Speedrunning Naruto to the Top

Various announcements were plastered across cities, towns, and even villages throughout the Land of Fire.

Coupled with the recent conclusion of the preliminary stage of the third round of Konoha's Chūnin Exams, many contestants who had been eliminated in the second round and preliminaries were heading home—and simultaneously taking this news back to their own countries and ninja villages.

This caused a sensation across the entire ninja world.

In this world with a bizarrely crooked "tech tree," where information requires some time to propagate, somehow in under two days, Konoha had become the focus of attention for everyone, from leading shinobi and Hokage down to ordinary civilians and even small children just gaining self-awareness.

The explosive piece of news was: Tsunade is stepping down!

In the latter half of Konoha Year 60—barely a month or two later than now—Tsunade had just succeeded to the position of Fifth Hokage, declaring Konoha's re-entrance into the "Senju era." Yet a little more than two years later, her short-lived reign was announced to be ending.

And the person succeeding to the Hokage position was none other than the man—strictly speaking, still a youth—whom everyone in the ninja world, from top to bottom, could have guessed: Izayoi.

Izayoi, a graduate of Konoha's sixtieth year class, had been deemed merely a young prodigy who'd mastered five nature transformations right out of school. Yet no one imagined he was, in fact, a direct successor to the Wood Style of the First Hokage—likely a Senju descendant assimilated into Konoha—since he openly inherited Hashirama's famed Wood Release.

Right after graduation, he'd developed the unsealed Storm Release ultimate art, also mastering a rare Flying Ninjutsu that year, then advanced to Chūnin, took top place on the black market bounty list, and set countless records—making even Itachi Uchiha's promotion to S-rank missing-nin at age thirteen look far less dramatic.

But just as everyone believed the future belonged to Izayoi, the Akatsuki leader and Ōtsutsuki Toneri suddenly appeared and stole the spotlight, diminishing his once certain path to become the next "God of Shinobi."

Wood Style had re emerged after decades but never even got the chance to declare a "new era," because the arrival of the "Sage Eyes" overshadowed everything.

While the entire world was underestimating Izayoi, he gave them all a resounding slap in the face.

What should have been a final showdown starring the Akatsuki leader and Ōtsutsuki Toneri was forcibly turned into a three-way deadlock by Izayoi—and after Madara Uchiha's revival, it became an era where four super-tier combatants balanced the ninja world.

Even so, most people persisted in rating Izayoi and the Akatsuki leader's strength well below Madara and Toneri's. After all, the feat of cutting the moon was simply too shocking.

It wasn't until Izayoi unleashed a surge of chakra that reverberated throughout the world that everyone finally awakened to reality:

A genius can't be measured by common sense.

Just as "someone" was about to overshadow him, he used the "presence" alone to let them know, in a single burst, that he indeed stood among the powerful.

Recently, Madara Uchiha's departure from Konoha without harming anyone further demonstrated Izayoi's deterrent power.

Now, this man—one of the four super-tier shinobi recognized by the world, the strongest of the Five Great Nations, had formally taken over Konoha's administration to become one of the Land of Fire's two greatest authorities and one of the Five Kage at the apex of the ninja world: the Sixth Hokage of Konoha.

…

"He's finally taken over, huh? Looks like Madara's visit must have scared those bigwigs badly."

In the Tsuchikage's office in Iwagakure, Ōnoki read the news and, instead of feeling pressure, uncharacteristically felt a deep sense of relief—like a patriarch finally seeing a younger generation take up the mantle so he could be freed from his burdens.

This feeling was wholly different from when he'd heard "Wood Release has returned" two years ago. Back then, the ninja world had no new super-tier fighters, and as a Kage-level "peak," Ōnoki had been among the strongest. With no understanding of Izayoi's personality, how could he not worry that Konoha would roll through him once more?

But now that four super-tier combatants existed—and three of them threatened the entire system while only one was an ally—everyone had realized that the ninja world always ended up governed by the Five Great Nations.

No matter the scale of war, that base structure never changed: the daimyō reigned, the Kage fought. This time, though, having four unstoppable fighters was anxiety-inducing enough.

So hearing that the strongest among the Five Great Nations' shinobi was now the Hokage at least reassured the other Great Nations that if the sky fell, Izayoi would be there to hold it up.

The other four Kage and the daimyō all felt similarly: though Izayoi was terrifyingly strong, at least he was "one of us." If he hadn't ascended, who could say if he might eventually stand idle, and the entire Land of Fire or the world itself fell to crisis?

For them, as long as Izayoi didn't disrupt political authority, it meant there was now a "living fortress" to protect them. If something threatened their countries, they could trust Izayoi to appear at full speed.

And given that the Land of Fire's daimyō recognized the power of a super-tier force, he had no intention to hamper Izayoi's demands. If an incompetent daimyō tried to check the Hokage, Izayoi could easily replace him with a disguised puppet if necessary.

Thus, the daimyō was delighted to meet all of Izayoi's requests. The Land of Fire and Konoha established a beneficial synergy. Freed from meddling elders or political constraints, Izayoi's authority was near-limitless.

…

July 1, Konoha Year 62.

Konoha was bustling more than ever.

Because the third stage's preliminary matches of the Chūnin Exams had just concluded, the city was jam-packed. Large banners announced the upcoming ceremonies. Word spread quickly: in under two days, the entire ninja world's attention turned to Konoha again.

That day, new bulletins were posted everywhere, official announcements about Tsunade stepping down—and Izayoi's ascendancy as the Sixth Hokage.

…

July 16, Konoha Year 62, 11:25 a.m.

The streets in Konoha's central district were packed with citizens. People flooded in from every corner, not just villagers but also crowds from throughout the Land of Fire and other nations. With the second round's losers already departed, many curious foreigners and onlookers also poured in.

Every gaze fixed on the newly rebuilt, even grander Hokage Tower, waiting for that figure's appearance. Veterans who had witnessed previous Hokage inauguration ceremonies could see the lively scene was more intense than usual.

Suddenly, a hush cut across the throngs. On the tower's rooftop, a tall figure appeared.

He wore the same practical white cloak suited for combat, plus a newly embroidered white mantle bearing a flame motif and six bold characters reading "Rokudaime Hokage." Over short black hair disguised by Mokuton transformation jutsu and a face that had shed its boyish roundness, he exuded a refined, graceful aura. Though still young, he radiated the presence of a towering tree sheltering the village—a sense of reliability and security.

Instantly, someone yelled, "Hokage-sama!"—and the entire crowd followed suit, shouting, "Hokage-sama!" in unison.

Gazing upon them, Izayoi lifted the conical Hokage hat Tsunade had handed him, then declared in a voice tinged with majesty:

"From this day on, I am Konoha's—Sixth Hokage!"

And just like that, cheers thundered from every direction, accompanied by daytime fireworks blasting overhead.

From this day forward, Konoha officially entered the Sixth Hokage era.

"As the saying goes, new lords bring new governance."

With Izayoi's succession, the Hyūga clan—after enduring a long dark era—now rose to the top rung as well. Having a Hokage son-in-law, Hyūga Hiashi undoubtedly became the biggest "winner in life."

On his very first day, the new Hokage promptly delegated tasks downward, announcing an end to the era of the Hokage personally handling all minutiae.

Only a fool like Naruto would do everything personally.

Izayoi had a super-tier threat level; no one would dare disobey him, and he had no need to micromanage. If he wasted time on trivialities, that would degrade his strength—suicidal for the village.

Instead, official duties requiring a Hokage signature or seal, he left to subordinates with specialized expertise; emergencies aside, he typically had a shadow or clone do the daily logs.

Thanks to his top-level power, no one worried about a coup. In a single stroke, such potential friction vanished.

As for those venerable elders—Koharu and Homura—Izayoi's second act was to abolish the council, forcibly retiring them and eliminating empty seats.

Neither they nor their clans dared utter the faintest complaint, for the daimyō and the Hokage had spoken; they would risk being labeled traitors otherwise.

Thus, Konoha was largely restructured into a direct, streamlined regime: no "council elders," no inherited high seats. Izayoi governed as he pleased.

Hence, after just a short time, everyone was celebrating—Konoha had fully entered the Era of the Sixth Hokage: Izayoi.

~~~

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