You Should Call Him Lord Hokage!

From the dais, Kagami Uchiha looked down at the shaken crowd. The fierce emotion churning in his eyes slowly subsided.

He looked at the clan shinobi, their faces drawn with grief and defiance, and saw the years of hurt and regret buried in their eyes. He felt no triumph, only a solemn weight.

Kagami raised a hand, palm down, and waited for the room to settle. A gentle resolve softened his grave expression.

Behind and to one side of him, Shimura Danzō stood silent throughout.

His empty right sleeve hung motionless. His stern face betrayed nothing, but his sharp, watchful eyes took in everything.

He watched his closest friend speak with passion and concern for everyone in the village. He watched the crowd respond, and his conviction grew clear.

He had not misjudged Kagami.

Kagami had never wanted mere authority or prestige. He wanted a lasting peace and a future that would protect every companion in Konoha and every inch of its land.

How could Danzō not admire and respect a man like Kagami Uchiha?

He needed neither to voice his agreement nor add his own words. Standing there in silence, Danzō fixed his resolve to see these reforms through firmly in his heart.

After a while—

Kagami's tense shoulders eased. Calm returned to his face, and he rested his fingertips on the edge of the table. He slowed his speech, though his voice still carried clearly through the hall.

"Of course, change won't happen overnight. We need a method. We need to move forward step by step, and we can't do it without your support.

"I propose that we first establish the Medical Department's structure and assign clear duties to the medical personnel already serving in the village. Then we'll select students at the Ninja Academy who show aptitude for medical ninjutsu and train them from a young age."

"As for the safety of medical shinobi, which Shikada raised, Lord Tobirama had already begun changing squad composition at the Ninja Academy. Three shinobi now serve under an experienced Chunin or Jonin, forming a four-person squad. I intend to replace one combat shinobi with a medical shinobi in certain squads. We'll try it for a while and assess the results."

He looked toward Utatane Koharu and asked evenly, "What do you think of this arrangement? Koharu, I'd like your opinion."

Koharu straightened her back. "Lord Hokage, the plan is workable. I can begin sorting out assignments for our current medical personnel at once. I'll also coordinate with the Ninja Academy to identify students gifted at precise Chakra control. I'll compile regular reports on the trial squads' progress."

She paused, then added firmly, "I'll move the Medical Department forward one step at a time, as you've laid out."

"Excellent!" Kagami nodded, then turned his gaze back to the crowd.

This time, no disorderly debate broke out. Many shinobi gave small nods of approval.

Satisfaction flickered in Kagami's eyes. "In that case, the second area we need to reform is education."

"Why education? Before I answer that, I'd like to ask you all a question."

He turned to Tokuma Hyuga, the oldest person in the hall. "Clan Head Tokuma, you lived through the Warring States Period. How young were the youngest shinobi sent to the battlefield back then?"

Tokuma adjusted his collar with a sigh. "Before Lord Hashirama founded Konoha, the major clans sent children as young as five or six into battle."

"Even in the twenty years since Konoha's founding, children under ten have taken on missions far too early..." His expression darkened, as though he could not bear to recall those brutal days.

Kagami saw the pain on Tokuma's face and addressed the hall, his voice growing heavy. "Exactly. From the Warring States Period to this day, too many children have died on missions before they had a chance to grow up."

After a brief pause, he continued earnestly, "So from today onward, children from Konoha's civilian families will be strictly prohibited from applying for early graduation before the age of twelve."

"Even children born into shinobi clans and trained from an early age must pass a rigorous assessment in every category before they can graduate early."

Most of the Jonin and clan representatives below approved of the decision.

"However..." Kagami's tone shifted. "There is one more matter. The Ninja Academy was built through Lord Tobirama's painstaking efforts, and today I want to make something clear to the clan representatives."

The representatives stiffened. What demand was this new Hokage about to make?

Catching their puzzled looks, Kagami smiled faintly. He lifted his tea cup, took a small sip, and spoke without haste. "From today onward, every clan must send its children to the Ninja Academy when they reach school age, so they can all receive the village's instruction!"

The civilian Jonin watching from the side showed no reaction. The shinobi from the clans erupted.

"What?"

"What does the Third Hokage mean by that? Why should we send children we can train ourselves to the Ninja Academy?"

"If we send our children there, will they still belong to their clans when they come back? Will they still know whether the village or their family comes first?"

"He's trying to tear out the roots of every shinobi clan!"

—

Tokuma could no longer maintain his composure. He sprang to his feet and fixed Kagami with a hard stare.

"Lord Hokage," he said, his voice cold and resolute, "we have no objection to your proposal about the minimum age for missions. It does show consideration for the younger generation. But if you demand that every clan send all its school-age children to the Ninja Academy, the Hyuga Clan will never agree!"

He turned to the other clan representatives and raised his voice. "And I trust the other clans won't accept Lord Hokage's absurd demand either!"

He remained standing, facing Kagami on the dais in open defiance.

Behind Kagami, Danzō saw Tokuma's disrespect and was about to intervene.

"Like hell! Tokuma Hyuga, you old fossil, how dare you speak to Lord Hokage like that?" Uchiha Setsuna, who had sat silent until now, suddenly pointed at Tokuma and cursed him.

Damn it. The Uchiha Clan had waited twenty years for one of their own to become Hokage, and some fool started barking at him before he had even settled into the job. How was Setsuna supposed to put up with that?

A shinobi was supposed to endure pain? Screw that.

Kagami might not put the clan first, but that was Uchiha business. What right did an outsider have to bully him?

Tokuma's face darkened. "Uchiha Setsuna, is that any way to speak to an elder? Has the Uchiha Clan run out of people? Where's Uchiha Rei? What hole did a pest like you crawl out of?"

The insult sent Setsuna to his feet. His voice rang out sharply.

"Tokuma Hyuga, you contemptible old wretch! Since Lord Hashirama and Lord Madara founded Konoha together, how many Senju and Uchiha have died for this village? How much blood have we shed for this land? Huh? Who are you, a mere Hyuga, to pass judgment here? Or do the Hyuga bear a grudge against both our clans? Against Konoha?"

"Besides, everyone here knows about the Hyuga Clan's ugly rules!"

"The Caged Bird Seal? The Main Family and Branch Family? I spit on it! The whole thing makes me sick!"

"You're all one clan, yet you insist on ranking your own kin! And you call it protecting the Byakugan from outsiders? The truth is, the Hyuga just aren't strong enough. A worthless clan led by a worthless clan head!"

"Plenty of Uchiha have died on the battlefield. Go ask around the Shinobi World—who dares covet our Sharingan?"

He paused to bow to Kagami on the dais, then turned back to Tokuma. "You oppose Lord Hokage's policy because you're afraid the village will train your Branch Family shinobi. You're afraid they'll become loyal to the village and, with Lord Hokage behind them, refuse to let your Main Family control them anymore!"

Tokuma flushed as though Setsuna had struck a nerve. "Uchiha Setsuna, are the Uchiha happy to hand your people over to the village to command?"

He turned to the other clan representatives watching. "Are the rest of you happy about it? If you keep your mouths shut now, will you ever get another chance to speak? Huh?"

Seeing Tokuma continue to stir up the others, Setsuna strode forward and seized his collar. Fury blazed in his eyes. "Damn you, Tokuma Hyuga! Come outside and fight me, you old dog!"

"Uchiha Setsuna, you rabid dog, you think you're worthy of fighting me? You think I'm afraid of you? Come on!" Tokuma slapped Setsuna's hand away and fired back without yielding.

The clan representatives would have been delighted to see a fight derail the meeting. None of the Jonin watching from the sidelines moved to stop them, either. Everyone watched with keen interest. A spectacle like this came along once in a decade. Thrilling! What a show!

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood off to the rear. Seeing the situation about to spiral out of control, he looked anxiously at the unruffled Kagami. "Kagami, look at them! They're about to fight. Aren't you going to do something?"

Kagami waved a hand. "What's your hurry?"

"Or do you think the same way they do?"

Hiruzen froze, at a loss for words.

Danzō's face darkened at Hiruzen's reaction. "Monkey! Have you forgotten what our teacher told us before he died?"

"For Konoha's future, we should stand together and support Kagami, not make trouble for him!"

"And during this meeting, you should call Kagami Lord Hokage!"

Kagami was quietly pleased. Excellent. That's my closest friend. He knows just what to say.

Then he turned his head. Crimson flooded his eyes as the Tomoe spun and reformed, revealing his Mangekyō Sharingan. A crushing aura worthy of a Kage Level shinobi burst from the dais and settled over the entire hall.

"Enough."

He did not raise his voice, yet its stern force silenced the room at once.

Everyone who had been arguing went still and turned instinctively toward the dais. Many felt their backs tighten and a suffocating pressure grip their chests.

Kagami stood before the head seat. His crimson Mangekyō stood out starkly in the light as his cold gaze swept the hall.

"I didn't invite you here to watch you squabble like amateurs. If you want to fight, take it outside after the meeting and settle it there."

"Is that... the Mangekyō Sharingan? Madara Uchiha's power?" Tokuma, who had refused to give Setsuna an inch moments earlier, stared wide-eyed at Kagami's eyes and muttered in disbelief.

Tokuma belonged to an older generation. He knew all too well how powerful Madara had been. The Mangekyō Sharingan had been his mark, and the sight of those crimson eyes had so often heralded slaughter and disaster.

In an instant, the fear of Madara long buried in Tokuma's memory seized him again.

The hall fell deathly silent.

Every argument, shout, and restless movement vanished. The clan heads and every Jonin present held their breath, shaken to the core.

Someone stared at those uncanny crimson eyes, pupils contracting, and whispered in a trembling voice:

"The Mangekyō... It really is the Mangekyō Sharingan!"

"The power Madara Uchiha once possessed!"

"No wonder he killed Ginkaku, whose name was known throughout the Shinobi World..."

"And protected the Second Hokage through that gang's ambush. His reputation is well deserved."

"With strength like that, he's truly among the Shinobi World's strongest Kage Level shinobi!"

A chill ran through the crowd. At last, they understood.

This young Hokage had not risen to his position merely because of the Second Hokage's final wish or his bloodline.

He had secured the Hokage Position with genuine power, enough to overwhelm the Shinobi World's strongest fighters.

The contempt, doubts, and wishful thinking they had harbored vanished in that moment.

The Shinobi World belonged to the strong.

Only someone truly strong could stand at its summit and hold the lives of others in his hands.