Ever since drawing Stone Breathing, Wen Lan began training his body around the clock.
Finally half a month later—Namikaze Minato officially succeeded as Hokage!
That day, the entire village was filled with joy.
Firecrackers rang out one after another, and even the mountain breeze seemed to carry a festive rhythm.
On the Hokage Rock, a fourth stone face had been carved—
Namikaze Minato's youthful yet resolute visage, his brows carrying the light of idealism.
The plaza in front of the Hokage Building was packed with villagers and ninja alike, cheers surging like waves.
The Third Hokage stepped into the background, while Minato stood atop the platform.
His golden hair gleamed beneath the autumn sun, his cloak billowing loudly in the wind.
Minato raised his hand slightly, signaling for silence.
His gaze swept across the crowd as he spoke, his voice gentle yet firm:
"From today onward, I will safeguard Konoha's peace and will not betray the trust of a single villager."
After a brief pause, he continued:
"The future may hold storms and hardship, but as long as we stand united, nothing will ever bring this village to its knees.
Where the leaves dance, the fire shall burn on forever!"
Thunderous applause erupted below.
Children waved paper flags, while elders nodded with satisfied smiles.
Wen Lan stood on a slope at the back of the crowd, arms crossed, smiling as he looked toward Minato atop the Hokage Building.
With Minato taking office, the Uchiha's situation would improve greatly.
In truth, Wen Lan had once considered leading the Uchiha out of Konoha altogether.
But Minato—and especially Kushina—had genuinely treated him well.
Kushina, in particular, had always cared for him like an older sister.
That warmth made it difficult for him to simply walk away.
At that moment, Orochimaru appeared beside Wen Lan, licking his lips as he spoke:
"Congratulations, Master Wen Lan. With Namikaze Minato becoming Hokage, the Uchiha will no longer be suppressed."
Wen Lan looked at Orochimaru in surprise.
Normally, Orochimaru would rather lock himself inside a laboratory—yet today he had come out.
"…Out of blood?" Wen Lan asked suspiciously.
"There's still some left," Orochimaru chuckled softly, his golden slit pupils narrowing in the sunlight.
"But not much. Enough for one final experiment."
He withdrew a tube of faintly glowing blue liquid from his sleeve, his fingers trembling slightly.
"This is my latest result. It allows 'demons' to survive in sunlight—though direct exposure still causes burning.
And the instinct to consume flesh hasn't been eliminated yet."
"Not bad," Wen Lan nodded. Orochimaru's progress was already astonishingly fast.
Wen Lan removed his outer clothing and slashed down on his own left arm, severing it cleanly.
He handed the arm to Orochimaru.
"Do your best. I'm counting on you."
Orochimaru licked his lips.
"Rest assured. I won't disappoint you."
After taking the arm, he turned and left without another word.
That night, at the Uchiha clan shrine.
The clan members had all assembled.
Wen Lan sat calmly in the seat of the Third Elder, waiting for the clan head.
Fugaku entered with Itachi, and the clan members rose to their feet.
Once everyone was seated, Fugaku spoke:
"Tomorrow will be the first official day of the Fourth Hokage's administration.
The higher-ups have allocated three positions to our Uchiha clan."
"As clan head, I automatically occupy one position.
I intend to give one of the remaining slots to the Third Elder.
The final two will be decided through discussion."
No one objected to Wen Lan taking one of the seats.
After heated debate, the final decision was made:
the First Elder and Second Elder would fill the remaining positions.
One hawk faction, one dove faction—mutual balance.
In truth, the factions only existed because of the past suppression by Sarutobi and the others.
With that pressure gone, the divisions had largely lost their meaning.
When the meeting ended and the clan members began to leave, Wen Lan spoke:
"Clan Head, Elders—there's something I need to discuss. Please stay."
The others paused. At Fugaku's nod, they sat back down.
Itachi instinctively moved to leave as well, but Wen Lan stopped him.
"Itachi, you're the heir. Stay."
"Yes, Third Elder," Itachi replied obediently, kneeling to the side.
Once the last person had left, Wen Lan looked at the six people present and spoke slowly:
"Have any of you read the Uchiha Warring States History?"
They exchanged glances and shook their heads.
Such texts were considered meaningless— mere records of ancient grudges, with no practical value for later generations.
Since the previous clan head, the book had been sealed away deep in the shrine, untouched.
Wen Lan continued calmly:
"During the Warring States Period, when the Uchiha fought the Senju, there was a female ninja who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Her dōjutsu was extraordinarily powerful—called 'Eight Thousand Spears.'"
"This ability could ignore distance entirely, freely manipulating a person's mind and chakra.
It could even transfer chakra to herself or others."
"Can you imagine it?
A human-shaped, tailless Tailed Beast
as long as there were ninjas around her, she had infinite chakra."
"To counter the Senju, some discovered her ability and treated her as a weapon.
They transplanted dōjutsu such as Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Kagutsuchi into her…"
The elders frowned deeply.
The First Elder spoke:
"Isn't that no different from how other villages treat jinchūriki?"
Indeed—aside from Iwagakure and Kumogakure, most villages treated jinchūriki as nothing more than living weapons.
"Exactly," Wen Lan nodded.
"Our so-called ancestors believed weapons shouldn't have names—and stripped hers away."
"But she didn't die. She was sealed by the Senju clan."
Those words caused everyone except Itachi to tremble.
"So… you want to release her?" Fugaku asked.
"I have that intention," Wen Lan replied.
"But I'll need someone proficient in sealing techniques to go with me."
After a brief silence, Fugaku turned to the elders.
"Then let Jigen go. He's skilled in sealing techniques and trustworthy."
Though the other elders considered recommending their own people, Jigen truly was the best choice.
Wen Lan had saved his life, and Jigen followed Wen Lan without question.
They all nodded in agreement.
"Alright," Wen Lan said. "Then I'll speak with the Fourth Hokage tomorrow."
"Why the Fourth?" Fugaku asked, puzzled.
Wen Lan stared at him, speechless.
"The sealing location is recorded in the Warring States Sealing Records, which are kept by the Hokage.
Who else am I supposed to ask? You?"
Fugaku choked, coughing lightly to hide his embarrassment.
The next morning, everyone gathered at the Hokage Building.
It was the Fourth Hokage's first official day, and representatives from every major clan were present.
One could say this was a rare occasion where Konoha's entire upper echelon gathered in one place.
Familiar faces greeted one another at the entrance.
However, when Inuzuka Tsume greeted Fugaku with a smile and then saw Wen Lan, her expression instantly turned into a cold snort.
Wen Lan didn't hold back either.
He turned around and shouted toward the back:
"Aunt Tsume! Uncle Tsume's bullying me!"
Inuzuka Tsume's face changed instantly.
Before she could say anything, Inuzuka Tsume (the wife) slapped him hard on the head.
Tsume yelped in pain, baring his teeth.
Wen Lan smiled innocently— as if nothing at all had happened.
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