Konoha, Hokage's Office.

"Qianye."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Uchiha Chiye standing before him, who had returned to Konoha, smoke from his pipe curling between his wrinkles.

"Hidden Sand surrendered, and you played an indispensable role in crushing Hidden Cloud's participation with their Jinchūriki."

Qianye said calmly and earnestly,

"It is all for Konoha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag from his pipe.

"As expected of Qianye, everything you do gives people peace of mind."

"However, I heard that during the war, you also secretly helped some orphans from Amegakure?"

Hearing this, Qianye's expression remained unchanged.

"You are referring to Lord Jiraiya's disciples, right? I am not clear on the specific situation of those three."

"I happened to run into them before, and since they said they were Lord Jiraiya's disciples, I took care of them."

"If you want to ask about their situation, Lord Jiraiya should be much clearer on this matter."

Qianye deflected the question back to Jiraiya.

Jiraiya currently enjoyed a resounding reputation as one of the The Legendary Sannin of Konoha, and was even a Direct Disciple of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He belonged squarely to the Hokage lineage.

Jiraiya?

Hearing his disciple's name, Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent for a moment.

He tapped his pipe lightly on the table, his gaze sizing up Qianye before him through the curling white smoke.

This demeanor of his is truly alike!

A momentary trance flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, as if he were seeing his former companion, Uchiha Kagami.

"Qianye!"

"Having participated in this war, what are your thoughts?"

Qianye stood at the intersection of light and shadow, the red of the Hokage haori reflecting in his pitch-black pupils.

He had been waiting for this question for a long time.

What the Third Hokage wanted to hear was never the truth, but an answer that could give him peace of mind.

"War..."

Qianye lowered his head slightly, letting the bangs on his forehead conceal the mockery flashing in his eyes. When he raised his head again, his eyes were already filled with deep grief.

"It is like a wildfire burning through a forest, and every single one of us... is a struggling leaf within it."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was slightly taken aback.

He couldn't help but feel that this metaphor was too familiar and fit his own thoughts too well.

Isn't this the very question he had pondered when he was young?

"But you have taught us."

Qianye took a step forward, letting the sunlight completely illuminate his young face.

"When the leaves burn away, they turn into nutrients, allowing new saplings to grow sturdier."

"Where the leaves dance..."

"The fire burns on endlessly."

His fingers brushed over the Konoha symbol on his forehead protector.

"The fallen comrades... must also hope that their sacrifice can exchange for true peace and guard our village well!"

The office suddenly became terrifyingly quiet.

Qianye could hear the faint sound of the Third Hokage's fingers rubbing against his pipe, and could see the glistening moisture flashing in his eyes.

Clearly, he had been moved by Qianye.

Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't expected that his own governance philosophy would be spoken out completely by Uchiha Chiye.

Perfect!

Seeing this, Qianye sneered inwardly; this old fellow always fell for this trick.

"Child."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice suddenly became much hoarser as he turned to look out the window in the direction of the Memorial Stone.

"If Kagami were still alive... he would definitely be proud of you."

As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi came before Qianye and pressed heavily on Qianye's shoulder.

...

Leaving the Hokage Building, walking on the streets of Konoha,

looking at the faces of the villagers brimming with happiness on both sides, with the warm sunshine spilling onto his face,

the taut string from heading to the battlefield finally relaxed.

The war, no matter what, was over!

Uchiha Chiye walked in the direction of the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Tsunade was still giving lectures at Konoha Hospital at this time and simply couldn't get away.

Although the war had ended, the various villages were likewise already clear on the importance of Medical Ninja.

Not just Konoha, but the other villages would likely also begin setting about cultivating Medical Ninja.

On the slate road of the Uchiha Clan Compound, nearly ten clan members wearing Uchiha attire appeared shortly after.

The leading Uchiha Yashiro had a serious expression.

"The Elders want to see you."

Qianye glanced over these people.

They were unexpectedly all elites within the clan.

"Good! Lead the way!"

Qianye followed them all the way to the most central mansion of the Uchiha.

Entering the Japanese-style room, seven Elders sat upright like swords.

Following behind them were nearly twenty members of the younger Uchiha generation, among whom was Qianye's cousin, Uchiha Fugaku.

Aside from Fugaku, the one Qianye was most familiar with should be Mikoto's grandfather, Uchiha Sōsuke.

The Grand Elder in the main seat had completely white hair and beard.

Could these old fellows have objections again because he went to the front lines?

"Do you know why you were called here?"

Qianye swept his gaze across the Uchiha Clan Crest hanging on the wall, below which were placed the names of some Uchiha Clan members. On the final scroll, he unexpectedly discovered that his 'battle achievements' in reforming the Uchiha were written on the newest scroll.

Huh? The situation didn't seem right!

"Because of the Military Police Force reform?"

Qianye tentatively asked.

Under Qianye's puzzled gaze, the Grand Elder let out a cold snort.

"Of course!"

"During this period of time, our Uchiha's reputation among the villagers has improved."

"The villagers actually took the initiative to send rice balls to the Military Police Force!"

"..."

As the Elder spoke, the younger generation standing behind all wore excited expressions on their faces.

Their gazes toward Qianye carried even more admiration.

The Third Elder's cane heavily struck the ground.

"Alright, alright, everyone be quiet!"

Seeing that everyone stopped discussing, the Third Elder then looked at Qianye.

"Qianye, that'smiling law enforcement' you proposed... raised our Uchiha's prestige in the village by a huge margin."

"Previously, clan members generally felt that the village handing this thankless and offending chore over to us Uchiha was simply to restrict us..."

"The proposal you put forth not only allowed this offending Military Police Force to play its part, but also changed the image of the Uchiha!"

"Qianye, this time you have rendered a great service to our Uchiha!"

Qianye raised an eyebrow.

"So?"

The Grand Elder suddenly stood up.

"Therefore, starting from today, you are the new Uchiha Clan Chief."

The air instantly froze.

Yet Qianye did not show any happiness at all.

Qianye swept his gaze across each of their faces.

Were these people truly willing to let him become the Clan Head?

Qianye's gaze fell upon his cousin, Uchiha Fugaku.

"My cousin Fugaku is a universally acknowledged Genius of the Uchiha, why not let my cousin take it?"

Hearing Qianye's words, Uchiha Fugaku raised his head and locked eyes with Qianye.

Qianye clearly saw the surprise in Fugaku's eyes.

"Fugaku, although he has good Aptitude, does not possess your vision!"

The Grand Elder seemed to have anticipated long ago that Qianye would refuse.

He continued unhurriedly,

"Qianye, this time you listened to the village's dispatch and went to the front lines, rendering distinguished service; you are a hero of the village."

"Coupled with your contributions to the Clan, you are undoubtedly the number one person of the younger generation!"

Raising me up this high, aren't these old fellows trying to kill me with praise?

Qianye's gaze fell upon Uchiha Sōsuke, carrying a trace of inquiry in his eyes.

Uchiha Sōsuke nodded slightly toward Qianye.

Was this telling him to accept it?

"Since the various Elders are nominating me to serve as the Clan Head..."

he slowly spoke, his voice neither heavy nor light, yet causing the air inside the ancestral hall to abruptly freeze.

"then I shall accept this position."

A flash of cunning triumph darted through the Grand Elder's eyes, and just as he was about to speak, he heard Qianye continue,

"Clan is a Clan, only when there is a home is there a clan."

"A Clan is not formed simply through effort, it comes about naturally."

"Therefore, whatever issues arise in the future will still require the cooperation of the various Elders..."

"If anyone does not cooperate, then don't blame me for being discourteous."

Hearing this, the Grand Elder furrowed his brows slightly.

The words at the tip of his tongue were swallowed back down as well.

"Various Elders, are you willing?"