July 20th.
Since the frantic return of the Konoha expeditionary forces from the Land of Hot Springs on the 18th, an oppressive, suffocating atmosphere of grief had paralyzed the hidden village. The administrative council had immediately finalized the catastrophic announcement detailing the death of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, initiating a solemn, grand-scale funeral to honor both the sovereign and the hundreds of fallen Leaf shinobi who had perished in the northeastern valley.
On the verdant outskirts of Konoha, a massive, sprawling ground was densely packed with thousands of citizens and Shinobis draped in charcoal-black kimonos and formal robes. They stood in rigid, silent ranks before a towering crimson monument shaped like a roaring, stylized flame. Across the stone plaque at its base, the words Will of Fire and Hokage were meticulously chiseled, framed above by a massive, high-fidelity portrait of Senju Tobirama.
Directly behind the flame monument rested the heavy, reinforced seal-stone gateway leading to the underground mausoleum—the sacred chamber where the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and now the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, were officially interred. Whether they belonged to the proud lineages of the Uchiha, the Senju, the Hyūga, the Sarutobi, or the civilian-born shinobis, every individual present shared a singular, unifying sentiment: a deep, profound mourning for the architect of their laws. And as if reacting directly to the thick, crushing sorrow permeating the cemetery, the sky bruised into deep indigo clouds as a cold, steady rain began to drizzle over the valley.
At the front of the crowd, Sarutobi Hiruzen stood tall, flanked immediately by Shimura Danzō, Uchiha Kagami, Akimichi Torifu, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura. They stared unblinkingly at the crimson flame and their sensei's portrait, their once youthful faces were now hardened by an ironclad resolve.
...
After several long minutes of crushing silence, Hiruzen smoothly pivoted on his heel, adjusting his posture to face the massive assembly of Konoha shinobi, clan elders, and weeping civilians.
"We have prematurely lost another Great Fire of Konoha..." Hiruzen's voice rang out, carrying a dense, amplified resonance that sliced through the patter of the rain. "However, our campaign is far from over, and the systemic crises threatening our borders remain unresolved. The news of Nidaime Hokage-sama's death will undoubtedly embolden the malicious, opportunistic factions within foreign hidden villages, tempting them to exploit our moment of deep national grief. We cannot afford to project a single moment of weakness!"
Across the cemetery, thousands of faces snapped upward, their collective gazes locking onto the young commander. Within the ranks, reactions fractured instantly: many younger shinobi readily accepted Hiruzen taking the lead; several clan elders furrowed their brows in sharp, silent displeasure; while the core Jonin who had bled beside him in the trenches offered disciplined nods of approval.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen!" a booming voice fractured the address.
A Senju Elder, his chest heaving with generational pride, stepped forward to openly challenge the youth's political authority. "Do you truly believe that you command the authority to—"
Before the insubordinate sentence could be finished, Uzumaki Mito calmly raised her hand. Her fingers were steady as she severed the Elder's trajectory with a single, absolute gesture.
The Senju Elder locked eyes with the Mito for a brief, tense second, reading the unyielding warning in her gaze.Realizing his position, he humbly bowed his spine and retreated back into the ranks, next to Grand Elder Genshiro.
In terms of strict chronological seniority, the Elder technically outranked Mito; however, in terms of sheer chakra, political lineage, and the respect she commanded, Uzumaki Mito stood second only to Tobirama himself in Senju clan.
Mito offered Hiruzen a slow, validating nod of approval, signaling the new Hokage to proceed.
Taking a deep, calculated breath, Hiruzen straightened his spine, projecting his chakra to fully command the clearing.
"Although my individual capabilities pale in comparison to my predecessors, Nidaime-sama explicitly entrusted me with the sacred mantle of the Third Hokage on the field of battle, commanding me to safeguard Konohagakure with my life!"
Once more, a heavy ripple of silent calculation passed through the crowd as the various clan heads weighed this political shift with unexpressed, dangerous thoughts.
"We must unyieldingly uphold the foundational philosophies established by Shodaime-sama and Nidaime-sama," Hiruzen preached, his tone rising with a passionate, hot-blooded intensity that ignited a fire in the younger ninja. "Their spirits will continue to live and breathe right alongside us within these walls, so long as the Will of Fire is passed from one generation to the next!"
Hiruzen clenched his fist passionately. His eyes burned with a resolute conviction of a leader chosen by fate as he delivered his final, poetic vow:
"Where the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames. The Fire's shadow will illuminate the village, and once again... tree leaves shall bud anew!"
He paused, letting the verse echo off the stone monuments. "I will emulate Shodaime-sama's infinite compassion and Nidaime-sama's tactical logic to protect Konoha at all costs—until a new, worthy leaf of this village grows tall enough to succeed my Will of Fire!"
As the final words left his lips, a palpable transformation rippled across the assembly. The gloomy, defeated posture of the younger Chunin and Genin dissolved, replaced by a sudden, intoxicating gleam of hope. In that exact structural instant, the dark clouds overhead began to fracture. TThe heavy rain died to a drizzle as a brilliant shaft of summer sunlight pierced the canopy, illuminating Hiruzen's armored silhouette in a striking golden glow.
It was a stroke of miraculous meteorological timing—yet to the highly superstitious, emotionally charged shinobi standing in the mud, it felt like an omen from the heavens themselves. They looked upon the youthful vigor, the immense chakra output, and the unyielding momentum radiating from Sarutobi Hiruzen, and they found their next Hokage.
Breaking the spell, Uchiha Kagami took a heavy step forward, his voice roaring across the crowd:
"LORD THIRD!"
Instantly aligning their lines, Akimichi Torifu, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura stepped forward as a unified wall. Even a visibly reluctant, tight-jawed Shimura Danzo forced his knees to lock as he stepped up beside them, their voices echoing in perfect, practiced harmony:
"""LORD THIRD!"""
The catalyst was instantaneous. The surrounding civilian population and the younger shinobis caught the fanatical rhythm, erupting into a deafening, sky-shaking cheer that shattered the post-war depression:
"""LORD THIRD!"""
"""HOKAGE-SAMA!"""
"""SANDAIME-SAMA!"""
Standing along the isolated, outermost perimeter of the cemetery, Uchiha Sosuke watched the fanatical celebrations from afar. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest armor, a deep, severe frown etched into his weathered features. Beside him, the high-ranking elite of the Uchiha clan maintained a rigid, completely silent posture; while they had fully participated in the mandatory structural mourning for Tobirama, they displayed absolutely zero enthusiasm for Hiruzen's sudden inauguration.
'Two Senju tyrants… and now this Sarutobi brat…' Sōsuke thought, his jaw tightening as his chakra spiked with bitter, repressed resentment..
Historically, Sōsuke had harbored a grim, accurate intuition that Uchiha Kagami would never be permitted to ascend to the Hokage mantle, given Tobirama's deeply ingrained systemic biases against their bloodline. Yet, deep within the dark recesses of his proud heart, a volatile desire clawed at his restraint; a burning urge to step onto the podium and aggressively cross-examine whether a twenty-something Sarutobi youth truly possessed the wisdom and willpower to command the strongest Shinobi force on earth.
That identical, silent rebellion was actively churning within the minds of several conservative ninja clan heads and elderly advisors standing in the crowd. They recognized Hiruzen's raw talent and potential, but they also recognized the structural vacuum left by Tobirama's demise. The First Shinobi World War was grinding toward its final two months, but the internal political war for the soul of Konohagakure had only just begun.