I Advise You to First Understand the Hokage's Ideals

Uchiha Clan Head's courtyard.

Uchiha Setsuna stared at Hanma with a grave expression, waiting for Hanma to answer his question.

Hanma gazed at the ceiling, silently admiring the ukiyo-e paintings overhead without saying a word, feeling thoroughly annoyed.

Who knew what madness had taken hold of this old man today? He had solemnly invited Hanma over, claiming they needed to discuss the great matter of the clan's prosperity.

Yet the moment Hanma arrived, he had declared, "In the coming war, the Uchiha Clan will fully support any request you make. We will definitely seize the position of Hokage!"

That single sentence left Hanma speechless. Even Hanzo's deadly poison had not made him this speechless. Where had this man gotten such confidence?

Ever since Setsuna had revealed his Mangekyō, the other clansmen's reactions had been quite peculiar.

They were thrilled that the Mangekyō Sharingan had appeared once more, yet they had also watched Uchiha Setsuna lie in bed for over two months and could not help but feel doubtful.

"How can the Mangekyō Sharingan still fail to deal with Uchiha Hanma? Hmm, it must be because Clan Head Setsuna doesn't know how to use it."

"Maybe Brother Hanma is just too strong... But in any case, he's one of us Uchiha."

Under that strange comparison, their attitude toward civilian ninja and even ordinary villagers had begun to draw closer to Hanma's, becoming friendlier.

Even the Military Police Force, which the villagers had always despised, had recently seen its reputation improve.

Because of this, Setsuna had actually taken it as proof that the villagers were beginning to support the Uchiha, that public sentiment was on their side, and that it was time to make a move for the Hokage position.

Hanma looked at Setsuna, dressed like a man from the Warring States Period, and at the Kaishaku-to resting beside him. With a sigh, he realized this was an attitude of forcing someone onto Liangshan. He could only speak helplessly.

"Say, old man Setsuna, don't you pride yourself on inheriting Uchiha Madara's will? Was his will really just to become Hokage?"

Still, Uchiha Madara, lying somewhere underground doing who knew what, might genuinely have answered, "Yes."

Setsuna snorted heavily. Rather than answer the question directly, he said,

"The so-called Hokage is the strongest person in Konoha. Clan Head Madara merely chose to give it up back then."

"And now, you possess the potential to become Konoha's strongest. It is time to reclaim the position that rightfully belongs to the Uchiha!"

Hanma's expression turned subtle. Apparently, Setsuna had never seen Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands from the battle at the Valley of the End.

And hadn't Hanma always been called a heretic? Why were they counting on him now?

Because of the Sharingan's influence on the mind, most Uchiha who awakened it developed obsessive, gloomy personalities.

Not only were they arrogant and aloof, but they also had unpleasant ways of speaking.

Rather than muddle along in Konoha's atmosphere, they might as well head north and join Kumogakure.

The people there were straightforward and settled everything with their fists. They would not care too much about the Uchiha's faults, and the clan might even have found a good path forward.

But in the Uchiha's eyes, Kumogakure was merely a pack of barbaric beggars from the mountains.

They were the proper, legitimate founders of Konoha. How could they possibly go to such a miserable backwater?

Back to the point: at this point in time, in Konoha's thirty-seventh year, there were many reasons why the Uchiha could not become Hokage.

First of all, even the strength the Uchiha Clan was most proud of did not meet the standard required to compete for the Hokage position.

Konoha had more than two hundred ninja with Jonin-level strength, while the Uchiha had barely thirty surviving Three Tomoe Sharingan users.

Some of those were old men who had fought their way through the Warring States Period. Though powerful, they did not have much time left.

Ever since the Uchiha Clan had taken charge of the Military Police Force, they had been confined to handling trivial matters within the village.

The younger generation of the clan had lost the blood and hatred of the battlefield that nourished them, and with it, they had lost their strength.

More importantly, the Hokage was not the Hokage of a single ninja clan. It was a representative of interests chosen by a group of ninja clans.

The Senju master-and-disciple faction had already taken the high ground in Konoha's leadership, with countless supporters behind them.

Uzumaki Mito, that living legend, was still alive. Among the ninja clans, they also had the full support of the Akimichi, Nara, Yamanaka, and Aburame clans.

They had also absorbed large numbers of civilian ninja and unearthed geniuses such as White Fang, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, giving them an absolute advantage in numbers as well.

By contrast, throughout all of Konoha, aside from the cats selling ninja tools, the Uchiha could not find a single ninja clan that held a friendly attitude toward them.

The Uchiha had always been isolated and helpless. It had been that way from the very day the village was founded.

During the Warring States Period, there had been too many blood-crazed battle maniacs among the Uchiha. They had stained their hands with too many people's blood and forged blood feuds with most ninja clans.

And because of their arrogant attitude, they had always met others with cold faces. After the village was founded, they had not made any effort to mend those relationships. Instead, they had only made things worse.

The Uchiha had very few friends and far too many enemies.

With things already this hopeless, asking Hanma to step up was practically asking him to take a lightning bolt head-on.

Even if Hanma later dominated the Shinobi World and forced everyone to shut up with absolute strength, what meaning would that have?

Once he possessed power beyond all limits, was he not going to unify the Shinobi World? Was he planning to keep filming Boruto?

The only solution was for Tsunade and Hanma to quickly have a child who could use Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands. Then everything would be resolved.

Hanma took a deep breath. There was no other way. He was ready to recite a classic scripture from his previous life and properly correct Setsuna's way of thinking.

"Clan Head Setsuna. Tell me, how many clan meetings has our Uchiha Clan held? How many policies have we proposed? Have we ever carried out a single one? Hasn't every attempt just been the same old thing in a different package?"

"You want me to compete for Hokage? Then I have something to say too. Look at the people Hiruzen leads. Who does the Uchiha have left now? Who are you asking me to lead?"

"What level is the Uchiha at right now? Just these few people? Tekka, Yashiro, and the rest are all Jonin. Can they do it? They can't! They can't do it well! They don't have that ability, understand?"

"If you keep fantasizing like this, forget losing to the Senju Clan. Next, you'll lose to the Sarutobi Clan. Then you'll lose to Ino-Shika-Cho. And when there's no one left to lose to, you won't even have the Military Police Force to run!"

Setsuna's face turned red from Hanma's words. At last, he found a reason and fiercely retorted,

"From the origins of Konoha, our Uchiha Clan was one of its founders!"

"The Uchiha were among the first ninja clans to join Konoha. Every brick and tile here bears the Uchiha's contribution. We deserve to be rewarded with the position of Hokage!"

Hanma waved his hands exaggeratedly, as though the phantom of that man had appeared behind him.

"Oh, thank heavens, thank heavens! Think about it yourself. Since the village was founded, the Uchiha have never laid a proper foundation for something like running for Hokage.

"Even if you obtained the right to run, how could you guarantee that you would win during the Jonin voting stage?"

"Be realistic. I advise you to first understand the problems within your clan and the Hokage's ideals."

"Uchiha Madara already ran away, so why are you still inheriting his will? At the Valley of the End, Senju Hashirama beat him so badly that even the Nine-Tails was lost. Tell me, how do you explain that?"

Hanma criticized Setsuna with heartfelt anguish.

Watching Setsuna's vacant expression, he nodded in satisfaction. The Football Bible's destructive power was indeed formidable.

He kicked the Kaishaku-to beside Setsuna away, then turned and strode off.

For something like this, it depended on Setsuna's own Enlightenment. It could not be solved with just a few words.