Chapter 377: Chapter 377: The Fifth Hokage—Uchiha Fugaku
Dead silence.
Then, an explosive uproar!
"What?!!!"
"The Fifth Hokage... Uchiha Fugaku?!"
"How is this possible?!"
Konoha’s ninja were thrown into immense chaos and disbelief.
On the Uchiha side, after a brief moment of shock, earth-shattering cheers erupted!
"Clan Leader! Fifth Hokage!"
"We won! The Uchiha have won!"
Survival against all odds!
Ecstasy instantly overwhelmed all the surviving Uchiha clan members, and many even cried tears of joy.
Inside the orange Susanoo, Uchiha Fugaku was also stunned. Immediately after, a tremendous, indescribable excitement welled up within him.
He looked towards Shisui within the green Susanoo. Shisui gave him a slight nod; his face was pale, but his eyes held a relieved smile.
It worked!
Kotoamatsukami had worked!
And its effect was even better than he had anticipated!
Not only had Sarutobi Hiruzen ceased fighting, he had directly abdicated in his favor!
In the shadows, beneath his mask, Obito’s expression darkened instantly.
"That strange surge of pupil power just now... was it Uchiha Shisui?!"
Black Zetsu’s voice carried shock and doubt: "What did he do to make Sarutobi Hiruzen come to such a decision?!"
"A that manipulates will... what a troublesome ability."
Obito’s voice was ice-cold.
A huge, unexpected deviation had occurred in his plan. Not only had the Uchiha not been annihilated by Konoha, they were about to advance further.
Although a considerable number of Uchiha had already died in this short time, looking at the remaining Uchiha, Obito couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread.
He could sense that the pupil power of these surviving Uchiha had all strengthened, and he couldn’t even be sure if new Mangekyō had awakened among them!
This was the most terrifying aspect of the Uchiha; as long as they weren’t wiped out all at once, the ones remaining would only grow stronger!
Moreover, under the circumstances of this full-clan mobilization, their emotions had undoubtedly been amplified to the limit!
White Zetsu, lacking such insight, said heartlessly, "Wow, the Uchiha are going to rule Konoha? Looks like your plan to annihilate the clan, Madara, has fallen through."
In another, more secluded corner, the White Snake Sage coiled in the shadows, blinked her serpentine eyes, and committed all of this to memory.
...
At the center of the battlefield, Jiraiya rushed to Sarutobi Hiruzen’s side, grabbed his arm, and said in a low, urgent voice:
"Old man! What’s wrong with you? Have you been caught in a genjutsu?! Are you serious?!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Jiraiya. His eyes were clear and firm, filled with deep guilt:
"Jiraiya, I am completely sane. This is a mistake I made, and I must be the one to correct it."
"Fugaku has the ability and the qualification to lead Konoha towards a new future. Trust me, and... support my decision."
His tone was so sincere, so matter-of-fact.
It left Jiraiya momentarily speechless, unable to discern whether this was genuine or the result of manipulation.
Uchiha Fugaku dispelled his Susanoo and walked step by step to stand before Sarutobi Hiruzen.
All eyes were fixed upon him.
He straightened his back, his gaze sweeping over the Konoha ninja with their varied expressions, sweeping over his ecstatic clansmen, and finally meeting Sarutobi Hiruzen’s eyes.
Sarutobi Hiruzen gave him a slight nod; his eyes were filled with "trust" and "entrustment."
Fugaku’s heart steadied; he knew Shisui’s technique had worked perfectly.
He took a deep breath and spoke in a steady, composed voice:
"I am honored by the Third Hokage’s trust. The Uchiha clan will spare no effort for the prosperity and peace of Konoha!"
"From this night onward, all Uchiha clan members will obey my orders!"
He turned, facing all the Uchiha ninja, and suddenly raised his voice:
"Put away your weapons, tend to the wounded—whether they are clansmen or comrades from Konoha!"
"From now on, there is no distinction between Uchiha and Konoha!"
"We are all Konoha ninja, united as one!"
The Uchiha clansmen responded in unison and swiftly took action. Many even proactively went to help treat the injuries of Konoha ninja they had been fighting moments ago.
The Konoha ninja looked at each other. Under Sarutobi Hiruzen’s silent yet firm gaze, and amidst Jiraiya’s complex and unreadable expression, they could only slowly lower their weapons.
The flames of the coup d’état were abruptly extinguished in a way no one had anticipated, leading to a dramatic conclusion.
The Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Fugaku.
The history of Konoha was completely rewritten that night.
...
At the entrance of Ryūgakure.
Nonō looked at Sora, Karin, and her mother, and inquired:
"Sora, you’re back. Who are they?"
"Survivors of the Uzumaki clan, Karin and her mother, Uzumaki Hirei."
Sora introduced them simply: "Sis, please help take care of them. Have the medical squad arrange accommodation, do a physical examination, and let them recuperate for a while. They haven’t had an easy life these past years."
"Okay, I understand."
Nonō nodded, walked over to Karin’s mother, and revealed a reassuring smile: "Come with me. I’ll take you to your quarters first to rest and get something to eat."
Karin’s mother looked at Nonō’s gentle smile, then glanced back at Sora. Her wariness eased slightly, and she whispered, "Thank you."
Watching Nonō leave with the mother and daughter, Sora was about to head to Ascension Island when a puff of white smoke suddenly appeared before him.
The coiled form of the White Snake Sage materialized.
"Master, there’s news from Konoha."
Sora paused mid-step. "Speak."
The White Snake Sage recounted in detail the entire process that had occurred outside the Uchiha compound not long ago.
Sora listened quietly, a glimmer of amusement flashing in his eyes.
"A that manipulates will... Kotoamatsukami really is as monstrous as they say."
He murmured to himself, then shook his head: "But Uchiha Fugaku is somewhat impressive. Not only did he awaken the Mangekyō, he also managed to completely bring Shisui over to the Uchiha’s side and successfully deploy Kotoamatsukami."
In the original story, Shisui had wanted to use Kotoamatsukami to stop the Uchiha coup, only to have Danzo ambush him and steal one of his eyes, leading to his tragic suicide by jumping off a cliff.
Now Danzo was long dead, Shisui hadn’t had his eyes gouged out, and instead, he had become the Uchiha’s trump card.
"Uchiha Obito must be watching from the shadows, right?"
Sora suddenly chuckled. "He wanted to push the Uchiha to annihilation and harvest their Sharingan. Now his plan is completely ruined. He’s probably furious."
The White Snake Sage nodded:
"I did sense a concealed space-time fluctuation. It was likely that masked man."
"But Master, will Uchiha Fugaku becoming Hokage have any impact on us?"
Sora shook his head.
Uchiha Fugaku had just taken power. His first priorities would be stabilizing internal affairs, purging hardliners, and winning over the major clans. He wouldn’t have the energy to cause trouble externally.
Moreover, as long as Uchiha Fugaku wasn’t foolish, he wouldn’t harbor any ill intentions towards him.
However, it was somewhat unexpected that Baihu and Night Owl hadn’t appeared on the battlefield.
But upon second thought, Sora understood. After the incident at the Valley of the End, anyone with eyes in Konoha knew that Baihu was his summon.
Naturally, Sarutobi Hiruzen wouldn’t inject the two unstable factors of Baihu and Night Owl into such a coup situation.
They were most likely off on a mission somewhere right now.
The White Snake Sage flicked her tongue lightly and spoke again:
"There is one more matter. Tsunade-hime also appeared on the outskirts of Konoha yesterday evening, but after observing for a while, she left and did not intervene in the battle."
Sora nodded upon hearing this; he had already anticipated it.
Firstly, there was her hemophobia. Tsunade couldn’t bear to witness large-scale bloody scenes.
Secondly...
The Uchiha were, after all, a ninja clan that had founded Konoha alongside her grandfather, Hashirama. In Tsunade’s eyes, the Uchiha’s so-called ’coup’ was more of an internal power struggle than an invasion by an external enemy.
Add to that the fact that Tsunade probably disapproved of Konoha’s higher-ups’ suppression of the Uchiha in recent years, so she chose to stand by and watch.
Thinking of this, Sora felt a twinge of emotion.
In the original story, Tsunade wasn’t even in Konoha when the Uchiha were annihilated. By the time she returned, the tragedy had long since occurred.
Now, having personally witnessed the Uchiha’s stunning comeback, he wondered what she must be feeling inside.
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