The plan succeeded! Becoming the Fifth Hokage!

When Gengetsu led a dozen or so Uchiha Ninja and dozens of Anbu Ninja outside the village, the devastation before them made everyone present gasp.

The surrounding forest had been razed, leaving an open clearing.

At the center of that clearing, the mountain-sized Nine-Tails was bound firmly in place by several immensely thick golden sealing chains.

No matter how frantically the Nine-Tails struggled or how fiercely it roared, it could not break free in the slightest.

Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze had already activated that forbidden Sealing Jutsu-the Reaper Death Seal!

A phantom Shinigami floated behind Minato Namikaze.

But what they found most unbelievable and unacceptable was that the Nine-Tails' massive, sharp claw had already pierced both Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki!

Blood flowed continuously from their bodies.

"Lord Fourth!!!"

"Lady Kushina!!!"

Alarmed by the sight, the Anbu moved to support Minato Namikaze.

But Minato Namikaze stopped them with a sharp command.

"Nobody come any closer!"

At Minato's order, all the Anbu Ninja forced themselves to halt.

By then, Minato's life force was draining rapidly, and he was already at death's door.

Yet he gritted his teeth and held on, relying on the overwhelmingly powerful Reaper Death Seal to forcibly divide the Nine-Tails' unimaginably vast chakra in two.

He sealed the half containing yang release chakra inside the wailing infant on the altar, Naruto Uzumaki.

He sealed the other half, the Nine-Tails' yin release power, inside the Shinigami's stomach along with his own soul.

"Roar!"

With one last roar of utter defiance, the Nine-Tails lost its chakra. Its enormous body could no longer sustain itself, dissolving into countless points of chakra light before vanishing entirely.

Thud!

Minato Namikaze finally reached his limit and collapsed.

"Lord Fourth!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Gengetsu pushed off hard and was the first to rush forward, arriving directly beside Minato.

At the same time, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in Gengetsu's eyes spun wildly. Extremely dense, emerald-green medical chakra instantly gathered around his hands, which he pressed firmly against the horrific wound running through Minato's chest, trying to temporarily sustain his rapidly fading life.

"Gengetsu..."

Minato coughed up mouthfuls of blood. His face was as white as paper, and even his breathing had become halting.

"Lord Fourth, hold on!"

Gengetsu shouted, continuing to pour Medical Ninjutsu into Minato Namikaze's wound while his Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly released dōjutsu power.

"It's no use... I used the Reaper Death Seal... My soul has already been offered to the Shinigami... No one can save me now..."

Minato's voice grew weaker and weaker, as though he might stop breathing at any moment.

"Gengetsu... Tonight... if it hadn't been for you... the village would have been destroyed..."

"You possess wisdom beyond ordinary people... and the true mindset of a Hokage..."

Minato drew a deep breath, as though making an extremely important decision.

The next moment, Minato Namikaze mustered the last of his strength and shouted to the dozens of elite Anbu kneeling around him, as well as the dozen or so Uchiha Clan ninja.

"All Konoha Ninja, hear my command!"

"In my name as the Fourth Hokage... I formally designate..."

"Gengetsu Uchiha... as Konoha's... Fifth Hokage!!!"

Those words seemed to exhaust Minato Namikaze's last remaining strength. His hands fell limply to the ground, his eyes slowly closed, and his life faded completely.

Boom!

Minato Namikaze's final words exploded like thunder in the mind of every Konoha Ninja present.

All the Anbu Ninja snapped their heads up, their faces filled with shock and disbelief. They even wondered whether they had misheard.

Before his death, the Fourth had actually passed the Hokage position to an Uchiha?!

Even the dozen or so Uchiha Clan ninja stood there dumbfounded, unable to react for a moment.

For a time, a deathly silence fell over everyone.

Only the rustle of leaves in the night wind and the infant's clear cries from the altar continued to echo across the clearing.

Gengetsu crouched quietly beside Minato's body with his head lowered. The hair over his forehead hung down, concealing most of his face in deep shadow.

The surrounding Anbu Ninja thought he was grieving the Fourth's death.

But no one could see that beneath those shadows, the corners of Gengetsu's mouth were rising uncontrollably into an utterly arrogant, wild grin!

That's right! This was my plan!

With only his status as captain of the Uchiha Clan's Police Force, no matter how great his achievements or how many civilians he saved, those deeply entrenched old fossils in Konoha High Command would never let him lay a finger on the Hokage position.

In the eyes of Konoha High Command, the Uchiha were an inherently evil clan.

But now, with Minato Namikaze's dying declaration, everything was completely different!

After all, the last person to bypass every tedious procedure and become Hokage directly through his predecessor's dying declaration was none other than the current Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi!

Back then, a single sentence from the dying Second Hokage Tobirama Senju had settled who would become the Third Hokage.

Now, before so many elite Anbu under his direct command, Minato had personally declared his final wish for Gengetsu to become the Fifth Hokage.

But were those truly the words Minato Namikaze had wanted to say?

Would the village's other clans acknowledge it? Would the high command agree?

But none of that mattered anymore!

The Uchiha Clan was no bunch of freeloaders! Nor was the Police Force under Gengetsu's command merely for show!

With legitimacy in his hands, anyone who dared refuse could simply be beaten into submission!

Whether Konoha High Command and the others acknowledged him or not, from the moment Minato closed his eyes, he, Gengetsu Uchiha, was already nominally Konoha's Fifth Hokage!

At that very instant, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang out in Gengetsu's mind.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, on becoming Hokage. The Strongest Hokage System has officially activated.]

[Every increase in the host's prestige will grant a reward.]

[Transfer of power: You have been designated the Fifth Hokage by the Fourth Hokage. Reward obtained: Mangekyō Sharingan!]

As the system's notification ended, Gengetsu felt an incredibly terrifying surge of dōjutsu power suddenly rush toward his eyes.

Under that terrifying dōjutsu power, the three tomoe in Gengetsu's eyes spun wildly and linked together, finally merging into an intricate, mysterious hexagonal pattern.

The Mangekyō Sharingan!

I actually awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan! This is wonderful!

Although Gengetsu was extremely excited to have activated the system and obtained the Mangekyō Sharingan he had dreamed of, he immediately reined in all his emotions.

When Gengetsu raised his head again, his face had already taken on an expression of profound grief and indignation.

He stood, his gaze blazing as he looked at the still-dazed Konoha Ninja around him and shouted:

"The Fourth's sacrifice will not be in vain!"

"I will shoulder the burden the Fourth entrusted to me and defend Konoha to the death!"

Gengetsu's voice abruptly rose, carrying the absolute authority of a ruler:

"Now, as the Fifth Hokage, I order you!"

"Recover the bodies of the Fourth and his wife!"

"Seal off all of Konoha and place the entire village on the highest alert!"

At Gengetsu's orders, the dozen or so Uchiha Clan elites were the first to react.

Without the slightest hesitation, their faces flushed red and their bodies trembled with excitement. An unprecedented fervor blazed in their eyes as they roared, brimming with fighting spirit:

"Yes! We obey your orders, Lord Fifth!"

This was the Hokage! Their Uchiha Clan had finally produced a Hokage!

As for the other Anbu and Konoha Ninja around them, they exchanged glances, standing there at a loss.

Gengetsu's sudden appointment as the Fifth Hokage was simply too abrupt, too unexpected. Their minds were still utterly befuddled.

But they had heard Minato Namikaze's dying words perfectly clearly.

Minato Namikaze had indeed designated Gengetsu the Fifth Hokage. That was an undeniable fact!

Having lost their guiding figure, and faced with Gengetsu's absolute legitimacy, the Anbu Ninja weighed the pros and cons before they could only drop to one knee, lower their heads, and answer helplessly:

"Yes, Lord Fifth!"