HSU: Ch. 354

Jigen.

A monk.

Masashi committed that name to memory. But he had no impression of the name at all. There were countless people in the world eating off the monk profession. Who knew how many temples were tucked away in remote corners? Trying to find someone based on a possibly real or fake name was ridiculously hard. Even the ANBU wouldn't be enough.

Better to wait until he became Hokage and let Konoha's authority carry the search. By then, there would be more channels to work with. Besides, after two lifetimes of experience in this world, he knew more or less what kind of group "monks" here were. Maybe not crystal clear, but seven or eight-tenths right.

That night, Masashi set aside unnecessary worries and chatted with the Fire Daimyō until dawn. The more they talked, the more energized they became.

Shisui hinted several times that they should really go to bed, but one was like someone finally getting rain after a drought, and the other was thrilled to drop the ninja identity and just shoot the breeze. They totally missed Shisui's signals. In the end, the one who couldn't keep up was the Fire Daimyō. He hadn't trained chakra, just a regular person, and he'd just finished a long trip. Exhaustion finally won. Very reluctantly, he announced that he'd have to go sleep first. And in his heart, he secretly made a firm decision: once the Hokage inauguration was over, he would drag Masashi out drinking.

As a daimyō, he drank wine like water. Fighting? Not so much. Drinking? He confidently claimed second-best in the world, and no one would call themselves first. Feeling exceedingly pleased with himself, the Fire Daimyō obediently went to bed, and afterward, Masashi and Shisui stepped outside the guest lodge to catch the night breeze and digest.

Too much tea.

And the daimyō's biscuits were pretty tasty, too.

Shisui gazed over the silent clan compound. Deep in the night, nearly all houses were dark, clansmen asleep. Night-duty ninjas hid in the shadows of buildings, silently guarding the homes and protecting the people.

Once, the Uchiha arranged their duties so that a full third of the clan rotated shifts, a continuous 24/7 watch. Now, that was no longer necessary. The Police Force handled most of the external security. And tomorrow, everything would change again.

Thinking that far, Shisui's heart surged with excitement.

"Your years of effort finally paid off," Shisui said sincerely. "Even the daimyō is looking forward to you."

Masashi turned to look at him, and felt a sentence bubbling in his chest that he just couldn't say aloud.

Damn it all, this outcome was the total opposite of everything he worked for. If he didn't have to be Hokage or hold any public office, with his current power, life would be ridiculously comfortable.

Now, instead, he had to work hard to make other Kage-level ninjas ridiculously comfortable.

"Yes, hard work pays off." That was all Masashi finally said.

Since he was already becoming Hokage, there was no point complaining.

Better to think about how to use the position to achieve his own goals. To be fair, being Hokage is a technical job. It all depends on how you do it.

"I knew it!" Shisui beamed. "You say you don't want it, but you're just nervous, afraid you won't do well. Deep down, you're happy, right?"

"Yeah. I'm so happy I don't even know how to put it into words."

"It's fine, just say it. This is the kind of thing you share with family."

"If I could put it into words, I wouldn't be happy enough. Let's talk about something else. Like that new shop. I think it's pretty nice. And you're still single. You'll be the clan head someday. You won't lack social occasions in the future. If you keep being all uptight, it'll hurt the clan's image."

"Fine, I'll drop it."

Seeing Shisui finally shut his mouth, Masashi felt satisfied.

Masashi's thoughts drifted to Madara and to Kaguya, who was currently experiencing the new era living with the Hyūga. She hadn't been venting to him remotely recently. The few times she called, she sounded in a good mood. It seemed the Hyūga really did know how to serve their ancestors properly. Which meant in the near term, the only remaining trouble was Madara. He seemed ready to target the other tailed beasts. And the timing landed perfectly, right when Masashi was being pushed into the Hokage seat.

Masashi smirked inwardly, already anticipating Madara's expression when the time came. With Shisui's chatter gone, silence finally returned around them.

The last lights in the clan compound flickered out. Even the restless wind drifted away. Clouds swallowed the moonlight. The land sank into complete darkness, waiting for dawn. After lingering outside for a bit, Masashi and Shisui returned indoors.

---

The clouds vanished without a trace. The moon sank. A pale glow tore through the night, pushing the blazing red sun up from the horizon inch by inch. In the room next to the Fire Daimyō's, Masashi opened his eyes right on time. When he stepped outside, the daimyō's room was still quiet.

The barrier Masashi had set remained untouched. To be safe, he used chakra sensing, confirmed the daimyō was indeed peacefully asleep, and only then headed downstairs. When he reached the entrance of the guest house, a large crowd was already gathered outside.

The young Uchiha clansmen had risen early. At first light, they had already assembled on their own. Waiting for Masashi. He stood in the doorway, looking at them. Everything was said without words.

"Masashi, Shisui will handle the daimyō's protection," Fugaku said, stepping out from the crowd. "From here on, you won't have the time. Go home first, wash up, eat something. Today's the day we get the result."

Masashi nodded, walked through the crowd, and headed for home. He didn't use Flying Thunder God like usual. He could feel all their eyes on him, blazing hot. Honestly, he suspected that a few Sharingan pairs might awaken today.

In recent years, the probability of Uchiha awakening their eyes had clearly gone up. It felt like the "seal" on the Sharingan within the clan was getting weaker and weaker.

At eight in the morning, the plaza and streets in front of the Hokage Building were already packed with people. Today was the day the successor to the Fifth Hokage would be announced, exactly at nine o'clock.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the rooftop of the Hokage Building. Many people, unable to get a spot up front to see clearly, simply climbed to the rooftops of buildings across the street. Even so, those who could get a relatively close view were still very few. Ninjas had it easier. Ninjutsu was born for war, and among them were many low-ranking but extremely practical supportive techniques, including those for long-distance sight. And if you were from the Hyūga clan, you didn't even need ninjutsu. Just make sure not to overdo it. Otherwise you might end up seeing the new Hokage standing there in his underwear.

Looking down from the rooftop of the Hokage Building, the crowd below surged like an ocean. Rooftops across the street were also packed with heads, dense as a field of wheat. For ordinary villagers, the Hokage election was actually something fun. People from different walks of life know nothing about each other. Most villagers barely knew the candidates' names until they listened to their speeches.

A lot of people were basically voting at random. So the announcement felt like opening a mystery box, full of surprise and excitement.

For higher-ranked ninjas and the great ninja clans, though, it felt more like a project bid. Unlike villagers, they understood every nomination and, based on their own interests, worked hard to rally votes. Announcement day felt like the unsealing of the bids, full of anticipation and anxiety. But this time, things were a bit different.

In previous elections, if you ran into neighbors before announcement day, a casual chat would reveal people had voted differently. This time, even if you walked the streets trying to ask around, it was rare to meet someone who voted differently from you. Let alone among the clans. There was no suspense, just everyone coming to witness the moment.

There was no helping it: this candidate was too well-loved.

A string of policies afterward benefited the overwhelming majority. Even those who didn't benefit much couldn't bring themselves to say he didn't deserve to be Hokage.

Otherwise, why would the Fourth Hokage step down?

Finally, as the time approached, familiar figures appeared on the rooftop.

Hashirama, and Tobirama, because of their Edo Tensei state, rarely appeared publicly, and yet their presence caused a wave of cheers. For villagers and the vast ranks of genin and chunin, the status of these two Hokage was beyond extraordinary. They were the ones who carved out this safe haven out of chaos, the founders of the Will of Fire. Konoha's guiding spirit, its ideals and character, was built by them.

Hashirama and Tobirama looked at the gathered masses below and exchanged a smile. With a scene like this, they could finally depart at ease. They had watched this entire election unfold. The will of the people was no weaker than in their own time. And the village was stronger than it had ever been under them.

They turned. Standing behind them were Hiruzen, and Minato. Behind them stood the nominated candidates. Or rather, with a prefix, those who had finished the race but not won: Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi.

Among the three, Jiraiya was the most carefree, but the moment he saw Hashirama and Tobirama turn around, he straightened up, no, behaved, at once. Kakashi felt a bit awkward. He thought he looked completely out of place here, and he was quite sure it wasn't just his imagination. Tsunade, on the other hand, felt a bit sad, because she knew her grandfather and granduncle were about to leave.

Standing off to the side were Koharu and Homura, as well as Kushina. In front of Tobirama, they behaved very properly.

Kushina, on the other hand, looked deeply comforted. She had already decided she was going to give Minato a proper reward that night. But everyone was waiting for one person. Suddenly, all eyes turned toward the stairs. From there, someone walked up.

"Hey, that outfit looks pretty good, Masashi," Minato's eyes lit up. "I suddenly feel inspired. I think this should be called..."

"Ahem." Hiruzen cut off Minato's naming hobby. "Whatever name you want to give it, do that after the ceremony. For now, Masashi, step up front. Everyone's waiting."

Under the sunlight, Masashi wore a white robe and the conical hat that symbolized the Hokage. It was the standard and traditional uniform of the Hokage. Or perhaps more accurately, the "Hokage robe."

The Five Great Ninja Villages each designed uniforms differently, but for their leaders, the Five Kage started with a unified style, marked by a hat and a robe. This remained consistent up through the third generation, but as eras changed, their outfits diversified. Eventually only the hat remained as the symbol of office.

In Konoha, for example, by the Fourth Hokage's time, the outfit had shifted to a more flowing and movement-friendly design.

Suna's Fourth still kept to the old style. Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri had all abandoned uniforms even earlier, keeping only the hat.

Masashi's outfit, however, had been designed under the advice of the two previous Hokage. The traditional Hokage robe was originally derived from the ceremonial formalwear of the Senju clan. Senju ceremonial dress was much like traditional formal wear. The Hokage robe simplified this form, less formalwear, more functional, yet all three of the early Hokage had worn it gloriously into battle.

Masashi's robe, however, incorporated suggestions from Hashirama, bringing in the Uchiha clan's traditional high-collared robe style, to truly symbolize the integration of the Uchiha and the village. Overall, though, the main design still followed the original Hokage robe. This outfit embodied Hashirama's long-held wish: for Senju and Uchiha to truly become one family.

Masashi hadn't worn clothes like this in a long time, and he felt a little unaccustomed to it. He greeted Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi first, then walked past Hiruzen and Minato, smiling as he accepted their blessings and encouragement. Finally, he took his position at the very front beside Hashirama and Tobirama, facing the vast, dense sea of people.

"Masashi, from today onward, you are the Fifth Hokage," Hashirama said with a smile. Then he and Tobirama both stepped back.

With chakra-enhanced projection, Tobirama's steady voice echoed in the ears of everyone present.

"From this day forth, Uchiha Masashi shall serve as the Fifth Hokage!"

For a moment, the crowd fell silent, then erupted into cheers. Masashi adjusted his conical hat, sighed quietly to himself, and waved to the cheering masses. From this moment, he could no longer speak carelessly. Every word and action from him would shape the fate of the village, and the world.

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Is anyone still reading?