The news that Namikaze Mirai succeeded as the Fifth Hokage exploded across the ninja world like a barrage of paper bombs. Shock spread like wildfire.
Shocking!
The Yellow Flash's younger brother, the Blue Flash, who had mysteriously vanished for three years, had returned and, not long after, seized the seat of the Hokage. The ninja world, once steady and silent after the end of the war, rippled violently like a still pond struck by a boulder.
…
Sunagakure.
The Fifth Kazekage, Pakura, sat in silent contemplation as a messenger delivered the news. Her amber eyes flickered with surprise.
"Namikaze Mirai... the Fifth Hokage?"
She was no stranger to the man. During the Third Great Ninja War, the man known as the Blue Flash had utterly humiliated the previous Kazekage, Rasa. As a fellow user of Magnet-style, Rasa had placed immense faith in his power and reputation. But in one encounter, Namikaze Mirai had torn that confidence to shreds.
Pakura had witnessed it firsthand.
The battle had been swift, ruthless, and almost laughable in its disparity. The humiliation Rasa endured was public. His loss, viewed by Sunagakure shinobi and soon the entire ninja world, turned him into a joke. The shame festered like a wound and slowly drove him to madness.
It was that chaos, that leadership vacuum, that placed Pakura on the path to Kazekage.
'If not for Namikaze Mirai, I would never have become Kazekage.' she thought with a strange mix of resentment and respect.
Now that very same man had become the Fifth Hokage.
'How powerful will Konoha become under his rule?'
…
Iwagakure.
"He really did it... and so fast!"
The Third Tsuchikage Onoki nearly choked on his tea when the intelligence reached him. The wrinkled old leader rubbed his temples, a migraine pounding against his skull.
He had suspected Namikaze Mirai might ascend to the Hokage seat someday. But this quickly?
Konoha was just fresh off a war with Kumogakure. Usually, such transitions waited for calmer times. But then it hit him.
'He used the momentum of the war. He weaponized victory.'
It was a shrewd move. The aging Sarutobi Hiruzen likely had no choice but to step down under the weight of the people's demand.
Onoki grimaced. Iwagakure had no heir apparent. Deidara, his only decent pupil, was a volatile brat. The boy had recently invented a new Explosive Clay Technique that involved toilets, much to everyone's horror.
Still, even Onoki found comfort knowing that Kumogakure was probably in a worse position.
…
Kumogakure.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
The Fourth Raikage Ai roared, slamming his massive fist onto the desk. The wooden slab shattered under the force. Shinobi in the room flinched, several leaping back instinctively.
"That bastard Namikaze Mirai became Hokage?!"
His blood boiled.
It was Namikaze Mirai who had captured his brother, Killer Bee. That single loss had forced Kumo to concede defeat. A blow not just to pride, but to politics, to image.
Bee was still a hostage in Konoha. Negotiations to retrieve him were slow, and the cost being asked was outrageous. But Ai knew he'd pay it. He had to. He wouldn't abandon his brother.
But the thought that the man who humiliated them had now risen to the highest position in Konoha was salt on a fresh wound.
…
Back in Konoha.
None of this external chaos reached Namikaze Mirai.
He stood calmly in the Hokage Office, pushing open the heavy doors and surveying the room with narrowed eyes.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen really had terrible taste."
The room, once filled with scrolls, books, and trinkets of the past, now felt old and stale to him.
"Toss it all out."
With a wave of his hand, the two Anbu agents stationed nearby began removing the artifacts of the old regime.
"And change the Hokage Office door. I want it strong. Reinforced. I don't want anyone just bursting in like it's some market stall."
He had his reasons.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had often dealt with Danzo's dramatic interruptions.
"Hiruzen! You will regret this!"
"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"
Such antics were over. With a newer, tougher door, that era could retire like the warped wooden slab it left behind.
He settled into the Hokage's chair, letting out a soft breath. His eyes drifted upward toward the framed photos.
Minato's Hokage portrait smiled down at him—bright, optimistic, kind. It was a face that inspired hope.
Next to it now hung a new frame. His own.
Blond like his brother, blue-eyed, but the similarities ended there. His smile was laced with calculation. There was no innocence, only purpose.
"Minato... I became Hokage."
His voice was almost a whisper.
Two goals now burned in his heart.
First, to reshape Konoha from the ground up. It was a village still shackled to outdated principles, rigid ideologies, and a glorification of the past. Namikaze Mirai intended to usher in a new era—one built not on bloodlines, but on merit.
Second, to bring back Minato and Kushina.
With the resources of the Hokage at his command, the impossible might become possible. Forbidden jutsu, ancient scrolls, inter-village exchanges—everything could be leveraged.
Naruto deserved a full childhood.
He shook off the emotion and turned to the first file on his desk.
Yamato.
Male, 14. Master of Wood-style jutsu.
An anomaly created from the experiments of Orochimaru. A child blessed with the ability of the First Hokage.
Sarutobi had wanted Yamato to become a symbol, a new Hashirama. But symbols were illusions.
Namikaze Mirai smirked.
'Let's see this legendary power myself.'
…
Within minutes, Yamato stood in front of him. The boy looked puzzled.
"Hokage-sama?"
"Use your Wood-style. Show me."
Yamato nodded obediently. He raised his palms.
A small wooden bud popped out with a pop.
Silence.
Namikaze Mirai's smile froze.
'...That's it?'
He blinked slowly.
This was supposed to be the power of a legend?
*Thud*
His head dropped into his hand.
"We have a lot of work to do."
*****
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