Chapter 116: Do You Want to Be Hokage? (Part 1)
"Kei-kun…"
Minato Namikaze furrowed his brows.
He couldn't quite figure out Uchiha Kei's intentions.
Intel that could shift the balance of negotiations and even force Iwagakure to submit—and Kei had that kind of information?
And now… he wanted to trade it?
That unsettled Minato.
He could tell Kei was in a bad mood. After all, he'd come within moments of killing a man who hated him to the bone—a man whose death would have reduced future risks—and yet, he was forced to stop, to let him go.
No one would be in a good mood after that.
But to leverage classified intel for personal benefit? That felt a bit too much.
"There's still time, Captain Minato."
Kei sat calmly on the stump of a tree that had been cleanly sliced through, a faint smile on his lips.
"And I just happen to have something I want to talk to you about. As for the intel... take a look around. Maybe you'll figure it out without me even needing to say anything."
"What is it you want, Kei-kun?"
Minato took a deep breath and asked directly—though as he turned to scan the battlefield, he quickly gave up.
There really wasn't much to see.
Though Kei always preferred a precise, technique-driven style and hadn't used any overwhelming jutsu, his opponent Kitsuchi had gone all out. His brute-force taijutsu and earth-style techniques had turned the whole area into a wasteland.
As for the Iwa-nin who'd been caught in the crossfire—those corpses had long since vanished. Even if they found anything, it'd likely just be scattered limbs, barely useful for analysis.
So Minato gave up on guessing and turned his attention back to Kei, deciding to see what the Uchiha truly had in mind.
Minato was curious: What did Kei want from him?
He was just a regular jōnin. Sure, he was the leader of the elite jōnin unit, but that didn't equate to real political power. If Kei wanted some kind of benefit from the village, Minato wouldn't be able to grant it.
"I just have one question for you, Captain Minato."
Kei's smile faded slightly as he looked directly at him.
"Have you ever dreamed of becoming Hokage?"
"Hokage?"
Minato's pupils contracted slightly at the question—but almost instantly, he smiled brightly.
"Hokage, huh? Every child born in Konoha dreams of becoming Hokage someday.
I imagine you've thought about it too, Kei-kun."
It was a perfectly deflective answer—smooth and unrevealing.
But Kei noticed the flicker in Minato's eyes, and he knew exactly what that meant. He also understood why Minato was hesitant.
Minato was, after all, Jiraiya's disciple, the leader of the elite jōnin, and a core member of Konoha's inner circle.
Though he wasn't yet in the highest power echelon, he was clearly from the "right bloodline" of the so-called Hokage faction. His wife? The Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
So he had access to all sorts of privileged information—and once you got a glimpse of how the village truly operated, you'd understand:
Being excellent wasn't enough to become Hokage.
You had to be excellent and have the approval of the right power blocs.
Take the case of the Fifth Hokage in the original timeline: Tsunade only rose to power because no one wanted Danzo. Her appointment was a last-resort compromise.
And she wasn't even their first choice—Jiraiya was. He was the preferred candidate because they all knew he wouldn't interfere in politics.
Jiraiya refused, so they settled for Tsunade instead.
And what happened when Tsunade overexerted herself and fell into a coma? Danzo took over as acting Hokage—and the major clans made it very clear how they felt about that.
They didn't even bother assigning him a proper bodyguard unit.
Of course, Danzo never trusted anyone—And in the end, he met a very decisive death at Sasuke's hands.
No one in the village mourned him.
Just like that, the incident passed, barely leaving a ripple.
Kakashi's situation was slightly better.
As the Fourth Hokage's student, and someone who had good relationships with nearly every jōnin of his generation—they were, after all, former classmates—he still had some social capital.
As for the old generation of Konoha's political elite?
They'd been blown to smithereens by a single Tailed Beast Bomb from the Ten-Tails.
That explosion reshuffled the top power circle completely.
And with Kakashi's connections, his path to the position of Hokage encountered the least resistance.
Of course, there was another major reason:
The two most powerful figures of the new generation—practically hailed as saviors—were his students.
By the time Uzumaki Naruto became the Seventh Hokage, the situation had changed even more dramatically.
Every major faction at the top of the village?
They were either his friends or brothers-in-arms.
Even the most difficult clan—the Hyūga—had become his in-laws.
On top of that, Naruto's own strength was beyond dispute.
So when he stepped up, it was truly the will of the people—
And it finally fulfilled his long-standing dream.
But for Minato Namikaze, things were not so simple.
The Third Hokage was still sitting firmly in power, and Minato's own teacher's generation was in their prime.
To put it bluntly—
Minato didn't stand a chance.
It wasn't that he didn't dream of becoming Hokage.
On the contrary—he dreamed of it constantly.
But he knew full well that, at this moment, he had no real chance.
Maybe in another ten or twenty years, if the circumstances were right, the opportunity might finally come.
"Me? Hokage?"
Uchiha Kei let out a mocking smirk.
"No, I've no interest in becoming Hokage.
And besides—this village would never let a Uchiha be Hokage, would it?"
"Kei-kun..."
Minato's expression stiffened.
This time, he couldn't even force a smile.
"I'm sorry... There are some things in the village..."
"Captain Minato, you've been apologizing an awful lot today."
Kei cut him off with a half-tilted head and a meaningful look.
"That's not like you. And I think you already understand exactly which Hokage I'm talking about."
Minato fell silent.
He stared directly at Kei, and for a moment, had no idea how to respond.
He wanted to leave.
Desperately.
But Kei held the intel he needed.
And if he stayed, Kei's questions would only grow more difficult to answer.
To be honest, he wanted to scream it out:
"Yes, I do! I've dreamed of being Hokage for as long as I can remember!"
But he couldn't.
Who knew why Kei was asking this? What was the purpose behind it?
Even so, the deeply rooted longing for Hokage—buried deep in his heart—kept Minato frozen in place.
So he stood there, staring at Kei, in silence.
Five full minutes passed.
Five minutes of unbroken silence and eye contact.
And the longer it went, the more Kei felt like cursing out loud.
Does this guy like me or something?
The intense, scrutinizing gaze... the constant internal struggle flickering in Minato's eyes...
It was unbearable.
Fortunately, Kei was used to ambushing others.
He had long since developed patience and timing—
And this time, he outlasted Minato.
"Alright, Kei-kun."
Minato finally let out a long sigh.
"Let's hear what you have to say. But on one condition."
"Go ahead," Kei smiled, visibly relieved.
"Even if you hadn't said it, I knew... If this talk doesn't work out, I'll forget it ever happened.
We never spoke today."
"And the intel?"
"After we talk—whether you agree or not—I'll give it to you."