With everyone present, Sarutobi Hiruzen cleared his throat. "First, I have something to announce."
"Thanks to Uchiha Kō's actions, the war instigated by Ōnoki of Iwagakure was quickly quelled, reducing the losses of Konoha Ninja and resources, and ensuring the safety and property of our villagers."
"So let us give a warm round of applause to express our heartfelt gratitude to Uchiha Kō." The words had barely left his lips.
All the clan heads present applauded enthusiastically, simply because Uchiha Kō's strength was currently the strongest in Konoha!
The applause lasted for more than thirty seconds. Uchiha Kō stood up and bowed to express his gratitude for the applause.
After he sat down and the applause subsided, Sarutobi Hiruzen cleared his throat again. "Given the immense strength and profound strategies of Uchiha Kō, I, Hiruzen Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, hereby declare Uchiha Kō to be a Konoha General and Commander-in-Chief of the Konoha."
"In the event of war, Konoha's supreme wartime commander will be Uchiha Kō. Command on all battlefields must follow Uchiha Kō's orders and must not act independently."
"Furthermore, I hereby promote Uchiha Kō to the position of Vice Hokage of Konoha, placing him first in the Hokage candidate list. From now on, Konoha Ninja will regard Uchiha Kō as if they were seeing me." Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke at length, every word of which carried significant weight.
The clan leaders exchanged glances, then cautiously looked at Uchiha Kō beside them Uchiha Kō, however, remained calm, as if these events had not greatly affected him.
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Hirotomo's eyes lit up. What was going on? In an instant, both military and political power had fallen into the hands of the Tyrant!
Now that's great, Uchiha Kō has become the second-in-command of Konoha. In some ways, Uchiha Kō is even stronger than the first-in-command!
However, he couldn't make it too obvious. The Uchiha Clan was already under the spotlight because of the existence of the Owl Lord. If he were the first to step forward now, it might cause other clans to have designs on him.
At this Hyuga Akagi stood up and said loudly, "The Lord Hokage is wise! My Hyuga Clan is willing to support the Lord Hokage's decision and obey the Vice Lord Hokage's orders."
Boom! It felt as if a giant hammer had struck everyone's hearts. The Hyuga Clan! One of the three great clans of the Warring States Period, the Hyuga, the Uchiha Hyuga the Senju!
The Hyūga Clan, which once intimidated other ninja clans at the hands of Hyuga Tenin, and has always been an enemy of the Hyūga Clan Uchiha Clan!
At this moment, they actually stepped forward to support a member of the Uchiha Clan as the vice- Hokage, wielding supreme military power. What's going on?
Uchiha Kō stared Hyuga Akagi ahead with his Byakugan. He smiled at Uchiha Kō, who nodded in response.
With the Hyuga Clan the lead, Uchiha Hirotomo finally stood up and said, "Yes, with Osamu as the vice Hokage, my Uchiha Clan is truly convinced!"
"That's right, we support Uchiha Kō as Vice Hokage!" The heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, Yamanaka Unkai, Nara Rokumei, and Akimichi Choza exchanged glances, and after Nara Rokumei nodded, they all spoke at once.
With so many powerful clans taking the lead, other ninja clans followed suit: Aburame, Shimura Clan, Inuzuka Clan, Kurama, Uzumaki...
After the Sarutobi Clan leader Sarutobi Hiruzen, made the suggestion, everyone present understood his opinion. After all the ninjas had given their opinions, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled.
"Since more than half of the ninjas and ninja clans agree, I hereby announce that, effective immediately, Uchiha Kō will assume the position of Vice Hokage of Konoha and concurrently serve as Commander-in-Chief of the Konoha General!"
"Please invite the Vice Hokage to come up and give a speech!" Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled amiably as he stood up, leaving the Hokage's throne empty, and gestured for Uchiha Kō to sit down, while he stood behind him.
Uchiha Kō looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen and realized that he wasn't testing him. Amidst the applause of the crowd, Uchiha Kō walked onto the stage and slowly sat down in the Hokage's chair.
"I must say, the chair is quite big and comfortable," Uchiha Kō couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Then he sat up straight and looked at the clan leaders below the stage.
"First of all, I thank the Lord Hokage for his trust in entrusting me with this important task. I, Uchiha Kō, will certainly live up to the Lord Hokage's expectations, protect the personal safety and property of the villagers, serve the villagers as my mission, and implement all of the Lord Hokage's instructions."
"Secondly, I thank all the clan leaders for their support. If there is anything I, Uchiha Kō, do poorly in the future, please point it out and correct me. Furthermore, I accept the villagers' supervision. Anyone who is dissatisfied with my work can anonymously report me Uchiha Kō."
"I, Uchiha Kō, will absolutely not pursue any charges. Furthermore, the Hokage Office will investigate the allegations. If any issues are found, I will resign."
Uchiha Kō's words shocked the clan leaders and high-ranking members present. If the Vice Hokage was leading the way with such a statement, what would the Lord Hokage say? What would the elders say?
The Hokage's lips twitched, but having already made up his mind to support Uchiha Kō, he had to keep his word. Therefore, he coughed twice and said, "From now on, all Konoha officials must do the same, including myself!"
The heads of the large clans didn't react much, but some commoner Jonin and members of small clans had gleams in their eyes.
This is an excellent move; it follows public opinion, listens to the people's voice, conforms to their wishes, and ensures their interests.
"Furthermore, as the Vice Hokage, it is said that a new broom sweeps clean. You have all seen the first one. The second one is to establish the Konoha Disciplinary Department. The Disciplinary Department is not under the jurisdiction of any other department, but is directly under the control of the Hokage and the Vice Hokage."
"It mainly deals with the conduct of officials, such as corruption, bribery, laziness, dereliction of duty, and abuse of power. In short, it's a sharp knife hanging over the heads of all Konoha officials!" After Uchiha Kō finished his introduction, everyone gasped.
"Once discovered, depending on the severity of the offense, those who are dismissed will be dismissed, those who are imprisoned will be imprisoned, and those who are beheaded will be beheaded. Each case will be publicly executed!" Uchiha Kō's voice was impassioned.
This is like hanging the sword of Damocles over the heads of all officials! Officials are in for a rough time from now on.
"As for the third fire..." Uchiha Kō hadn't finished speaking when the people below twitched. There was another one?
"All officials will undergo an end-of-year exam, which will mainly cover their performance, understanding of the law, and clarity of their duties. Those who pass will be recognized, those who excel will be rewarded, and those who fail more than three times will be fired." Uchiha Kō sneered.
Those family members serving in Konoha who were present felt like they wanted to die. They had all been taking advantage of the chaos, but once the Vice Hokage took office, his sweeping reforms offended the interests of too many people. However, because they were afraid of his strength and power, no one dared to say anything.
Furthermore, his three fires not only burned down corrupt and wicked officials, Konoha.
To the officials, he was a demon; to the common people, he was a general.
The lyrics, "If you come to Dandong, you'll give me back a pristine white world; I want to eat Cantonese food~," involuntarily echo in my ears.