Arranged to Perfection

Ridiculous!

Outrageously ridiculous!

The atmosphere at the voting site was so strange it sent chills down everyone's spine. Representatives of the major clans said nothing, silently watching the four brothers standing together.

The scene was downright surreal.

Even Chu Yang broke out in goosebumps, afraid that the stunt he had cooked up on a whim would blow up in his face.

Fortunately, events had not strayed beyond fate's course. They had merely shifted slightly.

Aside from Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, only a portion of the people voted for Madara Uchiha.

Those people had been arranged in advance by Tobirama Senju.

Everything was going according to plan.

Madara Uchiha was somewhat disappointed by the result. He knew his reputation among Konoha's people could not compare to Hashirama Senju's, but he had not expected the gap to be so enormous.

Still, he ultimately chose to accept it calmly. Even Izuna Uchiha had no objections.

"Madara..." Hashirama Senju looked at his friend, his face full of apology.

He seemed sorry that he had become Hokage.

Feeling Hashirama Senju's sincere gaze, Madara Uchiha sighed and said, "Hashirama, this is everyone's choice, mine included. You don't need to feel guilty."

"I chose you because I believe you can fulfill our dream."

With things said to this point, Hashirama Senju no longer demurred. Gratefully accepting his friend's trust, he announced, surrounded by the crowd, that he would become Konoha's First Hokage.

While the representatives of countless clans and the villagers stepped forward to offer their congratulations, Izuna Uchiha slowly walked over to Tobirama Senju and stood beside him.

"I can understand now why my brother could become friends with him." Izuna Uchiha said sincerely, "He... Lord Hokage truly has a special kind of personal charm. I hope Konoha will grow better and better under his leadership."

Tobirama Senju nodded. "My brother will not disappoint anyone. You can rest assured."

Suddenly, Izuna Uchiha made a move Tobirama Senju had never expected.

He extended his hand toward Tobirama Senju and smiled.

"Let's get acquainted again. Izuna Uchiha, of the Uchiha clan."

Tobirama Senju froze for a moment. Then he gave the other man a long, deep look and extended his hand. "Tobirama Senju, of the Senju clan."

As the representatives of their respective clans' hardline factions, their handshake drew even more attention than the handshake between Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha on the other side.

Standing outside the crowd, Chu Yang watched this scene with great interest, only to suddenly catch Tobirama Senju's approving gaze.

It meant, "Kid, your little schemes are pretty useful."

Chu Yang: "..."

Thanks to Chu Yang's push, Konoha's course of development differed ever so slightly from the original storyline.

The Uchiha clan and the Senju clan also entered an unprecedented honeymoon period in history.

As the days passed, one major event after another took place in Konoha, enough to affect the entire village's development.

The first was the formal establishment of Konoha's Anbu under Tobirama Senju's leadership!

Everyone had assumed Tobirama Senju would naturally become the head of the Anbu, but no one expected him to hand this crucial position over to Izuna Uchiha.

Tobirama Senju instead settled for the position of Hokage's assistant!

Everyone believed Tobirama Senju had made a sacrifice, and the Uchiha clan thought so as well.

It seemed only Chu Yang understood Tobirama Senju's intentions.

First and foremost, the Anbu's duty was to secretly protect the Hokage. Only after that did it serve as a special assassination and tactical unit, specifically responsible for taking out important enemy figures.

Reconnoitering enemy intelligence during special periods and preventing foreign invasions were its lowest-priority duties.

Protecting the Hokage was the utmost priority.

For nothing else, entrusting Hashirama Senju's safety to Izuna Uchiha already demonstrated Tobirama Senju's trust in the Uchiha clan.

This could greatly win the favor of the Uchiha clansmen, as well as Izuna Uchiha himself.

There was no doubt about it.

Did this decision carry risks?

Of course it did.

However, the risks remained within acceptable limits, because Izuna Uchiha was not powerful enough to threaten Hashirama Senju. Even if he rebelled, he would not be able to harm Hashirama Senju.

Tobirama Senju had already taken this into account.

Then, following Chu Yang's suggestion, Tobirama Senju planned to place a special squad within the Anbu to secretly monitor the entire organization's actions.

It was the Root that Shimura Danzō would establish in the future.

Based on these two points, Tobirama Senju was willing to give Izuna Uchiha the position of Anbu commander. Of course, he had other arrangements to make afterward, ensuring that nothing could go wrong.

What Chu Yang truly found ingenious was the position of Hokage's assistant.

Between the Hokage's assistant and the Anbu commander, which held greater authority?

Most people would choose the Anbu commander!

Wasn't the Hokage's assistant just someone who ran errands for the Hokage? What authority could he possibly have?

But they had forgotten Hashirama Senju's personality. He would definitely dump all matters, great and small, onto his younger brother Tobirama.

And Tobirama Senju would become the true wielder of the Hokage's power.

Everyone thought Tobirama Senju had sacrificed the authority rightfully due to him for the village's peaceful and stable development. Yet in reality, he had not lost any power at all—it had merely been hidden away.

Madara Uchiha might see through it, but he would never overthink it, because the Anbu, whose authority and status stood above all others, was already in his younger brother Izuna's hands.

Besides, he understood Hashirama Senju well. He knew the man could not handle those headache-inducing official duties and would surely delegate power to his own younger brother.

After resolving the Anbu issue, the second matter was the establishment of the Military Police Force.

Still because of the Anbu, Tobirama Senju handed half of the Military Police Force's authority to the Hyuga clan.

As a major clan second only to the Senju clan and Uchiha clan in strength, the Hyuga clan had both the standing and the justification to claim a share of the power pie.

The Military Police Force, which should have been controlled by the Uchiha clan, now had a force capable of balancing them.

Even so, the Uchiha clan still did not lose out.

Tobirama Senju also took the opportunity to win over the Human Heart of the Hyuga clan.

With these arrangements, the Uchiha clan gained many benefits, yet Madara Uchiha, as clan head, received only the title of senior advisor, with no tangible benefits at all.

The frightening part was that no one thought there was anything wrong with it!

Even within the Uchiha clan, there were no objections whatsoever.

Besides those two major events, the third was what held long-term significance for Konoha's development.

The establishment of the Konoha Ninja Academy!

Giving children ravaged by war a place to grow up healthy, allowing them to train and gain the ability to protect themselves—this was the shared wish of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.

Tobirama Senju, who excelled at teaching Ninjutsu to young people, was also chosen by everyone as the academy's first principal.

As the First Hokage's and Tobirama Senju's Direct Disciple, Chu Yang became the academy's first teacher.