Under the dim night sky, the air was thick with the stench of blood.
Ninja corpses lay strewn everywhere, each dead in a bizarre and gruesome manner.
After a night of battle, the entire compound had been destroyed.
But for Uchiha Kyu, it was no big deal. As long as the Uchiha Clan remained, they could rebuild their compound anywhere.
As it happened, Uchiha Kyu had some new ideas for planning the Uchiha Compound.
The victorious Uchiha gradually came to their senses. As they carried the bodies of their clansmen, their hearts grew exceptionally heavy.
Uchiha Kyu personally closed the eyes of a clansman who had died with his eyes open, then turned and instructed the two of them.
"Arrange for everyone who was seriously injured this time to receive treatment at the Medical Department."
"Have those with minor injuries go with them and protect our heroes."
"Bury the clansmen who died in battle together. As for the Hyuga Clan, I won't interfere. Hiashi, you can make the arrangements yourself."
"Tomorrow, Konoha will provide compensation for the ninja from both clans who died in this battle."
Fugaku Uchiha nodded and replied, "I'll warn those medical ninja to prevent them from causing trouble."
Hyuga Hiashi hesitated for a moment before taking the initiative to suggest, "It would be more convenient for the Hyuga Clan to take charge of the Medical Department and monitor them, so they can't make any trouble behind our backs."
Fugaku Uchiha hesitantly looked toward Uchiha Kyu. Having outsiders care for his clansmen ultimately made him uneasy.
"Then I'll trouble you with it. The Hyuga Clan will have many things it can do in the future."
Uchiha Kyu meaningfully patted Hyuga Hiashi on the shoulder, then walked over to those who had surrendered.
Hyuga Hiashi could barely contain his excitement. Had Uchiha Kyu's pat on his shoulder just now been a hint that the Hyuga Clan would become one of Uchiha Kyu's right-hand allies?
Uchiha Kyu had no goodwill toward these ninja clans. Konoha in the past had simply been far too indulgent toward them.
Just look at the original story. These ninja clans only took and never gave anything back.
During Konoha's several crises, the number of ninja these clans sent out had been frighteningly low. Most of those deployed had been cannon-fodder civilians.
The clan heads of the ninja clans that had chosen to surrender, including Choza Akimichi, knelt on the ground with their hands bound.
There was no shame on their faces. Instead, they were thinking about how to obtain even more benefits after Uchiha Kyu took power.
To these ninja clans, Konoha was merely a protective umbrella that allowed them to embezzle without restraint.
This was not the first time they had surrendered to the Uchiha Clan.
When Konoha had first been founded, they had already surrendered to the Uchiha Clan once.
Back then, Madara Uchiha had taken on all the villains alone and given all the good people to Hashirama.
Madara Uchiha's terrifying deterrence in the hearts of those ninja clans had far exceeded Hashirama's.
Yet the Hokage chosen had been Hashirama. That was because these ninja clans hated Madara Uchiha too much—he had killed so many of their clansmen.
Uchiha Kyu swept his cold gaze back and forth across the clan heads of the ninja clans.
The edge in Uchiha Kyu's eyes was impossible to conceal. His stare made their scalps tingle and their hearts pound nervously.
But faced with Uchiha Kyu's terrifying power, they could only bury their heads even lower.
"Surrendering is not unconditional. Tomorrow, I want to see a list from each of your clans naming two-thirds of your ninja."
"Raise the tax on each of your clan's shops to fifty percent."
"Dismiss everyone you have placed in the various departments."
"That is only what you should do. As for compensation, I'll have the relevant people settle the accounts with you slowly."
"Any objections?"
Uchiha Kyu's tone suddenly changed.
Choza Akimichi was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly, his voice trembling. "No objections. No objections."
When Uchiha Kyu's gaze swept over the others, the clansmen of the Aburame Clan and the rest shook their heads with sweat covering their foreheads. "We have no objections either."
They could give up these benefits.
As long as they kept their lives, they would naturally still be useful to Uchiha Kyu after he took control of Konoha.
Don't think these people were stupid. In fact, they were extremely clever.
Uchiha Kyu turned and had Fugaku personally bring Minato over.
There was still one most important matter tonight: in front of these ninja clans, Minato Namikaze would announce that he was stepping down.
Minato Namikaze was personally brought over by Fugaku Uchiha.
Seeing the clan heads who usually lorded their age over him kneeling on the ground, Minato Namikaze could not help feeling a little schadenfreude.
You made things difficult for me at every turn before. Well, now none of us are doing well.
Knowing that he would soon no longer be Hokage, Minato Namikaze was in a much better state of mind than before.
Choza Akimichi and the others looked at Minato Namikaze in confusion, unable to understand why he was allowed to stand.
"Begin." Uchiha Kyu rubbed his tired temples, his tone turning impatient.
The rapid exhaustion of his spiritual power had left Uchiha Kyu extremely tired—the kind of tiredness that weighed on the mind.
Minato Namikaze took a deep breath. Recalling the speech Fugaku Uchiha had prepared for him, he loudly announced it so Kushina could live safely.
"Everything that happened today was caused by me."
"I'm sorry to all of you."
Minato Namikaze bowed deeply, his voice carrying a hint of a sob.
"My mistaken judgment caused the village to suffer enormous losses."
"The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, took advantage of the situation to settle a personal grudge and attempted to destroy the Uchiha Clan. I killed him on the spot."
There was a whole pile of carefully prepared wording. In the end, Minato Namikaze would shoulder all the blame himself.
Choza Akimichi and the others exchanged glances but did not speak. Instead, they unconsciously straightened their backs.
Minato Namikaze had actually killed the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, betraying his teacher and his clan, and had ultimately surrendered.
Then what did their own surrender amount to?
"Finally, to make up for my mistakes, I have decided to resign as Hokage and have the Uchiha Clan's leader, Uchiha Kyu, become the Fifth Hokage."
After saying this, Minato Namikaze let out a huge sigh of relief. It had not weighed on him as heavily as he had imagined. On the contrary, he felt much more at ease.
How could Minato Namikaze, who had slaughtered enemies until they trembled on the battlefield, have been some hesitant, softhearted man?
It was merely a matter of one person's enemy being another person's hero.
Minato Namikaze looked at Uchiha Kyu pleadingly. "What will you do with Kushina?"
"She is Konoha's Jinchūriki, and I am Konoha's Fifth Hokage."
"Thank you." Minato Namikaze received the answer he wanted, then was taken away by people arranged by Fugaku Uchiha.
"Get lost."
Seeing that these clan heads were docile and sensible, nodding and agreeing to everything without a single stubborn dissenter appearing, Uchiha Kyu could not help feeling a little disappointed.
As expected, anyone who could become a clan head had fully understood the laws of survival in this world.
If they couldn't win, they surrendered. Only by staying alive could they have a chance to develop.
Unfortunately, in this world, strength was what dictated everything.
These ninja clans were destined to become cannon fodder for the Uchiha Clan's campaigns in every direction.
Seeing that he was somewhat tired, Fugaku Uchiha could not help suggesting, "Clan head, you should go back and get some proper rest. Leave things here to us."
"All right. Then I'll leave things here to you."
Uchiha Kyu still acknowledged Fugaku Uchiha's ability to handle internal affairs, so he returned to rest.
As the sun and moon turned and the world changed, Uchiha and Hyuga ninja appeared on Konoha's streets to patrol.
The villagers kept their doors shut, and the shops had not opened either, leaving the streets bleak and deserted.
Most of the villagers had slept poorly because of the commotion from last night's battle.
Then they were told today that espionage was occurring and that they were forbidden from going out, which frightened them so badly that they did not even dare leave their homes.
Konoha's process for selecting a Hokage was extremely simple. It was basically decided internally.
Afterward, they only needed to notify the daimyo of the Land of Fire. The villagers' votes were merely a fig leaf for appearances.
Hidden Leaf Central Square was where successive Hokage had taken office.
Uchiha Kyu put on the red-and-white Hokage robes. Standing atop the platform, he was full of pride, and his handsome, striking appearance was second only to the readers.
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