Konoha High Command's Helplessness!

Konoha.

Inside the conference room.

"Fugaku!"

"Chiba has awakened Wood Style!"

"Do you want the Uchiha Clan to return to the days when it was suppressed by the Senju Clan?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen shouted loudly.

He was trying to drive a wedge between them!

He was trying to awaken the fear and hatred buried deep in the Uchiha bloodline.

In an instant.

Everyone's gaze turned toward Fugaku Uchiha.

That was right!

How could the Uchiha Clan possibly agree?

This was their sworn enemy!

Fugaku Uchiha sat with his arms folded across his chest, his eyes half-closed.

Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's shout.

He slowly opened his eyes, a scarlet glint flashing deep within them.

The Senju Clan suppressing the Uchiha Clan?

Fugaku Uchiha could not help but sneer.

The current Uchiha Clan was not even worthy of being suppressed!

Konoha High Command wanted to uproot them and turn them all into experimental materials!

Then.

Fugaku Uchiha slowly rose to his feet.

Ignoring Sarutobi Hiruzen's roar, he turned toward Chiba in the corner.

"The Uchiha Clan, Fugaku Uchiha."

"Fully supports Lord Chiba's succession as the Fifth Hokage!"

The entire room erupted!

Madness!

They had all gone mad!

The Uchiha had actually submitted to the Senju Clan?

That was more absurd than pigs flying!

Sarutobi Hiruzen was struck as if by lightning.

He clutched his chest tightly, feeling waves of searing pain constrict his heart.

How was this possible?

The network of power he had painstakingly cultivated for forty years.

Had collapsed in mere minutes!

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were utterly stunned.

Their legs went weak, and they slumped into their chairs, their minds completely blank.

It was over.

The high command's cause was lost.

No!

There was still a chance!

Sarutobi Hiruzen abruptly turned his head toward the other side.

The Hyuga Clan had yet to state its position.

As long as the Hyuga Clan did not agree.

Even if Chiba gained the support of the other clans, his claim would lack legitimacy.

"Hiashi!"

"Say something!"

"The Hyuga Clan is the foundation of Konoha!"

Like a drowning man, Sarutobi Hiruzen frantically waved his hands.

On the other side.

Hyuga Hiashi sat in his chair with a blank expression.

He had visited the Senju Compound and spoken with Chiba alone.

But he truly had not prepared at all for this.

Still.

Hyuga Hiashi was no fool.

When a wall fell, everyone pushed it over.

Ino-Shika-Cho, the Aburame Clan, and the Uchiha Clan.

Konoha's core fighting strength had already entirely sided with Chiba.

If the Hyuga Clan still stubbornly clung to the high command now.

Then once Chiba fully took power.

The Hyuga Clan would undoubtedly face total ruin!

He had witnessed the terror of Senju Wood Style with his own eyes just the day before yesterday.

A Wood Golem hundreds of meters tall could flatten the entire Hyuga compound with a single slap.

They could not afford to provoke him!

They absolutely could not afford to provoke him!

Hiashi shot to his feet.

He took a deep breath... no, he did not even dare breathe too deeply.

"The Hyuga Clan!"

"Unconditionally supports Lord Chiba!"

Boom!

The final straw that broke the camel's back came crashing down.

Sarutobi Hiruzen completely collapsed.

He stared blankly at the ceiling, muttering under his breath.

"It's over..."

"It's all over..."

All the major clans had declared their stance.

How could the civilian Jonin, who had long been suppressed by the high command, fail to see which way the wind was blowing?

These old bastards withheld mission rewards and gave all the good missions to their own cronies.

While Civilian Ninja like them could only serve as cannon fodder on the battlefield.

They had endured enough long ago!

"I support Lord Chiba!"

A civilian Special Jonin abruptly stood up and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"It was time for a change!"

"The high command is corrupt, persecutes its comrades, and is unfit to lead Konoha!"

Those words were like a spark falling into a powder keg.

The entire conference room completely boiled over.

"The Third Hokage must step down! The advisors must get out!"

"Support the Senju Clan in reclaiming Konoha!"

The crowd was outraged.

The cries rose louder and louder, nearly lifting the roof off.

The ninjas who had once been meek and submissive before Sarutobi Hiruzen had all changed their expressions.

With the most vicious language, they denounced the crimes of Konoha High Command.

Mitokado Homura trembled all over, cold sweat having long soaked his back.

Utatane Koharu was so terrified that she could not even speak.

Watching this scene.

Fujiwara, standing at the front, could not help laughing.

This assignment had gone perfectly.

Once the Daimyo learned of the situation here, he would surely reward him handsomely.

"Everyone."

Fujiwara cleared his throat, his voice carrying throughout the room.

"It seems everyone here has sharp eyes."

"The voice of the people is Konoha's true public will."

"The Daimyo's recommendation was indeed correct."

"Lord Chiba has the support of all!"

Fujiwara turned toward Chiba in the corner and respectfully bowed.

"Lord Chiba."

"What do you think about this...?"

The silent Chiba finally moved.

He brushed the dust from his clothes and slowly rose from his chair.

There was no refusal.

Nor was there any hypocritical politeness.

He had no need to put on Sarutobi Hiruzen's act of, "This old man never wished to come out of retirement, but the village needs me."

Chiba raised his eyes.

An incomparably terrifying surge of Chakra erupted from his body without warning.

Rumble!

The conference room floor began to shake violently.

Spiderweb-like cracks spread across the walls, while the glass windows creaked under unbearable strain.

The Chakra pressure of Late Super Kage Level!

Like a tangible tsunami, it instantly swept through the entire hall.

Some of the weaker Special Jonin even had their knees buckle and fell directly to the ground.

Suffocation!

Despair!

This power simply did not belong to a human!

Silence filled the room.

Chiba looked down and swept his gaze across everyone.

He was very satisfied with the effect.

Reasoning?

He hated reasoning most of all.

The biggest fist was the greatest reason.

"Since everyone is so enthusiastic."

Chiba spoke.

His voice was not loud, yet it entered every person's ears.

"Then I'll reluctantly take over this mess."

"From today onward."

"I, Senju Qianye."

"Will temporarily assume the office of Fifth Hokage of Konoha."

"In half a month."

"The formal succession ceremony will be held."

At this point.

Chiba paused, his gaze sweeping over the pale-faced Sarutobi trio.

"Does anyone object?"

"You may step forward now."

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Who would dare object?

Did they have a death wish?!

Even Sarutobi Hiruzen did not dare utter a single word.

Why should underlings like them foolishly stick their necks out?

Sarutobi Hiruzen bit down hard on his lip, his teeth drawing blood from it.

Humiliation!

Utter humiliation!

He had been Hokage his entire life.

Yet now, in his old age, he had been forced from power by a sixteen-year-old boy.

But he did not dare make a sound.

The aura radiating from Chiba made him feel the threat of death.

He was old.

He could no longer win.

He could only swallow this insult like a homeless dog.

"Very good."

Chiba withdrew his Chakra.

The suffocating pressure vanished instantly.

Everyone gasped for breath, their clothes soaked through with cold sweat.

"Since no one has any objections."

"Then let's adjourn the meeting."

Chiba waved his hand as if shooing away flies.

Fujiwara put away his folding fan and hurried over to Chiba.

"Lord Chiba, congratulations, congratulations."

"The Daimyo is still waiting for your good news."

"Do you think you could spare some time to visit the capital in the next few days?"

"The Daimyo has prepared generous gifts and is merely waiting for you to receive them."

Chiba glanced at him.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire?

He was just someone destined to become a Puppet.

"I understand."

"I'll go."

Fujiwara looked as though he had been granted a reprieve and nodded repeatedly.

"Then this subordinate will not disturb you as you handle the village's affairs."

"This subordinate will return at once to report back!"

With that.

Fujiwara led several attendants out of the meeting room in a flash.

The meeting was adjourned.

The civilian Jonin did not dare linger.

In the blink of an eye, the spacious meeting room had been completely emptied.

The doors slammed shut with a bang.

Inside the meeting room.

Only Chiba remained.

As well as the dejected Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura.

And Shikaku Nara, Akimichi Choza, Yamanaka Inoichi, Aburame Shibi, Fugaku Uchiha, and Hyuga Hiashi, standing on either side.

Konoha's core ruling class.

Or rather, the scene of Konoha's transition between old and new powers.