The plaza in front of the Hokage Tower.
Voting had mostly ended, with only a few people left casting votes.
As Homura Mitokado was about to urge people forward, sudden noise erupted from the plaza.
The cause of the commotion was the uchiha. Though people had been surprised before by the number of Uchiha jonin, seeing them march in formation toward the ballot box now was still astonishing.
At this point, among the original three major factions present in the plaza, only the Uchiha had not yet voted—and likewise, they had no candidate of their own. Whomever they chose would be critical to the outcome.
"The Uchiha really have a lot of jonin!"
"Yeah, who do you think they'll vote for?"
"Who knows? I never expected the Uchiha to withdraw their nomination!"
"I bet they'll vote for Torifu..."
"..."
No matter how people speculated, none could know the name written on the Uchiha ballots.
In fact, even the Uchiha jonin who were casting those votes had just learned about it themselves.
Upon hearing the clan head's order, they almost suspected someone had fallen under a genjutsu or been coerced.
How could anyone make sense of such a bizarre decision?
However, since no clan member had submitted a candidacy, they felt surprised but had no grounds to object.
Seeing the long Uchiha line, everyone present felt differently.
Beside the ballot box.
The three current high-ranking figures of Konoha wore cold expressions, their hearts heavy with concern.
To limit the influence of the Uchiha, jonin promotions within the Military Police were far more difficult than for other ninja. Added to that, the Military Police rarely had opportunities to earn credit in the field—this had resulted in the Uchiha possessing only around twenty to thirty jonin-ranked ninja.
Yet rank was just rank—it bestowed no actual combat enhancement. Although officially having only over twenty jonin, the Uchiha possessed over thirty ninja strong enough to match jonin-level fighters.
In the past, when the higher-ups remained united, they could use the village's collective authority to suppress the Uchiha.
Now, however, with Danzo's defection, two newcomers immediately entered the upper echelons, and the once-steadfast Ino–Shika–Cho alliance had already broken apart.
They couldn't help but worry about what lay ahead.
In a corner of the plaza.
Hiashi stared at the ballot box in the center of the square, his earlier confidence and pride now gone from his face.
Since Guai and Torifu announced their candidacies, his expression had turned cold, even somewhat gloomy.
He never imagined that the position the Hyūga and Uchiha had fought their way into from the upper ranks would now be taken by someone else.
Glancing at the voting Uchiha lined up nearby, he felt slightly reassured, and a spark of hope flickered in his heart.
If the Uchiha supported him, then his chances would be significantly improved, or so he hoped.
Fugaku seemed to sense something and turned to exchange a glance with him before giving a slight nod.
Compared to Hiashi, the other two candidates remained indifferent.
Guai had originally agreed to run at Homura Mitokado's request, primarily out of fear that if these two powerful clans took control of Konoha, ordinary ninja would have no path upward. Now that the Uchiha had withdrawn, even if he himself lost the election, the Hyūga alone wouldn't be able to dominate either. Thus, his enthusiasm for running had significantly waned.
Guai wasn't too concerned with the outcome—at least not compared to Torifu, who didn't care about the process at all.
Whether he showed up or not hardly mattered; if he came, the position was his regardless. There was nowhere for it to run.
So he paid no attention to the ballot box, instead casting his gaze casually around.
He gave a light nod to those who greeted him, then kept looking around the plaza for familiar faces and younger acquaintances.
With Fugaku leading his clan to vote, Aozora stood out more prominently.
Seeing Aozora, Torifu Akimichi's previously gloomy expression brightened slightly. "Is that Aozora?"
Choza beside him replied, "Yes!"
"He's gotten taller."
Torifu murmured thoughtfully before asking, "Why is he here? He seems highly valued by Fugaku."
He knew well that ever since Shisui left the Police Force, Fugaku's feelings toward him had turned cold.
Choza shook his head, but Inoichi, who knew more, said, "Aozora is Fugaku's assistant now."
"Assistant?"
As if discovering something interesting, Torifu waved toward Aozora.
Aozora had already sensed their gazes upon him. Seeing Torifu waving, he immediately ran over quickly.
"Grandpa Torifu, hello!"
Having received New Year money from Torifu every year, Aozora called sweetly.
After Aozora's parents passed away, Torifu Akimichi had been the only non-clan member who helped them. This was also why Aozora had suggested Fugaku bring Torifu back into active service.
Though Torifu mostly took care of the Ino–Shika–Cho trio, he'd never gang up with Hiruzen Sarutobi and others to betray the Uchiha Clan.
Torifu measured Aozora's height, then patted his shoulder. "You've grown taller!"
Previously, Aozora would have swayed several steps under such heavy patting, but now he merely shifted his weight slightly and stood firm.
"You're even more solid now!"
After complimenting him, Torifu added, "How I wish you'd been born into the Akimichi clan! I'd pass on my legacy to you in a heartbeat."
Among Jing's two grandsons, Shisui's personality suited him best, while Aozora's talent impressed him the most. Long ago, he noticed how despite Aozora's delicate appearance, his body felt exceptionally solid—perfect for mastering his taijutsu and Akimichi secret techniques.
However, since Aozora had struggled to produce chakra and wasn't an Akimichi bloodline, he quickly dismissed the idea.
Aozora laughed nervously; naturally, he wanted to inherit Torifu's teachings. Who knows, perhaps with the Heavenly Book's calculations, he might unlock a cosmic transformation ability.
Unfortunately, he simply wasn't born into the Akimichi clan.
Torifu hadn't meant much by it, then asked about Aozora's recent experiences, which Aozora briefly answered.
Then Torifu asked in puzzlement, "Aozora, weren't you just graduating this year? How did you become Fugaku's assistant so quickly?"
Aozora hesitated, not wanting to claim he'd amazed Fugaku through sheer brilliance.
Before Aozora could say anything, someone else jumped in.
Inoichi said, "Aozora was promoted to chunin within three months and killed four jonin. Any genius like this, if he were my clansman, I'd keep close and cultivate personally."
Staring at Aozora in surprise, Torifu recalled clearly that earlier this year, Aozora still couldn't extract chakra.
Before he recovered from his shock, Shikaku added, "Aozora offers more than just talent. It was he who exposed Danzo's collusion with rogue ninja on the spot, and later represented the Uchiha during the high-level meeting. His eloquence and wisdom surpass ordinary people greatly."
Aozora pretended to be shy and said, "Uncle Inoichi, Uncle Shikaku, you flatter me!"
Torifu laughed heartily. "Inoichi and Shikaku don't usually praise people, you know!"
Then he looked toward the Uchiha group who were nearly finished voting and asked, "You're Fugaku's aide—so you know who they voted for?"
Aozora replied with slight embarrassment, "Grandpa Torifu, they didn't vote for you."
Privately, Torifu didn't care much—he knew his support went far beyond the Uchiha votes. More importantly, Aozora hadn't lied to him.
Yet he feigned anger on his face. "Hmph! Wasn't it your Uchiha clan that begged me to come out of retirement?"
Aozora gave an apologetic smile. "Grandpa Torifu's already so powerful—one or two Uchiha votes won't change anything."
"That's more than just a few votes!"
After gently scolding Aozora, Torifu asked, "So who *did* you all vote for?"
Aozora answered, "We voted for Chief Hiashi."
Aozora wasn't lying—each Uchiha ballot had only the four Chinese characters spelling out "Hiashi Hyuga."
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