Inside the meeting room of the Hokage Tower, a heavy silence filled the air as everyone contemplated potential candidates for the Fifth Hokage and what the future held for Konoha.
Torifu was the first to break the quiet. "Well then, after the war, Konoha has been reborn. It's time we had a new Hokage to lead our village into a new era."
The Ino–Shika–Cho trio and neutral higher-ups nodded in approval, while others acknowledged with a subtle nod.
Kosuke followed up, "Yeah, Torifu's got a point. We can't leave the Hokage seat open for too long. Let's finalize our list of candidates today first, and then proceed with the Hokage Selection Process to choose the Fifth Hokage."
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura immediately turned their gaze toward Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Hiruzen calmly replied, "That works."
Koharu spoke next, "Hiruzen, as the Third Hokage, why don't you start by telling us who you'd like to nominate?"
Hiruzen gave a slight nod and let his gaze sweep across those present in the room.
First, he looked at Jiraiya, who visibly shrank back under his teacher's gaze.
Then, he turned to Nobusuke. Nobusuke seemed excited but hesitated under the scrutiny, knowing full well he wasn't qualified.
After a long pause, Hiruzen sighed and said, "I nominate Jiraiya!"
"Master!"
Jiraiya shot to his feet, clearly wishing to protest, but a stern look from Hiruzen forced him to sit back down reluctantly.
Seeing this, Torifu shook his head slightly. One of the main reasons Jiraiya was unfit to be Hokage was the simple fact that he didn't want to be Hokage.
Next, Torifu spoke again, "I nominate Uchiha Fugaku!"
His words drew surprised looks from Hiruzen, Homura, and Koharu all at once.
Since being chosen as Hokage by the Second, Hiruzen had hoped to maintain the power the Second once held—the ability to control his own successor and preserve the strength of the Sarutobi clan.
But compared to the First and Second Hokages, Hiruzen fell short both in prestige and capability. Forced to compromise, he established the current method of Hokage selection under the banner of democracy.
Under this system, candidates were nominated by either the previous Hokage or the Elders, then approved via a vote of confidence by all jonin.
Thanks to this process, the Hokage faction could easily influence who would become the next Hokage. This was precisely why Fugaku had failed to compete against Minato and Orochimaru—he never even made it past the initial nomination stage.
What Hiruzen and the others didn't know was that if Fugaku was denied the chance to run, Aozora might push the Uchiha clan toward more drastic means of seizing the Hokage seat.
Once both nominations were made, eyes in the room turned to Kosuke, Homura, and Koharu.
Kosuke shook his head and said, "I don't have anyone better than Jiraiya and Fugaku to offer for the role of Fifth Hokage."
Sighing, Homura and Koharu also shook their heads, choosing not to propose any names.
Among those currently eligible, only Jiraiya and Tsunade belonged to the Hokage faction. However, Tsunade was away from the village and had no interest in becoming Hokage herself.
Besides Tsunade and Jiraiya, the others—Shin'nosuke, Yamato, and Kakashi—were fairly decent in strength but lacked prestige. They couldn't compare at all with Jiraiya and Fugaku.
Torifu glanced around and said, "In that case, the Fifth Hokage will be chosen from Jiraiya and Fugaku. We'll start by recalling Fugaku Uchiha from the Front Line, then proceed with the Jonin Confidence Vote. What do you think?"
Kosuke nodded, "I agree!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi also nodded.
Seeing that several higher-ups agreed, the others expressed their approval as well.
After the meeting, inside the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen stood by the window with his hands behind his back, overlooking the entire village of Konoha.
There can't be two suns in the sky. Once the new Hokage takes over—even if it's Jiraiya later on—he won't have any reason to come back here often anymore.
If the Hokage position was inherited by Fugaku Uchiha, he might never get another chance to return and reminisce about his youth.
At the thought, Hiruzen seemed to shrink slightly in posture, though his gaze remained resolute.
Jiraiya was also in the office, though his expression showed some anxiety.
"Old man, you know me—I've always been too laid-back..."
Hiruzen turned to face his only remaining apprentice, looking weary. "Jiraiya, do you think I have any other options?"
Jiraiya shrank his neck slightly before speaking. "Old man, why don't you just let Fugaku become Hokage?"
"You! You!"
Hiruzen nearly spat blood from anger toward Jiraiya and needed some time to recover.
After taking several deep breaths, Hiruzen said, "Jiraiya, it's not that I can't accept an Uchiha becoming Hokage, but only one who puts the village above the clan.
Fugaku Uchiha, however, places his clan above Konoha. If he becomes Hokage, he will only allow the Uchiha to draw resources from Konoha to grow stronger.
Besides, the Uchiha are naturally warlike. Under their leadership, Konoha will eventually head toward destruction."
Listening to Hiruzen's earnest persuasion, Jiraiya scratched his head with a wry smile. "Old man, with my easygoing personality, how could I possibly be a Hokage? I need time to travel around collecting information for my writing."
Hiruzen replied, "The duties of the Hokage can be handled by your advisors. I, along with Homura and Koharu, will support you. And as for gathering material for your books..."
Hiruzen painfully pulled out a crystal ball from his sleeve. "I'll teach you my most treasured [Telescope Technique]!"
At the sight of the crystal ball, Jiraiya's eyes immediately lit up with stars as he couldn't help but pick it up and examine it closely.
After what felt like ages, Jiraiya finally forced himself to return the crystal ball to Hiruzen with visible reluctance.
Jiraiya said, "Old man, I still need to go find Orochimaru..."
"No way!" Hiruzen snapped decisively. "Not only did he conduct human experiments, but he also attacked Konoha's camp. He can never return to Konoha again."
Upon hearing this, Jiraiya's face darkened considerably as he muttered, "How could someone like me ever be worthy of being Hokage? Rejected by Tsunade time and again, and unable to stop my best friend from leaving."
"Sigh," Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and said, "Jiraiya, you're currently regarded as having the greatest strength and reputation in Konoha. If you're not fit to be Hokage, then who is?"
Jiraiya replied, "What about Tsunade?"
Hiruzen paused briefly before whispering, "Danzo's actions have completely shattered Tsunade's faith in Konoha."
His face grew heavy with sadness as he implored, "Jiraiya, won't you help your old teacher? Can you really stand by and let the village that raised you fall into ruin?"
Even though he knew the old man was laying it on thick, Jiraiya still hated seeing his mentor look so worn out and heartbroken.
After some contemplation, he slowly responded to Hiruzen, "Old man, the Great Toad Sage from Mount Myoboku prophesied that my apprentice will become a ninja capable of revolutionizing the entire world.
The change he brings might bring peace to the world... or it could unleash destruction.
I once thought I had found the Child of the Prophecy, but now... I still need to keep searching for this so-called chosen one."
With his extensive knowledge, Hiruzen naturally knew about the Great Toad Sage.
Although his personal summon Enma was known as the strongest summoning beast, compared to the sages at the Three Great Holy Lands, Enma was merely junior.
After hearing Jiraiya's explanation, Hiruzen finally understood why Jiraiya had been traveling extensively all these years – clearly, it wasn't just for gathering research material.
At the same time, he couldn't help but think of the prematurely deceased Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
If only he hadn't died so young—he truly could have changed the Ninja World.
The room fell silent for a moment, until Hiruzen finally steadied himself and said earnestly, "Perhaps the Child of the Prophecy is already in Konoha. After all, our village has always been famous for producing geniuses!"
He continued, "I don't expect you to serve as Hokage forever. Wait until Nobusuke and Kakashi grow up in a few years, then you can retire and continue your travels through the Ninja World."
After saying this, Hiruzen placed the Prophetic Crystal Ball into Jiraiya's hands.
Jiraiya traced his fingers over the clear crystal ball, silently contemplating its meaning.
After a long while, he let out a deep sigh and slipped the crystal ball into his sleeve.
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