Chapter 159: The Beginning of the End

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Or did a donkey kick some sense out of your head, Homura?"

An old woman leaned close to Homura's face as she shouted. She was so close that spit flew from her mouth with every word, some of it landing directly on his face.

Homura slowly wiped his cheek, irritation flashing across his expression.

"And what about you, Koharu?" the old woman turned toward her. "Have you gone senile too?"

"Hmph. Using clan funds for charity?" one of the old men scoffed from his seat. "What are you two now, Senju?"

"Heh. Maybe they really want to compete with the Senju for fame."

Another voice came from the side, followed by a few quiet laughs.

Koharu's face tightened with embarrassment.

"Hmph. You old hag, do you really not understand what's happening?" she snapped.

"If we don't take this step, both the villagers and the clans will tear us apart."

She looked around the hall, then fixed her eyes on the old woman again.

"Didn't you see how many eyes were on us today?"

The old woman didn't seem bothered at all.

She simply sat back down.

"Whatever. I'm not letting a single penny from my clan go."

Koharu's expression hardened.

She stepped forward and grabbed the woman's collar.

"Do you really want our clan to become the enemy of the entire village?"

The old woman stared back at her.

Koharu knew exactly what their clans had become over the years.

Greedy.

Comfortable.

And, in many places, deeply corrupt.

She and Homura had known about it for a long time. But as elders of the village, they had never needed to worry much about it. They held authority, and as long as they remained in their positions, very few people could hold them accountable.

But things were different now.

The anger outside the hall had become too large to ignore.

And yet these elders still refused to see the danger.

Homura looked toward the elders and Jonin of both clans.

"This is your decision."

His voice was calm, but heavy.

"Not ours."

The room became quiet.

"But remember this."

His eyes moved from one elder to another.

"Right now, all of us are standing on a very thin rope."

He paused.

"One little push could be enough to break it."

No one answered.

Homura turned and walked out.

Koharu followed him.

The elders and Jonin of both clans remained behind, looking at one another with uneasy expressions.

They had all noticed the change.

The way villagers looked at their clans.

The jealousy.

The resentment.

And after the recent population records, their clans had become even more visible to the other major clans in Konoha.

Everyone in the room knew how much their clans had gained after Koharu and Homura became village elders.

More resources.

More influence.

More opportunities.

At first, it had been useful.

Then it had become normal.

And eventually, they had become dependent on it.

Now they were being asked to sacrifice some of it for the village.

None of them wanted to give it up.

Hokage's Office

Hiruzen sat behind his desk with a document in front of him.

It contained the list of resources the Sarutobi clan was willing to sacrifice.

Tsunade and Jiraiya stood nearby, going through the remaining resources of the village.

Tsunade's expression became more serious as she looked at the numbers.

"Old man, doubling the compensation isn't realistic."

She looked up at Hiruzen.

"Even if I stopped betting for the entire year, I don't think I could save this much."

Hiruzen didn't respond to her complaint.

Instead, he asked another question.

"Any word from the noble houses?"

Tsunade's expression immediately darkened.

"Those nobles are much more cunning than we thought."

She crossed her arms.

"After receiving the Uchiha medicine formulas, they paid only the initial amount."

"And when we asked for Konoha's promised share, they told us to wait until the end of the year and see how much they sell first."

Her voice became irritated.

"Getting blood out of a stone would be easier than getting money out of those people."

Jiraiya remained silent as he looked over the numbers.

The situation was becoming worse from every direction.

The villagers wanted compensation.

The clans didn't want to sacrifice their resources.

The noble houses didn't want to pay what they had promised.

And Hiruzen was running out of options.

The village had survived wars, enemies, and countless battles.

But this time, Konoha's greatest problem wasn't standing outside its walls.

It was already inside them.

"I still don't understand how that brat predicted it in the first place."

Jiraiya's voice was filled with irritation as he thought about Toyama.

That boy now held the royalties from Jiraiya's own contract for the next three years, with the money going toward the Uchiha's compensation until their debt was fully recovered.

I should never have made that promise.

For a moment, another thought crossed his mind.

Maybe I should have held on to that money. Even that much could have helped the village right now.

The thought only made him more frustrated.

Hiruzen closed the files in front of him.

"Prepare a notice."

Jiraiya and Tsunade looked toward him.

"In five days, the election for the new Hokage will be held."

He paused.

"The compensation will be paid on the same day."

Tsunade's expression changed slightly.

Hiruzen took a slow breath.

"Wasting more time won't bring things back to normal."

His voice became heavier.

"Right now, the village needs a new face."

He looked at both of his students.

"Someone who can rebuild the trust between the villagers and the clans."

"What Konoha needs more than anything right now..."

He paused.

"...is unity."

Neither Tsunade nor Jiraiya said anything.

They both knew it was the truth.

They had known it for some time.

But neither had wanted to say it aloud.

Hiruzen looked between them.

"Don't worry about the compensation."

His voice softened slightly.

"Leave that to us."

Jiraiya and Tsunade remained silent.

The smile on Hiruzen's face was something neither of them could understand.

Both Tsunade and Jiraiya could only sigh as they nodded.

Whatever happened next in the village would now depend on the decision of the next Hokage.

Orochimaru. Minato. Fugaku.

The three Hokage candidates.

They thought about each of them. It was already clear who had the greatest chance of becoming Hokage. Even many villagers and clan members had known for a long time where the people's support was leaning.

There was no strong objection either.

Even if someone wanted to oppose this appointment, they had no better candidate to put forward.

The news of the Hokage election quickly spread throughout the village.

Families who heard that the new Hokage would also ensure their compensation was paid—at double the original amount—felt a sense of relief.

For many of them, it felt like they had finally won something after fighting for so long.

The clans thought about it.

The villagers thought about it.

And for the moment, both sides felt that their struggle had finally produced a result.

But the discussion about the new Hokage had only just begun.

The news eventually reached Toyama's ears.

He was sitting with Elder Kohaku when he suddenly started laughing.

"Hehehe... hahaha!"

Kohaku looked at him in confusion.

"The time has come, Elder."

Toyama's smile slowly widened.

"From this moment onward, the village will be at its weakest."

"Many powers are going to shift, and that will create gaps everywhere."

His expression became calm and determined.

"This will be the best time for us to make use of those gaps to their fullest."

They had already accumulated enough wealth to survive for some time. But if they failed to act now, even the small amount of influence and resources they were receiving from the nobles could become uncertain.

The noble houses and even the daimyo had begun paying closer attention to their businesses and supplies.

Toyama reached for a scroll and handed it to Kohaku.

"Send a message to Uncle Koji. Tell him to begin transferring the rest of our people and the main research to the Land of Frost."

Kohaku looked at the scroll but did not immediately take it.

"Aren't we moving too quickly? We could wait until the new Hokage takes office."

He paused before continuing.

"The real power shift will begin after the new Hokage takes control. At that point, the Uchiha will probably receive less attention."

So far, they had already transferred many Uchiha to the Land of Frost.

Some had officially been recorded as having died during the war.

Others were ordinary civilians, including some younger people who had been quietly moved from the Fire Capital.

To keep everything from becoming suspicious, they had deliberately left some of the older members behind.

But Toyama shook his head.

"We won't have much time after the new Hokage takes office."

He looked directly at Kohaku.

His voice became heavier.

"The next Hokage will only remain Hokage for six months... perhaps a year at most."

Kohaku's eyes widened.

"What?"

He stared at Toyama as if he had just heard something impossible.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY, YOU BRAT?!"

A voice suddenly came from the doorway.

Toyama and Kohaku froze.

Both slowly turned toward the door.

Standing there was—

Fugaku Uchiha.

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