The Third Hokage Retires, the Fourth Hokage Is Dead-Does That Mean It's My Turn to Be Pot Kage?

"Naruto... He's still alive. I can't loot his corpse..."

"Then—if I slap him twice right now, does that count as beating him?"

"If so, is there a chance I could copy his trait?"

By the Naka River, the eyes of a two-and-a-half-year-old boy were shining.

He seemed to have found a system bug!

The Konoha 12 would all be born one after another this year, wouldn't they?

Then what if he went around patting their butts and pinching their cheeks, one by one...

Yikes!

At the thought, Uchiha Jin's little mouth stretched into a grin.

He put one hand to his forehead and bent over.

"Ha ha ha ha! I really am a genius!"

System: ...

Snap!

Just then, the Four Red Yang Formation above him suddenly opened.

His wild laughter cut off at once.

As he turned, he happened to see a pipe glowing faintly in the moonlight.

The Third Hokage!

"Hm? There's a survivor? A child?"

When he saw someone still inside the barrier, Sarutobi Hiruzen instinctively tensed.

He gripped his staff even tighter.

Anyone who'd survived the Nine-Tails' rampage had to be extraordinary.

"A child?"

"That War Fan outfit... Are you from the Uchiha Clan?"

But once he got a good look at the child's appearance and clothes, confusion flickered in his deep-set eyes.

Hadn't the Uchiha Clan been confined to their homes?

Where had this two- or three-year-old come from?

Behind him, the Hokage's bodyguard squad had followed right away.

When they saw Uchiha Jin, Shiranui Genma spat out the senbon in his mouth and exclaimed in disbelief,

"Oi? Could the Fourth Hokage's son have grown this big already?"

The other members of the Genma squad: ...

The Anbu shinobi who'd followed them: ...

Sarutobi Hiruzen: ...

Uchiha Jin: ...

He'd nearly thought he'd turned into Nezha!

He grumbled inwardly, but put on an innocent, clueless expression.

Clutching the token timidly, he spoke in a childish voice:

"G-Grandpa! I... I'm Jin. A man wearing... wearing an Oil Paint Mask told me... told me there were sweets here."

He deliberately repeated the words Oil Paint Mask.

At the same time, the runes on the token in his hand were displayed just so.

That deliberate move had indeed caught everyone's attention.

Of course, after he finished speaking, his watery eyes stayed fixed on the Third Hokage.

If the old geezer made any suspicious move,

he'd activate his Golden Body and run under the cover of Weak Presence.

As for Flying Thunder God?

He hadn't started training in it yet, and he really didn't have any Chakra in his body...

Of course, he also believed the Third Hokage wouldn't do anything to him.

The old geezer could be a little cold-hearted at times.

But!

When it came to the children in the village, he always showed a loving side.

No matter who they were.

Whatever he might be like behind closed doors, in public he was always kind and amiable.

And he'd even go on about that Inheritance of Fire!

Oil Paint Mask?

And this token...

To the right, Shiranui Genma and the other two immediately guessed what those words meant. They turned and left.

They couldn't stay when the matter involved a power struggle among the village's great clans.

They only needed to quietly do their own jobs.

Whoosh.

Suddenly,

an Anbu shinobi appeared behind the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

A scroll in his hand lit up red, and he reported gravely, "Token number B-74. It belongs to Root Third Reconnaissance Squad."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's wrinkles deepened, nearly deep enough to trap two flies.

It really was a Root squad number.

And the man's corpse was outside.

Clearly, little Uchiha Jin hadn't been lying.

How could an untrained two-and-a-half-year-old child have appeared here on his own?

"So, is this an attempt to frame the Uchiha Clan?"

"But... framing them with a Uchiha toddler? Danzo, have you lost your mind?"

A cold glint flashed in the Third Hokage's eyes.

When he looked down again, his expression was nothing but kind and amiable.

"It's all right, it's all right. You should hurry home."

He patted Jin's little shoulder.

A thread of sensory Chakra flowed from his palm into the child's body.

It made a circuit.

His body was completely empty.

His muscles and bones were dense, but there was no trace of Chakra.

That was normal, too. Uchiha children usually didn't start refining Chakra until they were four or five, did they?

Only after confirming that there wasn't a trace of Chakra in the child's body did he finally relax and reassure him,

"Good boy. Where the leaves dance, the fire burns on!"

"Where the leaves dance, the fire burns on!" Jin raised his fist and gave an enthusiastic cheer.

Then he turned and ran off.

"What an upright child!"

Watching him go, the Third Hokage couldn't help feeling moved.

But when he thought of Danzo even targeting this child, his heart sank.

He took the pipe from his mouth and rapped it against the nearby tree stump. "Thump, thump."

"Danzo, you've reached too far!"

Achoo!

At the same time, in the Hokage Building,

Danzo, who'd been delivering an impassioned speech, suddenly sneezed.

"Danzo, are you all right?" Utatane Koharu asked, looking at her old friend with concern.

"I'm fine! I'm terrifyingly strong right now!"

Danzo tapped his cane.

"The Fourth Hokage has fallen in battle. What do you think the village's most pressing need is?"

"Stability...?" Utatane Koharu asked instinctively.

"Exactly. We need to stabilize the village! With the Fourth Hokage dead, the village is leaderless. So I think we need to choose a Fifth Hokage to take charge!"

"And the only people in the village capable of running for Hokage are the heads of the various clans. But none of them—not one—is a match for me, Danzo!"

"I love this village deeply!"

"I am the root buried deep in the earth, supporting the village."

Danzo spoke his heart in one breath!

He'd outlasted the Third Hokage, waited for the Fourth Hokage to die, and even driven the village and the Uchiha into opposition!

Now it was finally his era!

At the thought, dazzling Wind Release Chakra burst from his entire body.

His presence was unmatched!

Even the two advisors couldn't help nodding in admiration.

Their old friend really did look full of vigor.

After hesitating for a moment, Utatane Koharu nodded. "You really are the most suitable candidate for Fifth Hokage. But—"

But?

Hearing his old friend's hesitation, Danzo smiled faintly. "But I'll hand the village's finances over to the two of you to allocate."

"But there's no one more suitable than you!"

The two exchanged a glance and promptly agreed.

Bang!

But just then, someone shoved open the tightly shut door to the Hokage's Office!

Thump.

When they saw the pipe that was unmistakably his, the three of them fell silent at once.

Sarutobi Hiruzen walked in slowly.

His weathered eyes seemed not to notice anything.

He walked over to the Hokage's desk, step by step.

He pulled out the chair and sat down.

You!

Danzo ground his teeth in frustration.

That seat was supposed to be his any moment now!

But the Third Hokage ignored him and simply braced both hands on the Hokage's desk.

Looking around at the people in the room, he said in a low voice,

"I'll temporarily take up the duties of Hokage. Who's in favor, and who's opposed?"

"In favor!"

"I'm in favor too! The village is in turmoil, and your return, Sarutobi, has come as a godsend!"

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged a glance and immediately agreed.

Not a moment's hesitation.

Beside them, Danzo slowly formed a question mark.

"Wait, what?"