The Strong Rise, the Weak Fall

But for now~

Fugaku would have to observe how things would turn out after becoming the Fifth Hokage, seeing whether he would slack off or work seriously based on his performance.

"I understand," Nara Shikaku nodded, indicating that he would handle the grand ceremony with all his might.

"Mm, I'll leave this matter to you, the Hokage Aide."

Takuya said with a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"Understood, Lord Fifth."

Nara Shikaku also revealed a sincere smile.

A Hokage Aide, oh—his Nara Clan ancestors must have burned some serious incense. He never expected there would come a day when he became a Hokage Aide.

This position was second only to one and above tens of thousands.

Ah, it felt fantastic.

The more Nara Shikaku thought about it, the more satisfied he became. He looked at Fugaku just like a mother-in-law looking at a new son-in-law: the more he looked, the more pleased he was.

In fact, starting from now, Takuya was already the Fifth Hokage, and everyone else's appointments also took effect from this moment. The Hokage inauguration ceremony three days later was merely a formality, a ritual announced to the unsuspecting civilians of Konoha and to the rest of the world.

"Ancestors protect me, I, Hyuga Hiashi, have also become a Hokage Advisor."

Hyuga Hiashi wore a solemn expression, but in his heart, he was blooming with joy.

As the second largest clan under Konoha's Uchiha Clan, under his leadership, the Hyuga Clan had always kept a low profile and behaved honestly. He never expressed excessive opinions on major decisions; anyway, if the Hokage liked it, he would raise his hand, and if the Hokage hated it, he would shake his head.

This was also why the Uchiha Clan's relationship with Konoha had been so tense previously, yet the Hyuga Clan could sit securely in the fishing boat.

But things were different now. With this rare opportunity, how long had it been since his Hyuga Clan made a move? Recalling that loud-mouthed Shimura Clan member from earlier, he still felt somewhat indignant.

It seemed that his Hyuga Clan had been dormant for too long and needed to make their voices heard.

Assuming the post of Hokage Advisor was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The Hyuga Clan was going to rise!

Hyuga Hiashi thought with solemn determination.

"Alright, let's leave it at that. Everyone is tired, go rest quickly."

Takuya stood up and, along with the three Uchiha elders, sent the clan heads out of the Hokage Building.

Then, he walked straight to the third-floor Hokage office.

A three-tomoe clansman stood dutifully guard at the office door, hurriedly greeting them upon seeing the clan head and the three elders arrive.

"Lord Clan Head, First Elder, Second Elder, Third Elder."

"Mm, thank you for your hard work."

Takuya patted him on the shoulder in encouragement, then entered the Hokage office.

This left the three-tomoe clansman deeply moved.

In the clan, he had previously belonged to the hawk faction that supported launching a coup. Now that the clan head had led them to success, he could be said to be utterly devoted to the clan head.

During today's meeting, Uchiha Sihu had also learned that he would become the left advisor (the Hokage advisors were divided into left and right advisors, with complex and distinct responsibilities and authorities). At this moment, his elderly face was still glowing with health, and there was not a trace of the fatigue from having just stayed up all night visible on him.

"Alright, alright, Sihu, old man, your drool is about to drip out."

The Second Elder, Uchiha Setsuna, standing off to the side, said with a sour tone.

He looked thin and frail, but in reality, his strength was not low; he was an elite jonin who had unlocked the three-tomoe, and he was one of the leaders of the hawk faction.

He and Uchiha Sihu were old men from the same era, but he was somewhat different. He had inherited Madara's will, was quite dissatisfied with the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama's policies for governing the Uchiha Clan, and had always yearned to snatch back sovereignty from the Senju Clan, remaining a hawk-faction Uchiha clansman.

Later, the stir he caused by inciting Uchiha clansman to rebel and make trouble was detected by the Second Hokage. Ultimately, he was arrested by ANBU members dispatched by the Second Hokage and imprisoned in the dungeon.

He was locked away for ten years before being released. If Senju Tobirama hadn't died, he probably would never have gotten out in his life.

After coming out, Sarutobi Hiruzen was already in power. He refused to give up his ambitions, gathering a wave of Uchiha with the same ideology as him and transforming into a hawk faction to butt heads with the dove-faction leader Uchiha Sihu.

Seeing now that Uchiha Sihu, the leader of the dove faction, was appointed as a Hokage Advisor by Uchiha Fugaku, one could only imagine how sour his heart felt.

Seeing Uchiha Sihu beaming with joy and unable to contain his happiness, he finally couldn't help but sneer at this moment.

Uchiha Sihu was happy right now, so he couldn't be bothered to argue with this sour, skinny old man. He expressed his stance to Uchiha Fugaku: "Fugaku—no, Lord Fifth, just watch. I will definitely do a good job as this advisor and not let down your trust."

Takuya sat down in the seat that once belonged to the Hokage, smiled and nodded, picking up the mountain of documents piled on the desk to look through them.

He tossed aside some less important ones and only looked at the important ones.

However, there didn't seem to be anything very important at the moment. It took him less than ten minutes to roughly look through this stack of documents.

"Right, where is Itachi?"

He tossed the documents aside, suddenly remembering this unfilial son, and asked curiously.

Uchiha Sihu was taken aback. Didn't I seal Itachi's chakra? Could it be that he ran out of the house again?

At this moment, the Third Elder, Uchiha Masato, replied, "Clan Head, Itachi went home this morning. Didn't you see him?"

"Went home?"

Takuya was startled. He hadn't seen Uchiha Itachi before leaving home this morning—of course, it was also possible that the kid was sleeping in his own room, considering he hadn't slept at all the night before.

Takuya didn't care too much either. He nodded, tapped the table, and instructed, "Third Elder, hand the disbandment of our Military Police Force over to you. Ask which clansmen want to enter the ANBU and have them sign up with you. I want the roster by noon tomorrow."

"Understood, Clan Head."

Uchiha Masato replied respectfully.

"Alright, you guys go tend to your business."

Takuya waved his hand, signaling them to head out.

The three elders bowed respectfully, then backed out of the room. Uchiha Setsuna, walking at the very back, carefully pulled the door shut.

Takuya withdrew his gaze. In Fugaku's memories, the attitude of the two hawk leaders toward him, their clan head, had never been very good, always bossy and domineering. This was also why, after weighing his options, he chose to give the position of Hokage Advisor to Uchiha Sihu rather than Uchiha Setsuna or Uchiha Masato.

Of course, after yesterday's swift and decisive coup led by him, which succeeded, both Second Elder Uchiha Setsuna and Third Elder Uchiha Masato underwent astonishing changes in their attitudes toward him.

He wasn't surprised; the Uchiha Clan had always worshiped the strong.

There was an old saying in the clan: the strong rise, the weak fall.

Uchiha Fugaku himself was by no means weak. He was gifted with talent from a young age, considered a genius in the eyes of his peers, and had carved out a formidable reputation during the Ninja Wars, earning the nickname given by his enemies: 'Fierce Eye' Fugaku.

Fugaku was able to become clan head not by pulling strings, but entirely through his strength.

Could someone without strength become clan head among a bunch of paranoids? How could he command obedience?

The reason why a small portion of Uchiha clansmen, including the second and third elders, hadn't been very respectful to him recently was because Fugaku hadn't accomplished much in recent years—whether it was being cornered by Danzo during the Nine-Tails Night and not daring to resist, or being forced to relocate the clan lands...