Hiruzen Sarutobi sat on the ground.
The villagers and members of the ninja clans looked at him with complicated expressions—regret, reluctance, and hesitation mixed together. Soon, their gazes shifted toward Uchiha Ran, Uchiha Itachi, and Uchiha Shisui, fear clearly visible in their eyes.
Three Susanoo from a single clan.
Even during the Warring States Period, the Uchiha had only ever produced two at most.
At this moment, it felt as if a massive boulder was pressing down on everyone's hearts.
Not long ago, the villagers had isolated the Uchiha. Now, as the clan was clearly on the rise, some people even began to believe that the next Hokage would inevitably come from the Uchiha Clan.
Three Susanoo—if they rebelled, the three of them alone could sweep through the entire Hidden Leaf Village.
Each Susanoo was equivalent to a Nine-Tails.
Uchiha Ran took a slow breath.
"Since the Third Hokage has already realized his mistakes," he said calmly, "are you willing to step down of your own accord? That way, at least, you can preserve some dignity."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up at Ran, his lips trembling.
He didn't want to step down.
Even after committing so many mistakes, he still didn't want to relinquish power.
The taste of authority was intoxicating. Absolute control meant priority access to resources and missions. Standing at the peak, distributing benefits, watching clans bow and offer gifts—it made someone born into the ordinary Sarutobi Clan feel elevated above everyone else.
He, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was the most exalted person in Konoha.
But now, Ran's forced abdication was the final blow.
Hiruzen slowly stood up and walked toward his desk to draft a resignation document.
At that very moment, space twisted violently.
A vortex opened.
A figure emerged and landed in the Hokage Office.
The room fell into dead silence.
"Oh?" said the man wearing an orange spiral mask. "Looks like I arrived at an awkward moment. What's everyone discussing?"
Minato Namikaze's pupils shrank.
He would never forget this man.
The one who had summoned the Nine-Tails that night.
The one who had attacked Konoha.
The one who had held him back.
Minato immediately sensed the Flying Thunder God mark he had left behind.
"Kurama," he thought.
Inside Naruto's body, Kurama instantly responded, linking chakra with Minato.
Naruto's body was enveloped in golden light.
In a flash—
He appeared behind the masked man.
A warning echoed inside the man's body.
"Obito, behind you!"
The Sharingan instantly evolved into the Mangekyō. The masked man's body turned intangible, and Minato's Rasengan passed straight through him.
Twisting sideways, the masked man drew a kunai and stabbed toward Naruto's head.
"So it's you," he sneered. "I even held you when you were a baby."
"What a pity—you'll die here today."
Before the kunai could land, Uchiha Ran moved.
"You're getting ahead of yourself," he said coldly.
He swung the Uchiha Flame Fan straight at the man's waist.
The masked man's pupils constricted.
Naruto—or himself.
The choice was obvious.
His intangibility ended. He turned, colliding the kunai against the Flame Fan.
The impact sent him flying.
He rolled three times before crashing into the wall.
Clenching his teeth, he stared at the boy holding the Flame Fan.
That voice.
That presence.
His pupils shrank violently.
Uchiha Madara.
Even Black Zetsu couldn't contain himself.
"Impossible… Lord Madara? That posture, that chakra, that presence—this is exactly him."
Black Zetsu was even more shaken than Uchiha Obito.
If this boy really was Madara…
Obito slowly stood up, voice hoarse.
"Who are you…?"
"I'm your father," Uchiha Ran replied.
He formed the Horse hand seal, drew in chakra, and exhaled.
Flames exploded outward, swallowing the room.
Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation.
Obito's scalp went numb.
Black Zetsu was ecstatic.
Madara's signature technique.
Without hesitation, Obito activated Kamui and vanished into his dimension.
The flames raged.
Nearby shinobi hurriedly used Water Release to extinguish the fire, all the while staring at Uchiha Ran in shock.
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent.
Could he defeat Ran?
No.
Even his Five Release: Great Combo Technique likely couldn't breach Ran's defenses.
Ran stood calmly.
He had countless ways to deal with Obito.
But this technique was chosen for one reason.
It was overwhelming.
And effective.
When Minato revealed that the masked man was the true mastermind behind the Nine-Tails Incident—and the one responsible for his and Kushina's deaths—the crowd erupted.
Their gazes toward Ran changed again.
He hadn't just driven away an enemy.
He had avenged the Fourth Hokage.
Praise followed, one voice after another.
At that moment, Shikaku Nara stepped forward.
"Since the Third Hokage is stepping down," he said, "why don't we jointly nominate Uchiha Ran as the Fifth Hokage?"
The civilians were stunned.
The ninja clans' expressions shifted unpredictably.
Ran shook his head.
"The Third Hokage may be stepping down, but my experience is still shallow. I'm not suited to bear such responsibility."
"Thank you for your goodwill, Shikaku Nara."
He turned.
"Uchiha Clan—return to the compound."
Ran gave Shikaku a meaningful glance.
Shikaku smiled faintly.
He understood perfectly.
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