Naruto Uchiha, the former God of the Space!

The torrential rain washed over the broken wood and debris.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's Adamantine staff was deeply embedded in the rock. He was hunched over, panting, and his armor, engraved with the character for "fire," was soaked in blood and covered with wounds.

About 100 meters away on the opposite side.

Uchiha Shu's three tomoe were as red as blood, and his chest heaved.

"Hahaha……"

He kept making soft breathing sounds.

"Damn, I'm about to be exhausted."

"That old monkey is damn tough. Even at his age, he's still a standard Kage-level fighter. How dare Danzo, a rat in an unstable state who temporarily crippled his original fighting power, ever covet the Hokage position before?"

"I can't even imagine what it would be like if Sarutobi were thirty-five years old, in his prime, with plenty of chakra, a strong physique, and rich combat experience."

The next moment, the magic staff exploded with a loud bang!

Hiruzen Sarutobi forced himself to take a deep breath, his withered arms swinging wildly as his massive club swept across the battlefield in a blur—

"Bang!!"

Instead of engaging in ninja-style artillery duels, the mana-starved monkey has reverted to a melee-focused gameplay style.

The demon-masked wooden shield shattered under the staff, and Uchiha Shu used the force to fly backward, forming hand seals in mid-air:

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Flame Bullet!"

The battle is nearing its end; it's time to try and bring it to a close.

Of course, we can't be careless!

In the blink of an eye, the white fire dragon crashed into the water array wall.

Steam and firelight once again engulfed a patch of woodland.

By this point in the battle, the Death Forest, with a diameter of twenty kilometers, was completely shattered.

If it weren't for Jonin squad leader Shikaku's timely deployment of the sealing squad members and establishment of a barrier on the outer ring of the circular area, the aftermath of the civil war would have caused enormous damage to Konoha's buildings and population.

A severe economic blow is unacceptable!

"I should die now. I have exquisite chakra manipulation and nature transformation skills, but I can't even release a single Five Elements Technique: Great Combo Bullet Technique before I die."

"How wonderful it would have been if I could have taken the place of the fourth generation and sacrificed myself that night."

The Vajra Ruyi Cudgel flew out and spontaneously transformed back into the true form of the Ape Demon.

The white-haired giant ape's iron fist slammed straight into Uchiha Shumen's face.

"boom--"

The hardened, earth-colored fist clashed with the ape demon.

The former was sent flying backwards.

However, in the next moment, the scene that had driven the Monkey King to despair multiple times during the battle reappeared. The young Uchiha crashed into a tree and instantly turned into mud.

Another shadow clone!

Using clones time and time again, then discarding them again and again—do you have a tailed beast within you providing sustain? Uchiha, Uzumaki, Senju—these bloodlines with their naturally massive chakra reserves are just too troublesome…

Especially when combined with the properties of Wood Release, Hiruzen was more like someone who was dragged down to his death.

Just as the Ape Demon King was feeling resentful, a figure flew out of the mud and engaged it in close combat again.

Two iron fists tore through the rain, each strike carrying the power to split rocks and shatter stones.

Each collision created a ring-shaped shockwave, releasing vaporized white mist.

"It's no use, kid."

The Monkey King spoke in human language, attempting to distract Uchiha Xiu with words: "My body is indestructible, requiring no chakra, and is even stronger than the earth spear you're using."

Synchronized, punching speed explodes again!

A powerful punch struck Uchiha Shu's left arm as he was blocking, shattering the rock skin with a loud cracking sound. He was sent flying backward, coughing up blood, crashing through a giant tree. He was only stopped by a massive amount of vines catching him.

"Your earth-escape technique is impressive..." The Monkey King pounded through the rocks as he approached, "But my fists aren't even afraid of the Nine-Tails!"

"This time it must be the real thing, right?"

Seeing the somewhat agitated ninja ape, which Orochimaru had described as the 'strongest summoning beast,' Uchiha Shu raised his hand.

Earth escape·Earth spear!

Like the Iron-Headed Kid, black and yellow rock patterns instantly covered his entire body.

Amidst the sounds of another collision, deliberately feigning an opening, the Monkey King, whose indestructible body had withstood a Rock Fist from Uchiha Shu, coughed up blood and then grabbed Uchiha Shu's throat with his other hand:

"it's over."

Xiu was lifted into the air.

?

The water was stopped too quickly.

Fugaku instinctively wanted to rush up and rescue him.

Having fought this far, this record is already terrifying enough!

As he suffocated, Uchiha Shu's left eye, marked with three tomoe, suddenly twisted.

Deny fate, Izanagi!

A crimson light engulfed his vision, and the Monkey King was shocked to find his palm empty; the Uchiha brat's body had vanished like a phantom.

"Pfft!"

A real body flashed out from behind the Ape Demon King, and a blue ball of light spun wildly in his palm.

"..." Obito was stunned.

This scene seems familiar.

On the night of the Nine-Tails, his master Minato Namikaze also fed him dumplings in this way.

"Ugh—" The Ape Demon King's wail echoed through the forest, his indestructible body bleeding profusely.

"The ultimate forbidden technique of the Uchiha clan, combined with the forbidden technique Rasengan created by the Fourth Hokage, is well hidden."

The thought flashed through his mind, and Sarutobi, powerless to fight, frantically formed hand seals:

"Old friend, let's go!!"

White smoke erupted just in time, and the Monkey King, who had suffered a severe blow to his back, disappeared without a trace before Uchiha Shu could withdraw his hand.

At that moment, in his left eye socket, a scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan rapidly turned gray and cracked.

Standing in the rain, Uchiha Shu didn't care at all and dug it out in front of everyone.

"Ouch, that hurts!"

Immediately, he switched back to the original glasses that he had removed beforehand.

"Phew... I've finally experienced this unique feature that high-end Uchiha clans have to try."

"Cough!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi staggered to his knees, barely managing to lift his hand to support himself. He looked at Uchiha Shu approaching step by step, tears welling in his cloudy eyes.

"Do it... but answer me, what about the future of Konoha..."

Fearing that the old man might resort to underhanded tactics and use the Reaper Death Seal, Uchiha Xiu stopped ten steps away.

Be ready to use resurrection coins at any time!

"I will restore order. No one in the Sarutobi clan, whether ordinary people, children, or any civilian ninja, ANBU ninja, or Root ninja who is willing to put aside their hatred will be ostracized because of what happened tonight."

Upon hearing this, a smile tugged at the corner of the third generation's blood-stained lips:

"That's enough."

"Konoha... is entrusted to... you, young man... to protect the village."

"The first, second, and fourth generations... I'm tired."

The rain poured down.

With a hiss, a mouthful of hot blood gushed from Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart, and Uchiha Shu silently released his Wood Release.

Without the support of the wooden spikes, the third generation's frail body slid to the ground.

Of all the Hokage, the one with the longest tenure, the monkey, is truly dead.

There was no Dalian bomb, and no corpse demon sealing.

Uchiha Shu walked over, bent down, and closed the old man's wide-open eyes.

Surrounded by woods.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the elite Anbu members, the powerful members of the Sarutobi clan, and the Uchiha high-ranking officials who witnessed the entire event remained silent.

"Does this count as succession by line?"

Choza Akimichi was the first to speak, breaking the silence.

Nara Shikaku, who was able to exercise authority on behalf of the Jonin, firmly stated, "Yes, I heard clearly. It was Lord Sarutobi who personally appointed Uchiha Shuu as the Fifth Hokage to implement reforms in Konoha and correct the erroneous policies he had previously implemented due to being misled by Danzo."

"That's right, I heard it clearly too. The Third Hokage personally admitted to some of the mistakes he made in the past and appointed Uchiha Shu as the Fifth Hokage."

After he finished speaking, Kakashi Hatake, who had been half-heartedly fighting the whole way, seemed to have all his energy drained away.

"We concede defeat."

Seeing that all was lost, the elder of the Sarutobi clan dropped his kunai and said sullenly, "Let the child go."

I seem to have set a bad precedent.

From an outsider's perspective, the position of Hokage... is likely no longer the very stable master-disciple succession system it once was.

"Love you, bro. See you at Xuanwu Gate? A real man never waits for the right person. Heh, I personally orchestrated the Konoha version of the Xiangji Temple showdown, and now this scene is playing out again."

"Congratulations, Xiu, you can now be called Hokage."

Fugaku landed instantly, making his stance clear with a single sentence.