Chapter 291: Uchiha Ci, Become Hokage!

Chapter 291: Uchiha Ci, Become Hokage!

If he could seize this fleeting opportunity!

If everything could proceed just as Minato envisioned!

If the son of the Daimyō, Ryūzōji Sugiya, and the Water Country barrier formed by the alliance with Kirigakure were real,

Then this move would undoubtedly reshape the world's balance of power!

After a moment of silence, Uchiha Ci lifted his head, staring blankly at Minato.

"You weren't brainwashed by Danzō. It was for this reason that you wanted to eliminate the Daimyō of the Land of Lightning?"

"Turning the Daimyō's son against him and allying with Kirigakure… You left Kakashi behind and hid here alone just to plan these two things?"

"Yes."

Namikaze Minato nodded, giving Uchiha Ci a warm smile—like the sun in June, or the twilight glow of a setting sun.

"For this, I will become a traitor to my nation!"

Uchiha Ci fell silent again. After taking a few deep breaths, he lifted his head once more, staring intently at Minato. His face twisted as he clenched his teeth.

Then, with a furious voice, he questioned:

"After killing the Daimyō, Konoha will not tolerate you. Your dream of becoming Hokage will be shattered! Even so, you're still going through with this?"

"If you become a rogue ninja, what will happen to Kushina? She, who is so closely connected to you, a missing-nin, and as a Jinchūriki—a tragic existence that can be replaced at any time!"

"Have you not thought about Kushina at all?"

Upon hearing this, the smile on Minato's face disappeared.

He remained silent, a look of guilt flashing across his face.

But beyond that, what Uchiha Ci truly wanted to ask was—

If you go through with this, what about your unborn son?

Seriously, the world's destined savior, the one who was supposed to be the ultimate failsafe!?

Damn it,

Could it be that in the future, a rogue Akatsuki Naruto would really emerge!?

For a long while, both men fell into an unspoken silence.

Until Minato took a deep breath.

Then,

He raised his hands and placed them firmly on Uchiha Ci's shoulders, smiling with difficulty, as if entrusting him with his final wish.

"This is exactly why I'm happy."

"At a time like this, in a foreign land, I was able to see you again!"

"With the Hell Valley battle record, the merits of what I am about to do, and Lord Orochimaru's favor toward you—"

"In the soon-to-be turbulent Konoha,"

"Facing the wrath of the Daimyōs of various nations, and the short-lived but inevitable Four-Nation War—"

"To take responsibility for a fallen army, to accept orders in the midst of crisis—"

Minato spoke each word with solemn determination:

"Uchiha Ci, become Hokage!"

"Do it for me, for Kushina, for the dream we were unable to complete!"

As those words fell,

Uchiha Ci's face filled with shock.

Hearing Minato say something so absurd, his brain completely froze for a long moment.

Me… as Hokage?

The thought of the title "Hokage" alone sent a shiver down Uchiha Ci's spine.

The first image that popped into his mind was not the grand sight of donning the Hokage robe and basking in the cheers of the masses, nor was it the heroic image of standing atop a telephone pole, raising a kunai against some terrifying beast.

Instead—

Endless piles of paperwork that would exhaust him to the brink of collapse, a miserable daily life of never being able to go home, fake smiles plastered on his face as he dealt with all sorts of people, and—

The wrinkled, rotten faces of those four old fossils, the Konoha F4, looming over him like a damn curse.

No way.

You want me to do this?

I'd rather take your place and assassinate the Daimyō of the Land of Lightning, man!

Uchiha Ci instinctively wanted to refuse, but before he could even speak—

Deng deng deng—!

Hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.

Bang!

The door to the room was suddenly pushed open by a small, fair-skinned hand!

"Urgent news from Konoha!"

A voice rang out—one that Uchiha Ci found familiar.

Panting slightly, the speaker's crisp and clear voice carried an air of decisiveness.

Uchiha Ci instinctively turned his head.

In the next moment,

He saw a young girl standing at the doorway, dressed in a blue chest-wrap qipao with a black waist sash, draped in an ink-colored cloak.

As she removed her straw hat, her long, chestnut-red hair flowed freely in the air. When her emerald-green eyes landed on Uchiha Ci, they immediately shrank slightly in surprise.

(Reference: The young version of Shadow Swordsman.)

That girl—

Was none other than Terumi Mei!

The same person who had saved Hidan not long ago, raided the execution grounds in broad daylight, and caused the collapse of the Tenshūkaku!

Uchiha Ci was momentarily stunned.

So the Kirigakure contact Minato had mentioned… was actually her?!

"You—"

"You—"

Both of them froze at the sight of each other.

Neither had expected to meet here, and for a moment, they both hesitated, unable to find the right words.

Meanwhile, Minato, seeing Terumi Mei and Hōzuki Mangetsu following behind her, looked visibly relieved.

"You're here!"

Then, he immediately pushed Uchiha Ci toward them.

"Ci, let me introduce you—this is the envoy from the Land of Water, representing Elder Genshi of Kirigakure—"

"Ahem, no need for introductions."

Uchiha Ci glanced at Terumi Mei, who stood at the doorway, and at Hōzuki Mangetsu behind her, who was carrying a massive sword and eyeing him warily.

He coughed, quickly covering up the slight awkwardness on his face.

"We… already know each other!"

"Oh? Is that so? Then that makes things easier!"

Minato looked curiously at the odd atmosphere between them.

Although he didn't know what had happened, he could tell that this genius girl from Kirigakure was looking at Ci with a… rather resentful gaze?

Somewhat similar to how Kushina used to look at him.

But for now, the priority was the urgent matter at hand.

He immediately turned to Terumi Mei, asking urgently:

"Envoy from Kirigakure, you came rushing here—what exactly happened?"

Terumi Mei glanced at Uchiha Ci's still-closed eyes, her heart tightening slightly.

But she knew this was not the time to dwell on the past.

She took a deep breath and spoke.

"There are two pieces of news—one good, one bad."

She first turned to Uchiha Ci, hesitated for a moment, then spoke with difficulty.

"The bad news is… the Hidan I found and protected has gone missing!"

Hearing the first part of that sentence, Uchiha Ci was briefly stunned.

Well, well, well. Talk about looking everywhere only to find what you're looking for by accident!

So Hidan had actually been in Terumi Mei's hands!

That meant it was a classic case of family members not recognizing each other.

But then—when he heard the second part of the sentence, his expression shifted.

"Missing? How?"

Terumi Mei's expression darkened as she furrowed her brows.

"Yes. He vanished under the tight guard of four Kirigakure shinobi—without any signs of struggle."

"This happened in the afternoon, right when we left for the inner city to verify the intelligence provided by Namikaze Minato."

At this point, Minato turned to Uchiha Ci and explained,

"This intel was from Fugaku—the channel I told you about earlier, to contact the Daimyō's son."

"Only the Uchiha, an ancient clan that had ties with the Land of Lightning's Daimyō even before the village system, would have the ability to reach the higher-ups of that nation."

Uchiha Ci nodded in realization.

Then, Terumi Mei turned to Minato, her face serious.

"As for the good news—"

"The channel you provided was valid!"

"We've already contacted Ryūzōji Sugiya. And—he has agreed to our terms."

"Now, come with me—"

"This esteemed person wishes to see you immediately!"