In the meeting room of the Hokage Tower, the village's high-ranking officials had gathered.
The heads of all major clans like Hiashi Hyuga, Fugaku Uchiha, Shikaku Nara were all present.
Also attending were renowned jonin like Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, and others.
Seated on either side of the Hokage were the two Hokage advisors and Danzo Shimura. These individuals had assembled to discuss the matter of Kirigakure ninja who had been harassing their borders.
The Great Ninja War hadn't ended; it had merely entered a lull. Both Konoha and Iwagakure had suffered heavy losses, but the remaining three of the Five Great Villages still had strength in reserve. No one could predict how things would unfold.
"Who do you all think should be responsible for dealing with the Kiri ninja?" Sarutobi asked from the head seat, looking at everyone on both sides.
Those present exchanged glances, yet surprisingly no one volunteered to speak first.
Everyone knew there were only two candidates for this command position: Minato and Orochimaru. Yet no one wanted to be the first to voice support for either candidate.
Seeing no response, Sarutobi turned to Jiraiya, whose arm was still in bandages, sitting at his right. "Jiraiya, what do you think?"
Jiraiya found himself in an awkward position. Naturally, he would support his own student. But Orochimaru was sitting directly across from him, and given recent events, he felt guilty.
He wasn't comfortable answering Sarutobi's question. "Well... perhaps... I could go?" he stammered.
Sarutobi was exasperated: "Come on, don't just sit there looking like that."
Jiraiya gave a dry laugh. "I said I want to go, but you won't let me."
Sarutobi ignored Jiraiya's attempt to avoid the question and turned his gaze to others.
Fugaku and Hiashi sat in their positions with eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to everything around them.
"I nominate Minato," Shikaku suddenly spoke up. "Everyone should be clear about Minato's performance in the battles against Iwa ninja. It was because of Minato that we were able to achieve victory time and again. Minato will certainly lead us to success In this conflict with Kiri."
Sarutobi nodded with satisfaction, then scanned the room. "Does anyone else have different thoughts?"
With Shikaku taking the lead, several others spoke up in support of Minato.
Orochimaru maintained a neutral expression throughout, merely glancing at each person as they spoke.
"I believe Lord Orochimaru should take command," a different voice finally rang out.
This person cited Orochimaru's bringing reinforcements during the previous battle with Iwa, claiming that if Lord Orochimaru had been in command from the beginning, they would have achieved victory against Iwa much sooner.
His words garnered significant support.
Hearing the voices supporting Orochimaru, Danzo couldn't help but curl his lips into a slight smile.
Fortunately, those supporting Minato and those backing Orochimaru didn't engage in any disputes. They simply stated their opinions. Though each had their supporters, everyone also respected the other candidate.
Observing this, Sarutobi inwardly sighed.
He had anticipated this situation. While he wanted Minato to take command, he knew this might cause discontent among some. Orochimaru had saved Konoha, and everyone was indebted to him.
He turned his gaze toward Orochimaru, finding that Orochimaru was also watching him. After brief consideration, Sarutobi began, "Orochimaru, what do you think..."
"I believe it would be better for Minato to lead us into this battle," Orochimaru interrupted.
This statement instantly caused an uproar in the meeting room. Everyone present was astonished. Could these words really have come from Orochimaru's mouth?
Danzo's brow immediately furrowed, his expression turning grim.
He had specifically reminded Orochimaru to pursue this position, yet now Orochimaru was willingly giving it up!
Minato sat there stunned for a long moment before finally responding, "No, I'm still lacking compared to Lord Orochimaru..."
"Minato, there's no need for modesty," Orochimaru said with a faint smile, "You've been on the front lines fighting alongside everyone, and our comrades trust you more. I believe you can certainly lead everyone to repel the Kiri ninja."
Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and others who knew Orochimaru well seemed to be seeing him in a completely new light, their expressions filled with astonishment.
Sarutobi pondered for a long while but couldn't figure out what Orochimaru might be plotting.
Orochimaru then turned to Jiraiya and asked, "Jiraiya, what do you think?"
Jiraiya snapped out of his daze: "I... agree with your opinion."
Orochimaru's gaze swept across everyone present: "Compared to Minato, I'm not suited for this position. There's no need to nominate me. I believe Minato can do better than I could."
Everyone exchanged glances. If the setting had allowed it, they wouldn't have been able to resist whispering among themselves.
Sarutobi cleared his throat, then made his decision. "Since Orochimaru has spoken, we'll leave the Kiri frontlines to Minato."
Upon hearing this, Minato rose and bowed: "I will do my utmost!"
When the meeting dispersed, Orochimaru left without lingering, ignoring Danzo's ice-cold stare.
Looking at the groups of people gathered in small clusters whispering, Orochimaru felt nothing but contempt.
These people would never guess what he was planning.
Each holding high positions, yet their political minds were pathetically low in Orochimaru's view. In this respect, Shinji completely outclassed them.
Of course he had naturally excluded himself from this assessment.
Orochimaru believed he simply disdained considering such matters and associating with them. Besides, having Shinji to strategize for him was enough now.
As for Minato, he left the Hokage Tower with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
Shikaku was still frowning, trying to understand Orochimaru's inscrutable behavior today.
Everyone knew Orochimaru coveted the Hokage position. What had caused this change of heart?
"Could it be..." Shikaku suddenly thought of something and muttered to himself.
"What is it?" Minato asked.
Shikaku's expression shifted as he spoke quietly to Minato: "Have you forgotten why we kept losing ground when fighting against Iwa?"
This question caused everyone's expressions to change.
Minato frowned slightly: "Shikaku, are you assuming that the traitor is connected to Lord Orochimaru."
Shikaku's implication was clear: Orochimaru had given the position to Minato intending to secretly work behind the scenes to make Minato fail at the front lines. Then he would play the savior role again, reaping all the rewards.
Shikaku said, "Minato, this mater is too important for us not to be cautious."
But Minato replied, "If Lord Orochimaru is truly responsible, we need evidence. When that time comes, Lord Hokage and all our Konoha comrades will judge this criminal.
"It's just our wild speculation without any evidence. We can't use this as fact to guess others' intentions. Since I've taken this position, I will naturally do everything possible to bring victory to our village!"
Hearing this, Shikaku could only smile bitterly. Minato could speak such noble words, but the rest of them would have to do hard work.