Let Namikaze Mirai become Hokage? What a joke! Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen truly stepped down, the Hokage position should be his!
Danzo bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
His eyes reddened as he glared at Namikaze Mirai!
Namikaze Mirai had already crossed his bottom line, a line he absolutely could not yield!
The Konoha higher-ups in the conference room sensed the atmosphere suddenly turn heavy, and their expressions stiffened as well.
This was a slide no one could touch!
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face turned livid. If Namikaze Mirai had merely been humiliating him before, then those words just now were undoubtedly a vicious slap across his face.
Faced with the furious gazes of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Danzo, and the others, Namikaze Mirai suddenly calmed down and spoke in an even tone.
"At the very least, if my brother were here, he would never let Konoha suffer such humiliation."
Namikaze Mirai's brother? The Fourth Hokage, the Yellow Flash? As Minato's warm, infectious smile surfaced in their minds, the many ninjas in the conference room fell silent without prior agreement.
Minato's death had been an enormous loss for Konoha.
It was precisely because of his death that Konoha's strength had fallen to such a low point.
Suddenly, they could not help but wonder.
If it had been Sarutobi Hiruzen who used the Reaper Death Seal back then, what would Konoha look like now?
That thought startled them! Why would they need to satisfy the Raikage? The Raikage should be kneeling and begging Konoha for forgiveness!
During the Third Great Ninja War, the Fourth Raikage had clashed with the Yellow Flash many times, yet he had never won.
His best result had only been a draw.
It could be said that during the Third Great Ninja War, Namikaze Minato had built the Yellow Flash's fame by stepping on the Fourth Raikage! In an instant, nostalgia, regret, and sorrow spread through the conference room...
Amid that atmosphere, Namikaze Mirai calmly swept her gaze over the ninjas around the conference table.
"The Fourth Raikage is nothing more than my brother's defeated opponent."
"Using the life of Clan Head Hiashi's younger brother to curry favor with him—I cannot accept such groveling. If he truly insists on making trouble..."
"My brother may be gone, but I will protect Konoha in his place!"
Silence.
The conference room was eerily quiet.
Some of the ninjas who had once witnessed Namikaze Minato's brilliance looked at Mirai's face, which resembled Minato's by seventy or eighty percent, and their eyes reddened with tears.
In their daze, the two faces seemed to overlap.
Minato's younger sister.
Just like her brother, she cared deeply for Konoha! Though Minato was gone, his younger sister had inherited his will.
To have these two siblings was Konoha's blessing!
Sensing the unusual emotions suddenly filling the conference room, Sarutobi Hiruzen's wrinkled old face looked incomparably grim.
He stared at Namikaze Mirai's youthful face, and intense wariness surged from the depths of his eyes.
He had underestimated the political legacy Minato had left behind! Minato had only been Hokage for a year, yet he still retained such enormous influence among the higher-ups.
That influence and admiration had all been claimed by Namikaze Mirai's words just now.
Right now, she was no longer merely a ninja named Namikaze Mirai.
She was the Fourth Hokage's younger sister, the Yellow Flash's final radiance!
"Third Hokage, now that everything has been said, if there is nothing else, please excuse me."
Namikaze Mirai rose and left directly!
She had already made herself perfectly clear.
Weakness was not her style! She could not trade Hizashi's death for the Raikage's forgiveness!
If the Raikage wanted war, then they would fight! The one who had always feared war was Sarutobi Hiruzen, not her!
Watching Namikaze Mirai's departing back, Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand beneath the Hokage desk trembled as it clenched into a fist.
For the first time in his life.
He broke into a cold sweat.
His back was already soaked through.
His palms were covered in sweat as well.
This was a ninja even more terrifying than Minato.
She was young, powerful, and ambitious! She had strength, courage, and an understanding of political maneuvering.
Such an enemy had now practically declared openly that she had set her sights on the Hokage position.
How could he possibly rest easy?
At the other end of the conference table, Uchiha Setsuna's clouded yet hawk-like eyes were likewise fixed on Namikaze Mirai's departing figure.
Yet unlike the fear in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, he displayed his appreciation and admiration almost without reservation.
If the Uchiha gained this person's aid, great things would surely be achieved.
Namikaze Mirai was the future of the entire Uchiha.
After leaving the Hokage Office, Namikaze Mirai was preparing to return when her eyes shifted slightly, and she cast an inconspicuous glance toward a hidden spot.
Interesting.
A trace of mockery flashed across her lips.
Her expression returned to its previous calmness as she followed the route she had taken here and began heading back.
Only, at several key intersections, she turned in another direction.
As she walked, her path drifted farther and farther away.
Until she reached a deserted alley.
"You've followed me for so long. Isn't it time to come out?"
Without turning around, Namikaze Mirai faced the empty alley with her back, her calm voice carrying a hint of disdain.
No one responded.
Everything was silent.
"Must I call you by name before you come out?"
Namikaze Mirai sneered.
"Mr. Aburame Ryoma."
The moment her words fell, a passerby several dozen meters away, who appeared to be simply passing through, trembled. Shock, surprise, confusion... a series of incomprehensible emotions flooded his eyes.
He stared at Namikaze Mirai, his voice dry.
"Why? My Transformation Jutsu is very special. I used insects to conceal my Chakra. You shouldn't have been able to discover me!"
This was the secret technique he prided himself on.
It was an ability he had painstakingly developed to complete Lord Danzo's missions.
Even Root members proficient in Sensory Ninjutsu found it difficult to see through his disguise.
Yet Namikaze Mirai had discovered him so easily?
Where had he gone wrong?
Sensing his confusion, Namikaze Mirai chuckled.
"Your Biological Magnetic Field gave you away."
"Biological Magnetic Field?"
Hearing this unfamiliar, obscure term, the confusion in Aburame Ryoma's eyes deepened.
"Every person's Biological Magnetic Field is unique. It is like a special form of identification—unnoticed by anyone, yet undeniably real."
"The first time I saw your Biological Magnetic Field was when I had just returned to the village and went to the Hokage Office. You were standing beside Danzo, watching me vigilantly."
"The second time I saw your Biological Magnetic Field was during the meeting in the Hokage Office just now. You were lurking outside the third-floor window."
"This is the third time I have seen your Biological Magnetic Field."
Namikaze Mirai looked at the utterly ordinary young man at the intersection, a trace of appreciation entering her voice.
"To be honest, your Transformation Jutsu is quite profound. There are not many people in Konoha capable of seeing through your disguise."
"Unfortunately, you met me. Something like Transformation Jutsu is useless against me."
Before you continue