Beside, more people came over.
There are old people, children, women, and young ninjas.
Some of them thanked, some cheered, and some just watched from a distance, their eyes full of reverence.
Shaoyu walked all the way, responding to those people all the way.
His pace is not fast, but every step is steady.
His smile was very light, but everyone who saw it felt warm.
Finally, he reached the foot of the high platform.
Third Raikage stood there, looking at him, his eyes full of relief.
"You brat," he said, his voice hoarse, "You're back?"
Shaoyu looked at him, the corners of his mouth raised slightly.
"You're back, old man."
Raikage nodded.
"It'll be nice to come back." He said, "It'll be nice to come back."
He turned around, looked at the people who were still cheering, and raised his hand to signal them to be quiet.
The crowd gradually became quiet.
Raikage took a deep breath and sounded loudly.
"Everyone from Kumogakure!"
His voice echoed across the mountains.
"The man standing in front of you is called Uchiha Shaoyu! A few years ago, he came to our Kumogakure with nothing! Now, he is our hero at Kumogakure! It was he who led us to win this battle A war! It was him who made that old guy Konoha sign an alliance under the city! It was him who faced Iwagakure's army of ten thousand men, killed seven thousand, and forced that old guy Ōnoki to surrender in embarrassment!"
The crowd burst into cheers again.
Raikage raised his hand to signal them to be quiet.
"I'm old!" His voice became louder. "After fighting for so many years, I'm tired! It's time to retire!"
There was an uproar in the crowd.
Someone started shouting, "Third, you can't retreat!"
"Third, we still need you!"
Raikage waved his hand.
"Stop talking!" he said, "I have the final say whether I retreat or not!"
He turned around and looked at Shaoyu.
"Uchiha Shaoyu!" His voice was thunderous.
"In the name of Third Raikage, I officially nominate you as the Fourth Raikage candidate! When approved by the Presbyterian Council, you will be the next Raikage!"
Speaking of the Presbyterian Church, there are only two people in the Presbyterian Council. One of them is Shaoyu himself, and the other is a close confidant of Third Raikage.
He turned around and looked at the people.
"Everyone!" he shouted, "Do you agree?"
"Agree--!"
The sound shook the heavens and the earth, echoing in the mountains for a long time.
Shaoyu stood under the high platform, looking at the cheering crowd, listening to the deafening cheers, and an unprecedented emotion surged in his heart.
That's a sense of belonging.
A feeling of being accepted, recognized, and needed.
A few years ago, he left his hometown with his tribe and came to this strange village.
At that time, he didn't know what the future would be like, whether Kumogakure would accept them, or whether his choice was the right one.
Now, he knows.
His choice was right.
Konoha is stinky shit.
Shisui walked to him and said softly, "Brother."
Shaoyu turned his head and looked at him.
The fifteen-year-old boy was looking at him at the moment, his eyes full of pride and admiration.
"You did it." Shisui said.
Shaoyu smiled and patted his shoulder.
"It was us," he said. "We did it."
Shisui nodded vigorously.
In the distance, Lianhuo stood there, looking at this scene, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.
He was one of the first people to follow Shaoyu.
Over the past few years, he has witnessed every step of Shaoyu's growth, every victory of Shaoyu, and witnessed Shaoyu grow from a defected Uchiha boy to the hero he is today.
Now, he finally saw this day.
Shaoyu, will soon become Raikage.
Kumogakure's Uchiha Clan finally has a real foothold.
There is a special area on the edge of the crowd.
There were more than 600 people standing there, old and young, men and women.
They wore ordinary clothes, did not have the standard equipment of Kumogakure ninjas, and did not have the natural sense of belonging that the villagers who cheered enthusiastically did.
They just stood quietly, looking at the red figure in the distance, with complex emotions flashing in their eyes.
They are new Uchiha.
A few days ago, when Lianhuo and Shisui took them back to Kumogakure, they were already shocked by the sight before them.
At that time, three thousand Kumogakure elites returned in triumph. The villagers lined the streets to welcome them, and cheers resounded through the sky. They, the Uchiha tribesmen who followed, stood at the back of the team, looking at the cheering crowd, feeling both excited and anxious.
Excitedly, they finally left the depressing Konoha and came to a new place.
The worry is, will the people here accept them? Will Kumogakure regard them as their own? Can they really live the kind of life Shaoyu promised here?
For several days, they have been observing and waiting.
They saw the enthusiasm of the Kumogakure people - those people cheered from the bottom of their hearts for the returning warriors and expressed their sincere condolences for the sacrificed ninjas.
They saw the order of Kumogakure, the streets were clean and tidy, the houses were in good condition, the patrolling ninjas had neat steps, and the vendors in the shops were smiling.
They saw the power of Kumogakure, those well-trained ninjas, those sophisticated equipment, and that vigorous and upward atmosphere.
They began to believe that Shaoyu did not lie to them.
This is indeed better than Konoha.
But it was not until today, until this moment, that they truly understood what Shaoyu had done for them.
In the distance, the red figure is walking among the crowd.
Those Kumogakure villagers, people who had never met him, were surrounding him at this moment, cheering, thanking, and supporting him. The old man held his hand and cried, the woman held the child and wanted to kowtow to him, and the young ninja's eyes were full of reverence.
That's not courtesy, it's not coping, it's not superficial.
That is love from the heart.
That is the glory that only true heroes deserve.
And that hero is a member of their race.
It was the young man who defected to Konoha with eleven people a few years ago.
He is the person who stood at the door of Uchiha Compound a few days ago and said, "If you are willing to come with me, I will take you to a good life."
It is the person who is now and will become Fourth Raikage.
A white-haired old man stood on the edge of the crowd, looking at the red figure in the distance, tears filling his muddy old eyes.
He is the cousin of Uchiha Kazuo and Elder Setsuna, and he is seventy-two years old this year. He has lived in Konoha all his life, suffered anger all his life, and endured Byakugan all his life.
His sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons all stood beside him, three generations of his family, neatly organized.
"Father." His son asked softly, "What's wrong with you?"
Kazuo shook his head and did not answer.
He just looked at the red figure in the distance, the cheering crowd, and this strange land, and an indescribable emotion surged in his heart.
He remembered that decades ago, when he was a child, he listened to his elders talking about the glory of the Uchiha Clan.