Chapter 71: How Should They Face Each Other
With the appointment letter and the official statement personally written by the Daimyō of the Land of Fire in hand, Uchiha Dali immediately returned to Konoha.
To him personally, these documents weren't even that important.
Only the people of Konoha would actually fear the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.
After all, the entire village's economy heavily relied on the Land of Fire.
But to Uchiha Dali himself, the Daimyō was nothing more than a fart—a piss pot.
When needed, he'd bring him out and use him.
When not needed, he'd just kick him under the bed and hide him away.
That said, the process of being officially appointed as Hokage still had to be followed—for the sake of procedural legitimacy.
Without that letter of appointment, both he and the Uchiha clan would be labeled as rebels of the village.
In that case, the entire Konoha might never know peace again.
Uchiha Dali didn't want to complicate things and introduce unnecessary risks to his plan.
Elsewhere, Namikaze Minato and Sarutobi Hiruzen were also on their way back to Konoha.
Looking at the appointment letter handwritten by the Daimyō of the Land of Fire, Minato's expression was full of conflict.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, on the other hand, was leisurely strolling ahead, hands clasped behind his back, walking like he had all the time in the world.
"Minato,"
He suddenly spoke in a quiet, low voice.
"This time, due to my own errors in judgment during the Great Ninja War, the village suffered heavy casualties. Now that I've taken responsibility and resigned, you taking over as Hokage is the best course of action."
"In terms of strength and popularity, you're without question the most deserving. And now, it's not just me who believes this—even the Daimyō agrees."
"At this point, what is there left for you to hesitate about?"
Hiruzen stopped walking as he spoke, turned around slowly, and looked Minato in the eye.
Hearing those familiar words again, Minato snapped back to reality, but could only give a helpless shake of his head.
"Lord Third… I already made a promise to Uchiha Dali."
His mind was still lingering on the agreement he had made with Uchiha Dali.
Fulfilling a promise was a matter of personal integrity.
But to be honest, Minato's heart was also torn at this moment.
Becoming Hokage had always been his dream since childhood.
To use his power to protect the village and lead Konoha toward a better future—that had always been his great aspiration.
Now, he was finally on the verge of realizing that dream.
And yet, because of one promise, he might have to hand the Hokage seat over to someone else.
It was definitely not an easy thing to do.
Seeing him fall silent, Hiruzen stared deeply at Minato for a long moment before speaking again with layered meaning:
"There are some things I probably shouldn't say…"
"But since you're still hesitant, I'll be blunt with you, Minato."
"The Uchiha clan is courageous, but they lack wisdom. Leaving Konoha in their hands would not be a wise choice."
After saying that, he no longer looked at Minato and instead turned back around, hands still clasped behind him, and continued walking forward.
At the same time, Hiruzen continued speaking:
"The village needs to recover from everything. What people need now is a wise leader to guide them through hardship and help Konoha flourish once more."
"If even you can't handle that role, then who in the village do you think could?"
The question struck Minato speechless.
He had never really thought about it.
Now, forced to consider it, he realized the chain of consequences connected to the decision.
If he didn't become the Fourth Hokage, then it would either be Uchiha Dali who took the position, or some other ninja within the village.
And among those with prestige second only to himself, was none other than one of the Legendary Sannin—Orochimaru.
Whether it was Uchiha Dali or Orochimaru, when he thought about it carefully, Minato realized he didn't truly understand either of them.
Handing the village over to someone he didn't know well—it really didn't seem like a wise move.
"If I don't want to give up being the Fourth, then how am I supposed to explain this to Uchiha Dali?"
His heart in turmoil, Minato looked at Hiruzen's back as he walked further ahead and quickly flashed forward to catch up.
For now, he could only take things one step at a time—return to Konoha first, and then see what happened.
...
Using an advanced version of the Flying Thunder God, Uchiha Dali was the first to return from the Daimyō's capital to Konoha.
With the Daimyō's personally written appointment letter and official statement in hand, he went straight to find Konoha's two senior advisors.
When faced with the documents placed before them—especially the personally handwritten letter from the Daimyō canceling Namikaze Minato's appointment as Fourth Hokage—Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado both wore extremely grave expressions.
"So you're really planning to become the Fourth Hokage?"
Koharu furrowed her brows and looked up at Uchiha Dali.
Homura followed up, saying, "Do you even know how to handle the affairs of the village? Being Hokage isn't as simple and easy as just sitting in an office."
Hearing that, Uchiha Dali gave a faint smile.
He didn't say anything, just walked around the long meeting table and came up behind the two senior advisors.
He placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
Uchiha Dali could clearly feel both of their bodies tremble slightly.
"This is exactly the time when senior advisors like you two are supposed to step in."
"At your age, you should already be enjoying retirement. Yet the village is still spending a fortune to keep you on the payroll—not to give me problems, but to help me solve them."
These words made Koharu and Homura exchange glances.
They both knew this younger generation had them firmly in his grasp now, and resisting him would be nothing but a foolish act.
That scheming old fox Shimura Danzo didn't care at all about Konoha's fate—his selfishness ran deep.
He was clearly planning to sit back and watch Uchiha Dali and Namikaze Minato, the legitimate successor, clash with each other.
Who couldn't see through such a petty scheme?
Since that greedy old bastard was clearly unreliable, they could only wait for Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, and Minato, the rightful candidate for the Fourth, to come back and handle things themselves.
In the meantime, they could only hope that Uchiha Dali wouldn't make things worse than they already were.
"We're the village's advisors. One of our main duties is to assist the Hokage, offering guidance and helping govern the village. We'd never shirk that responsibility."
"Good, as long as you understand your roles. No need to say more."
Uchiha Dali waved his hand, cutting off Homura's reply.
Just as he finished speaking, an Anbu squad leader appeared before them and knelt on one knee.
"Report: Lord Third and Minato have arrived at the village gates,"
The squad leader reported to Homura and Koharu.
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