{Just noticed that there are already 610k+ words, go me!}
~
When Homura finally straightened from his bow, the chamber did not erupt.
It fell silent again.
Not the brittle, shocked silence from earlier revelations, but something heavier, uneasy, confused, and edged with fear. No one had expected this. An elder apologizing publicly was unheard of. An elder admitting cowardice was worse. But what truly unsettled the room was the implication buried beneath his words.
Homura had not isolated Danzo.
He had tied himself, Koharu and even Hiruzen to Danzo's crimes.
The realization spread slowly, like ink through water.
If Danzo Shimura was to be executed for treason… Then what about those who knew and did nothing?
Whispers began to stir at the edges of the room, quickly smothered by discipline, but the thought was already there, unavoidable. Some of the civilian elders exchanged uneasy glances. A few jonin shifted in their seats, brows furrowed.
Shikaku frowned deeply, fingers tapping once against his knee as he leaned toward Yoru.
"What the hell is going on?" he muttered under his breath.
Yoru did not look away from the center of the room. His voice came low and even.
"Hiruzen wants to take responsibility."
Shikaku's eyes narrowed. "No, I get that," he replied quietly. "But this is reckless."
He glanced briefly at the Daimyo, then back to Homura and Hiruzen.
"He can't be removed from the Hokage position right now. Not at a time like this."
Yoru said nothing, letting Shikaku continue.
"Tsunade-sama still hasn't agreed to return permanently, much less take up the position," Shikaku went on. "Jiraiya-sama has refused twice already. If the Third steps down now, it won't just be internal instability, it'll be an invitation."
His jaw tightened.
"The other villages will have a field day. Danzo is gone, our underground network is still rebuilding, and we won't have the intelligence coverage to compensate fast enough. If the Hokage's seat goes vacant on top of that…"
He shook his head slightly.
"It'll be chaos."
Shikaku finally turned his head. "If he really steps down, then who takes the seat?"
Yoru was quiet for a moment, then answered slowly, "It would be either you…"
He paused.
"…or him."
Yoru's turned just slightly, toward Ren
Shikaku followed it.
Ren sat there, arms folded, his expression darker than it had been for most of the trial. His eyes were fixed on Homura, still standing at the center of the chamber, shoulders bowed not from age but from regret.
Ren had heard them.
'Of course,' Ren thought. 'That's where this goes.'
He had known for a long time that his name was already written on a list somewhere. Hokage candidate. The village had probably been observing him for it since before he was old enough to understand what the title meant.
Once, he had rejected the idea outright. It was power without freedom, responsibility without end.
Now… it was different.
He no longer disliked the thought.
Not because of idealism. Not because of some inherited will.
Because of the system.
To become stronger than everyone, he had to make changes to the original story. He understood that change did not come from standing outside and throwing stones, it came from sitting at the center and turning the wheel yourself.
By his own estimate, by the time the future he remembered truly began to unfold, his strength would be nearing peak Kage level. Strong enough to fight. Strong enough to deter. Strong enough to survive the consequences of change.
But becoming Hokage, becoming Fifth, would let him alter the course of things early. One decisive change, followed by many smaller ones.
It was… tempting.
But not now.
Ren's brow furrowed slightly as he looked back toward Hiruzen.
'Not like this,' he thought.
Hiruzen Sarutobi still had to stand.
If the Third Hokage fell now, the village would fracture before Ren could even take the seat. The Daimyo would tighten his grip. The other villages would probe. Danzo's remnants would lash out. The Uchiha situation, already a knife's edge, would explode.
Ren had no interest in inheriting a burning village.
He leaned back slightly, gaze hardening.
'You can step aside later, old man,' he thought quietly. 'But only after this mess is done.
Ren drew in a slow breath, steadying himself, then spoke, quietly by his standards, but far from silent.
"I'll take up the position of the Fifth."
The words landed heavier than any accusation spoken that day.
Yoru and Shikaku turned toward him instantly, surprise flashing across the latter's face. On the same bench, Fugaku's gaze sharpened, his Sharingan not active but his attention absolute. Hiashi shifted slightly, pale eyes narrowing in thought. Just behind them, Utakata's calm expression cracked for the briefest moment, while Inoichi and Choza both stiffened, exchanging a look that carried a mix of shock and grim understanding.
Ren hadn't tried to keep it down. He hadn't wanted to.
If he was going to say it, he would say it openly.
At the front of the chamber, Hiruzen's eyes brightened.
He had been listening carefully ever since Homura began his apology, his attention divided between the crowd, the Daimyo and Ren. When Ren spoke, Hiruzen heard every word. And in that instant, something inside the old Hokage eased, just a little.
'So he's willing,' Hiruzen thought.
Ren continued, his tone firm, controlled, but unmistakably young.
"However," he added, "I can't take it up right now."
That caused a second ripple.
Shikaku opened his mouth, then closed it again, choosing to listen.
"The matter of whether I'm personally ready aside," Ren went on, "the Third cannot be removed immediately after Danzo's death. We all know what kind of chaos Danzo will cause once his end is announced. At that moment, what the village needs isn't a rising star, it needs a stabilizing figure."
His gaze swept briefly across the room, acknowledging the reality no one wanted to voice.
"If the Hokage's seat changes hands today," Ren said, "the village fractures. The other villages test us. The Daimyo tightens his grip. And the mess Danzo leaves behind turns into something we can't easily control."
He paused, then added bluntly, "That would be stupid."
A few lips twitched despite the tension.
"So," Ren continued, "the Third remains the Third. He carries the title, the authority, and the weight that keeps everything from collapsing. But we can't pretend nothing happened either, the Daimyo will be eager to hold someone accountable."
His eyes lifted slightly.
"What I propose is this, the Third keeps his position, and I work alongside him. To the outside world, I'm the successor learning from him. To the village, the two generations work together."
He shrugged lightly. "It keeps continuity, it buys time, and it prevents unnecessary chaos."
Ren finally turned his head fully toward the front.
"What do you think?"
Everyone knew who that question was for.
The room's attention shifted as one, all eyes settling on Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Third Hokage closed his eyes.
For a moment, the weight returned, the years, the regrets, the compromises, the mistakes. He had shouldered the village through two great wars, the aftermath of the Nine-Tails' rampage, and countless crises that never made it into records.
He was tired.
But he wasn't finished.
When Hiruzen opened his eyes again, the weariness was still there, but beneath it, something else stirred. A spark that many had thought long extinguished. The quiet fire that had once made him the man others called the God of Shinobi.
'One last time,' he thought.
'One last storm to weather. One last duty to fulfill.'
He did not speak.
He simply nodded.
It was subtle, barely a movement, but to those who knew him, it was unmistakable.
Ren smiled.
From beside him, Yoru let out a short snort unlike himself. "So," he muttered under his breath, "he found that spark again."
Shikaku exhaled slowly, tension draining from his shoulders. "Looks like it."
Fugaku leaned back slightly, thoughtful, recalculating the future in his mind. Hiashi's expression remained reserved, but his posture relaxed a fraction. Behind them, Utakata closed his eyes briefly, as if committing the moment to memory, while Choza allowed himself a quiet nod and Inoichi couldn't help the smile forming on his lips.
At the front of the chamber, Hiruzen straightened just a little.
The village would not collapse today.
Danzo would fall. Chaos would come. But it would be faced, not by a fractured leadership, not by fear, but by two generations standing side by side.
~
The people gathered in the chamber had no idea that the question of the next Hokage had already been answered, quietly and decisively, before a single verdict had been announced. Even if they did know, very few would have objected. Ren's name had not risen through rumor or favoritism, it had been carved into the consciousness of the shinobi world through action, blood, and results.
There was only one doubt that lingered in the minds of the uninformed.
His strength.
Among civilians, and even among lower-ranked shinobi, Ren Senju was still seen as young, dangerously talented, certainly, but young. Power on paper was one thing. Power proven against monsters, jinchuriki, and S-rank threats was another. Those who truly understood what had happened beyond the village walls, however, did not share that doubt.
The top brass of the Leaf knew.
The top brass of other villages knew as well.
They might not know every detail, but they knew enough to be cautious, enough to hesitate. Enough to understand that Ren Senju was no longer something that could be measured by age or rank alone.
His appointment, when it eventually came, would shock some, but it would not be challenged seriously. And if it had to be proven to the masses, it could be done slowly. There was time for now.
Homura was still bowing when Hiruzen made his decision.
The chamber had fallen into a heavy, contemplative silence when the Third Hokage finally spoke.
"I have something to say."
The words were calm, but they carried weight. Instantly, the murmurs died. The Daimyo straightened slightly in his seat and every gaze in the room turned toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.
If there was anyone who understood Danzo's crimes fully, it was him. And now, with Homura's confession, Hiruzen himself stood partially implicated. Everyone wanted to hear what the old Hokage would say.
Hiruzen rose slowly from his seat.
He did not rush. He did not posture. His steps were measured as he walked forward, the faint tap of his staff echoing in the chamber.
"My position as the Third Hokage," he began, "was passed down to me by my teacher, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju."
A few people shifted at the mention of that name.
"Most people know Tobirama-Sensei as a man of frightening intelligence," Hiruzen continued, his voice steady. "But even now, many still underestimate him."
He paused briefly, eyes unfocused as memory surfaced.
"He warned me. Long before any of this happened, he warned me that Danzo was not a man who would ever be satisfied. He told me to keep him in check."
Danzo's single visible eye flicked toward Hiruzen, cold and sharp.
"But I believed," Hiruzen said quietly, "that I could help my friend."
There was no anger in his voice, no accusation, only weariness.
"I believed that if I trusted him, if I gave him space, he would support me in guiding the village to greater heights. Because of that belief, I pardoned many of his mistakes."
Hiruzen let out a tired breath.
"And in doing so… those mistakes became my own."
The room remained silent, the weight of his words sinking in.
"By the time I truly understood how far Danzo had gone," Hiruzen continued, "it was already too late to stop him cleanly. And yet, even then, I could have acted."
His lips curved into a faint, bitter smile.
"But as Homura said," he admitted, "I was a coward."
The word hit harder coming from him than it ever could have from an accuser.
"I was afraid of what would happen if Danzo died. Afraid of what would fill the vacuum he left behind. Afraid of who would handle the village's dirty work… my dirty work."
Several people stiffened at that.
"In allowing Danzo to continue operating in the darkness," Hiruzen said, his voice lowering, "I realized something far worse. It was I who kept pushing him deeper into that darkness."
He looked out at the chamber, eyes clear.
"So yes," he said, "as much as it pains me to admit it, this situation is also my responsibility."
A ripple passed through the room.
"I am prepared to accept whatever punishment is deemed appropriate," Hiruzen said. "I am ready to bear the consequences of my failures."
"However."
The word was not spoken loudly.
But in the next instant, chakra erupted from Hiruzen.
It was not wild, not uncontrolled. It was dense, overwhelming and ancient.
The chamber shook.
Not just the chamber, the entire Hokage Tower trembled, stone groaning softly under the pressure. The whole village shook, shinobi paused mid-step as the ground beneath the village vibrated, windows rattling faintly.
This was not an attack.
This was presence.
The presence of the man who had held the village together for decades.
Ren's eyes lit up instantly, sharp and bright, a thrill running through him as his instincts screamed. His chakra responded on its own, coiling, eager.
'This is it,' he thought, a grin tugging at his lips. 'The peak of a normal human.'
Hiruzen glanced in Ren's direction and smiled softly, the smallest acknowledgment, before turning back to the chamber.
"I am ready to take responsibility," he said. "I will shoulder every burden that is mine."
His chakra slowly receded, but the air remained heavy.
"But not now," Hiruzen continued, voice firm. "Not when the village still needs me. Not when the next generation is not yet fully ready to carry everything alone."
He straightened, standing tall despite his age.
"So I ask you," he said, turning toward the Daimyo, "to make your decision wisely."
"Daimyo-sama."
~~~~~
{What a chapter, right?}
{I was very torn about what to do about Ren's Hokage Position, whether I should make him the 5th or 6th, however, it's final now, Ren will be the Fifth Hokage, rejoice bitches.}
{Also, Hiruzen!}