That's the village's number one position; it could provide quite a few conveniences for the clan."

"Do we lack those few scraps of benefit?"

Izuna glanced at his eldest son, whose face was full of reluctance, and retorted with an arrogant tone.

"We don't lack them, but it just feels a bit regrettable."

With the abnormal population loss over these past few years, the per capita GDP of the Uchiha clan had been rising year after year. The wealth accumulated by clan industries was already enough to allow the clansmen to detach themselves from cruel missions and enjoy a life of luxury.

"The burden of the Hokage is too heavy. I can't even manage one clan well; asking me to manage the village is truly asking too much."

Izuna shook his head, appearing very relaxed.

Over these years, in order to cooperate with his brother's work, he had poured all his energy into village affairs, thereby neglecting the development of the clan, leading to an unprecedented surge in the sacrifice rate of his clansmen.

Looking back now, Izuna felt nothing but regret. If he had focused more on the clan, perhaps those sacrifices could have been avoided.

"Little cousin, when do you plan to announce this?"

Uchiha Gin stroked his chin, looking at Izuna who had completely given up on the Hokage seat, his eyes suddenly rolling as a thought occurred to him.

"Tomorrow. I'll hold a clan meeting to explain it to everyone first, and then I'll submit a written application for withdrawal to the village."

Withdrawing wasn't a small matter; Izuna naturally had to clear it with the clansmen first, and then explain it to the village.

"In that case... I have a stomachache tomorrow, so I'm taking a leave of absence in advance. I won't be attending the clan meeting."

After thinking for a moment, Gin suddenly clutched his stomach and began to follow the leave-of-absence procedure in all seriousness, only to be met with a massive eye-roll from Izuna.

"..."

"Silence means consent."

Late at night, the Uchiha carnival continued. Izuna, completely drunk, had passed out, and his son Fuyou had to helplessly carry his father home, offering an apologetic farewell to Gin.

"Cousin Gin, I'll take Father back to rest first."

"I won't see you off. Take it slow on the road."

After the father and son disappeared, a drunken-looking Gin stood up, stumbling as he leaned against the wall to leave the noisy clan grounds, without arousing anyone's suspicion.

"Phew... I should be able to eat one last wave."

Once he reached a secluded corner, the flush on Gin's face vanished instantly, and his hazy eyes erupted with a piercing sharpness. He locked his gaze onto the Sarutobi clan grounds and vanished into the darkness in a flash.

Sarutobi grounds:

Sarutobi Sasuke, still bitter over his defeat, was reviewing the key points of his failure today. After checking throughout the day, he had basically ruled out the possibility of a traitor within the Ninja Clan Alliance.

However, after ruling out all the wrong answers, the only remaining answer left him feeling extremely troubled.

"The Senju clan! Too baby-ish!"

Thinking of the 10 billion he had paid out in vain, Sasuke's heart was bleeding.

Although the Sarutobi clan had made a little money in recent years, they couldn't afford to squander it like this. The treacherous Senju clan was truly detestable!

"Just you wait. One day, I will return the humiliation I suffered today twofold!"

Sasuke, having been played by the Senju clan, secretly swore an oath.

*Knock, knock, knock. *

"Who is it?"

Hearing the sudden knocking, Sasuke frowned. It was so late; who was the blind fool coming to touch his bad luck?

"Clan leader, there is an honored guest."

An honored guest?

He blinked in confusion, unable to think of any honored guest who would visit in the middle of the night.

"Sasuke-laodi, it's me~"

"It's Gin-san! Quick, please come in! Please come in!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Sasuke immediately stood up to welcome him, inviting the hurriedly arriving Gin into the room.

"Quick, brew a pot of tea for Gin-san!"

After settling Gin in, Sasuke ordered the clansman who had led the way to go brew tea.

"Remember to add sugar!"

"Gin-san, visiting so late, is there some urgent matter?"

Sasuke looked suspiciously at the alcohol-reeking Gin. At this hour, shouldn't he be at the Uchiha grounds celebrating?

Thinking of the Uchiha clan sweeping both leadership positions, his heart felt sour.

"Sasuke-laodi, we can be considered old friends. I won't speak in riddles; our Uchiha clan was played by the Senju today."

Gin adjusted his state, first playing the emotional card, then forcing a look of indignation onto his face.

"Huh?"

Your Uchiha clan has swept the village's leadership spots, and you're still here acting like you've been wronged?

"Gin-san, you're drunk, aren't you?"

"I'm not drunk. I can't even drink when I encounter such frustrating things."

Gin shook his head, his tone suddenly becoming very low, wearing the look of someone with a hidden grievance.

"I'm listening."

Seeing this, Sasuke's curiosity was instantly piqued. He wanted to hear how the Uchiha clan had been played by the Senju.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't believe the Senju clan's reputation or character, but after experiencing the naked betrayal during the day, Sasuke had lowered his assessment of the Senju clan's credibility by several notches.

"Sasuke-laodi, how do you view our Uchiha clan taking both leadership spots?"

"Uh... your skills are superior, I admit defeat."

Not daring to be sure if Gin was fishing for information, Sasuke organized his words and replied cautiously.

"Speak the truth, there are no outsiders here."

"We're green with envy!"

"Do you suspect we engaged in backroom deals?"

"I must... I spent... so much effort, yet ended in failure."

Sasuke thought of the 10 billion that had gone down the drain, and he trembled uncontrollably with rage.

"Phew... This is the despicable nature of the Senju. The tree that stands above the forest will be destroyed by the wind."

Seeing that he had successfully led Sasuke into his rhythm, Gin nodded secretly, his expression becoming increasingly profound.

"Gin-san, you mean..."

"That's right. It was the Senju clan causing trouble in this election, intending to make us Uchiha the target of public criticism."

"Ah... this..."

Sasuke stood frozen. His brain spun rapidly. After a few breaths, he had imagined a conspiracy by the Senju against the Uchiha.

After Hashirama went missing and Tobirama sacrificed himself, the balance of power between the Uchiha and Senju was broken.

As the Uchiha's greatest combat power, Izuna naturally became a thorn in the Senju's side, but they lacked anyone within the Senju who could contend with him.

At this moment, Senju Toka, who had inherited her father's cunning, emerged. She first pretended to cooperate with the Ninja Clan Alliance, raising their expectations, only to jump ship at the last second, pushing Izuna into the Hokage position.

This move successfully transferred the resentment of the Ninja Clan Alliance onto the new Hokage, while she feigned ignorance, escaped unscathed, and sat on the sidelines, watching the Uchiha and the Alliance tear each other apart, allowing the Senju to reap the benefits.

"Too baby-ish!"

Fortunately, he had seen through Toka's tricks; otherwise, the Ninja Clan Alliance, having suffered heavy economic losses, would indeed have likely directed their resentment toward the Uchiha clan.

"Thank you, Gin-san. Actually, I had already discovered the Senju clan's conspiracy."

"Sasuke-laodi, as expected of you. If it were anyone else, they would likely have been kept in the dark until their death."

Gin immediately gave a free thumbs-up, and the flattery made Sasuke feel like he was floating.

"Just luck, just luck."

Sasuke shook his head lightly, but the pride in the corners of his eyes couldn't be hidden.

"But things have reached this point, and we can't change the reality before us."

Even if he had relevant evidence, toppling the Senju clan would be as difficult as ascending to heaven. Sasuke could only swallow his broken teeth along with the blood, treating the money spent as a lesson learned.

"Who says that! I came here this time to reverse the situation!"

Seeing that Sasuke intended to give up, Gin knew he couldn't drag this out any longer.

"Gin-san, what do you mean?"

"To break the Senju clan's conspiracy, and for the long-term friendship between the Uchiha clan and the Ninja Clan Alliance, I have decided to use my status as an elder to persuade my little cousin to give up the Hokage position."

"Huh?"

"Gin-san, is that really true?"

Sasuke's pupils shook violently. He had considered thousands of answers, including the Uchiha clan taking the initiative to visit and resolve misunderstandings with the Alliance, but he had never considered that the Uchiha clan would give up the Hokage position.

"I know it's very difficult, but I will do my best to persuade my little cousin to prioritize the big picture and not be greedy for the glory of the Hokage position."

Gin nodded heavily, his face full of determination.

"Gin-san is righteous!"

Sasuke, hearing this news, couldn't sit still anymore. He stood up excitedly, his eyes burning as he looked at the righteous Gin, but after a few breaths, his expression dimmed again.

"But isn't this a bit too difficult?"

The Hokage position wasn't some idle job. As the village's number one, it was the pinnacle of power. Sasuke couldn't help but be skeptical about the persuasion.

"Human effort can achieve anything. Even if I have to pay a great price, I will prevent this from happening."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Finally, he took the bait!

"In this matter, it's not convenient for your Ninja Clan Alliance to come forward. You also know how tempting the Hokage position is. Even if my little cousin knows about the Senju's conspiracy, he won't easily give it up."

"That's true."

Sasuke nodded deeply. For the Hokage position, he hadn't even blinked when donating 10 billion in startup funds.

"However..."

"However what?"

Suddenly, Gin's tone paused, successfully piquing Sasuke's curiosity.

"Sasuke-laodi, there is something you might have heard of."

"What is it?"

"The Uchiha Clan Chamber of Commerce, you know it, right?"

"The one managed by Uchiha Fuyou?"

"That's right. The chamber of commerce led by Izuna's eldest son. The business was doing well in the past few years, but this year..."

"What happened this year?"

"Sigh... Fuyou was cheated this year, and the business lost everything. The loss is so great that even if my little cousin went bankrupt, he couldn't fill that hole."

Gin shook his head with a look of deep regret, showing his sympathy for Fuyou's loss.

"Who would dare cheat our Konoha?"

"It was the Land of Waves. Their chamber of commerce has official backing. Fuyou didn't lose unjustly in this matter."

"The Land of Waves is truly evil!"

Sasuke had also heard of the Land of Waves Chamber of Commerce, which had risen in recent years. They controlled vast maritime routes and basically monopolized the maritime transport industry. Saying they made a fortune every day was an understatement.

"Sasuke-laodi, if someone could offer help in this time of need, I believe that with my little cousin's character, he would definitely make the right judgment."

Gin sighed lightly, his expression filled with faint helplessness.

"I understand, Gin-san."

Hearing this, if Sasuke still didn't understand Gin's hint, he could resign as clan leader on the spot and go raise pigs with Shimura Kenichi.

"As expected of Sasuke-laodi, I love communicating with smart people."

"I don't know how much Uchiha Fuyou lost in business. Gin-san, give me a number so I can prepare."

"Sigh... I'd rather not say; my heart trembles just thinking about it."

Gin picked up the fragrant tea and took a sip, wearing a look of lingering fear. After putting down the cup, he slowly extended one finger.

"10 billion?"

"Sasuke-laodi, to tell you the truth, it's adding another zero to the number you just said."

100 billion to trade for a Hokage position; you should be happy with that!

"Phew..."

Looking at Gin's solemn expression, Sasuke almost fainted from shock. He hurriedly popped a heart-saving pill into his mouth to catch his breath.

"Gin-san, this is a major matter. I need to hold a small meeting."

"Sasuke-laodi, the noble representatives will arrive early tomorrow morning. You don't have much time to raise the funds."

"Sasuke, the noble representative will arrive early tomorrow morning, you don't have much time to raise funds." (End of chapter)