Legitimate Succession Confirmed

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze lingered for a moment on that brilliant yellow Susanoo.

A hint of gravity flashed in the depths of his eyes before he looked away, sweeping his gaze across the faces of everyone present.

No one answered his question immediately; the ruins were plunged into silence, save for the crackling of flames that had yet to be extinguished.

"Can no one tell me?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice deepened.

The scene remained quiet, but Koharu Utatane spoke up first: "Hiruzen, you've come at just the right time."

Her voice was shrill, and she spoke with rapid speed.

"Genkawa Uchiha engaged in a fight within the village, causing such widespread destruction, yet he did not proactively notify the village. I have reason to suspect he is associated with the other party, and I cannot even rule out the possibility that he intentionally let the opponent escape..."

"Koharu!"

Homura Mitokado barked a low reprimand, but it was already too late.

Koharu Utatane's words had reached the ears of everyone present, every syllable clear.

Fugaku Uchiha's expression stiffened, then flushed red, and finally, he was so angry he laughed.

"Good, a fine 'intentionally let escape'."

His voice was low, yet carried an irrepressible fury.

"Advisor Koharu is truly a master at twisting the truth. Genkawa was ambushed at the training ground, and my eldest son, Itachi, was also on the scene. In a battle of this caliber, he had to divide his attention to protect Itachi; where would he find the time to notify the village first? It is already a miracle he managed to protect Itachi's life—what more do you want from him?"

He took a deep breath and continued: "Furthermore, Genkawa was fighting the opponent from start to finish. It was only when the two advisors stepped in to demand the village take over that he ceased his attack. Now that the person has escaped, the responsibility is being pushed onto his head?"

After Fugaku Uchiha finished speaking, his chest heaved; he was clearly furious to the extreme.

In the past, he had held many grievances against Genkawa Uchiha, which was his responsibility as the Uchiha Clan Head.

After all, a genius within the clan who was at odds with the family and even held significant resentment toward him, the Clan Head, naturally left him feeling frustrated.

But now, those were things of the past.

After all, that was a Mangekyō.

Who cares about anything else?

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not immediately express his stance upon hearing this, clearly not intending to favor either side as Hokage, but instead turned to look at Homura Mitokado.

"Homura, you tell me—what exactly happened?"

Homura Mitokado took a deep breath. He knew that now was not the time to add fuel to the fire; if things escalated too far, it would be difficult to clean up, especially with so many people watching.

"When we heard the commotion and arrived, the battle had already begun. The person fighting Genkawa Uchiha was a masked ninja who claimed to be Madara Uchiha. During the battle, the opponent utilized Susanoo and Wood Release."

The corners of Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes twitched; it was clear that the name Madara Uchiha did not leave him as calm as he appeared.

Homura Mitokado paused, as if weighing his words.

"Later, his mask was shattered, revealing his true face. Clan Head Fugaku identified the man as Obito Uchiha, and this person personally admitted to being the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails Incident. We ordered his capture, but the opponent escaped using space-time ninjutsu."

Homura Mitokado finished speaking and shut his mouth.

His account was relatively objective, without embellishment, though he did not point out that they had only intervened because they saw Obito Uchiha being suppressed and wanted to seize control of the situation for the village.

Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally heard the implication in his words. Years of tacit understanding meant he did not call it out directly, merely nodding slightly.

Standing behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kakashi Hatake froze as if struck by lightning the moment he heard that name.

"Impossible."

His voice came from behind his mask, laced with disbelief.

"Obito Uchiha is already dead; I saw it with my own eyes. At Kannabi Bridge, he was crushed by a boulder and gave his left eye to me... He is dead. How could it be him?"

Kakashi Hatake's voice trembled, and his single exposed eye was filled with utter disbelief.

No one answered him.

The silence over the ruins was more cruel than any words.

Kakashi Hatake looked toward Genkawa Uchiha, seemingly wanting an answer from him.

Just then, a soft sound broke the silence.

The brilliant yellow chakra receded like a tide, and the skeleton of the Susanoo rapidly dissipated.

Genkawa Uchiha's figure reappeared before everyone, acting as if nothing had happened, and turned to walk toward the spot where Obito Uchiha had vanished.

Everyone's gaze followed him.

He walked to the scorched earth, bent down, and picked up a pitch-black Ninja Blade.

It was what Obito Uchiha had left behind.

His left arm had been shattered by the chakra blade of the Susanoo, so this Ninja Blade had naturally been left behind. Perhaps Obito Uchiha had been afraid that Genkawa Uchiha would not let him leave, so he had departed in such a panic that he hadn't even taken this item with him.

The blade was long and slightly curved, its edge gleaming with a cold light.

Despite having gone through an intense battle, there was not a single nick on the blade.

Genkawa Uchiha weighed the Ninja Blade in his hand and nodded, appearing quite satisfied.

"This blade is good."

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.

With this one added, he now had three Ninja Blades: the Kusanagi Sword, a gift from Fugaku Uchiha, and the one in his hand.

This way, he might even cosplay as Zoro with three swords in the future.

He didn't put it away, just casually held it in his hand, the tip pointing down, leaving a shallow scratch on the ground.

He stopped, looked up, his gaze passing over Hiruzen Sarutobi and landing on Utatane Koharu.

"Finished talking?"

His voice wasn't loud, but everyone present heard it clearly.

"If you're done, then it's my turn now."

He raised his empty left hand, pointing in Utatane Koharu's direction, and faced Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"I need an explanation. Why is this old hag targeting me like this?"

Utatane Koharu's face instantly turned the color of liver.

Old hag.

In front of everyone, he called her an old hag. It was too insulting.

Her lips trembled, wanting to say something, but Mitokado Homura grabbed her sleeve.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression wasn't good.

He looked at Genkawa Uchiha, then at Utatane Koharu, and remained silent for a moment.

"Koharu."

He spoke, his voice steady, betraying no emotion.

"Do you have anything you need to explain?"

Utatane Koharu opened her mouth but couldn't utter a single word.

What could she say?

Say she was just reasonably suspicious? That excuse had already been shut down.

Say she wasn't intentionally targeting him? But everyone had seen it; she was clearly targeting him.

She stood there in silence, her lips pressed into a thin line.

The surroundings also fell silent.

The ninjas standing behind the advisors lowered their heads, no one speaking up for her.

The neutral parties from the ninja clans stood in place, some expressionless, some shaking their heads slightly.

Everyone could see that Utatane Koharu was in the wrong on this matter.

Her words didn't hold water, her accusations lacked evidence, and her actions were clearly targeting Genkawa Uchiha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally saw this too, and he read many things from the silence.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

Beside him, Genkawa Uchiha was watching him with a half-smile.

There was no anger, just a calm gaze, as if watching a good show.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's fists clenched and unclenched within his sleeves.

"Utatane Koharu."

His voice wasn't loud, but each word was spoken clearly.

"Effective immediately, your duties as Hokage Advisor are suspended."

Utatane Koharu suddenly looked up.

Her eyes widened, and the color drained from her face in an instant.

"Hiruzen, you can't..."

Her voice was sharp, almost breaking.

"You can't do this to me!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at her, his gaze calm.

"I am the Hokage."

Just those four words, no more, no less.

Utatane Koharu's lips trembled violently. She looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, then at Genkawa Uchiha, and finally her gaze swept across everyone's faces present.

No one stepped forward to speak for her.

Even Mitokado Homura turned his head away, not looking at her.

At this moment, she finally understood Danzō Shimura's feelings from the past.

"You will regret this, Hiruzen," she said.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath: "I am the Hokage."

Genkawa Uchiha's expression immediately became strange.

So the official recognition had shifted from Danzō Shimura to Utatane Koharu, right?