Chapter 579: Selling the Hokage Post in Tears

Once he had decided to give up the position of Hokage, Uchiha Izuna felt as if a thousand-catty burden had been lifted from his shoulders; the haze that had long shrouded his heart was swept away in an instant.

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

"Phew, who would have thought that after following my true heart, even the taste of wine would be different."

"You brat, that is the honey wine I went to great lengths to get from the Land of Earth!"

Uchiha Gin, who had been bragging to his nephew Fuyou, froze upon hearing this and quickly turned his head, only to discover that the cup his little cousin had just finished was his own prized vintage.

Uchiha Izuna smacked his lips, and upon closer tasting, he indeed detected an exotic flair, so he immediately and shamelessly asked for more.

"It's quite good. Do you have any more? Get me a few catties."

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

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

"How stingy."

Rejected, Izuna curled his lip and muttered under his breath, not daring to let Uchiha Gin hear him, for fear that this petty eldest cousin of his wouldn't give him his New Year's money.

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

At the thought of the good life of exploiting the commoners slipping away from him, Uchiha Fuyou, feeling somewhat unwilling, prepared to make a final struggle.

"That is the top position in the village; it could provide many conveniences for the clan."

"Are we short of these few scraps?"

Glancing at his eldest son, who was full of reluctance, Uchiha Izuna asked with an arrogant tone.

"We aren't short of them, but I just feel somewhat unwilling."

With the abnormal population loss over these years, the Uchiha clan's GDP per capita had climbed year after year, and the wealth accumulated by the clan's industries was already more than enough to allow the clansmen to withdraw 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; handing the village over to me is truly asking too much."

Uchiha Izuna shook his head, appearing very relaxed.

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

Looking back now, Uchiha Izuna was filled with regret; if he had been able to pay more attention to the clan, perhaps the sacrifices of his clansmen could have been avoided.

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

Uchiha Gin rubbed his chin, looking at Izuna, who had completely given up on the Hokage position, and his eyes suddenly rolled.

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

Withdrawal was no small matter; Uchiha Izuna naturally had to clear it with his clansmen first before explaining it to the village.

"Is that so? My stomach hurts tomorrow, so I'm taking a leave of absence in advance; I won't be attending the clan meeting."

Squinting his eyes in thought, Uchiha Gin suddenly clutched his stomach and began to follow the leave-taking procedure with a straight face, only to be met with a big eye-roll from Uchiha Izuna.

"."

"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as consent."

In the middle of the night, the Uchiha clan's revelry continued; having completely let himself go, Uchiha Izuna was dead drunk, leaving Uchiha Fuyou with no choice but to helplessly carry his plastered father on his back and bid farewell to Uchiha Gin with an apologetic look.

"Eldest cousin, I'll take Father back to rest first."

"I won't see you out; take it slow on the road."

Once the backs of the father and son had faded into the distance, a drunken-looking Uchiha Gin stood up unsteadily and left the noisy clan grounds by feeling his way along the wall, without arousing anyone's suspicion.

"Phew, I should be able to get one last harvest."

Once he reached a deserted corner, the flush on Uchiha Gin's face vanished instantly, and his hazy eyes erupted with a piercing glint; locking his gaze onto the Sarutobi clan's grounds, he flashed away and disappeared into the darkness.

Sarutobi clan grounds.

Sarutobi Sasuke, who had lost in bitterness, was reviewing the key points of today's failure; through his inspection during the day, he had basically ruled out the possibility of a traitor within the Ninja Clan Alliance.

But after eliminating all the wrong answers, the only one left made him feel incredibly troubled.

"The Senju clan! How despicable!"

Thinking of the ten billion he had thrown away for nothing, Sarutobi Sasuke's heart was bleeding.

Although their Sarutobi clan had made a little money in recent years, they couldn't afford such squandering; the treacherous Senju clan was truly detestable!

"You just wait; one day I will return the humiliation I suffered today tenfold!"

Sarutobi Sasuke, who had been played like a fool by the Senju clan, secretly swore an oath.

Knock, knock, knock—

"Who is it?"

Hearing the sudden knocking, Sarutobi Sasuke frowned slightly; it was so late, who was the blind fool coming to bring him bad luck?

"Clan Leader, there is an honored guest."

An honored guest?

Blinking in confusion, Sarutobi Sasuke couldn't think of any honored guest who would visit in the middle of the night.

"Sasuke, my old friend, it's me~"

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

As the familiar voice rang out, Sarutobi Sasuke immediately stood up to welcome him and invited the hurriedly arriving Uchiha Gin into the room.

"Why aren't you brewing a pot of tea for Gin-san yet?"

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

"Remember to add sugar!"

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

Sarutobi Sasuke looked at the alcohol-reeking Uchiha Gin with some confusion; at this hour, shouldn't he be partying at the Uchiha clan grounds?

The mere thought of the Uchiha clan holding two top positions made his heart ache with bitterness.

"Sasuke, my old friend, we are old acquaintances; let's speak plainly. We Uchiha were played by the Senju this time."

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

"Huh?"

You Uchiha have cornered the village's leadership seats, and you're still here acting like you've been wronged?

"Gin-san, have you had too much to drink?"

"I haven't drunk anything. How could I drink when faced with such a frustrating matter?"

Uchiha Gin shook his head, his tone suddenly becoming very low, with the appearance of having some unspeakable hidden pain.

"I would like to hear the details."

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

Under normal circumstances, he would never believe in the credibility and character of the Senju clan, but after experiencing the blatant betrayal during the day, Sarutobi Sasuke had already lowered the credibility of the Senju clan by several notches.

"Sasuke, my old friend, how do you view us Uchiha taking two leadership spots?"

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

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

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

"We are green with envy!"

"Do you suspect that we had some backroom dealings?"

"Of course I do! I spent... so much effort, and in the end, it still ended in failure."

At the thought of the ten billion that had gone down the drain, Sarutobi Sasuke 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 led Sarutobi Sasuke into his rhythm in just a few words, Uchiha Gin nodded secretly, though the expression on his face grew increasingly somber.

"Gin-san, you mean..."

"That's right, it was the Senju clan meddling in this election, intending to make us Uchiha the target of everyone's arrows."

"Ah, this..."

Sarutobi Sasuke froze in place, his brain spinning rapidly; after a few breaths, he had imagined a conspiracy by the Senju against the Uchiha.

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

As the Uchiha's top combatant, Uchiha Izuna naturally became a thorn in the Senju's side, but they suffered from having no one within the Senju who could contend with him.

At this time, Senju Hijiri, who inherited her father's cunning, appeared; she first feigned cooperation with the Ninja Clan Alliance to raise the expectations of its members, only to flip sides at the final moment and push Uchiha Izuna into the Hokage position.

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

"How despicable!"

It was a good thing he had seen through Senju Hijiri's tricks; otherwise, the Ninja Clan Alliance, having suffered heavy economic losses, would indeed have been very likely to point the finger of failure at the Uchiha clan.

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

"Sasuke, my old friend, you truly live up to your name. If it were anyone else, they would probably have been kept in the dark until they died."

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

"Just luck, just luck."

Sarutobi Sasuke shook his head lightly, though the look of smugness at the corner of his eyes would not fade.

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

Even with the relevant evidence, toppling the Senju clan was as difficult as ascending to heaven; Sarutobi Sasuke could only swallow his broken teeth along with the blood, considering it a lesson bought with money.

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

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

"Gin-san, what do you mean by that?"

"In order to break the Senju clan's conspiracy, and for the sake of the long-standing friendship between the Uchiha clan and the Ninja Clan Alliance, I have decided to use my status as an elder to properly persuade my little cousin to step down from the position of Hokage."

"Huh?"

"Gin-san, is that for real?"

Sarutobi Sasuke's pupils shook violently upon hearing this. He had considered thousands of possibilities, including the Uchiha clan taking the initiative to visit, clearing up misunderstandings with the Ninja Clan Alliance, both sides working together to denounce the Senju, and so on and so forth.

The only thing he had never considered was that the Uchiha clan would be willing to give up the position of Hokage that was already within their grasp.

"I know this is 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."

Uchiha Gin nodded heavily, his face full of determination.

"Gin-san, you are truly righteous!"

Hearing this news, Sarutobi Sasuke could no longer sit still. After standing up excitedly, he looked at the righteous Uchiha Gin before him with burning eyes. A few breaths later, however, his expression dimmed.

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

The position of Hokage is no idle job. As the leader of the village, the Hokage is already at the pinnacle of the village's power. Sarutobi Sasuke could not help but feel skeptical about this persuasion attempt.

"Where there is a will, there is a way. Even if it costs a great price, I will prevent this from happening."

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Finally, he took the bait!

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

"That is true."

He nodded in deep agreement. For the sake of the Hokage position, he had even donated ten billion in startup capital without blinking an eye.

"However..."

"However what?"

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

"Sasuke-laodi, there is something you might have heard a little about."

"What is it?"

"You know about the Uchiha Clan Chamber of Commerce, right?"

"You mean that family business managed by Uchiha Fuyou?"

"That's right, the business led by Izuna's eldest son. The market was good in the past few years, and it was doing quite well, but this year..."

"What happened this year?"

"Sigh~ That child Fuyou was cheated this year. The business lost everything, and the loss is so great that even if my little cousin goes bankrupt, he won't be able to fill that hole."

Uchiha Gin shook his head with a sigh, and it was clear that he felt deep regret over Uchiha Fuyou's deficit.

"Who would dare to cheat our Konoha?"

"It is the Land of Waves. Their chamber of commerce has official backing. In this matter, that child Fuyou didn't lose unjustly."

"The Land of Waves is truly wicked!"

Sarutobi Sasuke had also heard a little about the Land of Waves Chamber of Commerce, which had risen in recent years. The other party controlled vast maritime routes and basically monopolized the maritime transport industry. To say they made a fortune every day would be an understatement.

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

Uchiha Gin sighed softly, his expression revealing a faint sense of helplessness.

"I understand, Gin-san."

Hearing this, if Sarutobi Sasuke still didn't understand Uchiha Gin's hint, he might as well resign from his position as clan head on the spot and go raise pigs with Shimura Kenichi.

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

"I wonder how much money Uchiha Fuyou actually lost in business. Gin-san, give me a number so I can be prepared."

"Sigh~ It would be better not to say it; my heart trembles just thinking about it."

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

"Ten billion?"

"Sasuke-laodi, to tell you the truth, it is that number you mentioned with another zero added."

One hundred billion to trade for a Hokage post—you should be happy with that!

"Hoo."

Looking at the grave expression on Uchiha Gin's face, Sarutobi Sasuke was almost shocked to the point of losing his breath. He hurriedly and tremblingly popped a fast-acting heart pill into his mouth to calm himself down.

"Gin-san, this is a matter of great importance. 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."