Inside the little shop, Akio stared silently at the dice cup before him.
Three dice lay in a "品" formation showing triple sixes the result of his throw. What surprised him was that Tsunade had rolled the same number.
"Tsunade losing is normal, winning brings her bad luck… but what happens if it's a tie?" Akio pondered for a long while. Soon, Tsunade would be busy helping Nawaki compete for the Hokage position and teaching Rin ninjutsu, it wasn't likely she'd face any misfortune. But this sudden streak of gambling luck…
"As expected, in the ninja world, besides destiny, there's also the power of brother complex? I'd better be careful, never underestimate anyone who has a little brother." After thinking for a while, Akio could only reach this somewhat ridiculous conclusion.
"It seems Tsunade has noticed that I'm vaguely siding with Minato." He shook his head; the joy on her face during their tie had been too genuine to fake.
"If neither side asks for help, then I'll just stay out of it. That suits me fine, I was feeling awkward anyway." Akio shook his head again and put away the dice cup.
Konoha was in turmoil once more.
The last bout of chaos had been the debate two years ago this time, it truly had nothing to do with Akio.
Now, there were simply too many people qualified to compete for the title of Hokage.
Jiraiya, addicted to traveling for "research," was essentially abstaining on his own. Orochimaru, always wrapped up in his mysterious experiments, hadn't shown the slightest interest in the position either.
Even excluding those two, there were still six or seven potential candidates.
At the bottom of the list was Nara Shikaku; brilliant mind, but not quite strong enough, and his support came mainly from the Ino–Shika–Cho trio. He himself didn't seem too interested anyway.
Then there were Hyūga Hizashi, the clan heads of the Inuzuka and Aburame clans, and even someone Akio had nearly forgotten, Kato Dan.
Though Dan had remained teaching at the Konoha Academy, he'd produced quite a few well-known students, giving him a rather broad network of connections.
Back in the shop, Akio rubbed his temples as he looked at Kushina standing in front of him.
"Great-Grandpa, please help him!" For once, the normally bold and brash Kushina was acting like a pleading little girl.
"Oh? And who was it again that said she'd drag both Minato and the little fox back to Uzushio?"
Kushina's face flushed red as she stepped forward, tugging on his sleeve and shaking it.
Akio couldn't help but laugh. "You think you're still three or four years old? You're twenty-two now, about time to get married…"
Saying that, he couldn't help feeling a little sentimental. It really was that feeling, a grown girl can't be kept home anymore.
"Great-Grandpa, you…"
He smiled and waved her off before she could continue.
"There are plenty of people backing Minato now. As far as I know, Hiruzen's working hard to build him up."
Though Minato was Jiraiya's student, he was still a civilian by birth, a disadvantage in terms of background. But his looks and charm more than made up for that.
To quote Madara: 'I, Akio, acknowledge you as the most handsome.'
A bit exaggerated, perhaps but not by much.
Kushina hesitated. "But the current jōnin council didn't invite Minato…"
Akio blinked. "Jōnin council?"
"I just saw Elder Uchiha Kagami heading into the Hokage Building. I overheard him giving instructions to his clansmen…"
Akio chuckled. "You've learned to eavesdrop now? Who taught you that?"
He'd forgotten that two years ago, he himself had eavesdropped on the entirety of Konoha.
Still, he quickly pieced it together, Kushina wanted him to check whether the meeting's decisions would favor Minato.
"Ah…" Akio sighed softly.
"All right, I'll go take a look."
"You're the best, Great-Grandpa!" Kushina said, acting cutesy again.
Shaking his head, Akio activated his long-unused Will of Kaguya Mode. Sensitive shinobi might sense its spatial distortion.
"Great-Grandpa, what's that?" Kushina stepped back, startled by the sight of his shadowy form.
"A secret technique. Want to learn it?" Akio grinned, his teeth the only white thing left on him.
Seeing her frantically shake her head, he laughed and sank into the ground.
At the top floor of the Hokage Building, Akio hid within the wall.
"No wonder Minato wasn't called, this is practically a seniors-only meeting."
He looked around the room; though they were all "juniors" compared to him, the youngest still looked around fifty. True veterans of Konoha.
"What's going on here…" he wondered.
As time passed, the seats filled up. Finally, Hiruzen spoke from the head of the table.
"I believe you all know why I called this meeting, it concerns the position of the Fourth Hokage."
After a pause, he continued, "I know some of your clans or relatives may have ambitions for the title. But I ask all of you, please support Namikaze Minato to become the Fourth Hokage!"
Akio, inside the wall, was stunned. Does he really have to go that far?
Some in the room clearly shared the same thought.
Danzō was the first to speak, face unreadable. "This involves Namikaze Minato's lover, Uzumaki Kushina. Some of you may not know this, but she is the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki and also the princess of Uzushio. If Minato doesn't become Hokage, his status will be far beneath hers. He might even become a consort and Konoha could lose both the Nine-Tails and Minato, that genius!"
"So what?" someone countered confidently. Konoha wasn't short on power at the moment.
"Then Uzushio would gain both of them!" Danzō immediately retorted.
Akio frowned slightly within the wall.
Once Danzō finished, the room fell silent.
For a long time, no one spoke until Kagami finally broke the silence.
"Are you trying to guard against our allies? With Elder Akio still here, do you really think Uzushio would ever act against Konoha?"
No one answered.
Kagami's face fell. "Hiruzen… do you think so too?"
Hiruzen stayed silent. Koharu spoke instead. "Kagami, calm down. Elder Akio is already over 120 years old. No one can live forever… Besides, this is our Konoha."
Kagami looked around at the others, all with hesitant, thoughtful faces. Finally, he sighed deeply and walked out without another word.
Within the wall, Akio slowly closed his eyes and faded away.
Back outside, the ground before Kushina rippled as Akio emerged.
"Great-Grandpa! How did it go?"
He hesitated, then forced a smile. "Don't worry. Hiruzen's pulling votes for Minato."
Kushina let out a long breath of relief. "Thank you so much, Great-Grandpa!"
Watching her leave, Akio shook his head. For a moment, he'd really wanted to just drag both Minato and Kushina back to Uzushio.
But after a while, he sighed again.
Thinking of those people in the meeting room aside from Kagami, every one of them now distanced from him or Uzushio, it did sting a little. Still…
"A bunch of short-lived fools. Saying I don't have long to live… Let's see, in twenty years, how many of you will still be standing to talk to me?"
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