Chapter 581: It's Time to Go Home and Inherit the Throne

The residents of Konoha woke up to find that the village had completely changed; the position of leader, once monopolized by the Senju and Uchiha clans, had actually been pried away by the Ninja Clan Alliance.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had already prepared himself to repeat his studies, was just about to give himself a few days off to rest.

But before dawn, he was forcibly dragged up by his dark-circled father and went to attend a meeting with representatives of the Land of Fire's nobility, his face full of confusion.

"Am I dreaming?"

Even when he walked into the Hokage's office, he was still in a daze, looking at the once-unreachable Hokage throne and subconsciously assuming he was dreaming.

"Mirror, pinch me, hard!"

Thinking of this, he turned his head and looked pleadingly at the calm-faced Shisui Uchiha beside him, thrusting his large face toward him.

"Uh, Hiruzen, you aren't dreaming. Lord Izuna did indeed give up the position of Hokage."

Shisui hesitated for a few seconds before lowering his raised hand; the area outside the door was full of Anbu, and he felt he should leave some dignity for his good friend, lest he be seen with a pig-head face later.

"Is all of this too unreal?"

Half-doubting, he walked to the Hokage throne. Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes shone with brilliance as he reached out to tentatively touch the impressive desk; the incredibly real tactile sensation convinced him that he had truly become the Hokage.

"Congratulations, Hiruzen."

Seeing this slightly silly scene, Shisui couldn't help but smile, stepping forward to pat his future colleague on the shoulder. Hearing the sincerity in the tone, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned back, a look of emotion appearing on his face.

"Mirror, thank you, I will work hard!"

"That's right, the real test has only just begun."

News of Konoha electing a new leader quickly spread through the ninja world. Upon learning that the new Hokage was the unknown Hiruzen Sarutobi, several major ninja villages collectively fell silent.

Various plans that had been prepared for Izuna Uchiha's succession were forced to be aborted, and they turned to study the suddenly emerged Hiruzen Sarutobi instead.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi? What kind of nonsense is Konoha pulling? Letting a third-rate product like that be Hokage, are they trying to force the Uchiha to defect?"

Inside the Hidden Stone Village, Onoki looked at the detailed intelligence in his hands, question marks filling his head, which was gradually developing a bald spot.

He still had some impression of Hiruzen Sarutobi; his strength was just so-so, but was he qualified to be Hokage?

Onoki could only say,

You still need to practice, kid.

"Lord Tsuchikage, could this be a trick by Konoha, pretending to be weak to make us lower our guard?"

A staff member nearby proposed his idea after a moment of thought, but Onoki shook his head with great disdain upon hearing it.

"Hmph! No matter what tricks Konoha plays, in the face of absolute power, all struggles are futile."

Having said that, he turned his head to look at the tall young man standing in the corner of the office, feeling the scorching steam radiating from the other's body, and his mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

"Get ready, the war is about to begin."

The Hidden Cloud Village,

"Big Brother, we aren't attacking yet?"

The burly Kinkaku excitedly slapped Kinkaku's desk, his face full of flesh written with a desire for war merit.

"If you have energy with nowhere to use it, go do missions for me."

Kinkaku looked at his junior brother with some helplessness. This kid, who had inherited the warlike genes of the Yotsuki clan, no longer had his previous submissiveness and now talked about war at every turn.

"Big Brother! Hiruzen Sarutobi is just a weakling; if we really fight, he won't even be a match for me in one exchange."

Kinkaku couldn't understand why Kinkaku was so cautious. Clearly, Konoha had fallen to the point of letting a second-rate clan be the leader and had no power to protect the vast lands of the Land of Fire; they should just let the Hidden Cloud Village manage it on their behalf!

"Do you think my words are farts?"

"Sigh, Big Brother, you're old."

Kinkaku, who had been silenced by a glare from Kinkaku, curled his lips. Looking at his big brother's increasingly graying blond hair, he muttered a complaint with some unwillingness.

"You brat, go, go, go, go to the Cloud-Thunder Gorge now and let me test your recent cultivation results."

"Ah? No, don't!"

Kinkaku, with tears streaming down his face, was dragged away by his neck by Kinkaku; what awaited him would be an unforgettable, beautiful memory.

The Hidden Mist Village,

Due to long-term overwork, Gui's temples were completely gray, but for some reason, the hair on the top of his head remained black and shiny, as if it were fake.

"Lord Mizukage, this is a great opportunity for us to turn the tide. As long as we take the coastline of the Land of Fire, the Hidden Mist Village can regain the glory of being the overlord of the sea."

"How could I not know the stakes involved? But Gensui, our current situation does not allow for objectivity."

Looking up at the calm and wise young man in front of him, Gui, feeling deeply gratified, shook his head. Currently, the Hidden Mist Village was in a stage of internal and external troubles.

Internally, there were restless Kekkei Genkai families causing trouble openly, not putting him, the Mizukage, in their eyes at all.

Externally, there was the covetous Hidden Stone Village, with constant small conflicts and no shortage of major friction.

"So-called wealth is sought in danger; there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests."

The young man known as Gensui had flickering eyes. As the newly appointed strategist for the Mizukage, he already had a plan in his heart.

"You don't mean..."

Hearing this, Gui opened his narrowed eyes, a look of deep astonishment appearing in them.

"That's right, Onoki of the Hidden Stone Village is not only an ambitious guy but also a rare smart person. Between the interests of future generations and past grudges, he will definitely make a rational choice."

"Sister, should we send the prepared gifts over?"

Inside the Kazekage's office in the Hidden Sand Village, Ebizo asked the beautiful woman sitting on the Kazekage throne with a tangled face.

Chiyo, draped in the Kazekage robe, put down her pen upon hearing this, raised her hand to rub her sore shoulders, and then stretched long. Her curvaceous figure was faintly visible under the gray-brown robe.

Her beautiful eyes widened, and her rosy, full lips curled slightly.

"Send them! Why wouldn't we? It's just changing a name, it's not some big project."

As a staunch ally of Konoha, the Hidden Sand Village had long prepared the gifts for the new Hokage, even engraving the words "Third Hokage Izuna Uchiha" on them.

But no one expected Izuna Uchiha to abstain, so the Hidden Sand Village could only modify them overnight, striving to deliver the gifts before the Hokage inauguration ceremony.

"Alright, alright, what a hassle."

Ebizo scratched his increasingly thinning hair and accepted his sister's order.

"By the way, don't forget Uncle Gin's portion."

"I'll handle it, don't worry."

"Snap!"

At the same time, deep in the underground of the Cemetery of Mountains on the outskirts of the Land of Lightning, Madara Uchiha, having just learned the intelligence about Konoha from Sasuke 【Black Zetsu Limited Edition】, unleashed a General Uchiha flying kick, kicking his sparring partner, who had been struggling to hold on for half a day, away.

"That brat Izuna, what kind of plane is he flying? How can a cooked duck fly away?"

Ignoring Sasuke, who was howling on the ground, he turned and picked up the towel on the table to wipe himself, his scarlet eyes full of resentment.

"And he let that little monkey from the Sarutobi family pick the peach."

"Cough, cough, cough... because Izuna Uchiha voluntarily gave up, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had the second-highest number of votes, successfully filled the vacancy."

Black Zetsu, who had been gasping on the ground for a while, endured the surging blood in his chest, climbed up, and continued to explain to Madara Uchiha.

"Hmph! When there are no tigers in the mountains, the monkey is king."

Glaring fiercely at the black-faced Sasuke, Madara Uchiha snorted coldly.

If it had been his own brother succeeding to the position of Hokage, he could barely accept it, but reality had given him a blow to the head.

If it weren't for his fear of the mysterious monk Jigen lurking in the shadows, he would have already returned to Konoha to stage a "Dragon King's Return," leading the Uchiha to grow and strengthen, creating brilliance once again.

"What is Izuna doing now?"

Thinking of his disappointing brother, Madara Uchiha got angry and wished he could go and question him in person right now.

As the saying goes, an elder brother is like a father. After his father sacrificed himself, he had been carefully teaching Izuna Uchiha, striving to cultivate his only brother into a ninja who could stand on his own.

Now it seemed that his years of hard work had been in vain after all; his brother had already become a piece of trash who just lay flat and rotted.

It wasn't like their family had some empire to inherit; if that kid didn't manage that one-third of an acre of land in Konoha well, and the Uchiha clan declined one day, he would be a sinner of the clan!

"Him? Let me think, he seems to have taken a long-term mission and should have left the village by now?"

"Long-term mission? What long-term mission?"

Good kid, not only lying flat but also lingering in the mountains and waters; let me see how I deal with you!

"Uh... I remember it was a merchant guard mission, requiring long-term stationing in the Land of Waves."

"Which merchant group?"

"Uchiha Merchant Group."

Good, good, good, he even learned to travel on public funds. Since that's the case, don't blame me, his brother, for being heartless.

Izuna, you wash your butt clean and wait for your brother!

"Achoo!"

On the bow of a merchant ship sailing in the waves, Izuna Uchiha, dressed in the standard clan uniform, felt a fishy wind enter his nose. Feeling uncomfortable, he sneezed violently.

"Father, it's a bit cold outside, you should come into the cabin."

Uchiha Fuyao, who was in the warm cabin, poked his head out and called his father in to rest. Izuna Uchiha rubbed his sore nose, his eyes full of confusion.

He was a natural Fire Release sacred body; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he possessed a top-grade Fire Spirit Root. How could he catch a cold because of a mere sea breeze? But what was that chill that suddenly emerged in his heart a moment ago?

"Exactly, exactly, little cousin, if you don't come in, we won't wait for you to start eating."

Just as Izuna Uchiha was pondering, a lazy voice came from the cabin, and then he smelled something spicy, which immediately made his mouth water.

"Coming, coming!"

Hot pot is a good thing, especially in this environment; eating hot pot has more atmosphere.

"Big cousin, you haven't been out on missions for a long time. Why did you insist on coming with us this time?"

Walking into the cabin, the air instantly became hot and dry, forming a sharp contrast with the damp cold outside. Izuna Uchiha set his eyes on the curly-haired person next to the hot pot and asked curiously.

"Isn't it because I'm worried about you~"

Skillfully flipping the ingredients in the pot, Uchiha Gin, who was asked, looked up and replied solemnly.

"It's just a mere guard job, and besides, this is an Uchiha enterprise."

Recalling the familiar faces in the merchant caravan, Uchiha Izuna shook his head slightly; the Uchiha Chamber of Commerce already had plenty of capable clansmen to provide protection.

Ordinary pirates, upon seeing the Uchiha clan emblem hanging on the merchant ships, would be desperate to row away with their bare hands.

As for why he took this mission, it was mainly to vent some anger for his son and to properly warn that old pervert of a Daimyo who coveted Uchiha Fuyu's "beauty."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

Looking at his little cousin who looked like he didn't give a damn, Uchiha Gin didn't know how to explain.

Actually, it wouldn't have been impossible to tell him the truth earlier, but he always felt it would take away a lot of the fun.

I'll have to wrong you for now, little cousin~

"Are you afraid I'll beat that old pervert to death? Don't worry, I have my own sense of proportion."

Mistaking Uchiha Gin's concern for fear that he would cause trouble and bring unnecessary problems to Konoha, Uchiha Izuna chuckled, picked up his chopsticks, and with a precise strike, steadily clamped onto a fish ball rolling in the spicy red oil hotpot.

"In one word: handled."

A mere Daimyo of a small country, so what if he has a bit of filthy money? Under the great power of his Sharingan, he'll have to call him 'daddy' obediently.

"Heh."

I hope you keep that arrogant face of yours; just don't be crying and calling for daddy when the time comes.

At the Land of Waves Daimyo's mansion, upon learning the news that Uchiha Izuna was about to arrive, everyone in the residence sprang into action, busily preparing for the welcome party.

"Sigh~ Izuna, that kid, I haven't seen him in a while."

Sitting on the main hall, Uchiha Tajima felt somewhat restless, his old face filled with anticipation.

Uchiha Gin had already given him a heads-up beforehand that he would be able to reunite with Izuna this time.

He was now over seventy, an age where he longed to be surrounded by children and grandchildren; how could Uchiha Tajima not be excited to reunite with his most beloved second son?

"Report! Young Master Izuna and his party have arrived at the port!"

"Quick! Hurry and prepare!"

Uchiha Tajima urged his clansmen repeatedly to hurry; he wanted to prepare a unique welcome party for his child to make up for the paternal love he had missed all these years.

After the Uchiha merchant ship docked, Uchiha Izuna, led by his son, stepped onto land he had never reached before; looking up at the tall buildings standing all around, he commented with a sour tone,

"So this is the Land of Waves; it looks just so-so."

Thanks to the Uchiha clan's years of careful management, the level of modernization in the Land of Waves had long surpassed other countries; while people in other countries were still living in adobe houses, the residents of the Land of Waves had already begun moving into concrete-poured buildings.

"Father, I was the same as you when I first came; you'll adapt after staying for a while."

Noticing the unconcealable look of amazement in Uchiha Izuna's eyes, Uchiha Fuyu, who had been living in the Land of Waves for a long time, said with a smile.

"Hmph! I won't be staying long in a dump like this!"

Envy was envy, but the moment he thought about his roots still being in Konoha, Uchiha Izuna immediately shook his head and refused righteously.

Just then, an official from the Land of Waves who had been waiting for a long time stepped forward with a beaming smile.

"Welcome, representatives of the Uchiha Chamber of Commerce. The Daimyo has already prepared a welcoming banquet; please, everyone, move to the venue."

Hearing this, Uchiha Izuna turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the officials dressed in gorgeous attire, finally landing on the old man leading them, a flash of realization crossing his eyes.

"You... have we met somewhere before?"

(End of chapter)