Near Konoha's main gate, a squad returning from the front was met by crowds packed shoulder-to-shoulder.
"Are those the heroes who destroyed Kannabi Bridge and forced Iwagakure to retreat?"
"I knew it—if Minato-sama is there, the village will win. Now only Kirigakure is still putting up a stubborn fight. The war's going to end soon!"
"Man… I wish I had been assigned to that mission with Minato-sama."
Word had already spread from the Hokage Tower: after ending the fighting with Kumogakure, Namikaze Minato had led Konoha to yet another victory.
The villagers were buzzing, giddy with the idea that peace might finally be in sight.
Of course, mixed into the cheers were a few… less dignified conversations.
"Minato-sama is so handsome."
"Minato-sama is mine, you shameless woman!"
"Hah? With a face like yours? And that messy bird's-nest hair—"
"I told you not to call it that!"
Minato walked through the sea of applause with Rin and Kakashi at his side, wearing a bright, sunny smile.
But when he caught the direction those "discussions" were going, the smile wobbled into something closer to a helpless grimace.
Hokage-sama… I know you're trying to raise morale, but this level of enthusiasm is hard to deal with…
Minato sighed inwardly, doing his best to ignore the boiling red chakra coming from a certain direction. He straightened his expression and continued down the road.
At the end of it stood Sarutobi Hiruzen, watching him with unmistakable pride.
"Minato," Hiruzen said warmly, "you did very well."
Minato reached back and gently pulled his two disciples forward—both of them unusually quiet.
"It's Kakashi and the others who deserve the credit," Minato said. "And that kid Obito too…"
His voice trailed off.
The grief was plain on Kakashi and Rin's faces—so obvious it hurt to look at. Minato could only let out a soft sigh.
He patted their heads as if they were still much smaller than they were.
Then he turned to the Third.
"Third-sama, they're exhausted. Please let them go rest first."
"That won't do."
To Minato's confusion, Hiruzen simply smiled and shook his head.
"Today is an important day for you. As your students, I want them to be here."
He took a step closer.
"Now. Hold out your hands."
Minato did it, still baffled.
And before Minato—and the crowd—could fully process what was happening, Hiruzen removed the Hokage hat and placed it into Minato's hands.
"I intended to hand Konoha over to you after the war," Hiruzen said softly, almost wistful. "But I believe this moment is more fitting."
He raised his voice and addressed the people.
"As the Third Hokage, I hereby nominate Namikaze Minato as the Fourth Hokage!"
"This proposal has already been approved by the daimyo."
"And all of you standing here—do you… recognize him?"
Silence held for a heartbeat.
Then the street exploded.
"Fourth Hokage!"
"Fourth Hokage!"
"Fourth Hokage!"
Minato's legend had already begun months ago, spreading with the shinobi who returned from the Cloud front.
The man who forced back the newly appointed Fourth Raikage.
A shinobi so dangerous that enemy orders rated him as "encounter—abort mission."
No one objected.
Konoha, scarred by war, needed a new Hokage.
A strong one.
A young one.
"Minato," Hiruzen said with a gentle smile, "you're the choice everyone has been waiting for."
"Take this burden."
"Third-sama…"
Minato stared at him, stunned, listening to the roar around him.
Hokage…
Was he really about to become the Fourth?
Then his sunny smile returned—steadier now, brighter.
He put the hat on his head.
"I swear in the name of Hokage—Konoha will achieve its final victory!"
At that moment, the cheers reached their peak.
…
Compared to the chaos of a Hokage inauguration, the Hyuga compound was eerily quiet.
Hyuga shinobi crowded into an open ground, looking up at the figure on the platform, exchanging confused looks.
That wasn't the Hyuga clan head.
It was the Third Hokage—
Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Why was he here?
Wasn't this supposed to be the day the new Caged Bird was engraved?
Hiruzen looked down at the sea of pale eyes.
"I know you have questions. The one standing here isn't my real body—only a shadow clone."
He lifted his chin and spoke loudly.
"I have not been a competent Hokage."
"During my term, I failed to manage relations with the other Five Great Nations. Time and again, Konoha became the one surrounded and attacked."
"But even leaving foreign matters aside… I failed to manage the relationships between comrades inside my own village."
"An apology won't undo your suffering," Hiruzen said, voice hoarse with something that sounded real. "But things have reached this point, and as Hokage, I bear responsibility I cannot escape."
He bowed deeply.
"I'm sorry."
"Truly… I'm sorry."
The Branch House shinobi stared at him in a daze.
The Hokage… personally apologizing to them?
It was something none of them had ever seen. For a moment, they didn't even know how to react.
But Hyuga Miyuki stared at Hiruzen with rigid intensity, and her heart sank.
This is wrong.
Something is wrong.
"The new Caged Bird," Hiruzen continued, "was researched by many shinobi—and ultimately refined by Tsunade and myself."
"I can guarantee this: the new technique cannot be used to torture the marked."
"It will be a technique that truly protects the Byakugan!"
The Branch House erupted.
Some even smiled—relief breaking across their faces like dawn.
A mother clutched the small child she still carried everywhere and began to cry, tiny tears sliding down her cheeks.
"At last… thank goodness… thank goodness…"
Hiruzen remained bowed.
"And as this incompetent Hokage—today, I will step down."
"The next Hokage will be Namikaze Minato—Konoha's Yellow Flash!"
"Whether Branch House or Main House… the Hyuga are Konoha's people."
"With his help, I hope you can truly become part of this village."
They didn't even have time to digest it.
One gift after another fell onto their heads, so many it felt unreal—like waking into someone else's dream.
Namikaze Minato was not a stranger to Branch House shinobi.
In the early days of the war, the Mist front's initial commander had been Minato's teacher—Jiraiya.
And because Flying Thunder God made him so mobile, Minato had acted as reinforcement across multiple fronts.
Some Branch House shinobi had fought at his side.
That young man, bright as the sun…
If it was him—
A Branch House jōnin stepped forward and bowed to the Hokage.
"Hokage-sama, please don't belittle yourself."
"You're the first person to bring us change."
"Thank you!"
The first two Hokage had never done this.
More and more stepped forward.
"Yes, Hokage-sama, please raise your head. I'm willing to accept the Caged Bird you've refined."
"That's right—Third-sama, please raise your head. We… we'll discuss it with the Main House."
More voices joined in. More acceptance. More forgiveness.
Miyuki watched the scene unfold, her fingers tightening into a fist, a bleak hopelessness creeping in.
Why… are they forgiving so easily?
Just because the leash got looser, you're satisfied?
The Third Hokage never said the Caged Bird's power to control our lives and deaths was gone!
Someone else watched with the same cold fury.
A boy—
Hyuga Yuuki.
The one who had killed the Hyuga Fourth Elder.
He stared at the Third Hokage, and there wasn't a trace of hope in his eyes.
Yuu-senpai had told him the Third Hokage was secretly researching a way to break the Caged Bird.
For a moment, Yuuki had even felt a flicker of expectation—thinking the Hokage might be on their side.
But today's performance made one thing clear:
The Hokage's research wasn't for them.
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