The Hokage succession ceremony lasted an entire day. It wasn't until nightfall that the crowd finally dispersed, still reluctant to leave.
Uchiha Fugaku sat in the seat that symbolized the Hokage, a dreamlike expression on his face.
After years of planning, the Uchiha clan had finally ascended to the position they had long dreamed of.
"Fugaku, let's go eat barbecue tonight. Your treat."
Yuzuru said with a smile.
Fugaku nodded. Just as he was about to speak, the door to the Hokage's office was pushed open.
Tōdai walked in carrying a thick stack of documents, with the Third Raikage close behind him.
Bang!
He slammed the files onto the desk and said, slightly out of breath, "Fugaku, you probably won't be eating barbecue tonight. These are all the documents that piled up today. You'd better finish them by tomorrow."
Hearing this, Fugaku's eyes widened as he stared in disbelief at the mountain of paperwork in front of him. "Tōdai, did you slack off or something? How did this much pile up in just one day?"
Tōdai chuckled, a hint of schadenfreude on his face. "Konoha is in ruins and needs rebuilding. There's way more to handle each day than there ever was in the Land of Lightning."
"Most people were busy attending the Hokage succession ceremony today, so the workload was actually lighter than usual."
Fugaku fell silent.
He glanced at Yuzuru, who looked completely relaxed, his eyes filled with grievance.
Damn it, Yuzuru—was this part of your calculations too?!
The Third Raikage spoke up at just the right moment. "Yuzuru, we're heading back to the Hidden Cloud Village, so we came to let you know."
It had already been a full year since the attack on Konoha.
Mabuma had sent several letters urging their return. If they delayed any longer, he'd probably quit on the spot. (T/N: You bastards are having fun while I'm working my a$$ off… XD)
Yuzuru had expected this and smiled. "I'll leave things over there to you for now. If you need anything, just tell me."
The Third Raikage immediately said, "I actually do want to ask you for a favor."
"What is it?"
"I want to fight Senju Hashirama!"
He had grown up listening to stories about Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, and had always admired them.
In the Third Raikage's eyes, a real man should be like Hashirama and Madara—building achievements through overwhelming strength and leaving a name that would echo through the ninja world forever.
That was precisely why he had willingly cooperated when Yuzuru spoke of unifying the ninja world.
Besides… he didn't really have any other hobbies.
He simply loved fighting strong opponents.
Now that such an opportunity was right in front of him, there was no way he would let it slip by.
Yuzuru rubbed his chin and nodded. "Alright. I'll take you to him tomorrow."
"That's great!"
The two of them headed out excitedly, with Tōdai following behind, smiling as well.
Yuzuru suddenly stopped and said, "Tōdai, Fugaku doesn't have experience handling village affairs yet, so you should stay in Konoha for a while longer."
Tōdai's face instantly collapsed.
"Yuzuru-sama, I want to go home…"
"A real man sets his ambitions far and wide. What home? I'll arrange for two more people to come tomorrow. You can train them together."
With that, Yuzuru stepped away.
Minato Namikaze and Mabui were both talented in administrative work. This was a perfect chance for them to learn how to govern a village.
Tōdai looked pleadingly at the Third Raikage, but the Third Raikage pretended not to see him and vanished in a flash.
Fugaku burst out laughing, his earlier gloom completely swept away.
Yuzuru really was his brother who had grown up with him. This felt great!
————
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The next day.
Early in the morning, Yuzuru arranged for Minato and Mabui to report to the Hokage Building.
Then, urged on by the Third Raikage, he went to find Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama, who were busy constructing a green belt.
One brother was planting trees, the other watering them, their coordination seamless.
Seeing Yuzuru approach, Hashirama smiled. "Yuzuru, how does our work look?"
Yuzuru raised his thumb. "Fantastic."
"Hahaha..." Hashirama stood with his hands on his hips, laughing toward the sky. "I feel more of a sense of accomplishment doing this than I did when I was Hokage."
After chatting for a bit, Hashirama asked, "So, what brings you here this time?"
Yuzuru pointed at the Third Raikage. "This is the Third Raikage. He wants to fight you."
Hashirama sized him up, a look of approval flashing through his eyes.
"I can feel the power inside you. You're even stronger than the First Raikage was back then. Very impressive."
The Third Raikage was flattered and said solemnly, "Thank you for the praise, Senior Hashirama."
Seeing the Third Raikage speaking so politely, Yuzuru couldn't help but shiver.
"Alright, let's just start."
With that, he directly activated Kamui.
As space rippled, the four of them appeared inside the Kamui Space.
Hashirama said excitedly, "What a fascinating power. Is this space-time ninjutsu?"
Tobirama was equally stunned, thinking to himself, 'Another dimension… Is this also the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan?'
Compared to the two of them, the Third Raikage was already used to it.
He spoke in a deep voice. "Senior Hashirama, here I come!"
Hashirama nodded just as seriously. "Come."
Seeing that both were ready, Yuzuru and Tobirama retreated to the distance.
The next moment, lightning chakra enveloped the Third Raikage's entire body, turning him into a bolt of lightning as he charged forward.
"So fast!"
Hashirama praised inwardly as he rushed forward as well.
Bang!
Their fists collided, sending a shockwave through the air.
Hashirama took several steps back, his smile widening. "Not bad. To train your body to this extent—worthy of the Raikage's title."
The Third Raikage said nothing, his gaze fixed intently on Hashirama.
That had only been a probing strike, yet he had already felt Hashirama's power.
Not only could he keep up with his speed, he could even take his attacks head-on with his body alone…
As expected of the God of Shinobi!
With that realization, the Third Raikage cast aside all hesitation and pushed his chakra to the limit.
"Black Panther Lightning!"
A leopard-shaped bolt of black lightning charged toward Hashirama, with the Third Raikage following close behind.
Hashirama didn't dare underestimate him. He clapped his hands together.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Terrifying chakra surged forth as massive trees burst from the ground.
In an instant, a vast forest formed, swallowing the Third Raikage whole.