That was it. Konoha's Fourth Hokage was decided at this high-level meeting.
Kazuki—Kazu, to his friends—became the new Hokage of Konohagakure.
"Fourth Hokage-sama!"
"Hokage-sama…"
After the meeting, the ninja began to disperse, but many still came up to Kazu to offer their congratulations.
"Fourth Hokage-sama, if you have time, please come to the Uchiha district and sit with us for a while."
Fugaku spoke to Kazu with deep respect.
Kazu paused, then nodded.
He hadn't expected Fugaku to truly become the clan head of the Uchiha.
Once again, Kazu felt just how terrifying "plot inertia" in the shinobi world could be.
Kinda makes you wonder… could Madara really come back again?
And Ōtsutsuki Kaguya—the one who stole the fruit of Madara's schemes…
Even Minato Namikaze and Sakumo Hatake came over to congratulate him.
"Congratulations. Kazu—you're the Fourth Hokage now!"
"Congrats, Kazu."
ANBU moved fast.
Less than an hour after the meeting ended, the news spread across the village.
"Did you hear? The Third Hokage stepped down… Kazu-sama is taking over as the Fourth Hokage!"
"No way… it's real?"
"Of course it's real. The Hokage inauguration ceremony is tomorrow!"
"Kazu-sama is the perfect choice. The Third Hokage really is getting old."
"Watch your mouth. He hasn't officially stepped down yet—don't get yourself dragged off by ANBU."
"…"
All across Konoha, people talked nonstop about their new Hokage.
And honestly, the whole village agreed—Kazu becoming the Fourth Hokage felt right.
Obito's eyes nearly popped out.
"Mikoto-onee-san! Kazu-sensei is gonna be Hokage?!"
Mikoto smiled and nodded. "Yep. Kazu-sensei is about to become the Fourth Hokage… and the youngest Hokage in history. Obito, you've gotta work hard too."
Obito nodded fiercely, then his face fell.
"But if Kazu-sensei becomes Hokage… won't he be too busy to teach us?"
Mikoto sighed. "Yeah…"
"Mikoto."
A woman's voice came from behind her.
Mikoto froze, turned—then blinked in surprise.
"Kushina!"
Kushina walked up and said, "Come on. Dinner tonight."
"Dinner?"
Kushina nodded. "Yeah. We're celebrating Kazu becoming the Fourth Hokage."
Obito couldn't hold back. "Um—onee-san, can I come too?"
Kushina ruffled his hair. "Of course. All of Team 7 is coming."
So that night, Kushina, Mikoto, and Team 7 all attended Kazu's celebration dinner.
"Kazu-sensei, congratulations!"
"Congrats, sensei!"
Kazu smiled. "Thanks. Sit, eat."
The moment he sat down, a bright voice called from behind him.
"Hey, brother-in-law!"
Kazu went silent for a second.
When he turned around… yep. Tsunade.
This woman really loved taking advantage of him.
Kushina's face went bright red the instant Tsunade called him that.
Tsunade patted Kazu's shoulder. "Brother-in-law, I'm happy for you—Fourth Hokage!"
When Kazu didn't react, Tsunade leaned in again.
"So, brother-in-law… when's the wedding with Kushina?"
Wedding?!
Mikoto froze immediately and looked at Kazu.
Everyone stared at him.
Obito was hyped.
"Sensei—you're getting married?!"
Marrying someone as beautiful as Kushina… Sensei's living the dream.
Obito couldn't help sneaking a glance at Rin beside him.
But Rin ignored Obito completely, eyes shining as she looked at Kazu and Kushina.
"Kazu-sensei and Kushina-onee-san… that's so nice."
Kazu smiled and said, "We're planning the wedding for six days from now."
"Six days? Is there some special meaning?"
Everyone leaned in, curious.
Kazu squeezed Kushina's soft hand and said, "Nothing deep. Yesterday I told Kushina it was a seven-day promise."
"Aww, sensei's so sweet!"
"Brother-in-law, respect!"
"…"
Tsunade was grinning ear to ear. She took a sip of her drink, cheeks turning pink, poured herself another, raised the cup, and said, "Alright, brother-in-law—then today I'll be the witness…"
Kazu cut her off. "Tsunade-hime, the wedding witness is Grandma Mito."
"Yeah, yeah, I mean this moment," Tsunade snapped, annoyed. "It's important. I want to witness it. You don't get it!"
Tsunade was pissed.
"Drink and stop talking!"
After a few rounds, Tsunade's face was fully flushed, and she collapsed face-first onto the table.
"Kazu…"
Kushina had only had a few drinks, but her face was even redder now. Her beautiful eyes kept drifting back to him.
Announcing their wedding date in front of everyone made her nervous—
and ridiculously happy.
"Kazu-kun… congratulations."
Mikoto raised her glass, smiling with envy.
"Kazu-kun… congratulations. I wish you and Kushina happiness."
Saying it out loud made something bitter twist in her chest.
But she still forced a smile.
"I really didn't expect it… out of all of us, you'd be the first one getting married."
Kazu scratched his nose, not sure what to say.
Because the system suddenly flashed: Mikoto mood +10.
Kazu: "???"
How does congratulating me boost her favor by ten?
He genuinely couldn't understand what was going on.
"No matter what," Mikoto said softly, "Kazu-kun… Kushina… you two have to be happy."
Kushina blushed and replied, "Mikoto… thank you."
Kazu nodded. "We will."
…
While they were celebrating, Jiraiya and Hiruzen were talking in the Hokage's office.
"Jiraiya… time really flies."
Hiruzen sat behind his desk, staring at the moon beyond the window, and sighed.
"Yes, sensei."
Jiraiya watched his teacher's back and sighed too. "Kazu becoming Hokage is good. You can finally rest."
Hiruzen nodded. "Yeah. I used to think I could hold on another ten… twenty years. But yesterday's battle made me realize something."
"The new generation is already pushing the old one off the stage."
"Sensei…"
Hiruzen smiled. "Just an old man complaining. Since I've decided… then I believe in Kazu."
Suddenly, a black shadow dropped into the room and knelt.
"Report, Hokage-sama—Madara's body is gone."
The smile on Hiruzen's face froze.
"…What?"
"Madara's corpse… missing again?!"
"Who took it?! Ten ANBU were guarding it and it still vanished?!"
Jiraiya's expression turned hard with shock.
As the ANBU explained the details, both Hiruzen and Jiraiya's faces changed.
The ten ANBU only realized near the end of the night that what they had been guarding wasn't Madara's corpse at all—
It was a White Zetsu body.
A swap.
If Madara's "ghost" had really revived and run…
Hiruzen's voice turned grim. "Call Kazu immediately."
Not long after—
Bang!
"Come in."
Kazu stepped inside calmly. "Is this about Madara's body?"
Hiruzen nodded. "Yes. I don't know what happened, but it's missing."
"Got it," Kazu said. "It's fine. I'll bring it back. I left a mark on the body."
Before the last word even finished—
Kazu vanished.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
In the next second, Kazu appeared above Madara's corpse.
They were already far from Konoha.
At some point, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu had moved the body.
But no matter how carefully they planned, they hadn't expected Kazu to have left a Flying Thunder God mark on it.
Black Zetsu froze when he saw Kazu.
"You tagged it ahead of time?!"
Black Zetsu hauled the corpse and twisted around, flicking a kunai back as he fled.
But at his feet—saplings erupted, instantly growing into roots and vines that wrapped around his legs.
Black Zetsu's eyes widened. "Wood Release?!"
"Still trying to run?" Kazu said coldly. "I've been waiting for you."
"Today, we finish this."
Black Zetsu hissed, shocked. "You planned this?!"
Before he could do anything else, Kazu's hand crackled with lightning.
"Chidori!"
He drove it through them—shattering the black-and-white mass.
"Not dead yet…" Kazu narrowed his eyes. "Wood Release."
Roots and vines surged in, absorbing the scattered Zetsu fragments.
A terrified voice rang out from the black pieces.
"Impossible—how can you absorb me?!"
"That chakra… that's Indra's power! How do you have Indra's power?!"
Black Zetsu screamed, but the roots swallowed him piece by piece.
"It should be done," Kazu muttered. "Time to go back."
He hoisted Madara's body and vanished.
…
But not long after Kazu left, a patch of earth bulged.
A black-and-white Zetsu emerged again.
"…So he's Indra's reincarnation too," it muttered. "But that doesn't make sense. If he's Indra's reincarnation, why doesn't he have the Rinnegan?"
"What the hell is going on here?"
It didn't dare linger.
It quickly dug out a chunk of flesh and vanished into the ground.
"Madara's cells should be enough to grow a body… one suitable for Edo Tensei."