My brother is called Uzumaki Naruto

Half a year passed quickly, and it was now the summer of Konoha Year 47.

It was early dawn. Yue looked up at the sky—only a faint streak of pale light had appeared in the east, while the rest of the sky was still cloaked in night.

It felt a little too early, but Kushina was so excited that she hadn't slept all night. The sound of her sneaking around had woken Yue up as well.

"Sorry about that, Yue. Do you want to go back to sleep for a bit?"

She had tossed and turned restlessly, unable to sleep, and eventually got up to change clothes—but no matter what she wore, nothing felt quite right.

After waking Yue up, she even started picking out clothes for him, making him feel slightly uncomfortable.

"It's okay, Mom."

"In that case, hurry up and finish breakfast! We need to get a good spot!"

At times like this, Yue really thought Kushina's intelligence took a nosedive. She was the Hokage's wife, the First Lady of the village—was she really worried about not getting a good viewing spot?

After quickly finishing breakfast, Kushina tidied up the house and then took Yue outside. Minato hadn't come home the night before—he had spent the night at the Hokage building.

There were already people out on the streets, all heading in the same direction as Kushina and Yue—setting out early to secure a good spot for the handover ceremony.

Many people greeted them along the way, and everyone's faces were filled with joy. The village had ended the war at the end of last year. Though skirmishes still remained on the border with the Land of Lightning, the worst was already over. Now, the villagers eagerly looked forward to the young, bright, and battle-proven Namikaze Minato leading the village toward peace.

However, based on Yue's understanding of the previous three Great Ninja Wars, he estimated that, at most, in fifteen years, the Fourth Great Ninja War would inevitably break out.

After all, war was just an extension of politics. Through three wars, had any country truly achieved its political goals?

What baffled Yue the most was Konoha's upper leadership and their series of appeasement policies. As the strongest village in the ninja world, Konoha had been attacked by every side. And after finally repelling all enemies, they didn't even impose a single victorious war treaty.

As for Sunagakure, which was nominally Konoha's ally but had, in reality, become a semi-vassal state, that was only because their economy had collapsed, forcing them to depend on Konoha.

Honestly, Yue thought these so-called leaders should just commit ritual suicide and apologize to the entire village.

At that moment, Yue suddenly felt that maybe he could serve as Minato's military strategist in the future. Minato probably wouldn't agree with his idea of using brute force to subjugate the other nations, but Yue figured that economic and diplomatic underhanded tactics should work just fine. He had never been in politics himself, but he had interacted with enough politicians. If he hadn't eaten pork before, at least he had seen pigs run, right?

And besides, they were just a bunch of muscle-brained natives.

…

Shaking his head, Yue set aside these thoughts that had nothing to do with him for now and focused on his training over the past six months. After all, this was a world where individual power mattered most.

Over the past six months, Yue had dedicated himself to training his taijutsu, honing his Kagura Mind's Eye, refining his swordsmanship, and studying the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques.

He had developed his Kagura Mind's Eye to a range of three hundred meters, with immense potential for further growth. However, he was slightly frustrated that his ability to predict movements hadn't improved much—not that it bothered him too much. That ability was simply too overpowered.

His taijutsu training remained consistent, with daily physical exercises and occasional sparring matches with Itachi. Of course, Itachi was always on the receiving end of the beatings.

Yue had also invested a lot of effort into swordsmanship.

First, he improved upon the Iai Slash technique. After drawing his sword, he would instantly coat the blade with wind-natured chakra and thrust forward. The chakra would extend about half a meter beyond the blade, enabling a short-range attack.

He named this technique "Steel-Cutting Flash." (PS: Just for my own amusement.)

Another technique involved surrounding his body with wind chakra while drawing his sword, using a combination of spinning motion and sword strikes to create a high-intensity cutting effect. However, this move was still incomplete. Yue envisioned that it would need to be paired with the Body Flicker Technique to maximize its potential.

He named this technique "Forward Step Slash."

The last technique was inspired by the Great Breakthrough jutsu. By gathering a large amount of wind-natured chakra into his sword and then releasing it in a single swing, he had once even managed to split a waterfall.

He named this move "Raging Wind Final Slash."

As for ninjutsu and sealing techniques, Minato and Kushina had taught him a dozen wind, lightning, water, and fire-style jutsu, as well as a few simple sealing techniques. Yue had learned them but hadn't delved deeper into them—he didn't see the necessity.

That said, one thing worth mentioning was that he had increased his hand-seal speed from two seals per second to five seals per second. He was now even faster than Itachi when casting ninjutsu.

By Yue's estimation, in two more years, he should be able to reach seven seals per second. Anything beyond that seemed unnecessary—after all, most jutsu with overly complex hand signs weren't all that practical in real combat.

…

Yue mentally reviewed his progress and considered his next steps in training. Before he knew it, he had already arrived at his destination.

The sun had yet to rise, but the pale dawn light had spread across most of the sky, making visibility much clearer.

Looking around, the main street of Konoha was already crowded with people, all radiating excitement.

"Kushina-sama, Yue-sama. Please come with me. We've prepared a spot for you."

The one speaking was Bingzoku Raitou. Upon seeing Kushina and Yue, he immediately stepped forward to greet them with utmost respect.

"There's a reserved spot for us? Then please, lead the way."

Just as Yue expected—being at the top of the village hierarchy, how could they possibly need to compete with the villagers for a viewing spot?

Following behind Bingzoku Raitou, Kushina led Yue toward the Hokage building. From the looks of it, they were going straight up to the rooftop—to witness the ceremony from the best vantage point, right beside the two Hokage.

"Good morning, Kushina-sama! Good morning, Yue-sama!"

Ninjas and administrative staff constantly greeted them along the way. Kushina, slightly embarrassed, subconsciously tightened her grip on Yue's hand, betraying her excitement and nervousness.

Minato had once told Yue stories of their childhood, so he knew that when Kushina first arrived in Konoha, she had declared that she would become the first female Hokage.

Yue analyzed that this was likely just a child's way of boosting her confidence in an unfamiliar place and seeking recognition from others.

Still, the title of "Hokage" had, to some extent, shaped her over the years.

…

An hour passed. The sun fully rose, bathing the Hokage Rock and, gradually, the entire village in warm light, dispelling the morning chill.

Finally, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze ascended the stairs together, flanked by Konoha's senior officials.

Minato glanced around, spotted Kushina and Yue, and flashed them his signature bright smile.

For some reason, Yue felt a little moved. Perhaps the morning sunlight made Minato's presence even more radiant.

He turned to look at Kushina—her gaze was locked on Minato, eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Hiruzen and Minato stood at the front of the rooftop, silently overlooking the village and its people.

Then, Hiruzen removed the Hokage hat and solemnly handed it to Minato.

Without any words, without any fanfare—the entire village fell into hushed anticipation.

Minato placed the hat on his head and turned to face the crowd.

"From today onward, I am the Fourth Hokage of Konoha!"

A thunderous cheer erupted across the village.

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