Congratulations, you can now be called Hokage

The torrential rain washed over the broken timber and debris.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's Adamantine Staff was embedded deep into the rock layer. He hunched his back, gasping for air; his armor, engraved with the character for "Fire," was soaked in blood and covered in scars.

One hundred meters away.

Uchiha Xiu's Three Tomoe were as scarlet as blood, his chest heaving:

"Ha... ha... ha..."

The sound of shallow, ragged breathing persisted.

"Damn it, he's about to exhaust me."

"This old monkey is tough as hell. Even in his old age, he's a standard Kage-level combatant. How did a gutter rat like Danzo, who ruined his own combat potential and was so unstable, ever dare to covet the position of Hokage?"

"I don't even dare to imagine what Sarutobi was like in his prime at thirty-five—with all that chakra, that physique, and such rich combat experience."

The next moment, the Ruyi Staff roared!

Sarutobi Hiruzen forced himself to draw a breath, his withered arms swinging as the giant staff swept through the air like a blur—

"BANG!!"

Compared to the bombardment of ninjutsu, the low-chakra monkey had returned to the rhythm of close-quarters combat.

The Demon Mask Wood Shield shattered under the staff. Uchiha Xiu used the momentum to fly backward, forming seals in mid-air:

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

The battle was nearing its end; it was time to attempt a finish.

Of course, one could not be careless!

In the span of a breath, the pale dragon of fire collided with the Water Wall.

Steam and firelight engulfed another patch of the forest once more.

By this point in the battle, the twenty-kilometer-wide Death Forest was shattered beyond recognition.

If not for the Jonin squad leader Shikaku, who had deployed members of the Sealing Team outside the circular perimeter to establish a barrier, the aftermath of this internal conflict would have caused massive losses to the buildings and population of Konoha.

Economic devastation was simply unacceptable!

"I should be dead. With such exquisite chakra control and mastery of nature transformation, I can't even unleash a Five Release: Great Barrage Technique before I die."

"How much better it would have been if I could have replaced the Fourth and sacrificed myself on that night."

The Adamantine Ruyi Staff flew out, voluntarily reverting to the true form of Monkey King Enma.

The white-haired giant ape's iron fist slammed directly toward Uchiha Xiu's face.

"BOOM—"

A hardened, earth-colored fist clashed against Enma.

The former was sent flying backward.

Yet, the very next moment, the scene that had driven Enma to despair multiple times during the slaughter repeated itself: the young Uchiha hit a large tree and instantly turned into a puddle of mud.

Another Shadow Clone!

Using clones again and again, discarding them one after another—does he have a Tailed Beast inside him providing a constant supply of energy? Bloodlines like the Uchiha, Uzumaki, and Senju that naturally possess such massive chakra reserves are truly troublesome...

Especially when combined with the properties of Wood Release; Hiruzen felt as if he were being dragged to his death.

And just as Monkey King Enma felt a surge of resentment, a figure flew out from the mud to engage it in close-quarters combat once more.

Two pairs of iron fists tore through the rain curtain, each strike carrying the power to split rocks and shatter stone.

Every collision exploded into a ring of air pressure, shaking out clouds of vaporized mist.

"It's useless, brat."

Monkey King Enma spoke in human tongue, attempting to distract Uchiha Xiu with words: "My body is naturally indestructible, requiring no chakra consumption. Its durability is a notch higher than the Earth Spear you use."

Simultaneously, his fist speed surged again!

A heavy blow struck Uchiha Xiu's blocking left arm. The rock-like skin shattered upon impact, and amidst the shrill sound of bone cracking, he spat blood and flew backward, crashing through a giant tree before being caught by a mass of vines, halting his momentum.

"Your Earth Release attainments are decent..." Monkey King Enma stepped over the shattered rocks, closing in, "but my fists don't even fear the Nine-Tails!"

"This time, it must be the real body."

Looking at the somewhat reckless ninja ape, whom Orochimaru had once called the "strongest summoning," Uchiha Xiu raised his hand.

Earth Release: Earth Spear!

Like a stubborn child, black-yellow rock patterns instantly crawled over his entire body.

In a new round of collisions, Monkey King Enma—having intentionally left an opening—spat blood after taking a rock-fist strike from Uchiha Xiu, then backhanded him, gripping his throat:

"It's over."

Xiu was lifted into the air.

?

Shisui panicked.

Fugaku instinctively wanted to rush forward to intervene.

Having fought to this point, this battle record was already terrifying enough!

Amidst the suffocation, the Three Tomoe in Uchiha Xiu's left eye suddenly twisted.

Deny fate, Izanagi!

A scarlet light swallowed his vision, and Monkey King Enma realized with a start that his palm was empty; the Uchiha brat's body had dissipated like a phantom.

"Puchi!"

A physical body flashed out from behind Monkey King Enma, a blue sphere of light spinning wildly in his palm.

"..." Obito froze.

This scene was all too familiar.

On the night of the Nine-Tails, his master Minato Namikaze had fed him a ball at point-blank range in exactly the same way.

"Urghhh—" Monkey King Enma's wail echoed through the forest as his adamantine body cracked and bled over a large area.

"The Uchiha's ultimate forbidden technique paired with the Rasengan, a forbidden technique created by the Fourth Hokage—you hid this deep."

As the thought flashed through his mind, the powerless Sarutobi frantically formed hand seals:

"Old friend, go!!"

White smoke exploded just in time, and Monkey King Enma, having suffered a heavy blow to his back, vanished without a trace before Uchiha Xiu could pull his hand away.

At this moment, the scarlet Three Tomoe Sharingan in his left eye socket rapidly turned gray and cracked.

Standing in the rain, Uchiha Xiu didn't care in the slightest and gouged it out in front of everyone.

"Hiss, that hurts~"

He immediately replaced it with his original eye, which he had removed beforehand.

"Whew... a specialty that every high-end Uchiha has to taste; I've finally experienced it."

"Cough!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen staggered to his knees, barely managing to prop himself up with his hands. He looked at the approaching Uchiha Xiu, tears welling in his cloudy eyes:

"Do it... but answer me, the future of Konoha..."

Afraid that the old man might pull a dirty trick like the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, Uchiha Xiu stopped ten paces away.

He was ready to use a Resurrection Coin at any moment!

"I will rebuild order. The ordinary people of the Sarutobi clan, the children, and any civilian ninja, Anbu ninja, or Root ninja willing to lay down their hatred—no one will be ostracized because of tonight's events."

Hearing this, the Third Hokage's bloodied lips curled into a smile:

"That is enough."

"Konoha... I entrust it to... you, young man... protect the village."

"First, Second, Fourth... I am tired."

The torrential rain poured down.

With a squelch, a spray of hot blood erupted from Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart, and Uchiha Xiu silently dispelled the Wood Release.

Losing the support of the wooden spikes, the Third Hokage's frail body slid to the ground.

The monkey who had served the longest among all the Hokage was truly dead.

No Great Fireball, no Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

Uchiha Xiu walked over, leaned down, and closed the old man's wide-open eyes.

In the surrounding forest.

The Ino-Shika-Cho, the Anbu elites, the powerhouses of the Sarutobi clan, and the Uchiha high-ranking officials remained silent, having witnessed the entire process.

"Does this count as a succession?"

Choza Akimichi was the first to speak, breaking the dead silence.

Nara Shikaku, who could exercise power on behalf of the Jonin squad, said firmly: "It does. I heard it clearly; it was Lord Sarutobi himself who designated Uchiha Xiu as the Fifth Hokage to implement reforms in Konoha and correct the erroneous policies he had previously implemented while being deceived by Danzo."

"That's right, I also heard it clearly. The Third Hokage personally admitted to the mistakes made in the past and designated Uchiha Xiu as the Fifth Hokage."

As he finished speaking, Kakashi Hatake, who had been coasting through the battle, seemed to have had his spirit drained away.

"We concede."

Seeing that the situation was lost, the elders of the Sarutobi clan dropped their kunai and muttered gloomily: "Spare the children."

I seem to have set a bad precedent.

In the eyes of outsiders, the position of Hokage... will likely no longer be the very stable master-disciple succession system it once was.

"Love you, brother, see you at the Xuanwu Gate? A real man never waits for succession, heh. I personally guided the Konoha version of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, and now I'm staging this scene again."

"Congratulations, Xiu, you can be called Hokage now."

Fugaku landed with a Body Flicker, his single sentence making his stance clear.