Candidate for the Future Fifth Hokage

Lakeside.

"Boom!"

The wooden stake was torn to shreds by the roar of exploding flames!

Fine wood chips, carrying sparks, flew everywhere as Qing Xuan stood amidst the erupting inferno.

The scorching heat licked his forehead and baked the tips of his hair.

Despite being in a furnace, an exhilarating feeling surged from his heart.

"Awesome!"

He cheered, completely ignoring the corner of his clothes that had been ignited by the high temperature.

The wind howled, rustling and whipping the exploding flames into a frenzy.

Under the setting sun.

Fugaku Uchiha stood not far away, watching the cheering figure amidst the wind and fire. A hint of emotion flickered in his eyes.

[Brother! How is it? Ten years of wandering the wilderness! I've returned now with my divine skills perfected!]

"Idiot, you can't even tell a Substitution Technique, and you missed with the Great Fireball Technique..."

That figure from many years ago seemed to overlap with the present. Fugaku snorted coldly and turned to leave amidst the sound of the wind.

In an instant, a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. The solitary, proud figure walking away cast two different silhouettes on the lake under the setting sun...

"Hey! Tsunade! Isn't dinner ready yet?"

Outside the kitchen of Ryuu Uchiha's mansion, Qing Xuan's impatient calls were like the fuse of a bomb, pushing the already flustered Tsunade to the brink.

"What are you yelling about! I told you to call me Mother!"

She casually threw the spatula, and after a loud crash, the impatient voice outside instantly ceased.

That detestable little brat!

After returning from the Hokage's office yesterday, he refused to call her Mother again! He kept calling her Tsunade all day, making her feel like she was taking care of a child Liu Yun.

By the time the moon was high in the sky, Qing Xuan's family finally sat down to a rather rough dinner. During the meal, Qing Xuan, along with Ling and Haku, cleaned up the damaged wall where the spatula was stuck, preparing to call someone to fix it tomorrow.

Ever since Tsunade returned, Qing Xuan had moved out of his uncle's house and into the former marital home of his father and Tsunade.

It had to be said, this place was even bigger than the clan head's residence. The three-story building had many rooms and a garden courtyard planted with various trees.

Such treatment, let alone among the Uchiha, was not common even in the entire Konohagakure.

This was apparently restored according to the original clan land, as the previous house had been destroyed on the night of the Nine-Tails Attack...

Tsunade sat at the dining table, looking somewhat absent-minded, poking at the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks, lost in thought about something.

Qing Xuan quickly scooped a mouthful of rice and glanced at her. "What? Did you already spend all the money Elder Homen just approved for you yesterday?"

"That's not it." Tsunade was still somewhat careless until Qing Xuan put a burnt chicken leg into her bowl, and her eyes gradually regained their sparkle. "I've stayed in the village long enough..."

She sighed, appearing quite conflicted.

Qing Xuan also fell silent for a moment, then asked after a while, "When are you leaving?"

"Not sure yet..." Tsunade turned to look at Qing Xuan, a smile flashing in her eyes. "I heard the village is going to hold the Chunin Exams soon. I'll leave after watching it!"

Qing Xuan fell silent. "I'll see you off when you leave."

"Can't you leave with Mother?" Tsunade was displeased. "Don't children your age love to stick to their mothers from morning till night?"

"Itachi doesn't."

Hearing this, Tsunade immediately perked up and chattered in Qing Xuan's ear: "Itachi's personality is like your uncle's, so quiet that he wouldn't say a word for half a day. It's just like your uncle back then, always wearing a stern face like everyone owes him money..."

Qing Xuan raised his face in surprise. "Don't you owe him money?"

Tsunade was speechless for a moment, then complained after a long pause, "You child, you're nothing like your father."

Qing Xuan didn't want to engage but couldn't help asking, "How am I not like him?"

"Your dad was so gentle! Not only was he thoughtful, but he also often sang to me! Even the Fourth Hokage wasn't as romantic as him."

Are you seriously comparing a straight man to my dad?

Or is it that no one in the entire Konohagakure understands romance?

"Speaking of which, your musical talent might have been inherited from Liu Yun. That piece you played last time was quite nice, just a bit too sad..."

Although Tsunade appeared as a cold, queenly figure who struck hard against outsiders, she loved to nag when it came to her own son, acting like a mother hen, as if pouring out all the rambling she hadn't done in the first half of her life.

Qing Xuan didn't dislike it; this was what home felt like!

"What did he sing to you?" Qing Xuan had also finished eating. The main reason was that the food didn't suit his taste. If Mikoto had made it, he could have eaten two more large bowls!

He pushed his bowl aside, picking his teeth, wanting to hear what exactly this old man had sung to Tsunade.

"There was so much!" Tsunade counted on her fingers. "Songs like 'Winter Love Song,' 'Spring Love,' 'Autumn I Love You,' 'Summer Love's Sorrow,' 'Thinking of You Through the Seasons'..."

Qing Xuan seriously searched his mental music library and was completely stunned.

What kind of mess is this?

Is this old man not from Earth? Why is he always picking fights with the seasons? His creativity is too lacking, isn't it?

The next day.

Training ground on Hokage Rock.

There were two trees next to the clearing.

Several Anbu were on one tree, while several Uchiha were lurking on the other.

Both sides understood the unspoken situation and silently observed the three people below.

"I just don't get it. What is the old man planning? Why do I have to deal with you every day?"

Facing Qing Xuan's lack of motivation, Asuma finally couldn't hold back. What was the old man's plan? Was he really handing this guy over to him completely?

"Don't underestimate yourself, Asuma." Qing Xuan lounged on the grass with his legs crossed, hands behind his head, looking up at the white clouds floating in the sky. He seemed much more relaxed than Asuma.

"You're pretty good," he said, chewing on the root of a foxtail grass, his words muffled. "But you only see the surface of many things."

Being lectured to his face by a child much younger than him made Asuma lose face. He disagreed with these words and immediately retorted, "Alright, then tell me what's not on the surface."

Qing Xuan immediately chuckled, finding this guy very childish. "Do you think the Third Hokage asked you to teach me just because he didn't have time?"

"Isn't that the case?"

"The Third Hokage wants us to establish a master-disciple relationship, idiot."

Hearing this, Asuma still didn't quite understand, but he felt that Uchiha Qing Xuan's words had a deeper meaning.

Qing Xuan immediately clarified his words. "The Third Hokage saw my talent and recognized it, so he wants you to build a good relationship with me and slowly establish a bond."

However, Asuma still didn't quite understand. Qing Xuan helplessly spelled it out. "This way, it doesn't matter if you become Hokage or I become Hokage in the future; it won't be detrimental to the entire village!"

He looked at Asuma with a sense of disappointment, as if he wished he could do better. "In other words, the future Fifth Hokage will be chosen from between the two of us, and your chances might even be greater than mine."

"Rustle rustle."

The tree on the left suddenly made a rustling sound.

Then, a leaf drifted down and landed at Asuma's feet. He looked completely bewildered.

"The future Fifth Hokage?"

Seeing his immature appearance, Qing Xuan couldn't help but shake his head.

"It seems my chances are still better..."