Afterward, Yuji immediately went to treat the surviving wounded among the village’s senior leadership. Then he went to the hospital to carry out specialized treatment throughout the wards.

After treating Chiyo and Ebizo’s injuries, he heard the system’s notification and registered what it meant.

These two village characters were receiving his treatment for the first time. Because their injuries had not been light and both were significant village characters, the two of them together generated one thousand experience points. A very substantial gain in a single sitting.

And killing the Third Raikage had generated four thousand experience points outright. One thousand more than the Third Kazekage. He had also accumulated one hundred Hidden Cloud Village hatred points, hitting the direct cap for a single event.

Although both were Kage-level figures, killing the Third Kazekage had been essentially effortless by comparison, while this battle against the Third Raikage had been a genuine brush with death.

The danger and pressure involved were categorically different. Even though the Third Raikage had not occupied a particularly prominent role in the original story’s narrative, his actual strength was undeniably formidable. Even more so than one might have assumed from that limited screen time.

The experience he had gained was substantial. Looking at it now, it was a large sum, though also not unlimited. But it was enough to address his most immediate need, which was enhancing the Ope Ope no Mi ability he had just acquired and improving its configuration going forward.

Originally he had possessed only one function within it, the Room. Now he could add a second, the Room’s object manipulation effect, which allowed him to control objects within his domain to a certain degree regardless of the object’s properties, volume, or quantity. Its specific combat effectiveness would still depend on his available chakra in any given situation.

He had already spent so heavily, and before the Ope Ope no Mi’s ability set was even partially distributed, the total expenditure had surpassed ten thousand experience points. It was easy to imagine how much would be required to fully master the complete Ope Ope no Mi skill set.

His strength had undergone a genuine transformation as a result.

Considering the terrifying power of the Ope Ope no Mi, after being assimilated by the system it had become a form of space-time ninjutsu with similarities to the Flying Thunder God Technique, but far more complex in its operation.

The technique was extraordinarily powerful, and its consumption of both chakra and mental energy was equally astonishing. Although in terms of sustained use it could not be maintained for long periods and functioned more as a trump card, it was enough to completely transform his combat ceiling.

He had firmly established himself at the Kage level and was no longer simply operating below it.

With this level of strength, he could at minimum secure a stable foothold in the ninja world and protect the Sand Village reliably for a meaningful period, allowing it to continue developing with relative security.

However, he was currently more absorbed by something else entirely.

He had underestimated the reaction that killing the Third Raikage had produced within the Sand Village.

Although he had always enjoyed good relations with the villagers, and they had never treated him dismissively because of his age but had instead shown him considerable respect, what was happening now was different in character.

Regardless of whether they were civilians or ninja, their attitude toward him had shifted beyond admiration or gratitude into something he found more difficult to comfortably receive.

The moment he stopped outside the merchant caravans near the Sand Village and entered the hospital, the way people looked at him upon seeing him was something he found genuinely hard to describe. The more he sensed how unusual the atmosphere had become, the more a vague feeling of unease settled over him.

After several days of continuous work, the village situation had finally been stabilized and brought to a manageable state. He had spent the entire period immersed in the hospital, leaving the broader affairs to Chiyo to handle, and had not involved himself in the details.

However, once he finished his work and found himself with a moment of free time, a Sand Village member arrived to announce, "Lord Yuji. Lady Chiyo wishes to discuss something with you."

The way this particular Sand Village ninja looked at him produced a familiar unease. It was a kind of fervent gaze, something that could even be described as reverent fixation. The more he encountered it, the more he felt like some kind of artwork being admired.

"Let’s go."

Fortunately, after several days of exposure to these looks, he had developed a working degree of tolerance for them.

All that could be said was that his mental fortitude was genuinely very strong.

He nodded slightly and walked with the other man toward the village office building. He already had a reasonable guess about what Chiyo wanted to discuss.

The Uchiha and Hyuga members. The ones he had brought back from the front lines. Because the situation after the Cloud Village’s attack had been so urgent and there had been so much to manage, he had only briefly told Chiyo and Ebizo the basic outline of the situation regarding Kimu and the others, without going into any deeper discussion.

After a moment he pushed open the door and entered what had formerly been the Third Kazekage’s office.

Three people were in the room. Chiyo was seated. The other two stood to the side.

At this point, within the village, only four people including himself were still available to manage and participate in decision-making.

The remaining senior officials were either fighting on the front lines, had died on the battlefield, or had been killed during the Hidden Cloud Village’s ambush.

"Huh?"

The moment he entered the room, Yuji immediately noticed something was wrong.

Laid out on the table in front of Chiyo were clothes. A familiar white robe, neatly folded, resting on top of a wide-brimmed green hat-like garment beside it.

"You have arrived," Chiyo said, smiling as she rose from her chair.

"Yes," Yuji said, nodding with a quiet sigh.

He naturally understood why Chiyo had summoned him.

"Yuji, I have already notified the Daimyo’s office. The Daimyo of the Land of Wind is on his way, and has officially sent a diplomatic message to the outside world in the name of the Land of Wind.

A week from now, an inauguration ceremony will be held in the village. I have already instructed my subordinates to begin preparations and inform the villagers."

Chiyo had noticed the direction of Yuji’s glance toward the robes and said it quietly and directly.

Ebizo and the other senior official in the room both smiled at him.

"Can I refuse?" Yuji said softly, then let out a small laugh.

"No!"

As expected, the moment those words left his mouth, Chiyo’s smile vanished instantly. Her previously gentle eyes took on a sudden and unmistakable edge.

"Regarding your becoming one of the village’s Kage, I have already informed the front lines of every active battlefield. Although they cannot return in person, I believe they will have no objections."

"Actually, I think there are better candidates than me for the Kage position. Sasori, for instance."

He continued with a completely sincere expression, extending one finger as though genuinely making a case, while inwardly pushing his closest friend forward without a moment of hesitation as a means of escape.

Because given the current situation, Shimizu, whom he had originally intended for the position, clearly could not follow the planned procedure anymore. The Raikage’s sudden attack had disrupted the rhythm of their arrangements considerably.

The more he thought about the chaotic responsibilities and constant demands that the Kazekage position typically involved, the more he and Sasori were actually identical in their feelings about it. It was not that he had any fundamental conflict with becoming Kazekage.

He simply found it too troublesome. He would not willingly spend so much of his time on unnecessary administrative burdens.

Otherwise, why had they gone to the trouble of arranging Shimizu as a figurehead in the first place?

Kazekage. It sounded impressive. But in reality it was just a high-level position that worked its occupant to exhaustion in service of the village.

"Stop it," Chiyo said, with unusual sternness.

The corners of his mouth twitched once. Then he obediently closed it.

"You should understand clearly. The village’s current situation urgently requires a new Kazekage. We do not know what plans the Hidden Cloud Village may have against us going forward, but right now is the moment the village needs you most.

Your killing of the Raikage alone is enough to deter the enemies in the ninja world who harbor ill intentions toward us."

"Not only does the village need you. The villagers need you."

"Everyone needs a leader. They need a spiritual symbol and someone to follow."

"And all of this, only you can provide."

Chiyo emphasized each word with deliberate weight.

That was quite something to hear said plainly.

His heart stirred despite himself.

He had assumed that over the past several days, Chiyo and Ebizo had been occupied with figuring out how to handle the situation regarding Kimu and the others, including the Hyuga member.

But looking at them now, these three had not paid that matter any meaningful attention at all. Instead, without saying a word to him about it, they had gone ahead and arranged everything for his inauguration as one of the Five Kage, acted first and reported afterward, leaving him no room to turn back.

"Put it on. The future of the Sand Village is in your hands."

After saying this, Chiyo picked up the Kazekage robe from the table, walked to Yuji’s side, and handed it to him.

"Reborn into another life and I still cannot escape being worked like a servant," Yuji mocked himself silently.

Faced with Chiyo’s firm and immovable expression, he had no real choice. He accepted the Kazekage robe and held it in his hands.

"Kazekage."

He touched the material of the robe with his fingertips, his feelings genuinely complicated.

Mainly because this had happened far too fast. He had not prepared himself for any of it. In a few days he would be taking the position formally. Although becoming Kazekage had been part of his broader plan all along, a goal built into the overall direction from the beginning, the specific process of arriving at it had not been meant to unfold quite like this.

"You are the youngest Kazekage the Sand Village has ever had, and among all the current Kage of the great villages, you are most likely also the most talented and powerful," Ebizo said with genuine joy in his voice.

"Kazekage-sama. Our future rests in your hands," the other senior official said, addressing him with the title for the first time.

Yuji’s gaze moved across the three of them and their expressions.

He let out a quiet laugh.

Things had come to this point. There was nothing left to hesitate about. After all, had this not been one of his goals from the very beginning?

He decisively and swiftly put on the Kazekage hat.

Beneath the brim, his usually easy and gentle eyes became sharp in an instant.

He spoke a single sentence in response to the expectations of the three people before him.

"I will make the Sand Village the strongest ninja village in the world."