Boom! Boom! Boom!
A chain of explosions rocked the battlefield, drowning out Hiruzen Sarutobi's agonized wails.
When the smoke finally cleared, Hiruzen was gone. He was entirely erased from the ninja world. Nothing remained of the Third Hokage but a single, severed arm.
Amidst the fading sea of fire, Tobirama Senju's Reanimated body slowly stitched itself back together. He turned his gaze to Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, who were staring at the carnage in dumbfounded shock.
"Koharu. Homura."
Tobirama's expression was heavy. "The Konoha Elder Council no longer has any reason to exist. If you want to survive—and if you want to save the clans backing you—stop before it's too late."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle over them. "Both of your clans must disband immediately. Surrender all your properties and assets, and let your members blend back into the civilian population."
Koharu and Homura were still his disciples. Yes, they had made grave mistakes, but their sins weren't nearly as heinous as those committed by Hiruzen and Danzo. For the sake of his last surviving students, Tobirama was offering them a final way out.
Jie Uchiha stood nearby, watching quietly. He knew exactly what was going on; Tobirama's words were actually meant for him. The Second Hokage was bargaining. He was offering up the vast wealth of two corrupt clans in exchange for Koharu and Homura's lives.
Truthfully, Jie didn't care enough to hate the two elders. Despite their high-ranking seats on the council, their actual authority paled in comparison to Danzo and Hiruzen. At their worst, they were just annoying backseat drivers.
Besides, stripped of their wealth and their clans, these two old fossils wouldn't pose the slightest threat to him.
Jie gave a decisive nod.
"If they do exactly as you say, I don't mind sparing them," Jie said coolly. "But if they ever dare to stir up trouble again, my Kusanagi won't be so forgiving."
Hearing Jie's guarantee, Tobirama let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"Koharu, Homura... this is as much as your sensei can protect you," Tobirama said softly. "I am just a dead man, after all. You will have to walk the rest of your path alone."
"Yes, Sensei!"
To Koharu and Homura, simply walking away with their lives was more than enough. As for their clans? The Utatane and Mitokado families had originally started as mere civilians anyway.
They had only managed to elevate themselves into 'proper' ninja clans by quietly leveraging their decades of influence on the council to funnel resources their way.
Stripped of those political privileges and the assets they had accumulated, their fragile clans would simply fade back into the background.
"Lord Fifth Hokage..." they muttered weakly, bowing their heads in defeat. "We will return at once and disband the clans."
Without another word, they turned and fled back toward the Hidden Leaf Village.
Jie blinked. 'Lord Fifth Hokage?'
Hearing the title out loud suddenly reminded him of the absurd position he had just been thrust into. He immediately turned, looking for Hashirama. He needed to pull the First Hokage aside and convince him to dump the Fifth Hokage hat on Fugaku Uchiha instead.
But before the words could leave his mouth, he saw Hashirama turn to his brother.
"Tobirama, we are dead men in the end," Hashirama said softly. "The future of Konoha has to rely on the younger generation. Now that the matter is settled, it's time for us to return to the Pure Land."
Tobirama gave a slight nod. "I know."
The Second Hokage shifted his gaze to Jie. "Uchiha brat, the burden of the village rests in your hands now. Do not end up like Hiruzen. Otherwise, even from the Pure Land, I will invent a brand-new jutsu just to crawl out of my grave and hold you accountable."
A flash of surprise crossed Jie's face.
'He still dares to threaten me?'
'You're already dead! Am I supposed to be afraid you'll knock on my door in the middle of the night? Believe it or not, I'll dig up your grave right now and scatter your ashes to the wind!'
Before Jie could respond, Tobirama's interruption completely derailed his train of thought, making him momentarily forget his plan to have Hashirama change the Hokage appointment.
But just as Jie finally opened his mouth to speak, specks of glowing white light began to radiate from the two brothers. Their Reanimated bodies were already breaking apart.
Jie snapped his head to look at Orochimaru. The Sannin instantly understood the silent question and shook his head. He hadn't released the jutsu.
Jie's mouth twitched violently.
'These two bastards! To force me into the Hokage seat, they actually escaped responsibility by dying on me!'
It was a literal disappearing act. And Jie certainly wasn't going to maliciously sacrifice a living person to cast the Reanimation Jutsu again, just to drag Hashirama back to change an order. Even if human lives were notoriously cheap in the ninja world, he wasn't quite that unhinged.
'Forget it. If it's the Fifth Hokage, then it's the Fifth Hokage.'
At worst, he could just be a completely hands-off leader. If there was work to be done, he'd dump it on an assistant. If there was nothing to do, he'd just... 'ahem', he was getting sidetracked.
Using their own immense power, Hashirama and Tobirama had forcefully undone the Reanimation Jutsu, allowing their souls to peacefully return to the Pure Land.
As for Danzo—the King of Scapegoats, a man whose sins could never be washed clean—Jie ordered the Konoha sealing team to lock down his remains completely.
A toxic parasite like him didn't even deserve to enter the Pure Land. It was better to seal him away for good, lest someone else learn the Reanimation Jutsu and drag his wretched soul back to cause more trouble.
Out of the four Reanimated Hokages, only Minato Namikaze remained.
But when it came to dealing with Minato, Jie couldn't help but hesitate. Naruto had finally gotten the chance to meet his father. Sending Minato back to the Pure Land before they could spend even a single day together... it was simply too cruel to the kid.
Jie had triggered plenty of System rewards through Naruto over the years, and the boy genuinely looked up to him. He felt an obligation to consider Naruto's feelings.
On the other hand, allowing Minato to stay in the living world indefinitely wasn't a viable option either. Minato was a dead man. Lingering in the living world wouldn't be good for him, nor for the natural order of things.
Sensing Jie's inner conflict, Minato walked over with a warm smile.
"No need to trouble yourself, Jie," he said gently. "The sheer power I exerted earlier has already caused irreversible damage to the Reanimation formula. Based on my calculations, the jutsu will completely collapse in about five days. At that point, my soul will naturally return to the Pure Land. Just... let me spend these last five days properly accompanying Naruto."
Jie blinked in surprise, then gave a firm nod.
'Five days of genuine fatherly love... that's definitely a good thing for Naruto.'
However, Minato still possessed something that Jie desperately needed: the Yin half of the Nine-Tails. There was no way Jie was letting that power slip through his fingers. Extracting a Tailed Beast required meticulous preparation of sealing formulas, so he needed to coordinate with Minato and set a strict schedule.
Jie pulled Minato aside, out of Naruto's line of sight, fully intending to discuss the transfer of the Yin Nine-Tails.
But just as he opened his mouth to speak, a familiar, mechanical chime echoed directly in his mind.
Minato watched as Jie dragged him to a secluded corner, only to suddenly stand there completely zoned out. Unable to hold back his curiosity, the Fourth Hokage asked, "Jie, is there something you need?"
Pulled from his thoughts by Minato's voice, a bright smile quickly spread across Jie's face.
"Nothing much," Jie replied smoothly. "I just wanted to ask your advice on how a Hokage succession ceremony is supposed to be held."
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