The Change of the Second Hokage Position

[Naruto World 1]

After making preliminary arrangements for the plans on World 4's side, Natsu Yuu returned to World 1.

Meanwhile, Hashirama Senju had spent the entire night tossing and turning.

Early the next morning, he got up and called on Tobirama to swiftly convene a High Council meeting.

He summoned all the heads of the major clans in the village, including the Sarutobi Clan, Shimura Clan, Hyuga Clan, Shiranui Clan, Nara Clan, Akimichi, Yamanaka Clan, and others...

Without any beating around the bush, he directly announced that Madara Uchiha would be appointed as the Second Hokage.

If anything happened to him, Madara would immediately assume the Hokage Position as the Second Hokage.

The moment those words came out, all the other clan heads present were stunned and resistant.

Hadn't they agreed to democratically elect the Hokage together?

How had it suddenly turned into Hashirama dictatorially appointing one himself?

That wasn't reasonable!

Was he luring them in just to slaughter them?

"Hokage-sama, isn't this inappropriate?"

"How can you appoint the Second Hokage already?"

"This..."

Hashirama knew his request was somewhat willful. But for the village's future, and to keep Madara from leaving the village and becoming Konoha's enemy, he had to do this!

Besides, other than himself and Madara, no one else could protect the peace of the entire shinobi world by their own strength alone.

"I beg you all to agree!"

"Though I cannot explain the reason in detail, having Madara take the position of Second Hokage truly will protect the village and everyone here."

"If I were unfortunate enough to die, this would also be the only way to preserve peace!"

Hashirama pleaded with utmost sincerity.

Everyone was startled.

The heads of the major clans wildly speculated, even mistakenly believing that Hashirama was already at death's door—or perhaps preparing to undertake some life-threatening task?

Was that why he was appointing Madara as the Second Hokage in advance, to ensure the village's peace?

But Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, was already this powerful. What could possibly require him to risk his life?

"Elder Brother, no one will understand if you put it that way!"

Tobirama frowned and muttered in complaint beside Hashirama's ear.

He knew why his elder brother had changed his decision, as well as what he had seen in the future.

That was why he stubbornly insisted on having Madara succeed him as the Second Hokage.

Originally, Tobirama had opposed it with all his might, but after being "taught" by Hashirama at home for an entire night, he had no choice but to concede.

He knew that his elder brother was serious this time.

The kind that no one could talk out of it.

However, the heads of the other clans had no idea what had happened, and they certainly could not believe such nonsense as Hashirama traveling into the future.

Therefore, simply persuading them was practically impossible.

"Lord Hashirama, could you explain this a little more clearly?"

"This..."

Hashirama was a little dumbfounded. He truly wasn't good at lying!

Seeing this, Tobirama quietly sighed and stepped forward to explain.

"Everyone, this is what happened."

"Yesterday, Elder Brother received a prophecy from the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku, claiming that shortly after his death, the First Shinobi World War would break out."

"To prevent that war, a sufficiently powerful Second Hokage would need to take office."

"That is why Elder Brother hopes to decide the Second Hokage's successor in advance..."

Tobirama's political acumen was no joke. He easily came up with a fairly reasonable excuse.

Of course, most of it was true. He had merely changed the source of the information from the mysterious Natsu Yuu to the Great Toad Sage.

That also made it seem more reasonable and believable.

"So that's how it is!"

"A prophecy from the legendary Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku?"

"While we cannot believe it completely, we must take it seriously."

"That is an ancient sacred land as renowned as [Shikkotsu Forest]. They wouldn't make prophecies recklessly, would they?"

The Clan Heads began discussing among themselves in hushed voices.

Now that there was a reasonable justification, they had no choice but to seriously consider the proposal.

At the same time.

Madara glanced at Tobirama.

It was rare for Hashirama to be so decisive, so naturally, Madara had accepted the invitation to attend.

He just had not expected Tobirama, who was usually so damn annoying, to fabricate such a lie in order to help him inherit the Hokage Position?

Had he actually changed?

No, more likely than not, Hashirama had simply beaten him into submission.

Tobirama was still as annoying as ever! Should he really be allowed to marry into the Uchiha Clan?

Madara was still pondering it.

But Hashirama pulled him to the front, signaling for him to say something as well.

"Come."

"Madara, say a few words too."

Faced with Hashirama's earnest invitation, Madara did not refuse.

However, Madara's way of expressing himself was somewhat unusual.

"What a pain!"

Madara snorted impatiently and instantly activated his [Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan]. His expression was cold and domineering as he swept his gaze across the room and asked directly:

"Who's in favor? Who's opposed?"

"..."

The entire Conference Room instantly fell silent.

Hashirama scratched his head and laughed foolishly, wondering if Madara was being a little too forceful.

Tobirama stared in shock, so furious that he wanted to give Madara a hard kick!

Meanwhile, the Clan Heads of the remaining great clans all fell into contemplation, none daring to meet those terrifying Mangekyo Sharingan eyes.

"Madara! This is, this is..."

Tobirama's face reddened as he pointed at Madara and berated him furiously.

Madara could not be bothered with Tobirama, who was hopping mad, and continued speaking on his own:

"What is this?"

"This is helping you save time!"

"You're all warriors who survived the battlefield, yet you're still dragging your feet over a decision."

"Yes means yes. If not, stop wasting my time."

"I, Madara Uchiha, do not need anyone's charity!"

Madara folded his arms, still brimming with arrogance.

Konoha might decline without him, but he would certainly live better without Konoha.

If you think this book is good, please remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

If not for Hashirama's request, as well as the deal he had made with Natsu Yuu, Madara would have left Konoha long ago to prepare his own [Moon Eye Plan].

How could he have the patience to waste time bickering with this bunch of trash?

In the end.

All the Clan Heads chose to follow their hearts and unanimously approved Hashirama's proposal.

Madara Uchiha would succeed to the position of Second Hokage.

There was no helping it.

At this time, the Warring States Period had only just ended.

The great clans like Hiruzen and Shimura had not joined for any bullshit democracy or freedom.

They had all come because the strongest [Senju Clan] and [Uchiha Clan] had formed an alliance. They were all here to cling to the powerful.

Even the most radical Uchiha Clan Members had grown weary of and frightened by the cruelty of the Warring States Period, unwilling to leave with their Clan Head, Madara.

Let alone the other ninja clans.

Besides.

Only when Hashirama opposed Madara did they dare to go against him.

Now that Hashirama was fully backing Madara, could they still resist? Did they even have the ability to resist?

Or was Susanoo no longer hard enough?

Was the Wood Style Giant Buddha still not strong enough?

As the clan heads departed, only Hashirama, Tobirama, and Madara remained in the room.

"Ha ha ha! We did it!"

"Madara, I told you it would work, didn't I?"

"Everyone really does acknowledge you deep down!"

Hashirama laughed heartily, utterly delighted.

He had finally managed to make Madara stay.

It could also be considered a change to the future, resolving a major burden in his heart.

At that moment, Hashirama felt as though the entire village had brightened up.

"Hmph! You narcissistic bastard."

Madara cursed, though his ever-stern expression softened slightly.

He knew those people had merely yielded to the power of Hashirama and himself.

But it did not matter. As long as he still possessed strength, those people would have to swallow their dissatisfaction!

In any case, being able to remain in the village, protect the Uchiha Clan, and act alongside Hashirama was, in Madara's view, a decent choice.

For the other ninja clans, it did not make much difference for the time being.

The First Hokage was currently Hashirama Senju, the strongest of the Senju Clan.

Once Madara Uchiha became the Second Hokage, it would merely mean an Uchiha taking the seat instead.

As long as Konoha did not fall, it would remain the strongest and would not disband and return to the Warring States Period.

Everything could be discussed.

Of course, it was not as though there were no losers.

The sole loser was Tobirama Senju, whose original position as Second Hokage had been replaced.

Everyone else had won big; only Tobirama of this world had lost big.

Still, he had not actually taken the position of Second Hokage yet, nor was he particularly keen on power or the Hokage Position.

He was simply extremely displeased that the detestable Madara Uchiha would become the Second Hokage in the future.

"Tobirama, you look rather unconvinced?"

In a good mood, Madara deliberately needled Tobirama.

Tobirama's face darkened. He had no desire to bicker with Madara and turned directly to his elder brother, Hashirama.

"Elder Brother, the envoys from [Iwagakure] should be arriving soon."

"Oh? They agreed to form an alliance?"

"I'm not sure. Most likely, they're only sending people to test the waters first. Even if they want an alliance, that is still far off. But as the Hokage, you should still meet them."

"Fine, then."

Hashirama nodded helplessly.

After learning of the Ninja World Wars that would take place over the coming decades, he no longer held much enthusiasm for forming alliances now.

But as the Hokage, he could not refuse to meet them when they had come at his invitation.

Basic courtesy still had to be observed.

"Oh, right. Madara, do you want to meet them too?"

Hashirama asked Madara, hoping he would join him in receiving the Iwagakure envoys.

Madara waved his hand dismissively. He was already preparing to wipe out all of [Iwagakure], so how could he possibly have the patience to receive their envoys with a pleasant expression?

"If they want to see me, have them come find me at the Shrine."

Leaving those words behind, Madara departed.

Since he no longer intended to leave Konoha and could even inherit the Hokage Position, it was time to share this good news with the other clan members.

Madara did have feelings for the other members of the Uchiha Clan, though not many. But the fact that he had been willing to ask whether they wanted to follow him when he had planned to leave Konoha proved as much.

Besides, the clan members were the only thing Izuna had left him to hold on to.

Surely the Uchiha Clan would be thrilled upon hearing this news?

Meanwhile, at the top floor of the still-under-construction Hokage Building, Natsu Yuu watched the change in the system's Unification Progress and knew that Hashirama and Madara must have reached an agreement.

[Naruto World 1 Unification Progress: 32% → 35%]

The change wasn't significant—just an increase of 3 percentage points.

But considering that Madara had already given up on leaving Konoha and was set to take the Second Hokage Position, this change was quite substantial.

And this was only the Unification Progress.

If there were something like a "plot deviation rate," then Madara simply not defecting from Konoha would be enough to completely rewrite the subsequent plot. It might even rise by 80%!

At the very least, Obito, Nagato, Akatsuki, and the rest would most likely never become villains.

Even the Fourth Ninja World War might not happen at all.

It could be said that the entire plot of [Naruto World 1] had already been completely rewritten.

Next...

Even Natsu Yuu had no idea what would happen.

But that wasn't important. What mattered was quickly egging Madara and Hashirama on to complete the unification of the ninja world!

Of course, no matter how urgent it was...

You still had to take things one bite at a time.

Natsu Yuu raised his head and looked into the distance. The first delectable "little lamb" was about to enter the stage.

Over there, at Konoha's entrance, Iwagakure's envoys had arrived.

Naturally, it was still that master-and-disciple pair.

The future Second Tsuchikage, Mu, and the future Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki.