The selection of the Third Hokage finally came to an end.
News of **Uchiha Nan's overwhelming victory** swept through all of Konoha like a storm.
According to "reliable" eyewitness gossip, Uzumaki Mito had been beaten so badly that her face swelled into a pig's head. In the end, she supposedly had to cover her face with a cloth just to make it back to the Senju compound.
Naturally, the Senju clan reacted immediately.
**Rumors. Pure slander.**
Anyone who dared to keep spreading nonsense was politely invited to "have a seat" with ANBU.
Uzumaki Mito, they declared, had merely chosen to *step aside for the younger generation*. She had graciously conceded, nothing more.
The Senju clan mobilized its influence overnight, spreading this version of events throughout the streets of Konoha. No matter what, some face had to be saved.
But before those explanations could take root, they were completely drowned out by a far bigger piece of news—
**Uchiha Nan was about to become the Third Hokage.**
For generations, the Hokage position had been monopolized by the Senju line. Now the balance had shifted. The offense and defense had changed places.
And Konoha's many ninja clans had never been known for loyalty.
They followed the wind.
Whoever stood at the top, they supported.
For a time, the gates of the Uchiha compound were nearly trampled flat. Clan after clan came knocking, eager to pledge allegiance.
Uchiha Nan welcomed this with open arms.
If you wanted Uchiha protection in the future, you didn't come empty-handed.
Every visitor brought thick envelopes. Anyone who brought too little didn't even get an audience.
That was just how things worked between clans.
Nan met most of the minor clan heads only briefly—enough to recognize their faces. Whether they'd be useful later was another matter entirely.
He might not remember who came.
But he would definitely remember who *didn't*.
His real focus was on **bloodline clans** and **secret-technique clans**.
Hyūga Takuma arrived in high spirits, gifts in hand. The Uchiha and Hyūga clans were practically in their honeymoon phase now. With Nan defeating Uzumaki Mito and ascending to the Hokage seat, the Hyūga clan—his ally—was bound to reap enormous benefits.
What caught Nan's attention, however, was the young girl Takuma had brought along.
A main-house Hyūga girl.
Her name was **Hyūga Asuka**, only twelve years old.
After exchanging pleasantries, Takuma enthusiastically introduced her.
She wore a pale-yellow kimono, polite and composed, showing a maturity beyond her age—though traces of childishness still lingered. Her looks were naturally excellent, somewhat resembling Hinata's younger sister Hanabi, but steadier, more reserved.
Takuma spared no praise. She was the most outstanding girl of the Hyūga main house.
His intentions were obvious.
Uchiha Nan had already stepped into the top tier of the shinobi world. Once he took power, he might rule Konoha for decades. For the sake of the clan's future, what was the cost of offering up one girl?
Even if it meant bloodline dilution, it was worth it.
If things truly worked out—if Nan and Asuka formed a bond and had children—
An heir with both **Uchiha** and **Hyūga** blood would be terrifyingly talented.
And if that child someday became the Fourth Hokage…
Then, in a sense, wouldn't the Hyūga clan have produced a Hokage as well?
Compared to that payoff, concerns about bloodline loss were trivial.
The Hyūga clan had always pursued prosperity and survival above all else. Later generations would even sacrifice the clan head's own brother while maintaining a lofty facade—moral purity had never been their strong suit.
If this had been the Uchiha, they'd have fought Kumogakure to the death.
*Is he… pimping out his own clan member?*
Nan found himself momentarily stunned. He'd thought his own moral bottom line was already nonexistent—yet Takuma was even more ruthless. Dragging out a twelve-year-old girl like this.
That said, Asuka herself showed no resistance. Konoha had been founded less than twenty years ago, and the atmosphere still reeked of the Warring States era. Once a girl came of age, she was considered suitable for marriage. High shinobi mortality made that reality unavoidable.
Even so, Nan hadn't sunk to the level of laying hands on a twelve-year-old.
He wasn't interested in angering the mysterious higher powers that handed out "censorship punishments."
So he brushed it off vaguely and moved on.
Takuma understood the hint and didn't press further. This was only an initial meeting—there would be plenty of chances later.
The day passed in a blur of meetings.
At last, it was time for the **Uchiha celebration**.
---
### Night
**Naka Shrine**
Every member of the Uchiha clan was present—even those who hadn't awakened the Sharingan.
Fireworks roared into the sky, one after another, lighting up the night like daylight.
After the fireworks ended, Nan was dragged by the clan elders to perform ancestor worship.
The elders wept openly before the ancestral tablets, tears streaming down their faces as they praised Nan endlessly.
*The hope of the Uchiha.*
*Konoha's strongest Hokage.*
From the founding of Konoha, the Uchiha had been suppressed by the Senju for twenty long years. At last, the day of redemption had arrived.
The praise piled on so thick that even Nan felt embarrassed.
They even slapped **Hiruzen's old titles** onto him.
He wasn't that self-deluded.
Against Hashirama Senju, he'd probably end up just like the Nine-Tails—squeezed until something very undignified came out.
After the rituals came the banquet.
Nan was dragged into round after round of drinking. On a night like this, there was no reason to spoil the mood.
Still, no matter how strong he was, one man couldn't outdrink an entire clan. After countless toasts, Genji finally hauled him home.
While the Uchiha celebrated under blazing lights, the Senju compound fell dark early.
The Hokage seat—held by them for two generations—had been stolen away.
An unparalleled humiliation.
---
### Senju Compound
**Underground Chamber**
A hidden room filled with experimental equipment and stacks of research notes.
This was once **Tobirama Senju's laboratory**.
Senju Tōma flipped through the lowest shelf and pulled out a sealed document.
"Clan Head… are we really restarting the cell experiments?"
These were the very experiments Tobirama had personally ordered stopped.
Every clan member who had volunteered back then had died—without exception.
Senju Tōri's face was pale with fear. As Tōma's confidant and battlefield companion, he had personally witnessed the horrifying results.
The experimental subjects had died in agony, barely human by the end. The images had haunted his dreams for days.
"The Uchiha are standing on the Senju's heads now," Tōma said coldly.
"I need greater power if I'm going to reclaim the Hokage seat in the future."
Bitterness twisted his expression. Nan's mocking gaze that day had shattered him completely.
"And Lady Mito—"
"Keep your mouth shut around my mother," Tōma interrupted impatiently. "I'll handle her when the time comes."
He waved the concern aside.
This decision was already made.
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