Candidate for Hokage...

"Are you alright?" Yoru came to the two brothers of the Hyuga family and asked.

"It's okay." The older of the two, Hiashi Hyuga said while panting.

Hiashi Hyuga was the commander of this front. When he saw the Tsuchikage he almost thought he was betrayed and thrown away as cannon fodder. But after seeing Yoru using words to dissuade Tsuchikage, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Was the thing you said to Tsuchikage true?" Hizashi asked Yoru with a severe expression.

"Of course. There's no way a lie can deceive Tsuchikage. Because of the cold hard truth, he understands what he should do. Fortunately, Tsuchikage is also a sensible person, otherwise, we may suffer heavy losses in this battle." Yoru also said with a serious expression.

Although it is said that heavy losses were prevented, many people died. After all, Tsuchiakge brought elite ninjas. If Yoru was not present, this army might have been wiped out.

"We have lost a lot this time. Regarding what you said just now..."

"You can report it to Hokage-sama but it's best not to mention my name." Facing Hiashi's hesitation Yoru said it directly.

"Why?"

"That will make people feel that Uchiha and Hyuga families are moving towards union. I don't need to say what the union of our two families means."

From a political point of view, the joint emergence of the two families means a threat to the upper echelon. So, it's best to avoid it.

"I see, thank you."

"It's okay! It's just a trivial matter. The most important thing now is to treat the wounded as soon as possible."

Yoru and the two Hyuga brothers quickly evacuated the scene with the injured members.

The moon was hanging up in the sky as Yoru walked toward a dark cave.

"Why did you tell the Tsuchikage the news?" The air seemed to twist as a figure appeared in the cave.

It was Obito.

"Although Kumogakure is defeated, the retired third Raikage hasn't made a move yet." Yoru gave the answer with a smile.

"Facing Iwagakure's large-scale attack this time, he will definitely make a move. The strongest Raikage, I am very interested in him. At this time it will be a war for the survival of the country, not like the small skirmishes now." Obito raised his head in surprise.

"Moreover, a full-blown war with two great nations as the epicenter. It will be fun, won't it?" Yoru said with a big smile.

Obito then understood. Yoru was the embodiment of Darkness. The whole war, the chaos that ensued was just for his amusement, for...fun. What a terrifying guy.

Yoru then walked out of the cave but not before leaving a few words.

"Remember our goal is not only limited to Konoha but the entire shinobi world."

...

Because of Yoru's strategy, the ninja war became more and more intense. Under the attack of Iwagakure, the third Raikage, known as the strongest Raikage also perished. The person who could suppress the eight tails with his own strength fought with a large number of Iwa shinobi, and finally died of exhaustion. After death, even his body could not be found. Because of this incident, the fight between the two villages escalated.

Konoha also did not have it easy during the war. Not only did the hidden mist village continue to persist in its attack against Konoha, but even the hidden sand village also attacked to take advantage of the two. The whole war lasted for an entire year, and finally, all parties had to stop due to a large number of casualties. In the end, each village withdrew its shinobi, and the war was declared to end.

In this war, the tipping point was Yoru's strategy. Many people knew that this strategy had greatly accelerated the war, but after the war, the name of the strategist was given to the Hokage.

For this result, Yoru did not feel any surprise at all. Although the Uchiha were a little bit aggrieved, Yoru himself told that everything was arranged by the Hokage. After all, he has no interest in these things.

If there was any good news in this war, it is probably that Yoru was able to build a good relationship with Orochimaru. The two of them like to discuss ninjutsu together most of the time. As far as the Uchiha family is concerned, apart from the good relationship with Shisui, Yoru was not that interested in most of the other people.

He didn't usually go out much, rather he was quite a recluse.

The coming of an era of peace was undoubtedly a good thing. But the undercurrents of the war were still not over. The third Hokage who had experienced two wars finally felt that he was too old and planned to give up the mantle of the Hokage. Of course, Danzo also made some little tricks for these results. He blamed the third Hokage for his softness which cost Konoha a lot.

Since then, the news had been passed throughout the village. Currently, the person with the highest chances was Orochimaru, then Namikaze Minato who earned the moniker of 'Yellow Flash' due to his excellent performance. Originally, Jiraiya was also appointed but he ran away saying that he was not interested.

However, most people think that Orochimaru will be the Hokage.

Orochimaru is sufficient both in terms of Qualifications and strength. If there is no accident, he will be the fourth Hokage. Even the two advisors were optimistic about him. Even, the third Hokage has begun to send his people to communicate with various families, so that they will support Orochimaru in the future.

In a dark underground base in Konoha, many humanoid beings were placed in a glass tube. They were the experimental subjects for Wood Release. The cells of the First Hokage were transplanted into their bodies. If someone can adapt to these cells then they would be able to use the legendary Wood escape, but so far, no one has succeeded.

And the owner of this facility was Orochimaru. However, the person who provided the venue was Danzo. Originally, Orochimaru was the person who was arranged by the third Hokage to monitor Danzo, in order to prevent Danzo from robbing the Hokage's position.

However, the current Orochimaru became allied with Danzo. Danzo provided Orochimaru with materials, and Orochimaru concentrated on research. Although Orochimaru was the best candidate for Hokage, in fact, he was not interested in the position at all. He thought it would distract him from concentrating on research.

However, these have nothing to do with Yoru.

"Is it really okay for you to be like this now? You are about to become the Hokage. If human experiments were discovered, then you would not even be able to stay in the village, let alone become the Hokage." Yoru leaned against the drywall and teased Orochimaru.

The contact with Orochimaru has benefited him a lot. Not only could he obtain forbidden techniques, but he was also able to obtain the cells of the first Hokage. You know, no one would doubt that the cells of the first Hokage ran the Naruto show. It was that overpowered.

"Yoru-kun, I'm not interested in the position of Hokage. If it's up to me to decide, then I think you are more suitable for the position of Hokage." Orochimaru responded while reading a scroll.

"Me? Thanks for your praise but Konoha's will of fire will not allow an Uchiha to become the Hokage. Especially, if the Uchiha was the descendant of a person who was driven out of the village by the second Hokage. If they allow it, then it is tantamount to admitting that the decision of the second Hokage was wrong. It is also tantamount to denying the foundation of the will of fire." Yoru smiled and said frankly.

That's right. It's Impossible for Uchiha to become Hokage. Because of what Madara did before, the prejudice against Uchiha was a lot. Especially, the reign of the second Hokage, Tobirama made it worse. Tobirama really really hated Uchiha. The guy literally invented a forbidden jutsu,[Hiraishin] to Kill Uchiha in a way that their Sharingan will not be able to perceive and copy. So, it's impossible for Uchiha to become Hokage.

"Sure enough, it would be a pity that Yoru-Kun didn't become a Hokage. If it were you, you might be able to save this village."

"You think too highly of me. You are the one who will become the Hokage, not me."

"I can't be the Hokage."

"Oh! It seems that there is an agreement between you and Danzo." Hearing this, a hint of interest rose in Yoru's voice.

"Danzo helped me build a new village outside Konoha, and at the same time gave me all the forbidden techniques of the second Hokage to research. In exchange, I must give up on the position of Hokage." Orochimaru did not hide it from Yoru.

Yoru and Orochimaru both can be called accomplices so Orochimaru did not mind sharing the news.

"Judging from the current situation even if you don't want to give up the position of Hokage, you would not be able to succeed. Danzo only needs to expose your research to make you a rogue ninja. I see, was this the original agreement between you two?" Yoru calmly described the situation of Orochimaru.

Orochimaru had no choice but to defect.

"That's right! The time to defect is coming closer. So, I have been preparing for the past few days, so that Danzo will not be able to play tricks behind my back."

...

A/N: Some people commented that Yoru is not devouring anyone but this isn't true. For eg, the third Raikage's body which went missing was devoured by Yoru, and so are other notable ninjas. This book is not a typical weak-to-the-strong story so I don't focus on the power scaling too much.

P.S.: This novel is not dead. I will try to update some chapters in the future when I am feeling motivated.