I Just Wanted to Slack Off, But I Was Forced to Become Hokage

"Kagami-senpai, it's great that you're not dead!" Minato said to Uchiha Kagami with a sunny smile. The moment the words left his mouth, he realized something was wrong and tried to salvage it. "I mean, when are you returning to the Pure Land..."

"Apologies, Kagami-senpai. Minato-san is a bit of a natural airhead," Nara Keisuke said, apologizing on his behalf. "We have killed Uchiha Madara, but the White Zetsu guarding him escaped using a strange earth-burrowing technique."

"The White Zetsu's abilities are indeed very peculiar," Kagami said, his gaze shifting to the corpse of Uchiha Madara in Minato's hands. His face, like cracked porcelain, was filled with complex emotions. Regardless of what Madara had done in the shadows, to Kagami, he was both an ancestor of his clan and the man who had saved his life. Seeing him dead filled his heart with a complicated mix of feelings.

But as a ninja, Kagami knew that Keisuke and Minato were here on official orders from the village. In other words, this was Konoha's will. On one side was the village; on the other, his savior. To choose between them... it was a good thing he was an Edo Tensei, or the emotional turmoil might have caused his eyes to evolve even further.

"By the way, Kagami-senpai," Minato said, holding up the Flame Uchiwa in his left hand. "Do you know what this fan is? We found it in the cave."

"That is the ancestral treasure of the Uchiha clan—the Flame Uchiwa. It is also the most symbolic ninja tool of our clan," Kagami answered, his expression stabilizing as he recalled a piece of history. "As far as I know, when Lord Madara left the village, he took the Flame Uchiwa with him. It has been in his possession all these years. Now, it can finally return to the Uchiha."

Kagami was loyal to Konoha, but that didn't mean he had no place in his heart for his clan. In his view, he was a Konoha ninja first, and an Uchiha second. The village was greater than the clan.

"Ahem..." Hearing Kagami decide the fan's ownership, Keisuke let out a pointed cough. He wasn't an Uchiha and didn't have red eyes, but who was the one who had put in most of the effort on this mission?

"Kagami-senpai, what do you think about giving the Flame Uchiwa to Shisui?" In terms of relations, Shisui was his descendant. In terms of strength, Shisui had already awakened his three-tomoe Sharingan. Wasn't he the perfect choice?

And as for Keisuke, as Shisui's captain and the "great guy" who had arranged for him to receive the fan, surely he could borrow it for a spin every now and then?

Minato didn't know about Keisuke's little scheme, but he had no room to object. His own squad had an Uchiha, but he hadn't even awakened his Sharingan yet. Compared to the renowned "Shisui of the Body Flicker," who had already proven himself on the battlefield, Uchiha Obito wasn't even in the same league.

"Give the Flame Uchiwa to Shisui?" Kagami thought for a moment, then answered honestly. "I see no problem with that... He has already awakened his three-tomoe, and to do so at his age is very rare, even within our clan."

"Then it's settled!" Keisuke said, having successfully found a future owner for the fan. "Also, Kagami-senpai, theoretically, since Uchiha Madara was the caster of the Edo Tensei, now that he is dead, your soul should have returned to the Pure Land. How are you feeling right now?"

"Feeling? I don't feel much of anything," Kagami said, looking at the two of them and slowly shaking his head. "I don't have a deep understanding of the Edo Tensei, and I've never experienced a situation like this before. Perhaps the sealing jutsu Namikaze-kun used on me has severed the connection."

That was certainly one possibility, and Keisuke nodded. But there was another—that the caster, the real Uchiha Madara, was not dead.

A similar thought flashed through Minato's mind, but as he looked down at the corpse in his hands, he dismissed it. "It's possible the seals worked," he said. He first placed Madara's body on the ink hawk, then continued, "I'm not sure if it was the Four Symbols Seal or the Contract Seal... but since the village has the records for the Edo Tensei, they should also have the method to release it. Or, Kagami-senpai, should I try to undo the seals for you now?"

"Apologies, Namikaze-kun, and Nara-kun, but I have a request," Kagami said, declining Minato's offer. He spoke with sincere earnestness. "Last time, the jutsu ended too quickly, and I didn't have enough time to spend with Shisui. This time, since the jutsu hasn't been released, I'd like to stay with him for a while longer."

Hearing his request, Keisuke and Minato couldn't help but exchange a glance.

"I have no objection," Keisuke said, expressing his opinion. When it was within his power, he didn't mind securing some benefits for his own teammate.

"I also have no objection," Minato said, looking at Kagami with some hesitation. "It's just that, Kagami-senpai, in your current state..." Minato didn't know the full details of the Edo Tensei, but forcibly controlling a corpse with a soul... it didn't seem like a sustainable state of being.

"Please don't worry, Namikaze-kun," Kagami explained. "I have no desire to linger in the world of the living for long. I just truly have some things I wish to discuss with Shisui."

Minato nodded. "In that case, I have no problem with it." He was just about to summon Kōsuke to report the mission's completion to the village.

"One more thing," Keisuke spoke up again, drawing their attention. "Kagami-senpai, when we were fighting Madara, the White Zetsu used Wood Style, and Madara used that special crow jutsu of yours. The three tomoe in his Sharingan transformed into a very unique black pinwheel at that moment. Kagami-senpai, should we take out Uchiha Madara's left eye? Or perhaps I should say, your left eye?"

Madara was using Kagami's left eye? Minato's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Kagami.

"...You are very perceptive, Nara-kun," Kagami sighed after a moment of silence. "That was indeed my left eye. How did you figure it out?"

"You gave us the hint yourself," Keisuke said, helping them recall the previous encounter. "When we first met, you said you lost your right eye in a mission but were saved by Madara and continued to work for him. A blind ninja is basically unable to carry out missions... Of course, the most important clue was that Madara only had a left eye, and he used the exact same special crow jutsu that you did."

"My eyes are indeed different from a normal Sharingan," Kagami said, once again impressed by the Nara's sharp intellect, as he revealed one of the Uchiha's deepest secrets. "It is a state known as the Mangekyo Sharingan. As for the crow jutsu you mentioned, I call it 'Yatagarasu'."

The real reason Kagami wanted to stay in the mortal world for a while was for that very eye. His plan was simple—retrieve the Mangekyo Sharingan that once belonged to him and give it to Shisui. He never thought Keisuke would have figured it all out before he even had a chance to act.

"Yatagarasu?" Keisuke nodded. "That's a pretty cool name for a jutsu."

"Is it cool?" Minato disagreed and quickly came up with a new name. "If you ask me, it should be called Mangekyo: Black Gale Wild Dance Crow Killing Technique! Hm, that's still not enough. How about..."

"Apologies, Kagami-senpai. As I said, Minato-san is a bit of a natural airhead," Keisuke apologized again. "The name you chose for your dōjutsu is perfectly fine."

That's not the point, is it? Are you an airhead just like him? Kagami's mouth twitched slightly.

Minato reluctantly stopped his favorite pastime of naming jutsu. "Kagami-senpai, since Madara's left eye was originally yours, do you want to take it out now?"

"I... don't have a container for it," Kagami said, looking at Keisuke.

"Let's wait until we get back to camp. There should be proper medical equipment there," Keisuke shook his head, then looked at Minato. "Minato-san, you can contact the village now and explain the situation."

Minato's relaxed expression turned serious. He immediately used the Summoning Jutsu to call Kōsuke. "Kōsuke, deliver this scroll to the Third Hokage-sama."

He handed over another scroll. It contained a detailed report of the mission, with a heavy emphasis on the existence of the Edo Tensei and the Wood Style. At Keisuke's request, Minato deliberately omitted the specific details of their fight, simply stating that "after a hard-fought battle, the two defeated the reanimated Uchiha Kagami and successfully killed Uchiha Madara." He also included Kagami's request to stay and explained his current special status.

Kōsuke immediately took the scroll and vanished.

Keisuke controlled the ink hawk, and the three of them, along with two corpses, began the journey back to the Konoha camp.

Not long after, a message arrived from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Once all materials and collections from Uchiha Madara's secret base have been tallied, Minato Namikaze, Nara Keisuke, and the other four ninja are to immediately escort the Five-Tails Jinchuriki and the corpse of Uchiha Madara back to the village."

"Uchiha Kagami is to stand by."

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