Despite the vast distance separating them, Jie Uchiha felt a sudden palpitation in his chest. He knew that in the unseen void, a pale Shinigami already loomed behind Minato Namikaze.
Sensing the imminent danger, the Nine-Tails turned to flee, only to be tightly bound by massive chains erupting from thin air.
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
It was the signature sealing jutsu of the Uzumaki clan.
Restricted by the golden chains, even the mighty Nine-Tails could not struggle. The unseen Shinigami sliced the beast cleanly in two. Just like the original timeline, the Yang half of the Nine-Tails was sealed into Naruto's body, while the Yin half was swallowed into the Shinigami's belly, along with the souls of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.
On the night of October 10th, Konoha Year 48, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox broke its seal and attacked the village under the control of a hidden mastermind. Led by the Third and Fourth Hokage, the Konoha ninja rose to defend their home. In the end, the fox was resealed, the Fourth Hokage fell in battle, and the village was reduced to ruins.
The survivors would forever remember this tragedy as the Nine-Tails Incident.
Amidst the misty rain, Jie Uchiha stood beside his father, Fugaku Uchiha, dressed in a black robe and holding a pristine white chrysanthemum.
Three days had passed since that fateful night. Today was the memorial service for the Fourth Hokage, Kushina, and all the shinobi who perished defending the village.
Once everyone laid their chrysanthemums at the base of the newly erected memorial stone, a brief moment of silence washed over the crowd. Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped forward, his voice heavy with grief as he addressed the gathered shinobi.
"The Fourth died in battle. This is a tragedy none of us wished to see," Hiruzen said. "But the village cannot be without a leader. Therefore, I ask you all to carefully consider candidates for the Fifth Hokage."
With those words, Hiruzen turned away, an air of profound loneliness clinging to his back as he walked slowly toward the ruins of the village.
Watching Hiruzen's retreating figure, Jie almost laughed out loud. Thinking back to the 'coincidence' from three days ago, he couldn't help but sigh.
'If you do enough bad things, karma eventually catches up to you.'
During the Nine-Tails Incident, Jie seized the perfect moment to detonate the explosive tags he buried long in advance. The blast caught not only the Nine-Tails off guard, but also a massive chunk of Konoha's defending forces.
This violent interference caused Minato to fail in teleporting the Tailed Beast Bomb away. Bypassing everyone's defenses, the devastating sphere of chakra plunged straight into the very center of the village.
After the earth-shattering explosion, everything within a five-kilometer radius of the impact zone vaporized. Only the Hokage building, heavily fortified with layers of defensive barriers, remained precariously standing at the edge of a massive crater.
Jie remembered clearly that ever since Hiruzen Sarutobi took the mantle of the Third Hokage, the Sarutobi and Shimura clan compounds continuously expanded inward, encroaching closer to the village center. In other words, when the Tailed Beast Bomb dropped, the estates and assets of both the Sarutobi and Shimura clans were instantly wiped from existence.
The System's settlement rewards back then proved it flawlessly.
[Ding! The host detonated explosive tags, severely injuring the Nine-Tails and indirectly destroying the Sarutobi and Shimura clans.]
[Reward: Combination Ninjutsu - Five-Release Great Combo Technique, Sarutobi Clan Secret Medicine Formula, and Shimura Clan Wind Release Ninjutsu!]
[Reward: One cluster of Nine-Tails Chakra!]
Recalling the payout, Jie was satisfied beyond measure. In a single night, he acquired two clusters of Nine-Tails chakra, the visual prowess of a fully matured three-tomoe Sharingan, and a massive arsenal of jutsu.
With this foundation laid, if Itachi Uchiha ever lost his mind and actually tried to massacre their clan, Jie, as his older brother, would gladly snap Itachi's legs and teach him the true meaning of power.
As the memorial concluded, the System chimed in with yet another notification.
[Reward: Spiraling Flash Super Round Dance Howl Stage Three!]
Despite the ridiculously long and flashy name, it was essentially just another of Minato's tactical variations of the Rasengan. Still, free was free. Jie happily accepted it, instantly assimilating the technique into his muscle memory.
Upon returning home, Fugaku immediately called Jie into his study. Having witnessed Jie's sharp foresight during the crisis, Fugaku completely shifted gears, now actively grooming his eldest son to be the next clan head.
"Jie, what do you make of Hiruzen Sarutobi's words? Who will take the position of the Fifth Hokage?" Fugaku asked, his tone grave. The identity of the next Hokage would dictate the village's attitude toward the Uchiha; he couldn't afford not to plan ahead.
"Father, there won't be a Fifth Hokage," Jie replied smoothly.
Knowing the plot inside out, he knew Tsunade wouldn't take the hat for over a decade. Until then, Hiruzen would stubbornly warm the Hokage seat himself.
"Why?" Fugaku asked, bewildered. "The Third already retired, and the Fourth died in battle. If we don't elect a Fifth, who will lead the village?"
"Hiruzen Sarutobi will simply resume the post," Jie stated casually.
Seeing his father's brows knit together in confusion, Jie realized the older man's mind hadn't quite grasped the political maneuver yet.
"Father," Jie countered, leaning forward slightly, "who in the current Konoha do you genuinely believe has the qualifications to become the Fifth Hokage?"