Even though Sarutobi Hiruzen found the idea of attending his own funeral bizarre, he gave a slight nod.
After all, he was still alive, despite there being a body. Did they really need to hold such a grand funeral?
Especially since Asuma was so heartbroken…
If he saw his father standing before him again, he'd probably be thrilled, right?
Haha…
Minato Namikaze, all smiles, walked up to Hirofumi Ito's side.
"Hirofumi! Go for it with all you've got! Kushina and I will back you up. We believe Konoha will be something special under you as the Fifth Hokage!"
Not far off, Uchiha Fugaku gave Hirofumi a nod and a warm smile.
Uchiha Izuna stretched lazily…
"Ah… finally, I can get out and move around! I'm itching to try out the Flying Thunder God Technique!"
Senju Tobirama, standing nearby, let out a cold huff.
"Hmph! You naturally wicked Uchiha Izuna. I didn't expect you to be such a quick learner. To think you actually managed to master my Flying Thunder God Technique…"
Izuna, hearing this, put on a puzzled expression.
"Wicked Senju Tobirama! What are you talking about? I don't get it! What do you mean your Flying Thunder God Technique? It's clearly the Fourth Hokage Minato's technique! What's it got to do with you?
Oh, wait! Now it could be called Hirofumi's Flying Thunder God Technique—or even Uchiha Izuna's Flying Thunder God Technique!
Heh heh heh heh…"
Tobirama's face turned green at those words.
"You naturally wicked Uchiha Izuna!!!"
"Hah! Naturally wicked Senju Tobirama!!!"
"Izuna!!!"
"Tobirama!!!"
"Izuna!!!"
"Tobirama!!!"
"…"
WHACK!
WHACK!
Uchiha Tajima and Senju Butsuma each delivered a hard smack to their sons' heads!
"You two brats! Now's not the time for shouting matches!"
"Exactly! It's lively out there, and this old war-era fossil wants to join the fun!"
"Hah! Senju Butsuma! You think you can still handle ninjutsu?!"
"Tch! Uchiha Tajima! Want to test if I can still pull it off?!"
"Senju Butsuma!!!"
"Uchiha Tajima!!!"
"…"
Tobirama and Izuna, watching this, felt a bit helpless. They couldn't shake the feeling that their fathers had interrupted their passionate shouting match just so they could have their own!
Nearby, Might Dai scanned the surroundings, then—whoosh!—he latched onto Hatake Sakumo like a koala.
"Sakumo!!! This is the power of youth!!!"
"You idiot! Get off me!!!"
Uchiha Shisui, meanwhile, murmured to himself…
"Now that I've regained my light, it's my duty to bring light to Konoha… Where the leaves dance, the flames burn on, ever alive!
Itachi… where are you now? Why did you make such an extreme choice? The Uchiha clan shouldn't have been destroyed…"
"I've got an idea!"
Orochimaru suddenly appeared behind Hirofumi Ito, his long tongue flicking across his cheek, a creepy smile plastered on his face…
Hirofumi felt a chill run down his spine!
If that long tongue belonged to a girl, he'd be all for it—but it was Orochimaru's!
"What's up, Konoha's idea king, my dear Orochimaru? Got another brilliant plan?"
"Of course!!! Heh heh heh… If you want to become the Fifth Hokage, you need to show everyone in Konoha your strength—and your supporters!
In a bit, you can summon everyone here!
With the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Hokages by your side, you'll be the rightful next Hokage. Danzo will just look like a rebel!
At the funeral, show your power, take care of Danzo, and give Konoha a thorough cleanup!
Let the old-timers step aside and make way for the young blood!
Especially those two missing elders…
You should dig into their clans. Those two have been skimming plenty over the years!
Oh, and Danzo's Root!
Root's not much of an organization, but you can't deny Danzo's got the deepest pockets in Konoha…
His Root is loaded!
Heh heh heh heh…"
Hirofumi's eyes lit up at the mention of money.
Money? That's perfect!!!
He was just short on cash!
Looks like the three elders were the experience packs the Third Hokage left for him!!!
After all, since ancient times, whenever an emperor was low on funds, all it took was taking down a few corrupt officials, raiding their homes, and—voila!—plenty of money to spend!
Heh, I'm such a clever guy!!!
…
Outside…
The funeral was just getting started.
The twelve genin of the Konoha 12 were all gathered together…
Hirofumi Ito gave his buddies a mysterious smile.
"Everyone!!!"
"What's up, Hirofumi?" Naruto Uzumaki asked, curious.
"It's time to kick off our plan! Remember what we wanted to do?
Your strength might not be enough yet, but we can't let Konoha fall into Danzo's hands!
Today, I'm going for the Fifth Hokage position!!!"
The Konoha 12 were buzzing with excitement. All their crazy training lately was for what?
To make their dreams come true!
And now, Hirofumi was finally making his move for Hokage!
"Summoning Jutsu!!!"
Hirofumi didn't summon everyone at once. First, he brought out the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The Konoha 12 glanced at the youthful Third Hokage, then down at the black funeral clothes they were wearing, realizing they were at the Third Hokage's funeral…
Their expressions turned a bit weird.
"Hey there, kids!"
"Tch—Third Grandpa?!"
"Yup, it's me, Naruto! What's up? Don't recognize your grandpa now that I'm young again?!"
Naruto quickly shook his head.
"No way, Third Grandpa! It's just… you look so cool young!!!"
"Huh? Hahaha…"
Hiruzen, caught off guard, burst into hearty laughter…