Chapter 161: Fifth Hokage·Shisui Uchiha

In fact, most of the ninja present at the venue did not object to Danzo becoming Acting Hokage.

The Leaf ultimately needs the great lord's funding, and a great lord stands behind Danzo; if even the Acting Hokage disagrees, it would inevitably offend the great lord.

If Danzo were made Hokage, they could secure more funds and temporarily curb Danzo's ambitions; moreover, the Uchiha would certainly be suppressed.

Many ninja, not without malice, thought that such an outcome seemed acceptable.

The great lord's envoy need not be mentioned; this result already deviates from the great lord's desired situation, and any salvage is only partial.

However, those thoughts lasted only a few breaths.

Because they discovered that Mizumoto En, who should have agreed immediately, was actually hesitating!

The crowd was shocked; among those who could become Jonin, there were no fools, and they quickly sensed something was wrong.

"The Uchiha's three elders are sly and treacherous; to utter such words in this setting, perhaps the Mizumoto consultant—"

Someone whispered a guess, prompting the surrounding Jonin to nod repeatedly.

"Such a person would rather believe he will become mute than trust that he will utter useless nonsense."

"But… why?"

The crowd fell silent, pondering the hatred between the Uchiha and several consultants—why would he hesitate? "Could it be that the Uchiha secretly caught him with leverage, or perhaps he made a covert deal with the Uchiha?"

Danzo's composure vanished instantly; Mizumoto En's brief silence left him utterly stunned.

Why is he hesitating?

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Mizumoto En felt deeply conflicted inside.

Especially Danzo's stare, which, as he hesitated, shifted from initial calm to anticipation, then shock, then doubt; now it had become somewhat frantic.

He knew how obsessed Danzo was with the Hokage seat; for that position, he would sacrifice anything.

Emotionally, he also wanted to back Danzo as Acting Hokage; afterward they would remain partners, cooperate to lead the Leaf out of the mire, suppress the Uchiha, and restore former glory.

Yet Shisui's steady gaze and Yan Shifan's mocking expression made him unable to speak.

Thinking of the clan's ninja, thinking of the family's future, he couldn't possibly sacrifice the whole clan for someone else's ideal, could he?

The remaining rationality told him to be a bit selfish; he absolutely could not support Danzo!

"En, what are you going to do?"

Zhuanqin Xiaochun's breathing grew rapid; her heart grew increasingly uneasy, unable to believe her long-time partner would choose to betray them at such a crucial moment.

What could the Uchiha give him? They are the true friends, and an indelible bond exists between them!

"En!"

"Where the Leaf sways, fire also burns eternally. The flames will continue to illuminate the Village and cause new leaves to sprout."

Facing the crowd's strange gazes and hearing his close friend's urgent urging, Mizumoto En wrestled with himself for a long time before finally speaking.

As soon as he said that, the entire venue fell silent.

The Will of Fire was known to everyone present; some young Jonin had been bathed in it since childhood and could recite it blindfolded.

Shisui need not be mentioned; it was a phrase he once greatly admired.

Yet hearing it in this setting now felt rather odd.

Yan Shifan's mouth twitched upward as he leaned back.

Zhuanqin Xiaochun and Danzo opened their mouths, their bewilderment and anger almost materializing.

Danzo even revived a murderous intent; his path was blocked by his former friend, a second time!

"The Will of Fire—never expected the Mizumoto consultant to mention that."

The meaning of the Will of Fire is: the youth are the hope of the future, and the older generation must trust and protect them. The elders' sacrifices are not meaningless; they inspire the young to become pillars shouldering the future.

Sacrificing the older generation for the new.

Coupled with Mizumoto En's hesitation, everyone immediately grasped his meaning.

"The Mizumoto consultant refused; doesn't that mean Danzo can't even be Acting Hokage!"

"No, you should say Shisui Uchiha is about to become the Fifth."

"Hiss—Uchiha's Hokage."

The crowd's eyes flicked among them; Danzo's body trembled slightly as he stared at Mizumoto En, his hoarse voice emerging.

"Why?"

Although he had assassinated two people, he knew it could never be for that reason.

"I'm sorry; I too act for the Leaf. Danzo, you're too extreme and not fit to become Hokage, even as Acting Hokage."

Mizumoto En, of course, could not reveal the true reason, so he fabricated a plausible excuse.

Danzo's breath caught; he tried to struggle again, but soon noticed some Jonin casting increasingly sinister glances.

Over the years he had offended many; now that he left the shadows, if Shisui Uchiha became Hokage, he would inevitably lose the protective shield of his consultant role, and he couldn't tell how many would strike him then.

"What a shame; it seems Danzo's consultant is destined to have no destiny with the Hokage seat."

Yan Shifan timely pressed his face in mockery, his mouth corner barely restrained.

Danzo's face darkened; just as he was about to speak, Yan Shifan cut him off, continuing, "Since neither the great lord's nor Zhuanqin's consultant proposals passed, we should proceed with the selection process."

The Hokage selection order should have all Jonin jointly vote for the candidate they find satisfactory, with the highest vote‑getter becoming the next Hokage.

Of course, up to now, no Hokage succession has followed the procedure entirely; even the Fourth faced some interference.

Nara Suzaku, upon hearing this, glanced at Danzo, saw he had nothing to say, and immediately nodded, "Then let everyone begin voting for the two candidates."

Danzo, seeing this, let out a cold snort and, unwillingly, said again, "How could the Leaf's future be handed to a 14‑year‑old child, with fiscal deficits, the Northern War, rebuilding the damage caused by the Nine‑Tails' chaos, case by case—could he solve that?"

Danzo roared, repeatedly reminding the crowd, and he omitted one point: choosing Shisui would likely offend the great lord.

Subsequent funding might be cut again.

Facing Danzo's struggle, Shisui simply said, "Since I became a ninja, I have often heard the teachings of the Third; the Will of Fire has always been engraved in my heart, never daring to forget.

Years of contemplation have made me understand that the Leaf's future does not rest on Shisui alone, but on every villager; their will determines the Leaf's future. As of today, I trust their vision and I trust their decision."

Tuan Zang's relentless pressure, contrasted sharply with Shisui's trust, even made some upper‑rank ninja who dislike the two consider casting a vote.

"Hey, Shisui this kid is actually pretty good; at such a young age he shouldered a clan's future and grew it this strong, and he does have ability."

"Indeed, see how considerate he is toward us, unlike that guy Tuan Zang, who practically wears his ambition to become Hokage on his face."

"How could someone like him become Hokage? The Third Hokage's original choice proved everything."

The crowd murmured, and a portion of them cast a rejecting gaze toward Tuan Zang. Tuan Zang took it all in, yet he did not give up; these civilian ninja lack reason and foresight, and he believes the ninja of the Village will make the right decision.

Hyuga, Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, the Sarutobi Clan, and Shiranui—one family after another—began contemplating two different futures.

Tuan Zang knew that as long as the Uchiha had not yet won over more than fifty percent of the people, if these ninja helped him, he would still have a chance.

Just as they were about to speak again to continue lobbying, a member of the ANBU suddenly appeared, swiftly approached Shiro Haru and Mizuto Men'en, and then produced a letter to hand to them.

Everyone's eyes were drawn there, their hearts filled with uneasy doubt; the ANBU appearing at such a critical moment—could something major have happened? Perhaps the Third Hokage?

Shiro Haru's mind sparked, also considering that possibility, and she hurriedly snatched the letter ahead of Mizuto Men'en to read it.

Mizuto Men'en frowned, but he didn't contest her; instead, he leaned over to look.

"Damn it!"

With only a brief glance, the anticipation on Shiro Haru's face vanished instantly, her expression becoming extremely complex.

Mizuto Men'en exhaled in relief, a smile of joy spreading across his face.

"What happened? Why aren't you speaking?"

Someone craned their neck to see the situation, while another whispered, "Could it really be a letter from the Third Hokage?"

Only the Sarutobi Clan, from beginning to end, knew that the matter inside had absolutely nothing to do with the Third Hokage.

"The North won; the defensive line inside Hot Springs Country was retaken, Hui Uchiha killed Cloud's Two‑Tails jinchuriki and seized the Two‑Tails to reseal it, the Hyuga clan killed Cloud's magnet‑release ANBU Trojan, and the bodies of both are in our hands."

Someone seated behind the two assistants, with sharp eyes, glanced once, grasped the gist, and then summarized it aloud.

The crowd gasped, their breathing quickening, a tingling on their scalp; each piece of news in the letter would be cause for great joy on its own, yet now all these happy tidings were packed into a single letter.

"Advisors, is the content of the letter truly as such?"

Upon hearing that the Hyuga family was involved, those beside Hyuga Nissoku, under their clan leader's signal, also asked.

Shiro Haru originally intended to keep the news hidden, but she was too excited, reacted slowly, and the content had already been spread.

Mizuto Men'en saw that there was nothing confidential that couldn't be disclosed, and noticing Shiro Haru's stunned expression, he took the letter and had someone read it aloud.

The letter was written by Zira, and it detailed the entire process and results of the recent recapture of the defensive line.

Cloud's east‑west frontlines were completely shattered; Leaf seized the opportunity to kill and capture thousands of Cloud's ninja, the Wooden Man was ambushed and slaughtered, the Two‑Tails was taken by the Uchiha, Trojan died on the battlefield—each incident was read out repeatedly.

Zira further emphasized Sima Yi's grasp of the overall situation and then recommended him to take over command of the North.

The North won, the line was restored, Leaf's pressure lessened dramatically—should have been multiple times the joy—but because the Uchiha achieved a great feat, Shiro Haru simply couldn't feel happy.

Tuan Zang wore a grim, ugly expression; he hadn't expected the northern campaign to end so quickly. He had hoped to become Acting Hokage, personally go to the northern front to defeat Cloud, thereby establishing his authority and subduing the people, but everything was lost.

"I didn't mishear, right? The Two‑Tails was also sealed and snatched away by the Uchiha?"

"That's right, that's exactly how it was read."

"So that means Leaf can also have a jinchuriki now?"

The matter of the Naruto is confidential to most people; even among the Jonin, many believe Leaf has already lost the Nine‑Tails.

The Uchiha's seizure of the Two‑Tails is a massive boost to Leaf's overall strength.

"Grandfather!"

Shisui gasped in amazement while also sighing in relief; although he was confident he wouldn't lose, the Uchiha's achievement this time undeniably gave him a huge bargaining chip.

A belated letter pushed the entire venue's atmosphere to a climax.

With the overall situation settled, Nara Suzaku sighed inwardly, then timely raised the matter of selection, and began gathering the Jonin's votes once more.

The great envoy, seeing this, glanced at Tuan Zang, opened his mouth but remained silent, and chose to leave quietly.

Tuan Zang also did not remain on the stage; he watched the Jonin cast their votes, the brief process stretching endlessly in his eyes, and at that moment he even felt like leaving, because he could guess the outcome from their gazes.

But he was unwilling to accept it, truly unwilling; he abandoned steadfastness, abandoned close friends, abandoned the Village, only to get this result, making him feel like a clown.

Even if there was only a sliver of hope, he would not give it up.

That's the Uchiha—evil Uchiha—he cannot become Hokage!

He roared deep within, desperately suppressing his fury and resentment to preserve his final dignity.

Yet the result came out quickly.

"The voting results are in: Shisui Uchiha received 61.3% of the votes; this result was approved by the Jonin council, verified by the three advisors, and Shisui Uchiha will become the Fifth Hokage!"

Nara Suzaku did not read out Tuan Zang's vote count, but it no longer mattered.

The moment the result was confirmed, Tuan Zang's hanging heart finally died.

He felt a fleeting bewilderment and loss, but quickly suppressed it, scanned the room, his gaze landing on Shisui, then without lingering he turned and left.

Shiro Haru also rose and left directly; the three advisors blinked, leaving only Mizuto Men'en.

Some families opposed to the Uchiha wore uneasy expressions, but after looking at the soon‑to‑be Hokage Shisui Uchiha, they chose to stay.

The Jonin council represents the will of most of Leaf's strongest; they are the true pillars of Leaf, and even if the Third Hokage rushed in, the result could not be changed.

That means from the moment the result is confirmed, Shisui is Leaf's Fifth Hokage! "I have verified the result; Shisui Uchiha has been approved by the Jonin council as Leaf's Fifth Hokage!"

Mizuto Men'en rose, walked to the platform, and solemnly announced.

When he finished, everyone stood up one after another; even those still dissatisfied with Shisui rose, and all eyes converged on Shisui at that moment.

Shisui's expression was somewhat dazed; the Hokage position had come rather suddenly.

From their actions onward, Shisui's greatest realization was that plans cannot keep up with change; human calculations are inferior to heaven's.

Initially, he only wanted to support Tuan Zang to become Hokage, then look for a chance to inherit the position from him.

But events repeatedly deviated from the plan, causing him to become Hokage ahead of schedule, and the burden of a village ultimately fell on his shoulders.

Can he lead Leaf forward?

Shisui was deep in thought, and just then he felt his calf being kicked; he slowly raised his head and noticed Yan Shifan's gaze.

In an instant, Shisui recovered, his eyes becoming clear, no longer bewildered.

He slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping over each senior ninja.

The whole venue fell silent; the sound of a falling needle could be heard.

After a long while, Shisui exhaled a breath of foul Qi, his eyes sincere, and he raised his voice: "The crisis in the Konoha still remains; I ask everyone to march forward with me!"

One more chapter remains, only a little over two thousand words written; I'll take a shower and continue later.

(End of this chapter)