I Am the Hokage!

Naoki shrugged and said, "This is merely our speculation. You must understand that when Uchiha Madara left, he took many ancient secret techniques with him. Perhaps among them lies a method to control the Nine-Tails."

Uchiha Yashiro fell silent and shook his head.

"Sigh." He let out a breath and patted Naoki on the shoulder. "I have truly wasted thirty-some years; my mind is not as agile as yours."

Naoki repeatedly offered humble retorts.

"Previously, I only looked after you at your father's request, but truth be told, there has always been a distance between us uncle and nephew. I never expected someone of your young age to possess such insight; it was my own lack of vision."

"Naoki, I intend to promote you to a mid-level section chief within these next two days. Tell me, where would you like to go?"

Naoki blinked, saying nothing.

"Rest assured, I am not abusing my power for personal gain. This is also Fugaku's intention."

"Uh... I must ask, won't this give people the impression of a predetermined appointment?"

The sun gradually rose, and the morning light shone through the glass into the Hokage's office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat alone in the office, puffing on his pipe, his expression exceptionally calm, as if the chaos that had gripped Konoha last night had never existed at all.

Before long, footsteps echoed from outside, and the three Hokage advisors arrived together.

As soon as he entered, Danzo sat down opposite Sarutobi Hiruzen in a rush and said, "Monkey, I told you long ago that the Uchiha clan are nothing but trouble. In my view, this Nine-Tails riot is definitely inseparable from them!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Danzo, offered no response, and silently puffed on his pipe.

Convinced he held sufficient justification, Danzo could not help but continue when he saw the other's silence: "This group is a bane to the village, a bunch of vermin! It is fortunate we did not let them support the front lines, or they surely would have used the Nine-Tails to stir up even greater trouble!"

The recent passing of his wife of many years and his political successor, Namikaze Minato, had already left Sarutobi Hiruzen in a foul mood. Being badgered by Danzo like this caused the anger in his heart to begin to churn.

He slammed his palm onto the wooden desk and retorted sarcastically, "How do you know they didn't go? Do you not realize that the 'bane' and 'vermin' you speak of were also on the front lines! And what of your Root? Why did I not see a single person from your ranks on the battlefield? Where were they, and why did they not go to provide support?"

Danzo had originally intended to continue attacking the Uchiha clan, taking advantage of the four of them being gathered together to plot a course of action. He never expected the other to suddenly turn his guns on him, and he was momentarily choked for words.

However, having spent so many years using his wits primarily against his old partner, he had a reason ready the moment his eyes shifted.

"Root has been standing by at the base, but Minato gave no orders, and you issued no instructions, so..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at his old partner, knowing full well that the man always put himself before others. Moreover, such matters could not be settled by argument, and he could not punish him for this, so he simply suppressed his temper and ignored him.

Seeing the two sitting face-to-face with dark expressions, Mitokado Homura feared they would quarrel and ruin the greater agenda, so he quickly stepped forward to smooth things over and change the subject.

"The matter of the Uchiha clan failing to follow orders and acting without authorization can be set aside for now; we shall discuss it at a later meeting. The current priority is the selection of the Hokage. The sky cannot go a day without a sun, a nation cannot go a day without a Daimyo, and we in Konoha cannot go a day without a Hokage. Minato is dead; who shall succeed to the position of Hokage?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen bit down on his pipe and said in a deep voice, "I have already decided. With village affairs so numerous of late, we shall not select a successor for the time being. I will take up the position myself."

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura both expressed no objections. Even though Danzo was mad with desire to be Hokage, he still possessed enough reason not to oppose it.

Seeing that matter settled, Danzo brought up the old topic again.

"Then can we now discuss the problem of the Uchiha clan?"

"I heard that a Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared in the eyes of the Nine-Tails?" Danzo said, looking at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Correct." Mitokado Homura, sitting to the side, nodded.

"I said it before: these Uchiha have sinister hearts. Monkey, if you had listened to me earlier, perhaps this Nine-Tails riot would never have occurred!"

"But it is not too late. The Military Police Force is currently regrouping; we can use this as a pretext to take them down. It would be effortless and carry a legitimate name..."

Danzo spoke on and on, while Sarutobi Hiruzen let the words go in one ear and out the other, not taking them in at all. In fact, he intended the exact opposite: to temporarily win over the Uchiha clan.

During the previous great war, he had united the Uchiha to strengthen Konoha's overall power to win the Ninja World War, and now, he still held that same thought.

Losing two powerhouses at the pinnacle of the ninja world like Namikaze Minato and his wife was a massive blow to Konoha, but that was not all. Even worse was the loss of Konoha's ninjas. After the rough casualty statistics were tallied this morning, he realized the damage the Nine-Tails incident had brought upon Konoha far exceeded the destruction caused by the recently concluded Ninja World War.

Furthermore, an intelligence report regarding Orochimaru that had just arrived from the Anbu made it even more impossible for him to take action against the Uchiha clan.

The village was currently in a precarious state and could not afford internal strife. He would absolutely not agree to Danzo's plan to annihilate the Uchiha.

"Enough, Danzo. Stop trying to squeeze blood from a stone. The Uchiha clan did indeed violate my orders last night, but the decisions they made were beneficial to the village. If I were to punish them for such a small matter, the hearts of the people would scatter."

Having been struck head-on twice by his usually docile old partner, Danzo could no longer hold his composure and simply resorted to threats.

"Monkey, you indulge the Uchiha clan like this, and one day you will regret it!"

"Shut up! I am the Hokage!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed his palm onto the wooden desk, shattering it, and then, in a fit of agitation, stormed out of the room.

Only the three remained in the room. Seeing that everyone was silent, Utatane Koharu said slowly, "Danzo, you should not have pressured him so aggressively."

"Last night, he lost his wife, he lost his political successor, and he even lost the Jinchuriki he had groomed for years who had already become a combat force."

"In just one night, he lost so much... He is no longer young, having fought for the village his entire life, only to see the village end up like this in his twilight years. He has fire in his heart, too."

"And you, instead of listening to reason, come to him with other matters."

"Tell me, how could he not explode?"

Danzo sneered and said, "He has dedicated his life to the village; am I any less than him?"

"Just because he stands in the sunlight while I am buried deep in the soil, I must be the one to consider his feelings?"

"What kind of logic is that?!"

Danzo swept his gaze over the two of them, then flicked his sleeve and strode away.