The torrential rain washed over the broken tree trunks and debris.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's Adamantine Staff was embedded deep in the rock. He hunched over, gasping for breath. His armor, marked with the character for "fire," was soaked in blood and covered in wounds.
A hundred meters away.
Uchiha Xiu's Three Tomoe were crimson as blood, and his chest rose and fell as well.
"Ha... ha... ha..."
He panted softly, over and over.
"Damn, I'm almost completely drained."
"That old monkey's tough as hell. Even at his age, he's still standard Kage Level. How did a gutter rat like Danzo, whose unstable condition had temporarily wrecked his own strength, ever dare covet the Hokage Position?"
"I can't even imagine what Sarutobi would've been like in his prime at thirty-five—with plenty of chakra, a strong body, and a wealth of combat experience."
The next instant, the Ruyi Staff boomed!
Sarutobi Hiruzen forced himself to summon one last breath of strength. His withered arms swung, and the giant staff swept across in a blur—
"Bam!!"
Compared to trading volleys of ninjutsu like artillery, the chakra-depleted monkey had returned to close combat.
The Demon Mask Wood Shield shattered under the staff. Uchiha Xiu used the force to hurl himself backward and formed Hand Seals in midair.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
The battle was nearing its end. It was time to try and finish this.
But he couldn't afford to let his guard down!
In the space of a breath, a pale dragon of fire slammed into the Water Wall.
Steam and flames swallowed another patch of forest.
By this point, the Forest of Death, twenty kilometers in diameter, lay in ruins.
If Shikaku, the Jonin Commander, hadn't stationed Sealing Team members around the perimeter of the circular area in time to set up a barrier, the collateral damage from the infighting would have caused catastrophic losses to Konoha's buildings and population.
Such economic devastation was unacceptable!
"I deserve to die. I had exquisite chakra control and mastery of nature transformation, yet I can't even use the Five Release: Great Barrage Technique before I die."
"If only I'd been able to take the Fourth Hokage's place and die that night."
The Adamantine Staff flew away and voluntarily reverted to Enma's true form.
The white-haired giant ape drove his iron fist straight at Uchiha Xiu's face.
"Boom—"
His hardened, earth-colored fist met Enma's head-on.
The former was sent flying.
But in the very next moment, the scene that had driven Enma to despair time and again during the fight unfolded once more. The young Uchiha crashed into a tree and turned into mud on the spot.
Another Shadow Clone!
He kept using clones, then discarding them. Did he have a Tailed Beast inside him to keep his chakra reserves going? Uchiha, Uzumaki, Senju—bloodlines born with vast chakra reserves were such a nuisance...
And with Wood Release's properties on top of that, Hiruzen seemed more like he was being dragged to death.
Just as Monkey King Enma was brooding, a figure flew out of the mud and engaged him in close combat again.
Two pairs of iron fists tore through the curtain of rain, every blow packed with enough force to split rock and shatter stone.
Each collision erupted in a ring of air, sending out clouds of vaporized mist.
"It's no use, brat."
Monkey King Enma spoke, trying to distract Uchiha Xiu with words. "My body is naturally impervious to harm. It takes no chakra to maintain, and it's even tougher than the Earth Spear you're using."
At the same time, his fists sped up again!
A heavy punch smashed into Uchiha Xiu's raised left arm. The rock coating burst apart, and with a sharp crack of breaking bone, Xiu spat blood and flew backward. He crashed through a massive tree before a huge mass of vines caught him and stopped his momentum.
"You've got a decent grasp of Earth Release..." Monkey King Enma crushed the rocks underfoot as he closed in. "But even the Nine-Tails can't scare my fists!"
"This time, you're the real one, right?"
Looking at the ninja ape, hailed by Orochimaru as "the strongest summoning beast," who seemed to be getting a little carried away, Uchiha Xiu raised his hand.
Earth Release: Earth Spear!
Like a head-on bruiser, black-and-yellow rock patterns instantly spread over his entire body.
Amid the next clash, Monkey King Enma deliberately left an opening and took Uchiha Xiu's Rock Fist with his adamantine body. He spat blood, then clamped a hand around Xiu's throat.
"It's over."
Xiu was lifted into the air.
?
Shisui panicked.
Fugaku instinctively wanted to rush over and save him.
His performance so far had already been terrifying enough!
As he choked, the Three Tomoe in Uchiha Xiu's left eye suddenly twisted.
Deny your fate—Izanagi!
Crimson light swallowed his vision. Monkey King Enma felt his palm suddenly go empty as the young Uchiha's body vanished like an illusion.
"Gah!"
A real body flashed into existence behind Monkey King Enma, a blue sphere spinning wildly in his palm.
"..." Obito was stunned.
The scene felt familiar.
On the Night of the Nine-Tails, his teacher Minato Namikaze had fed him a Rasengan at close range in exactly the same way.
"Ugh—" Monkey King Enma's anguished wail rang through the forest as his adamantine body split open with bloody gashes.
"The Uchiha's ultimate forbidden technique, combined with the Fourth Hokage's Rasengan. He hid it well."
The thought flashed through his mind. Unable to fight any longer, Sarutobi frantically formed Hand Seals.
"Old friend, go!"
White smoke erupted just in time. With his back grievously wounded, Monkey King Enma vanished before Uchiha Xiu could pull his hand away.
At that moment, the crimson 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. In front of everyone, he dug it out.
"Ugh, that hurts~"
Then he replaced it with his own original eye, which he had removed ahead of time.
"Phew... one of the signature experiences every high-level Uchiha has to try. Now I've had the chance, too."
"Cough!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen staggered to his knees and barely managed to brace himself with one hand. As Uchiha Xiu approached step by step, tears welled in his cloudy eyes.
"Do it... but answer me. The future of Konoha..."
Wary that the old man might pull something underhanded, like using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, Uchiha Xiu stopped ten paces away.
He was ready to use his Resurrection Coin at any moment!
"I'll rebuild order. Ordinary members of the Sarutobi Clan, children, and any civilian or shinobi willing to let go of their hatred—Anbu Ninja and Root members included—no one will be ostracized over what happened tonight."
At this, a smile tugged at the Third Hokage's bloodstained lips.
"That's enough."
"Konoha... I entrust it... to you, young man... Protect the village."
"First, Second Hokage, Fourth Hokage... I'm tired."
The torrential rain poured down.
With a hiss, a gush of hot blood spurted from Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart. Uchiha Xiu silently released Wood Release.
Without the wooden spikes to support him, the Third Hokage's frail body slid to the ground.
The monkey who had served the longest of all the Hokage was truly dead.
No Great Barrage. No Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Uchiha Xiu walked over and bent down to close the old man's staring eyes.
In the surrounding woods,
the Ino-Shika-Cho, elite Anbu, Sarutobi Clan's strongest fighters, and Uchiha elders who had witnessed everything remained silent.
"Does this count as succession by order?"
Choza Akimichi was the first to speak, breaking the silence.
Shikaku, empowered to act on behalf of the Jonin Commander, answered firmly. "It does. I heard clearly. Lord Sarutobi personally named Uchiha Xiu the Fifth Hokage and tasked him with reforming Konoha, correcting the mistaken policies he'd implemented after being misled by Danzo."
"That's right. I heard clearly, too. The Third Hokage admitted to some of his past mistakes and named Uchiha Xiu the Fifth Hokage."
As soon as he finished, Hatake Kakashi, who had spent the entire battle slacking off, seemed utterly drained.
"We surrender."
Seeing that all was lost, an old member of the Sarutobi Clan dropped his Kunai and muttered, "Spare the children."
I seem to have set a bad precedent.
To outsiders, the Hokage Position would probably no longer be passed down through the once-stable master-and-student succession.
"Love you, bro. See you at the Xuanwu Gate? Real men never wait their turn, huh? Heh. I personally orchestrated Konoha's version of a Xiangji Temple showdown, and now I'm watching it play out all over again."
"Congratulations, Xiu. You can be called Hokage now."
Fugaku used the Body Flicker Technique to land beside him, making his stance clear with a single sentence.
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