Konoha's streets.
The Third Hokage and the two advisors leapt swiftly from rooftop to rooftop.
"Hiruzen, what exactly is going on?"
"I rememberUchiha Akihito and Uchiha Fugaku having a pretty good relationship, didn't they?"
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane voiced their confusion.
This sudden development had left them completely baffled.
Akihito had always shown great respect toward Fugaku.
As Vice Captain of the Police Force, he could practically be considered Fugaku's right-hand man.
For him to suddenly compete for the position of clan head made no sense at all.
Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered inwardly,
Right-hand man? So what?
Isn't that old fox Danzō constantly eyeing my Hokage seat as well?
Of course, he couldn't say that out loud.
Shaking his head, Hiruzen put on a grave expression.
"The situation isn't clear yet. We must hurry."
"No matter what, we cannot allow this to affect the village's stability."
The two advisors nodded in agreement. The older one grew, the more one clung to peace and comfort.
Of course, Danzō was probably the exception.
He was an ambitious schemer who refused to stay quiet—always eager to stir trouble.
Old in age, but not in ambition.
First become Hokage, then pacify the ninja world like the First Hokage had done.
Danzō had lived most of his life inside such a dream.
High aspirations, low ability—that was another of the so-called "Shadow Hokage's" defining traits.
Homura cautiously asked,
"Hiruzen, should we intervene and stop this battle?"
Hiruzen fell silent.
Recalling Akihito's past behavior gave him a headache.
Fugaku was mild-tempered—manageable.
Akihito, on the other hand, was anything but easy to deal with.
During the Third Great Ninja War, Akihito had thoroughly demonstrated his unwillingness to suffer losses.
If such a person became clan head, manipulating the Uchiha would become far more difficult.
Compared to Akihito, Hiruzen still believed Fugaku was better suited to lead the clan.
Unfortunately, a great clan like the Uchiha had its own rules.
Even as Hokage, he could not interfere in their internal succession.
After a moment's thought, Hiruzen spoke calmly.
"The village should remain harmonious. Needless conflict must be avoided."
"Let's move faster. We'll put an end to this farce."
He thought of his former comrade Uchiha Kagami, the current twin pillars of the Uchiha—"Flame Oni" Akihito and "Shunshin no Shisui"—and the young prodigy Uchiha Itachi.
Hiruzen sighed inwardly.
"Why does the Uchiha clan always produce geniuses that astonish the ninja world?"
"Why can't the Sarutobi clan produce such outstanding talents?"
In the era of the Second Hokage, the Sarutobi clan had produced two ninja proficient in all five chakra natures—Sarutobi Sasuke and Hiruzen himself—thus paving the way for Hiruzen's eventual ascension.
But in later generations, the Sarutobi clan paled in comparison to the Uchiha.
"Flame Oni" Akihito and "Shunshin no Shisui"—calling their talent unparalleled in the current ninja world would not be an exaggeration.
Uchiha Itachi, who had graduated from the Academy at seven, was no less impressive than Hatake Kakashi, son of the White Fang of Konoha.
Kakashi was the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato's disciple—part of the Hokage faction.
But the Uchiha's two great prodigies had nothing to do with Hiruzen's political camp.
If, in the years to come, the Uchiha clan produced three Kage-level powerhouses—
Would they still obediently follow him, the Hokage of Konoha?
With that thought, Hiruzen quickened his pace once more.
The change of Uchiha clan head had to be stopped if possible.
Uchiha Dueling Grounds.
The battle had already entered a white-hot stage.
Gasps and exclamations echoed constantly from the spectators.
"So this is the power of true geniuses? Akihito is unbelievably strong!"
"The clan head has copied hundreds of jutsu with the Sharingan—he's no simple opponent either!"
This level of combat left even many jōnin in awe.
Their clash was approaching Hokage-level, wasn't it?
To ordinary ninja, Kage-level represented the peak of the ninja world.
Receiving such an evaluation was proof that their battle had surpassed most people's imagination.
On the platform, Fugaku looked at his opponent, whose breathing had grown slightly heavier, and smiled faintly.
"Akihito, it seems I have a slight advantage."
Akihito responded not with words, but with ninjutsu.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire—Crimson Claws!"
Flaming shuriken shot forth like scarlet meteors.
Facing the attack, Fugaku abandoned Water Release entirely.
Water might counter fire, but his Water Release had only been copied through the Sharingan.
The Uchiha excelled at overcoming fire with even greater fire.
Fugaku formed seals rapidly.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
A blazing dragon soared into the air, devouring the incoming flaming shuriken in a single gulp.
As the enormous fire dragon roared toward him, Akihito's thoughts shifted—
And he entered Fire Release Chakra Mode.
Counter fire with fire?
That depended on whose fire it was.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The fire dragon slammed into Akihito.
Yet it caused him no harm whatsoever.
Fugaku's expression darkened.
"Fire Release Chakra Mode?"
"So you're finally getting serious."
Drawing his blade, Fugaku closed the distance and engaged Akihito in close combat.
It became a clash of Uchiha-style kenjutsu.
At first, Fugaku had suppressed Akihito slightly.
But the moment Akihito activated Fire Release Chakra Mode, the situation reversed completely.
Akihito's taijutsu and swordsmanship were already comparable to Fugaku's. The slight disadvantage earlier had stemmed merely from a gap in battle experience.
Now, with the qualitative transformation brought by Fire Release Chakra Mode, that minor difference was negligible.
Fugaku was forced back step by step, driven to the very edge of the arena.
If this continued, he would lose.
Shock surged through Fugaku's heart.
"Has Akihito truly grown this strong?"
"Damn it… it seems I can't hold back any longer!"
Seizing an opening, Fugaku suddenly closed in and locked eyes with Akihito, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan spinning rapidly.
"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!"
The Shackling Stakes was a binding genjutsu—those caught within it would feel stakes piercing their bodies, immobilized completely.
Uchiha Itachi had once used this very technique to instantly defeat one of the Legendary Sannin—Orochimaru.
A cold smile curved at Akihito's lips.
"Trying to use genjutsu against me?"
"How naive."