Bai Ye, the Fifth Hokage!

Dawn was just breaking the next day.

Quite a few people had already gathered in Konoha, and after the silence of the previous night...

Life in the village still had to go on.

Many people were waiting for the newspaper, but unfortunately, it seemed no edition had been published today.

Meanwhile, the other ninja clans and every ninja currently in the village had been invited to Konoha's assembly hall.

After Bai Ye made the arrangements, the Uchiha had notified them one by one.

Not a single ninja clan had refused.

None of them were fools. Whether they wanted to know what the Uchiha planned to do next...

Or simply understood that the current situation was no longer something they could ignore on a whim.

The sight of that Susanoo was still vivid in their minds.

Whatever their motives, they had all chosen to come.

They had to find out exactly what Bai Ye intended to do.

And so, a crowd packed into the hall.

"Shikaku, what do you think Bai Ye is planning?! He's even brought in quite a few of the village's genin!"

Something's not right, is it?!

Choza Akimichi had never expected Bai Ye to gather so many ninja.

In the past, even when meetings were held, genin were never invited.

This...

He isn't planning to wipe everyone here out, is he?!

Has he decided to burn everything down?!

After all, the Uchiha had already killed the Hokage. It wasn't impossible that they would take things even further!

"The Hokage will be chosen today!"

Shikaku let out a long breath, his tone carrying a trace of complicated emotion.

Before, he might still have had some doubts about that.

But now that Bai Ye had gathered so many people here...

Shikaku was certain that a Hokage would be chosen today.

There would undoubtedly be changes to some policies afterward, too.

It wasn't as though he hadn't already guessed some of what was coming.

But thinking about it carefully, wasn't this precisely what the Uchiha had done all of this for?!

Now that the opportunity lay before them, it might truly be their only chance in a lifetime.

There was no way the Uchiha would give it up so easily.

A flicker of surprise crossed Choza Akimichi's and Inoichi Yamanaka's faces at Shikaku's words, but they also found them perfectly reasonable.

When Bai Ye and the Uchiha arrived, the meeting room, which had still been buzzing with conversation, instantly fell silent.

"Everyone, I've gathered you here today to announce a few things. Clan heads and elite jonin, please come with me. The other ninja should wait here.

"We'll discuss a few matters and keep you informed of the results as we go. You can also offer your opinions.

"After all, there are too many people here. If everyone talks at once, this meeting will never end!"

Bai Ye had gathered all the ninja here.

But not because he intended to discuss anything with so many of them.

His main purpose was to show that he valued even the genin.

After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others had never invited genin to their meetings.

The actual discussions would always be held by the core group.

After he brought them all into a smaller room...

The clan heads and elite jonin remained silent.

They already had a rough idea of how things would unfold.

But for now, many of them were waiting for Bai Ye to speak first.

"I intend to run for Hokage. Who supports me?!"

Bai Ye's very first words after sitting down nearly made them sputter.

Seriously?!

We all knew you'd run for Hokage, but did you have to be so blunt about it?!

After all, the Uchiha had already gone this far.

If they didn't take the position now, were they supposed to wait for the next Hokage to settle scores with them?!

It might not be very likely, but it wasn't impossible.

More importantly, this was the fruit of their victory. How could the Uchiha let someone else steal it?!

Hadn't the Uchiha always been clamoring to become Hokage?!

Now, at last, they could get their wish.

Even if Bai Ye didn't want to become Hokage, his people would never agree.

So although everyone understood what was coming, they had assumed Bai Ye wouldn't be quite so direct. They thought he would work his way around to it, first explaining why he had killed the Hokage yesterday.

Then he would discuss his plans for the future before finally announcing that he wanted to become Hokage.

That was what they had expected!

They had guessed the ending, but not the beginning!

Apparently, Bai Ye really couldn't be bothered to dress it up!

But was there anyone more suitable than Bai Ye right now?!

Tsunade? Jiraiya?

Those two seemed to be the only other people in Konoha fit to become Hokage!

Yet neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade was actually suitable.

First, Konoha urgently needed someone powerful enough to keep everything under control.

And that person also had to want to become Hokage.

Those two were strong enough, but against Bai Ye, the people present doubted they would measure up.

Besides, even if either took office, they might not be able to bring the Uchiha Clan fully into the fold.

Jiraiya's personality was also unsuited to the job.

He had no interest in being Hokage at all.

Tsunade might have been worth considering, but she had one fatal problem: she belonged to the Senju Clan!

After all these years, surely some of the bad blood between the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan still remained?!

At least, judging by what Bai Ye had said yesterday, none of this would have happened if Tobirama Senju hadn't targeted them.

That was where everything had begun.

Granted, Danzo and the others had taken it much further...

But regardless, Tsunade belonged to the Senju Clan. That fact couldn't be changed.

And if they ruled those people out?!

There were no other candidates!

What was the first requirement for becoming Hokage?!

Strength!!!

If a Hokage wasn't even strong, what the hell was the point?!

So, thinking it through carefully, Bai Ye was the only suitable choice!

"I have a few questions!"

Once again, Shikaku was the first to speak.

The others more or less felt that it wasn't their place to ask.

But Shikaku didn't concern himself with that.

More than anything, he felt that Bai Ye had to clarify the following matters before they could make their choice.

"Go ahead!"

"First, how do you intend to handle the daimyo?!"

"I'll take care of it."

"..."

What?!

Seriously?!

I asked how you'd handle it, and you just said you'd take care of it?!

The corner of Shikaku's mouth twitched. He truly hadn't expected that answer from Bai Ye.

He took a deep breath. Since Bai Ye said he would handle it, Shikaku decided he could leave that matter to Bai Ye when the time came.

He moved on to his second question. "What do you intend to do about Konoha's internal affairs?!"

The issue of the daimyo was settled.

The second issue was Konoha itself.

Would they continue following Hiruzen Sarutobi's policies, or would Bai Ye change Konoha's policies if he became Hokage?!

After all, if Bai Ye really took office, there was no telling whether he would overturn everything Hiruzen Sarutobi had left behind.

"We'll move onto the land we reclaimed earlier. As for anything else, you're welcome to bring me your suggestions. Anything you consider unreasonable or want changed...

"Of course, if there's nothing, we can keep the existing policies. But I'll abolish every policy targeting the Uchiha!"

Bai Ye had no intention of changing the policies.

Many of them were largely fine. At the very least, there was no need to change them right now.

After all, Bai Ye would launch an even larger war later.

He could change everything at once then, rather than complicating matters now. They would be changed afterward anyway.

So, for the time being, Bai Ye wasn't going to touch them.

His words put everyone present at ease. Many of those policies weren't particularly good for them, but they had grown accustomed to them.

If Bai Ye suddenly made sweeping changes, things would become very troublesome.

And that possibility had been quite real!

After all, the position of Hokage had always belonged to the Senju faction. Now that the Uchiha held power, things were naturally different.

As for ending surveillance of the Uchiha...

Wasn't that perfectly normal?!

"Oh, and I intend to publish the full truth about everything: White Fang's death, Orochimaru's and Danzo's research, Naruto's identity...

"Of course, there's much more I'll reveal. Everyone has the right to know the truth, including those directly involved!"

Bai Ye spoke calmly. Since he intended to take office...

He had to expose Hiruzen Sarutobi's true colors in full.

That would also make his own rise to power easier.

The others had little to say about this.

After all, he was merely revealing the truth, not fabricating anything.

Although quite a few of them felt that this might tarnish Konoha's reputation...

Yesterday's battle hadn't merely killed Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others.

It had also intimidated many people.

They had already decided yesterday that, as long as Bai Ye didn't make excessive demands, they could simply turn a deaf ear.

Meanwhile, Kakashi stood among the crowd, overcome by a feeling he couldn't describe.

Was his father... finally going to have his name cleared?!

In the past, Kakashi had always believed his father was wrong. He had thought a ninja should complete a mission at any cost.

But after meeting Obito, he had realized that perhaps he was the one who was wrong.

Yet if he really had been wrong, then his father's death...

For a long time afterward, Kakashi had been despondent, not only because of Obito's death and the fact that he had killed Rin with his own hands, but also because of his father...

Hatake Sakumo had abandoned his mission to save his comrades.

Back then, Kakashi had wondered why things had turned out that way.

Failing a mission was indeed a failure of a ninja's duty.

But as Bai Ye had said earlier, why had the entire village learned about it overnight?

And why had every rumor afterward been directed against Hatake Sakumo?

It turned out that everything had happened because his father apparently threatened those people's positions.

When Bai Ye had said those things yesterday, Kakashi had already felt that it was enough.

He had never expected Bai Ye to publish all of it.

At least...

His father would finally be recognized as a hero, wouldn't he?!

And his teacher... Naruto probably wouldn't have to live the way he had before, either.

Kakashi thought of Naruto. He had always checked on him, and he knew what Naruto's life had been like over the years.

In terms of material needs, his life wasn't particularly good, but he could at least get by.

In other respects, though, even with friends of his own, he was still targeted by the villagers and called the Demon Fox.

Even when Kakashi wanted to help, the village had ordered that no one was to approach the jinchūriki.

And now Bai Ye intended to resolve that matter, too...

Perhaps, if he looked at Bai Ye without prejudice, everything Bai Ye had done was, at the very least, good.

"Then what about external pressure afterward?! Konoha's Hokage, its two advisors, and the leader of Root are all dead now. A great many Root members died last night, too."

"Right now, Konoha must be at its weakest, wouldn't you say?!

So what do we do next?! If the other villages prepare to declare war on us, what will you do then?!"

That was Shikaku's final question.

Shikaku had prepared three questions that day.

One concerned the Land of Fire, one concerned the village's internal affairs, and one concerned the other villages.

Those three questions could not be avoided. Everything else could be dealt with gradually.

But this was the most critical one!

After all, if the other villages really struck while Konoha was at its weakest, it would spell utter disaster for Konoha!

"If war breaks out, I'll take action!"

"Good!"

Shikaku felt that Bai Ye was being a little arrogant, but since Bai Ye himself had said so...

For now, Bai Ye's word that he could handle it was enough. Besides, they needed him to handle it.

After all, if Bai Ye wanted to become Hokage, he had to see this through.

"Then I have no further questions!"

After saying that, Shikaku sat straight down.

Now that he had received the answers he wanted, he had no objections either.

After Shikaku finished speaking, quite a few people around him voiced their opinions as well.

Things were indeed moving a little quickly.

But what had been said was right. At present, their greatest concern was an invasion by outside enemies.

That was what mattered most!

Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Sunagakure, and even Kirigakure might seize this opportunity.

Konoha had, once again, fallen into a weakened state.

The same thing had happened when the Fourth Hokage died.

"I have no objections either!"

Once Hyuga Hiashi raised his hand to signal his approval, there was no longer any doubt about who would be chosen as Hokage.

Among the Uchiha, delight flashed across the faces of all three elders.

After so many years of waiting, they had never imagined that the Uchiha would finally produce a Hokage!

The people around them began declaring their positions one after another, since no one had stepped forward to compete with Bai Ye.

In the end, Bai Ye became the Fifth Hokage.

And once every vote had been cast in favor, the system notification sound, which had not been heard for a long time, rang in Bai Ye's ears once again...