Inside the Hokage Tower, Hiruzen sat behind his large office desk. A thin wisp of white smoke rose from the pipe in his hand.
If a new Hokage were to be chosen, who would be more suitable for the position, Kiyohara or Minato?
Without question, among the two who belonged to the Hokage faction, both were naturally favored by Hiruzen.
His former disciple, Orochimaru, had once enjoyed the same privilege. Unfortunately, he had chosen to walk alongside Danzo.
Even so, Hiruzen still believed Orochimaru possessed the qualifications to become Hokage. Beyond those three, there were many shinobi in Konoha who were qualified as well.
However, there was no need for too many Hokage candidates.
If there were too many, it would easily lead to struggles between different factions and could even spark internal conflict within the village.
Therefore, Hiruzen decided to first summon several people he personally favored and test their thoughts.
The first person he called was Minato, who had recently returned from the front lines.
Hiruzen looked at the young man standing before him.
"Minato."
He set down his pipe and folded his hands atop the desk.
"I called you here because there is something I wish to discuss."
"Please speak, Lord Third."
Minato replied respectfully.
The eyes of Hiruzen, eyes that had witnessed countless battlefields, drifted toward the distant Hokage Rock outside the window.
The faces of the First Hokage, the Second Hokage, and his own likeness were carved into the stone cliff in sequence.
Before long, another face would be added.
"The war is nearing its end."
Hiruzen spoke slowly.
"Kiri has retreated. Iwa has agreed to peace. Sunae has formed an alliance. The only one remaining is Kumo."
Minato nodded.
"Yes. At most, another year and the fighting should completely subside."
"A year..."
Hiruzen shook his head.
"Perhaps it won't even take that long."
In his view, a year was too much time. The war could very well end within the next few months.
The current Kumogakure was not in a position to sustain a prolonged conflict.
"Minato, have you ever thought about what kind of person Konoha will need to lead it once the war is over?"
Minato's heartbeat quickened slightly.
Of course he had thought about it.
Every ambitious shinobi had.
"I intend to nominate you as a Hokage candidate."
Hiruzen's words caused Minato's eyes to widen slightly.
"After the war ends, I will take responsibility and resign from the position of Hokage. At that time, the Fourth Hokage will be chosen from among the candidates."
Even with Minato's calm temperament, his heart accelerated uncontrollably when he heard the news.
Hokage.
It was the dream of every Konoha shinobi.
And it was his greatest aspiration.
From the very day he entered the Shinobi Academy, Minato had worked toward becoming Hokage.
He remembered looking at the Third Hokage's portrait as a child, imagining that one day he too would wear that iconic hat.
He also thought of Kushina.
He remembered her saying, "I believe you'll definitely become Hokage."
Yet now, when that possibility was truly placed before him, Minato found himself strangely silent.
Because being Hokage was also an immense responsibility.
Especially after witnessing the cruelty of war, he understood better than ever how important a village's Kage truly was.
After pondering for a moment, Minato raised his head and looked at Hiruzen.
"Lord Third, the war hasn't ended yet."
"Isn't it a little too early to decide on candidates now?"
"I believe that ending the war is far more important for everyone in the village at the moment."
Hiruzen looked at him, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
The first thing this young man thought about was not the excitement of potentially becoming Hokage.
It was the war.
Such character was indeed suited for the role of Hokage.
"The war will end sooner or later."
Hiruzen picked up his pipe and took a puff.
"Besides, you are not the only candidate."
Minato was slightly startled before nodding.
He understood.
The selection of a Hokage had never been a simple matter.
Clan influence, opinions of the village leadership, military achievements. Every aspect required careful consideration.
"I understand, Lord Third. I will continue to work hard."
Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction and continued speaking with Minato for a while longer.
"You may go."
Minato bowed slightly and turned toward the door.
Walking through the hallways of the Hokage Tower, countless thoughts surged through his mind.
A Hokage candidate...
He clenched his fist before slowly relaxing it.
But now was not the time.
The war was not over yet.
Taking a deep breath, he quickened his pace and headed downstairs around the corner.
Back inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen picked up his pipe again but did not smoke.
"Shinnosuke."
He suddenly spoke.
From the shadows, a figure silently appeared.
It was a tall shinobi wearing an ANBU mask.
He knelt on one knee.
"Hokage-sama."
"Go and bring Kiyohara here."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke paused slightly.
"Yes."
He responded, but did not leave immediately.
Lifting his head, the eyes beneath his mask looked toward his father.
"Hokage-sama, are you planning to make Kiyohara a candidate as well?"
During official duties, one addressed others by their position rather than familial titles.
Hiruzen looked at him and did not deny it.
"Yes."
"The first Hokage candidate from the Uchiha Clan?"
"That's right. It will help soothe the Uchiha."
Shinnosuke nodded.
He understood his father's intentions.
The Uchiha Clan had always occupied a delicate position within the village.
Being a Hokage candidate did not necessarily mean one would ultimately be selected.
Allowing them to put forward a candidate, even if that person was not chosen in the end, was itself a meaningful gesture.
However, since the Hokage could only be selected from among the candidates, this was also a sign that the Uchiha were being viewed favorably.
"I'll go immediately."
Shinnosuke stood up, opened the window, and vanished with a Body Flicker.
For ANBU, windows had always been the preferred exit rather than the main door.
The office was left with only Hiruzen and the ANBU guards hidden in the corners.
At Training Ground Three, Kiyohara was conducting his usual clay training.
The future prospects of explosive clay were actually quite promising.
Kiyohara planned to continue researching methods of creating clay directly through chakra, eliminating the weakness of relying on naturally occurring clay as much as possible.
Although doing so would increase chakra consumption, the benefits after success would be far greater.
The richest woman in the shinobi world, Konan, had once disguised six hundred billion explosive tags as an ocean, luring Obito into the trap before bombarding him relentlessly. Had Obito not used Izanagi, he likely would have died on the spot.
But when Kiyohara fought, he could simply inject Earth chakra into the land beneath his feet and transform an entire mountain into an explosive clay bomb.
Just imagine the level of destruction that would create.
A nuclear bomb?
'Fortunately, the biggest weakness isn't really a problem for me.'
Kiyohara thought to himself.
Creating clay with Earth chakra dramatically increased chakra consumption, which was why Deidara never used such a method.
Although Deidara's chakra reserves were actually greater than Tsunade's under normal conditions when she was not using Strength of a Hundred Seal, it still wouldn't be nearly enough to cover an entire mountain.
"If I keep stacking Future bonuses, my chakra reserves will soon reach twenty times that of an elite jonin. That would be equivalent to twice the chakra of a Kage-level shinobi?"
Kiyohara stroked his chin thoughtfully.
People often saw Kage-level fighters everywhere during the latter stages of the Fourth Great Shinobi War, but in reality, they were extremely rare throughout the shinobi world.
The reason there seemed to be so many later was because Kabuto, the master of making dreams come true, had simply summoned countless dead legends back to life.
Without that, the war would never have reached such a massive scale.
"Hm?"
A thought suddenly crossed Kiyohara's mind.
Perhaps there was another convenient way to solve this problem.
Within the Sage Art of Ryuchi Cave was a technique known as Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation.
It allowed the user to absorb natural energy and grant life to inorganic matter, transforming it into controllable organic forms.
At its core, the process involved injecting chakra into matter and altering its form.
"I should pay a visit to the White Snake Sage soon."
Kiyohara mused.
This technique had enormous potential.
Even an Otsutsuki would have to suffer from being blown up by it.
The Otsutsuki were resistant to damage from ninjutsu, but they were not immune to damage caused by actual physical phenomena.
For example, in Boruto, Otsutsuki Isshiki had been injured by Jiraiya's clone, Koji Kashin, through Summoning Technique: True Fire of Samadhi.
That was because the flames originated from the Flaming Mountain itself. They were a natural phenomenon rather than fire created from chakra, making them impossible for Karma to absorb.
When Kiyohara altered the land using chakra and then detonated it, the resulting effects were high temperatures and shockwaves.
Those were pure physical phenomena.
They did not require chakra-based simulation or direct chakra manipulation.
Whether it was the Rinnegan or Karma, both could only absorb ninjutsu formed from chakra.
If one used Earth Release to gather surrounding soil into a meteor and hurled it at an Otsutsuki, the Otsutsuki could certainly deconstruct the meteor back into ordinary soil.
However, if they failed to dodge, they would still be struck by the falling mass of earth.
Because that portion was natural matter.
Kiyohara's transformed explosive clay worked under the same principle. He merely changed the form of matter. Even if someone absorbed the chakra within it, the clay itself could still explode.
"Better to take things one step at a time."
As he thought, Kiyohara molded several pieces of clay together.
Using those clay components, he sculpted a miniature Tsunade.
The tiny white clay Tsunade looked a little absent-minded, but the resemblance was surprisingly accurate.
Kiyohara controlled the white clay Tsunade as it darted among scattered rocks, weaving around protruding boulders before finally arriving beside a tree.
Kiyohara raised a hand.
His finger twitched lightly.
"Detonate!"
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted.
Flames burst outward. Broken stones flew through the air. Dust billowed in every direction.
When the smoke finally dispersed, the tree had already been blasted into countless fragments, its trunk covered in blackened scorch marks.
The technique was something Kiyohara had named:
"C106: Explosive Tsunade."
Looking at the devastation left behind, Kiyohara nodded slightly in satisfaction.
He had not created this technique for combat.
It was merely a way to test the quality of his clay sculpting skills.
As for controlling explosive clay, he was becoming increasingly proficient.
If Deidara ever saw this, that kid would probably start shouting about art again.
A moment later, Kiyohara molded another piece of white clay into the shape of a grenade. Just as he was preparing to throw it, he suddenly sensed a familiar chakra signature.
Someone was approaching.
And that chakra...
He turned around.
A figure was walking out from between the trees.
The person wore an ANBU mask and possessed a tall build.
Kiyohara recognized him immediately.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
"Kiyohara."
Shinnosuke stopped in front of him. Through the eyeholes of the ANBU mask, a pair of dark eyes stared directly at Kiyohara.
"The Hokage wishes to see you."
Kiyohara raised an eyebrow slightly.
Calling him over at a time like this?
He did not ask any questions and simply nodded.
"I'll head there right away."
Shinnosuke nodded as well and turned to leave. Then, as if remembering something, he suddenly stopped.
"Kiyohara."
"Hm?"
"Congratulations."
He said only those two words.
Then his figure blurred and vanished into the forest.
Kiyohara remained where he stood, staring at the spot where Shinnosuke had disappeared.
His brows furrowed slightly.
Congratulations?
Congratulations for what?
After thinking about it for a moment, he shook his head.
He stored away the remaining clay, repaired the damaged terrain using Earth Release, and then headed toward the Hokage Tower.
When Kiyohara pushed open the door to the Hokage's office, Hiruzen was standing beside the window.
Outside, the sky had already darkened completely.
Lights were gradually illuminating Konoha's bustling streets.
Ordinary civilians and shinobi alike moved throughout the village, their lives intertwining endlessly.
"Hokage-sama."
Kiyohara walked up to the desk.
Hiruzen turned around.
"Kiyohara, have a seat."
Kiyohara complied and sat down in the chair.
Hiruzen returned behind his desk, sat down, and took a puff from his pipe.
"Kiyohara."
He spoke slowly.
"Are you interested in becoming Hokage?"
Kiyohara's expression shifted ever so slightly.
The question had come rather suddenly.
However, nothing showed on his face. He merely smiled faintly.
"Becoming Hokage is probably every shinobi's dream."
Hiruzen looked at him carefully.
The answer was very similar to Minato's.
"And what do you think it takes to become Hokage?"
Kiyohara fell silent for two seconds.
"To gain everyone's acknowledgment."
He spoke softly.
"It is not that becoming Hokage earns acknowledgment."
"It is because one earns acknowledgment that one can become Hokage."
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes slightly.
Such awareness.
Such understanding of the Will of Fire.
It was difficult to imagine those words coming from an Uchiha.
If Madara had possessed this level of political understanding back then, perhaps the previous shinobi wars would never have happened.
Without internal conflict between Hashirama and Madara, both men likely would have lived for a very long time.
"Kiyohara."
"I intend to make you a Hokage candidate."
Kiyohara was genuinely surprised.
Damn it.
The voting had not even started, and he was already about to become a Hokage candidate?
This was blatant insider dealing!
But after giving it some thought, Kiyohara remembered that in the anime, only Orochimaru and Minato had been formally nominated as candidates.
Both of them were civilians.
There was no way all of Konoha's shinobi clans had failed to support their own people.
That alone proved that so-called voting was largely symbolic.
What truly mattered was the intention of the village leadership.
And now, he himself had entered Hiruzen's list of considerations.
"After the war ends, I will step down as Hokage."
Hiruzen continued.
"At that time, the Fourth Hokage will be selected from among the candidates. During this period, you should continue accumulating military achievements."
It was already the second time he had delivered those exact words today.
Kiyohara looked up.
"I understand."
He nodded.
"I will continue fulfilling my responsibilities."
Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction.
"Hokage-sama, I'll take my leave."
Kiyohara stood up and walked toward the door.
The office door closed behind him.
Hiruzen remained seated.
This child truly was impressive.
Soon afterward, Hiruzen began considering when he should summon Orochimaru.
After some thought, he decided it would be better to wait until the war ended.
After all, Orochimaru's mouth was not exactly tight-lipped.
There was a chance he would reveal the information to Danzo.
Leaving the Hokage Tower, Kiyohara found himself somewhat stunned.
He had actually become one of the Hokage candidates.
According to the anime, the candidates should not have been officially determined until after the war ended.
But now, before the war was even over, Hiruzen had already begun making preparations.
Was it because this war had lasted several years longer than before?
Kiyohara stroked his chin thoughtfully.
It was already more than fifty years since Konoha's founding.
According to the original timeline, Naruto and Sasuke should have already been born by now.
Yet neither of them had arrived.
As he pondered this, Kiyohara suddenly stopped walking.
At the far end of the hallway, hidden within the shadows, stood a small figure.
A youthful face.
Dark eyes staring straight at him.
Uchiha Itachi.
Kiyohara raised an eyebrow.
"Itachi?"
The young boy walked over and stopped before him.
"Kiyohara-sensei."
"What is it?"
"Father asked me to invite you."
He paused briefly.
"There is a clan gathering tonight. He hopes you can attend."
Kiyohara frowned slightly.
A gathering?
The Uchiha Clan's internal "secret meeting"?
"What gathering?"
Kiyohara asked, pretending not to know.
Itachi looked at him and explained.
"It will be held at Naka Shrine. It is a secret gathering of the Uchiha Clan. Only Uchiha shinobi are allowed to attend."
Upon hearing that, Kiyohara instinctively glanced around.
Good grief.
Calling it a secret meeting while openly announcing it in a hallway?
Fortunately, nobody else was nearby.
"Father said the matter concerns the Hokage position, because Kiyohara-sensei may become Hokage."
Itachi said calmly.
Kiyohara's expression immediately became strange.
How do you know I've become a Hokage candidate?
"Of course, Father may also become Hokage."
Itachi continued.
"If the Uchiha Clan produces a Hokage candidate, it will probably be either Father or Sensei."
Only then did Kiyohara understand.
So Fugaku simply wanted to sound him out in advance.
"I understand."
Kiyohara asked Itachi about the meeting time.
Itachi answered.
The hour was not particularly late, so Kiyohara agreed.
"I'll be there."
Itachi nodded and turned to leave.
Meanwhile, within the Uchiha Clan district.
The home of Uchiha Fugaku.
Fugaku sat in the living room holding a cup of tea that had long since gone cold.
The surface of the tea reflected his face.
Years spent serving as both clan head and chief of the Konoha Military Police Force had aged him considerably.
Fine wrinkles had appeared at the corners of his eyes.
Deep lines had formed between his brows.
Even strands of white hair could be seen near his temples.
Setting down the cup, he looked out the window.
Moonlight bathed the courtyard.
The shadows of the trees swayed gently in the night breeze.
"Father."
Itachi's voice sounded from outside.
Fugaku turned his head.
Itachi entered the room and stopped in front of him.
"Kiyohara-sensei said he will come."
Fugaku nodded.
"You've worked hard."
"Tell your mother to prepare some refreshments."
He added after a moment.
Once the gathering concluded, Fugaku intended to invite Kiyohara back to his house.
Upon hearing this, Itachi headed toward the kitchen.
Inside, Uchiha Mikoto stood before the sink washing dishes.
The sound of running water filled the room.
As Itachi entered, she was placing a freshly washed bowl into the cabinet.
"Mother."
Mikoto turned around, a gentle smile on her face.
"Itachi, what is it?"
"Father asked you to prepare some refreshments."
Mikoto blinked in surprise.
"We're having guests?"
"Yes."
Itachi nodded.
"Kiyohara-sensei."
"Kiyohara?"
Mikoto nodded.
Almost unconsciously, she recalled Kiyohara's appearance.
Back at Training Ground Three, she had once seen him wearing his shinobi armor.
His broad shoulders and firm chest had possessed a striking sense of strength and beauty.
Unlike Fugaku.
Fugaku had also been handsome in his youth.
But years of hard work and responsibility had left their mark.
Wrinkles had appeared at the corners of his eyes.
Deep lines had formed between his brows.
Even his posture was no longer as upright as it once had been.
She quickly shook her head, dismissing those thoughts.
"I understand."
Mikoto replied softly.
(End of Chapter)