Kaze's voice was calm, yet it hung over Hyūga Hiashi's throat like an invisible knife.
Those scarlet Mangekyō didn't look at him, but Hyūga Hiashi could feel the cold scrutiny deep within that gaze.
It was as if it could penetrate his facade of calm and reach the deepest fear in his heart.
[Is this... also your meaning, Clan Head Hyūga Hiashi?]
The question was thrown out, leaving no room for maneuver.
The surrounding air seemed to solidify. Everyone's gaze focused on Hyūga Hiashi.
Nara Shikaku frowned slightly, Yamanaka Inoichi clenched his fists, and Akimichi Chōza was expressionless, but beads of sweat seeped from his forehead.
Even Hyūga Unchū, who had just stood up excitedly, subconsciously looked at his own Clan Head at this moment.
Hyūga Hiashi opened his mouth.
His throat was dry, his heart pounding.
He knew the weight of Uchiha Kaze's words too well...
This was not an inquiry at all, but a test.
If he answered "no" at this moment, the Hyūga clan might still be preserved.
If he answered "yes", or even just hesitated...
"Clan, Clan Head!"
"You saw it too!"
"The Uchiha are coercing all of our ninja clans! Last night they killed the Hokage, killed the advisors, and now they want to..."
Seeing Hyūga Hiashi delay answering, Hyūga Unchū thought the Clan Head was tacitly supporting him, and his voice rose steeply.
"You...!"
At this moment, Hyūga Hiashi's back was soaked with cold sweat.
Just as he was about to interrupt Hyūga Unchū, it was... too late.
Just as Hyūga Unchū spoke again, several young radicals in the Hyūga clan: Hyūga Kō, Hyūga Iroha, Hyūga Tokuma.
Thinking the Clan Head was encouraging them to speak up, they also stood up.
"Elder Unchū is right!"
"The Uchiha have no right to decide the Hokage candidate!"
"Our Hyūga clan will never recognize..."
They couldn't finish their words.
Because Kaze slowly raised his right hand.
The movement was slow, slow enough for everyone to see every detail clearly.
His hand, stained with blood and dust, slowly rose in the morning light, then gently pressed down.
Like brushing dust off clothes.
Just one movement, and the Uchiha moved.
The six Uchiha elites standing behind Uchiha Kaze simultaneously turned into black shadows!
"Susu...!"
The sound of short swords cutting through the air was brief and sharp.
Hyūga Unchū's expression was still frozen in the moment of impassioned speech, but a line of blood had already appeared on his neck.
His pure white eyes widened, trying to activate the Byakugan, but as soon as Chakra gathered in his eyes, his body collapsed limply.
Hyūga Kō had just assumed the starting stance of the Jūken (Gentle Fist) when a short sword pierced from his back heart and exited through his chest.
Hyūga Iroha tried to use Body Flicker to dodge, but Uchiha Nagasawa's figure appeared to his side like a ghost, the short sword in his hand slashing across his throat.
Hyūga Tokuma reacted fastest, having already activated Byakugan and retreated rapidly.
However, in the direction of his retreat, another Uchiha ninja was already waiting, a kunai accurately piercing his heart.
"Puchi..."
The sounds of sharp blades entering flesh rang out in succession.
Four corpses fell to the ground almost simultaneously.
Blood spread on the stone slabs of the ruins, dyeing the morning light red.
The whole process took no more than two breaths.
Fast.
Fast enough that the others in the Hyūga clan didn't even have time to react.
Fast enough that the representatives of other ninja clans only saw black shadows flash.
Fast enough that Hyūga Hiashi's "Stop" didn't have time to be shouted out, and everything was over.
Deathly silence.
A heavier deathly silence than before.
In the Hyūga clan's seating area, the remaining people were all frozen in place.
Hyūga Hiashi's face was as pale as paper. He stared fixedly at the four corpses of his clansmen on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably.
He wanted to roar, to question, to fight to the death...
But he saw Uchiha Kaze's eyes.
Those Mangekyō were still calm, terrifyingly calm.
As if he hadn't ordered the killing of four people just now, but swatted a few mosquitoes casually.
"Clan Head Hiashi."
"Now, you can answer my question."
"Is this your meaning?"
Kaze's voice sounded again, still plain.
Hyūga Hiashi gritted his teeth, his teeth chattering.
He slowly lowered his head.
His gaze moved away from the clansmen's corpses, looking at his own hands, clenched so tightly the knuckles were white.
Then, he took a deep breath.
"No."
The voice was hoarse, but clear.
"Those words just now only represented Hyūga Unchū and the others personally."
"They do not represent the Hyūga clan."
"The Hyūga clan recognizes Uchiha Kaze as the Godaime Hokage."
He raised his head, forcing himself to look at Kaze, enunciating each word clearly.
After saying this, Hyūga Hiashi seemed to have used up all his strength, standing there dejectedly.
The surrounding Hyūga clansmen dared not speak again, dared not question again.
Because they saw the result.
Resistance meant death.
"Very good."
Kaze nodded, his gaze shifting from the Hyūga clan to sweep the entire venue.
Wherever his gaze reached, everyone subconsciously lowered their heads or looked away.
No one dared to meet those scarlet Mangekyō eyes.
"There was a misunderstanding just now. I think it might need clarification."
"What I just said was a notification."
"Not an inquiry."
"Nor a negotiation."
Kaze spoke slowly, his voice echoing over the silent ruins.
He took a step forward, the gravel under his feet making a slight crunching sound.
"Konoha needs a new Hokage, and I will become that Hokage. It's that simple."
"As for you..."
"You only have two choices."
"First, acknowledge, and live."
"Second, oppose, and die."
Uchiha Kaze's gaze swept over the crowd again.
Silence.
A minute-long silence.
Only the crackling of burning buildings in the distance and the sobbing of the wind blowing through the ruins remained.
"The Nara clan recognizes the Godaime Hokage."
Nara Shikaku was the first to stand up, then knelt on one knee.
"The Yamanaka clan / Akimichi clan recognizes the Godaime Hokage."
Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Chōza exchanged glances and also knelt down.
"The Aburame clan, recognizes."
"The Inuzuka clan, recognizes."
...
"Hatake Kakashi, recognizes."
Hatake Kakashi glanced at the corpses of the Hyūga clansmen on the ground, then looked at Kaze, and finally lowered his head.
One by one.
All ninja clan representatives, all Jōnin present, all department heads.
All knelt on one knee.
The morning light finally broke through the smoke completely, spilling over this ruin.
The light illuminated the kneeling crowd, illuminated the corpses on the ground, illuminated the Uchiha standing in the center.
Uchiha Kaze.
Godaime Hokage.
"From today on, Konoha will enter a new era."
"Enter a Konoha that no longer bosses around internally while wagging its tail begging for pity externally!"
"Enter a Konoha... that truly possesses the Will of Fire!"
After speaking, Uchiha Kaze turned around, looking at the sun slowly rising in the distance.
In the glimmer of dawn, he left with a Body Flicker.
Leaving the crowd kneeling on the ground, and four gradually cooling corpses.
Hyūga Hiashi slowly stood up, looking at the clansmen's corpses. His hands clenched into fists, fingernails digging deep into his palms, blood seeping out.
"Collect the bodies, return to the clan grounds."
Slowly spitting out these words, he turned and walked towards the clan grounds.
"It seems even more troublesome than I imagined..."
"Konoha is going to change."
Nara Shikaku stood up, patted the dust off his knees, and looked at Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Chōza with a bitter smile.
"No!"
"It has already changed."
Yamanaka Inoichi shook his head, his voice low.