Looking out from the window of the Raikage's office, one could see clouds driftiween the mountains. When the clouds were especially dehe view transformed into a vast "white sea," the peaks of Kumo rising like isnds in an o of mist.

  The Fourth Raikage sat at his desk, staring at the dot in front of him.

  Ten minutes had passed sihis dot had been delivered.

  The office was silent. Aside from the Raikage himself, there was no one else present.

  The bodyguards aarial staff had all left the room.

  However, they had only left the office itself; they were now waiting outside, prepared for the young Raikage to unleash his anger and grief within.

  "He hasn't made a sound. Not even broken anything," one guard whispered, shifting uneasily.

  "That's what worries me. The Fourth ays quiet this long," another replied.

  Yet, ten minutes passed, and not a sound emerged.

  "It's about time. Let's go in," the leader of the guard unit said.

  The others looked at him but didn't move.

  The leader sighed and had no choice but to step forward and kno the door.

  "e in!" The voice of the Fourth Raikage echoed from within.

  It sounded as if nothing was wrong.

  Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the leader opehe door, and the group went inside.

  The burly Raikage sat there, his expression unged.

  "Raikage-sama," the leader began cautiously, "please provide the set of instrus."

  "The step?" The Fourth Raikage g his fidant. " you birth a-Tails now? Or perhaps a ails?"

  The guard captain immediately fell silent.

  "Of course, there are instrus." The Fourth Raikage picked up the report that had been on his desk for ten minutes. "Killer B is dead. Surveilnce of the shinobi world must be strengthened. If the Eight-Tails reappears, it must be captured immediately. Additionally..."

  He turned his gaze to his head of security.

  "This Masashi—is he the one who captured Yugito? Is he truly ected to Edo Tensei?"

  "Yes. Currently, even within Konoha many are paying attention to this matter. However, most are old-timers, and... they aren't particurly ed with Edo Tehey seem more focused on that man's remains."

  "His remains..." The Fourth Raikage smirked. "Speaking of that, didn't Orochimaru ask about it as well?"

  "Yes."

  "That guy has asded. There's no point in keeping his leftovers. Just give it to him."

  "Raikage-sama!" The captain objected tactfully, sweat beading on his forehead. "Orochimaru is aremely dangerous individual. His role in provoking the war between us and Konoha likely ceals ulterior motives..."

  "I don't recall you being this timid," the Fourth Raikage said in a deep voice.

  The captain stiffened.

  Words like "timid" were extremely harsh in Kumo, signaling the Raikage's dissatisfa.

  "My apologies, Raikage-sama. I uand now."

  "No, your mistake isn't what you think it is." The Fourth Raikage stood and approached his captain. "Are you afraid?"

  "..." The captain remained silent for a moment, back straight, meeting his leader's gaze. "I would never feel fear."

  "Good. A man of Kumo does not make excuses." The Raikage cpped his fidant on the shoulder, the forearly bug the captain's knees. "There's nothing tret. Losing is no big deal. While we may have lost a tailed beast, the vilge's foundation remains intact. Hand over the remains to Orochimaru. He will definitely retaliate against Konoha iure. I'm sure of it!"

  "And this time?"

  "If we lost, so be it. Our current enemies are Iwa and Suna. Konoha is not ahey're a friend." For now, his tone implied.

  "Uood. I will endure."

  "Good. Pass on the instrus. Also, summon the head of the ANBU for me."

  The captain turned a.

  Soon after, he returned with another man.

  "Raikage-sama."

  "How are the current ANBU of Konoha?" the Fourth Raikage asked, already knowing the answer would please him.

  "Nothing to worry about, Raikage-sama."

  "Oh?" The Fourth Raikage found this rare piece of good news. "Expin iail."

  "After the death of Danzō, the quality of the ANBU has signifitly deed. Their coordination shos, their respoimes have lengthened."

  "How long will it take them to recover?"

  "It will be difficult in the short term. While their ANBU operatives are petent, their new ander cks the skills of Danzō."

  "Then how effective is our infiltration of Konoha now?"

  "Apologies, Raikage-sama. It's much worse than before..."

  "Huh?" The Fourth Raikage was momentarily fused, his brow furrowing.

  Wasn't the other side supposed to be run by amateurs now?

  "Konoha's security forces have vastly improved, Raikage-sama. Our operatives are detected long before they get close."

  "I see. The Byakugan truly is formidable..." The Fourth Raikage frowned.

  He had coveted the Byakugan for quite some time.

  Kumo was one of the few—no, the only vilge with no qualms about pursuing s with bloodline limits.

  The vilge's bloodline s thrived.

  The rgest of these was the "Storm Release" .

  Sihe era of the First Raikage, Kumo had actively sought out bloodline limits.

  Given the challenges of their mountainous and frigid terrain, their development depended on a long-standing philosophy of "If we don't have it, go get it from the mainnd."

  Their primary targets were ninjutsu and bloodlines.

  They craved the Byakugan. The Sharingan? Less so.

  Kumo favored taijutsu and "light"-based teiques like lightning, sers, and light speed. In the Fourth Raikage's vision, his vilge's taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and jinchuriki mastery were nearly fwless.

  All they cked was the Byakugan.

  The Sharingan was undeniably powerful, but it didn't align with their teiques.

  The Fourth Raikage's thoughts swirled but ultimately nded on a singur goal.

  "I must obtain the Byakugan. It will be mine. Has Konoha tinued urging us to sign the agreement?"

  "They asked st month but not this month." The ANBU head's voice held a note of satisfa.

  "Any movements from Iwa?"

  "Yes, they're active, but their target remains unclear. We could showcase our strength to demonstrate we're still capable."

  "No!" The Fourth Raikage waved his hand, cutting him off. "We must feign weakness."

  He knew his father's killer too well.

  That old schemer had a plex not just against Konoha but specifically against the Uchiha.

  "Additionally, secretly promote the Uchiha's reputation. Focus on the 'White Ghost' and 'Teleporter' specifically!"

  "Raikage-sama, I don't uand."

  "Just do it!" The Fourth Raikage anded with authority. He poi a young woman in the secretarial team. "You, take note."

  "Yes, Raikage-sama." The young woman, with her tan skin and short silver hair matg the Raikage's , responded briskly, brush already poised over paper.

  "Arrange a meeting with the Kazekage to discuss a friendship treaty between Kumo and Suna."

  ---

  The activities in Kumo caught the attention of a few people—though not including Konoha.

  Konoha's ANBU had been diligently w on intelligehering, particurly those formerly under Root.

  Upourning to ANBU, many of them were promoted—it was unavoidable, as they were the most adept at this line of work.

  The one most burdened was the ANBU captain, whose fortable days were long gone.

  "Captain," a senient appeared at his door. "Another report from the border."

  "Let me guess—nothing substantial again?" The captain rubbed his temples. The agent's silence was answer enough.

  He eveertaihe idea of asking the Third Hokage to e out of retirement or resurreg Danzō with Edo Teo get him back to work.

  Of course, such thoughts were just idle musings.

  Thus, the ANBU captain tio stretch his imagination, trying to avoid being outmaneuvered by the ANBU captain from Kumo again.

  He had plenty of time to hone his professional skills because no one in Konoha was critig him at the moment.

  No one had the time.

  The ele for the Hokage Advisor had begun, and this was now the primary for Konoha's shinobi.

  Even the vilgers were highly engaged. Such a grand-scale "drama" was a on-a-lifetime event, and they were determio savor it.

  The streets buzzed with specution ae.

  "The Uchiha nominated?" One mert said to another as they set up their stalls.

  "Times are different now," his friend replied, arranging his vegetables. "Have you seen how the Police Force has ged? They're actually helping people these days."

  The nominated didates had made their official appearances aered the public eye of Konoha.

  There were four nomihe Third Hokage Hiruzen, the Fourth Hokage Minato, Elder Advisor Koharu, and Homura.

  The people they nominated were intriguing—some expected, others ued.

  The Third Hokage nominated Shikaku, the current leader of the jonin corps. This was unsurprising to everyone.

  The Fourth Hokage nomihe head of the Police Force, Fugaku. People had anticipated this but didn't think much of it. After all, the Uchiha had been nominated for Hokage positions in the past, though it always e the nomination stage.

  Koharu's nomination was iing: Shimura Hiryū, the nominal leader of the Shimura .

  The term "nominal" was used because the Shimura had essentially disbanded as a ninja d bee part of the civilian ninja category.

  Lastly, Homura nominated Sarutobi Tazuna, the head of the Sarutobi .

  Tazuna was the stro member of the Sarutobi apart from Hiruzen himself. Skilled in taijutsu and adept in fire, lightning, ah teiques, as well as mediinjutsu, he had been part of the jonin corps sihe Third Hokage's era.

  These four individuals were the didates for the Hokage Advisor role.

  Shimura, the veteran jonin, dispyed a calm and posed demeanor, smiling politely.

  Sarutobi exuded fidence.

  Shikaku enjoyed signifit popurity; the jonin from the Ino-Shika-Chō s showed no signs of voting for anyone else.

  As Chōza put it, "If someoacked Sarutobi, we'd be the first to step up, but when it es to voting, sorry—we have to stick with our buddy."

  Likewise, just as Tazuna didn't expect the Ino-Shika-Chō s to vote for him at the start, Shikaku didn't anticipate the Sarutobi jonin to give him much face either.

  There lenty of time to sway votes.

  As faku, he observed his oppos closely. Within the jonin ranks, he had ablished base, save for Masashi—an advantage so slight that it didn't even pare to Hiryū's position.

  While Danzō's name carried infamy, the Shimura itself enjoyed a good reputation. Danzō had always kept his at a distance, and Root had no other members with the Shimura surhus, the remained untarnished by his deeds.

  This was just the beginning.

  , the didates would o make speeches throughout the vilge, presenting their policies to the vilgers. They would have ample time to engage in strategieuvering.

  This art of the ele process. Each didate could fully utilize their abilities to secure votes, demonstrating the petencies required for a Hokage Advisor.

  An advisor to the Hokage wasn't just a versational partner in the office. Without the ability to eh vilgers aiate with various ninja s, one couldn't hope to be an effective advisor.

  Though the vilgers didn't vote, didates' public performances would influehe votes of civilian ninja.

  The ele period would st one month.

  After a month, the first round of voting would take pce.

  To test the didates' ability to recover from setbacks or handle favorable situations with posure, the sed round of voting would occur a month ter.

  Then the final results would be announced.

  The most intriguing part? The eing process was anonymous.

  When Masashi learned about the procedure, he couldn't help but marvel at how eborate it was.

  The Hokage Advisor ele was far more plex than the Hokage ele itself. After all, the Hokage ele required only one round of voting.

  When the ele process began in ear, Masashi found his duties increasing. In his role as a promi Uchiha representative, he apanied Fugaku on speeches and visits to various ninja s.

  Perfect. More time pying politi when I could be training. But at least this might be useful ter...

  When he first learned of this task, though his heart sank, he maintained a polite smile. After all, he couldn't let it show—adults o maintain de.

  The first stop? The Hyūga .

  Due to the Police Force's ret expansioioween the Uchiha and Hyūga had grown signifitly closer. Moreover, Masashi had earned goodwill among the Hyūga for personally assisting Elder Shijime with a task outside the vilge, further strengthening their bond.

  As a result, when Fugaku and Masashi visited the Hyūga , they received a warm reception.

  All members of the Hyūga main house attended, along with all the jonin from the branch house.

  "Fugaku, we uand your iions," said Hiashi, the current leader, in a courteous tone. His eyes briefly flickered to Masashi. "However, please uand our position. Due to our 's size, all four fas are vying for our votes, so we haven't decided how to allocate them yet."

  Fearing a misuanding, he added, "Of course, we hold you in high regard. Rest assured, you will not be overlooked in our siderations."

  "Hiashi, you're too kind," Fugaku replied with a smile. "Frankly, whether I'm elected is sedary. My main goal is to expose the younger geion to these experiences ahem build es."

  At this, the Hyūga members all turheir attention to Masashi.

  Masashi maintained a fwless, polite smile. There he goes again, making me part of his schemes without even asking. Was he secretly writing speeches at home again? Something about his tone feels off.

  "Oh? So, Fugaku, are you grooming Masashi to take the reins iure?" Hiashi asked, his i piqued.

  Many in the Hyūga were familiar with this young Uchiha.

  In the Land of Whirlpools, he had saved several Hyūga members' lives, earning resped friendships within the .

  In the Land of Hot Water, his performance was equally endable.

  Additionally, Elder Shijime had a positive opinion of him, whifluehers in the to view him favorably.

  As one of Konoha's you Kage-level ninja, the Hyūga high cil held Masashi in high regard.

  Fugaku did not deny Hiashi's question. He simply ughed and said, "It's too early to say. There's no rush—I still hold the fort for a few more years."

  "The Uchiha truly are a ies," Hiashi remarked, full of admiration. "Your 's transformation has been remarkable to witness."

  With Fugaku now officially a didate, his true strength had e to light. The sensus among the unity was that Fugaku was both remarkably patient and showed just how naturally gifted the Uchiha was at being ninja.

  People now referred to the Uchiha as "a of three Kage-level ninjas." However, the Uchiha had undergone a major transformation. Their reputation in the vilge had drastically improved, being a source of reassuraher than apprehension.

  Having multiple Kage-level ninjas was a rare and remarkable achievement in Konoha's history.

  The st to achieve such a feat was the Senju during the vilge's founding days.