Let the heart arise without attachment

"Oh my, why was it so lively here?"

Before the Root ninja could act, a white-haired figure abruptly appeared beside Danzo, resting a hand on his shoulder with a broad smile:

"What happened? What made our Lord Danzo so angry?

The Toad Sage has some new material here. Take a look, Lord Danzo, and you won't be angry anymore!"

"It's Lord Jiraiya! Lord Jiraiya of the Sannin is back!"

"Hello, Senior Jiraiya!"

"Lord Jiraiya, when did you get back?"

"Lord Jiraiya, you're finally back!"

"..."

"Hahaha..."

Jiraiya waved to everyone with a smile. "Hello, everyone! With the Toad Sage here, you can rest easy. Nothing will happen to the village!"

"Thank you, Lord Jiraiya!"

Jiraiya nodded to everyone, then turned to Danzo:

"Lord Danzo! The funeral is about to start. Let's walk together. We haven't seen each other in so long; we can catch up along the way."

"But..."

"Oh, come on! It's just a spy, isn't it? He's being sent to the Hokage Building anyway. Surely you trust my teacher, Lord Danzo?"

With Jiraiya here, Danzo knew he could not save this man today.

The Third Hokage understood Danzo, and Danzo understood the Third Hokage. The instant he saw Jiraiya arrive, he understood what the Third Hokage intended.

Before leaving, Danzo shot Uchiha Fugaku a fierce glare, a vicious gleam flashing in his eyes.

Fugaku ignored him and gave an order instead:

"Jinyan, take him to the Hokage-"

Bang!

Before he could finish, an explosion rang out from the ground, splattering Fugaku and Yan with blood and chunks of flesh.

Everyone looked down. The ninja who had been lying quietly on the ground now had only his body left. His head was gone.

"The Tongue Root Calamity Eradication Cursed Seal..."

Uchiha Yan murmured, "Danzo, you really are ruthless! You can kill your own subordinate so casually. It wasn't as though he couldn't be saved.

You've really gone mad! You'll do anything for the Hokage position!"

Feeling the warmth on his face, Uchiha Yan once again felt the reality of this world, a look of realization flashing through his eyes.

So I never truly felt this world was real. So this world really is this real.

Form is no different from emptiness, and emptiness is no different from form. Sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness are likewise so!

Fugaku heard Yan's murmurs, and his whole body shuddered. How did he know about the Tongue Root Calamity Eradication Cursed Seal, and how did he know it was Danzo?

Few people knew about the Tongue Root Calamity Eradication Cursed Seal. Even those who knew such a cursed seal existed did not know what would happen when it activated.

Even he was seeing it for the first time, let alone a child.

At that moment, he began to wonder just what Uchiha Yan's parents had taught him.

"Clan leader, what should we do?"

"Send the body to the Interrogation Department. I'll tell the Third Hokage exactly what happened."

"Yes!"

"Yan, it's time to go! The funeral is about to begin!"

"Oh..."

Uchiha Yan was utterly dazed. If he stayed in the Shinobi World forever, how should he live out his life?

On Blue Star, he had things he wanted to do. But here in the Shinobi World, he subconsciously felt that this was a dream, perhaps not a real world at all.

Let the heart arise without attachment. How could I possibly reach that state of Buddhahood?

No! I need to set a long-term goal first. Hmm! First, I'll reform this twisted Shinobi World.

I'll set a short-term goal too. I'll start by reforming the Uchiha!

Great! That settles it! As for whether I can achieve it, who cares? It's just a mission anyway, and there's no penalty for failure! If there's one thing this world has no shortage of, it's time.

Over a walk of just a few hundred meters, Uchiha Yan finished setting his goals, breaking them down, and planning the steps to complete them.

As he saw it, plans could change. What mattered most was having a plan and keeping things on the main track.

There were no other steps to the funeral. Everyone observed five minutes of silence, then went up one by one to lay flowers, and that was it.

Even Uchiha Yan was affected by the sorrowful atmosphere, unconsciously lowering his head, unwilling to look around.

Once everyone had laid their flowers, the Third Hokage stood before the crowd and addressed them, grief in his voice:

"These people all died for Konoha. They are all heroes.

Their mission is complete, but those of us who live must continue to protect Konoha.

Kumogakure has already massed troops at the border. They want to seize this opportunity to start a war. I hope everyone can unite against our external enemy and let Kumogakure know that Konoha still has the strength to destroy them.

I hereby order the Uchiha and the three Ino-Shika-Cho clans to leave immediately for the Land of Lightning's border to guard against-"

"Wait!"

Danzo interrupted calmly. "The Fourth Hokage is dead. Our most important task now is to select the Fifth Hokage.

Without a Hokage, how can we win a battle against Kumogakure?

Hiruzen, the Hokage is the source of Konoha's morale."

"The Hokage position requires the daimyo's approval. How much time would the journey there and back waste? Sending people to guard against Kumogakure first is the proper course."

Danzo shook his head. "They still don't know the extent of Konoha's losses. They won't dare attack in the short term.

Besides, without a Hokage, who can order Konoha ninja to mobilize?

Hiruzen, you're no longer the Hokage. You have no authority to give orders."

Watching the two clash, Jiraiya shook his head and turned toward the Fourth Hokage's gravestone.

Tsunade wore an outright mocking expression, looking at the two as though they were clowns.

The Third Hokage swept his gaze over the crowd, then slowly spoke:

"In that case, we'll hold a jonin meeting tomorrow morning. Nominations and voting will both take place then.

We'll leave for the capital tomorrow evening and strive to finalize the Hokage's appointment as quickly as possible!"

"Yes!"

The Third Hokage was not afraid in the slightest. If he could keep Danzo down once, he could keep him down for the rest of his life.

As long as he lived, Danzo would never become Hokage. He would never hand Konoha over to a warmonger.

After the funeral, everyone made excuses and left, either intending to return to their clans to discuss matters or wanting to stay out of it and protect themselves.

The Uchiha Clan was no exception. As soon as Uchiha Fugaku returned to the clan, he summoned its members to a meeting at the ancestral hall. He even brought Uchiha Yan along.

Everyone paused briefly when they saw Uchiha Yan sitting by the door.

"Yan? Why are you here too? Go play somewhere else. This is where the adults discuss things."

"The clan leader brought him here. Just let him sit."

"Exactly! Yan is so well-behaved. How can you bring yourself to pick on him?"

"..."

Before long, everyone had arrived, and Fugaku spoke in a grave voice:

"Tomorrow is the day we select the Fifth Hokage. Do you think the Uchiha should contend for the position?"

"What nonsense! Of course we should. The Uchiha founded Konoha. It should be our turn by now.

Besides, who else could be Hokage other than the clan leader? That bastard Danzo?

If he becomes Hokage, will there be any way for us Uchiha to survive?"

"I agree! Whether we become Hokage or not, we can't let Danzo have it."

"I agree too! Anyone can be Hokage except Danzo. That man is another Tobirama Senju."

For once, there was no arguing at the Uchiha clan meeting. Everyone supported Uchiha Fugaku in competing for Hokage, even the Dove Faction.

Fugaku wanted to compete as well, but he understood even better that once he entered the contest for Hokage, the other ninja clans and the Third Hokage would surely begin suppressing the Uchiha again afterward.

The thought gave Fugaku a headache. He truly did not want to get involved at this point. Not only would he fail to become Hokage, but there would also be endless trouble afterward.

Yet everyone supported him in competing for Hokage. If he refused, he would be too ashamed to remain their clan leader.

Right now, he dearly hoped Xiaren would stand up and show off. But after watching Xiaren for a long time, he saw no response at all.

Thank goodness! There's still Yan. That child is kindhearted. He surely won't want me to compete for Hokage.