A Hokage Needs Strength, Prestige, and Deep Roots

"So you're saying Uchiha Takeyasu killed the Second Raikage, seized his body, and avenged Lord Tobirama and every member of the Kage Guard?"

Inside the Konoha Military camp, Nara Shikamei faced Yamato Yamanaka's questioning expression. Yamato silently took out a scroll and formed Hand Seals. With a puff of smoke, a corpse appeared between them.

The familiar face on the corpse, the body that looked as if it had been cast from steel, and the traces of powerful Lightning Release still within it—

Only a Kage Level expert proficient in Lightning Release could leave such traces after death.

Nara Shikamei fell silent for a moment, then asked, "He also fought Kinkaku and Ginkaku to a standstill and escaped unharmed?"

"Mangekyō Sharingan."

Yamato's six terse syllables nearly knocked Nara Shikamei off his feet.

After a long pause, Nara Shikamei furrowed his brow. "There are too many suspicious details here. Digging deeper will do us no good. Let's hand over what we've uncovered to Mito-sama and let her decide."

"The Senju have lost Wood Release and the Hokage Position. All the disciples they'd gathered have disappeared, leaving Mito Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, to hold things together alone."

"Uchiha Takeyasu has awakened the Mangekyō and returned with the credit for killing the Second Raikage—enough to clear his name. Everyone knows what he wants."

"Looks like Konoha is in for another turbulent time."

"At least Kumogakure won't be able to keep causing trouble."

After listening to Nara Shikamei's analysis, Yamato nodded in understanding and asked in a low voice, "Shikamei, should our three clans proceed as we always have?"

"Yes."

Nara Shikamei replied with firm resolve, "The Ino-Shika-Cho clans will always follow Hokage-sama, not any one clan or individual!"

"We just need to keep our heads down and remain impartial. The rest isn't our concern, and it won't fall to us to handle."

"That's the only way our three clans can continue living peacefully in Konoha."

Thinking of Torifu Akimichi, who had been in the Kage Guard, Nara Shikamei asked quietly, "By the way, how's Chohane?"

Yamato sighed. "She's blaming herself, all alone."

"I'll go see her. I was partly responsible for Torifu joining the Kage Guard."

"We're all responsible. Let me go."

Yamato shook his head and stopped Nara Shikamei. "You should focus on how to report this. If it goes badly, it could cause an upheaval."

"Then I'll leave it to you. Don't let Chohane get trapped in a spiral of self-blame."

Nara Shikamei spoke slowly, his expression grave. "These are extraordinary times. We can't let Chohane do anything that might be misinterpreted."

"Also, we need to keep an eye on the Senju in the Ninja Army."

Yamato's tone was resolute. "I'll watch them."

"With you there, I feel much better."

Watching Yamato leave, Nara Shikamei ran a hand through his hair and began writing a letter back to the village.

Meanwhile, in a tent at the center of the Konoha Military camp, one closely watched by the sensor-nin, Uchiha Takeyasu showed no sign of resentment at being monitored. He calmly played with Tachibana.

"Lord Takeyasu, aren't you worried they'll try to hurt you? Meow~"

Curled up in Uchiha Takeyasu's arms, Tachibana raised her neck in bliss, inviting her human to scratch it.

"Ninja clans without strength or a sense of when to advance and when to retreat don't survive long."

With his long-awaited return to Konoha just around the corner, Uchiha Takeyasu was in high spirits. He patiently answered Tachibana's question while scratching her neck.

"The Ino-Shika-Cho clans are Konoha's backbone. As long as they don't violate any fundamental principles, neither the Uchiha nor the Senju will make trouble for them, whoever becomes Hokage."

"And with a clever 'Deer' to serve as their brains, it's not hard to guess what they'll decide. The surveillance around us is meant to keep an eye on me, but also on the Senju Clan."

"After all, I'm the only one who knows how Senju Tobirama and the six members of the Kage Guard died."

"Meow."

Tachibana let out a cry as he scratched a particularly ticklish spot, then narrowed her eyes and said regretfully, "Does that mean Tachibana can't spread the word about Lord Takeyasu's achievements?"

"Besides Senju Tobirama, the others' lives and deaths don't matter."

"It wouldn't matter if their friends and family found out. Even if it were true, the power of the Mangekyō and the Uchiha Clan would make them believe it was false!"

A defiant, arrogant smile curled Uchiha Takeyasu's lips. "They were the ones who insulted me first, always calling me the 'Naturally Evil Uchiha Brat.' I've wanted to kill them for ages."

"I don't know why Kagami Uchiha was willing to stay in that kind of environment. He really was born a doormat."

"Of the six, only Torifu Akimichi was a bit of a shame. The rest deserved to die."

"Meow. Torifu Akimichi was also part of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, and the younger brother of their Clan Head, Akimichi Chohane. Could he affect Lord Takeyasu's path to the Hokage Position?"

Tachibana swished her tail, worried. "Tachibana won't say anything after all. Lord Takeyasu's path to becoming Hokage can't suffer a setback because of Tachibana."

"Hey, are you really the big-mouthed cat I know? You haven't been possessed by some evil spirit, have you?"

"Tachibana hasn't!"

Uchiha Takeyasu joked, then took a hit of cat energy and chuckled meaningfully. "With a clever, sensible 'Deer' there, Torifu Akimichi can only have been killed by Kumogakure."

"As for the path to becoming Hokage... Hmph. The Hokage Position isn't something the Senju Clan gets to hand out among themselves!"

Uchiha Takeyasu snorted and listed the ninja clans still in Konoha.

"The Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan founded the village. Their strength and status put them in a league of their own."

"Next come the Hyuga Clan and the Ino-Shika-Cho clans."

"Then there are the Aburame Clan, the Inuzuka Clan, the Sarutobi Clan, the Shimura Clan, and the Kurama Clan."

"Last are the families with a few Jonin, like the Hatake Family and the Nohara Family."

"Most of Konoha's Jonin come from these clans and families."

Tachibana's lively eyes widened as she listened attentively.

"To be chosen as Hokage, you need the approval of more than seventy percent of the Jonin at a Jonin meeting. Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, was strong, prestigious, and well-connected. The Uchiha Clan had nothing to say about it."

"Senju Tobirama, the Second, had unquestionable strength, prestige, and connections too. Even if some in his clan were unhappy, only a few members made trouble."

"But naming Hiruzen Sarutobi as the Third Generation?"

"What kind of trash clan did that piece of shit crawl out of? How dare he sit above the Uchiha and order the Uchiha Clan around?"

"Those who aren't worthy of their position are bound to suffer for it. Meeting me was simply the fate he couldn't escape."

Uchiha Takeyasu took a sip from a canteen he pulled out of a space scroll, then fetched a little canteen for Tachibana as well. At last, he summed up, "So only someone strong, prestigious, and well-connected can become Hokage. The rest can only end up dead."

"And I, Uchiha Takeyasu, meet all three requirements perfectly."

Tachibana blinked and voiced her little doubt. "Wouldn't Mito Uzumaki of the Senju Clan qualify too?"

Having spotted the flaw, the orange cat counted on her paws, following Uchiha Takeyasu's reasoning.

"Nine-Tails Jinchuriki: strong."

"First Hokage's wife: prestigious."

"Princess of the Land of Whirlpools: well-connected."

"Lord Takeyasu, what about—"

"What are you looking at, you fat cat?"

The handsome, valiant young man put on a stern expression and viciously pinched Tachibana's cheeks. "Now you know someone could compete with me, so get out there and gather intelligence!"

"Meow!"