Chapter 168: Day of Death

As time passed day by day, Yuto's senjutsu training completion, and good news from the front lines flowed back to the village like snowflakes.

—The Fire, Earth, and Wind Nations swore non-aggression and formed an alliance.

There were no more battles on the western front of Konoha.

In the Shinobi World, aside from Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure still engaging in chaotic warfare in the eastern regions, peace had gradually returned to the rest of the lands.

Konoha dispatched some squads to guard against Kirigakure and Kumogakure, while the remaining shinobi returned to the village, and Minato Namikaze would also return from the front lines.

Everyone could see that the days of happiness were imminent… except for Yuto.

"Huff... huff..."

In the back mountains of the Senju clan grounds, Yuto bit into a tree trunk, his powerful chewing muscles and teeth grinding the wood fibers and extracting the green sap. He bit so hard that his gums started to bleed, looking both ferocious and terrifying.

Extreme pain erupted from the depths of his right eye, spreading through his nerves to every part of his body, as if sulfuric acid ants were gnawing under his skin. This pain was so intense that even the battle-hardened Yuto went mad from it, repeatedly pounding his head, wishing he could gouge out his right eye right now.

Slowly, the corrosion subsided, and the pain diminished.

Yuto lay on the ground like a dead dog, feeling as if his skin had been flayed and his bones had been scraped.

His body was covered in wounds, blood flowing everywhere. The Caged Bird Seal's corrosion only affected his transplanted right eye, and these horrifying wounds were all self-inflicted by Yuto.

'The corrosion happens every sixty days, but compared to the last time, this time it's much worse... I definitely won't survive the next time; I must replace my eye.'

'In other words, one main family Byakugan can extend my life by four months.'

'I have eighteen months left.'

Yuto turned his head and bit off a blade of grass beside him, chewing it in his mouth, and came to a cruel conclusion:

"I won't live... until the end of next year."

Even five main family Byakugan would only prolong his life until then.

He removed his forehead protector and touched the Caged Bird Seal on his skin. Fifteen years had passed, and the fangs of death finally closed in on the young man.

Yuto lay for a long time, and only when he regained his strength did he put on his forehead protector and start cleaning up.

This area was covered with his blood, and Yuto patiently gathered everything stained with his blood and burned them with explosive tags. Then, he used Lion's Fang Bite to destroy everything around, erasing all traces.

To ensure no one noticed, he also used Creation Rebirth again to heal his body before returning to the Senju clan's main house.

Although Creation Rebirth consumed a lot of life force, reducing his lifespan with each use, for Yuto, who theoretically wouldn't live past the following year, this was a negligible issue.

He made himself a pot of hot tea, contemplating the urgent key problem—during the next eye replacement surgery, he needed to enter the Masked Mode to suppress the Caged Bird Seal while his eye was being removed and transplanted. However, the God's Mask in his possession had already been used up.

Using Creation Rebirth to endure the Caged Bird Seal was absolutely not an option. The pain from the curse mark's eruption would distort his movements, and the eye replacement surgery required precise operation, maintaining hand stability was crucial.

In the end, what he lacked was the God's Mask.

To maximize his lifespan by replacing the fifth eye, he still needed four more masks.

With the war nearing its end, the method to obtain so many bodies from his clan would likely fall on Hiashi.

'But the key is... Meiko's body was blown to pieces.' Yuto rubbed his temples and drank the tea in one gulp.

At this moment, an ANBU member suddenly appeared in the courtyard.

"Yuto-sama, Hokage-sama requests your presence."

"Understood." Yuto nodded and left with the ANBU.

In the office of the Hokage Building, Hiruzen was carefully repairing his pipe with tools—he had smashed it in anger a few days ago, but he felt distressed about it. Whenever he had time, he fiddled with it. According to Tsunade, the pipe was a token of love from his wife Biwako, a treasure passed down from the Warring States period, with extraordinary significance.

"Yuto-kun, come in. How have you been lately?"

Hiruzen saw Yuto enter and put away the pipe, starting with small talk.

Yuto perked up. He had spoken to the Third Hokage many times and knew the old man had a habit of starting with small talk before discussing major issues.

"Pretty good, Hokage-sama. Do you have any orders?"

"Has your clan's head shown any unusual movements lately?"

"No." Yuto thought for a moment and added, "Since that secret meeting with Meiko-sama, I haven't acted with the clan head."

"Mm, keep monitoring. I trust Hiashi; he's not one to joke about the clan's safety."

"Understood, Hokage-sama."

After a brief silence, Hiruzen spoke calmly, "Minato will return to the village tomorrow. I will gradually transfer my power to him and officially retire in a month. Minato will become the Fourth Hokage."

"Ah, finally, it's that time again." The old Hokage smiled, "The last Hokage transition was... twenty-five years ago."

"You young people probably haven't seen such a scene. The Daimyo of the Land of Fire will come, and other shinobi villages will send renowned shinobi. Small characters are not acceptable; it's a deliberate provocation and breaks the rules."

"Have you been to the Flowing Fire Festival in the Land of Wind? Do you think it's lively? Hey, Yuto-kun, let me tell you, compared to our Konoha's inauguration ceremony, the Flowing Fire Festival is nothing! A bunch of desert-dwelling guys have never seen real prosperity!"

"When I hand the Hokage Robe to Minato, all the big trees in the village will bloom. It's not Mokuton, but an ancient trick passed down for hundreds of years. The world's greatest craftsmen will spend half a year carving the new Hokage's face on the mountain. Just selecting the craftsmen will have a line from here to the village gate..."

"The dried shark meat from the Land of Sea, the color-changing gems from the Land of Demons, the humanoid herbs from the Land of Waves, the red soil from the Land of Whirlpools, the advanced machinery from the Land of Sky..."

The more the old man spoke, the happier he became, gesturing excitedly like a child showing off his toys.

Yuto didn't interrupt, just smiled and listened, appreciating the Hokage's description of Konoha's glory.

Sunlight shone on the Hokage's face, his rough skin full of wrinkles, looking like the trunk of an old tree. The broad Hokage Robe on him seemed somewhat loose.

—He was really old.

Hiruzen talked for a long time. Eventually, he suddenly stopped, staring silently at the Hokage Rock in the distance:

"When the Second entrusted the village to me, Konoha was like that. I've been in power for twenty-five years. Yuto-kun, do you think... I have lived up to his trust?"

Yuto didn't answer. He knew Hiruzen wasn't really asking him.

"Yuto-kun." The old Hokage came back to his senses, "Though Konoha looks prosperous, dangers have never disappeared. That night, the mysterious person who attacked Ame with Jiraiya, and the Moon God, Shinosuke, are all capable of toppling the village."

"I'm old, maybe not many years left. Koharu, Homura, Danzo, they aren't young either. Sakumo had that incident, Orochimaru left, Jiraiya lost his legs, and Tsunade's hemophobia hasn't been cured... In the end, we old folks didn't leave much for the Fourth."

"But luckily, there's you."

"You've fought with Minato for two years, trusting each other, with talents and characters among the best. With you assisting Minato, the village will be better."

"Yuto... join the ANBU."

"You'll first serve as the captain of the First Division."

"A month later, when Minato succeeds, you'll become Konoha's first-ever ANBU Commander!"

"Originally, the ANBU only had squad leaders, but times have changed. Minato believes that establishing the commander position can greatly reduce the Hokage's burden and can prevent mistakes, which is beneficial for the village."

"Minato really trusts you, Yuto-kun."

Yuto remained silent, unsure of what to say, and just bowed.

"Don't be nervous, Yuto-kun. You have the capability." Hiruzen comforted, "Actually, when Minato first mentioned this to me in a letter, I disagreed."

"But then I thought, this world will eventually belong to you young people. We old folks should not stand in your way, so I decided to push this through, as a gift for Minato's inauguration, hahaha..."

In the warm, bright Hokage office, the elderly Hokage laughed heartily, and the silent young genius sat and stood, representing the perfect harmony of old and new.

—Making Yuto Hyuga Konoha's first-ever ANBU Commander.

This was almost the most regrettable decision Hiruzen had ever made in his life.

(End of Chapter)