Inside the Hokage's Office, in the high-level meeting room, the elite of the Konoha jonin were gathered.
In a corner, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Might Guy naturally formed a small group. As they took their places, Asuma, with an unlit cigarette in his mouth, playfully nudged Kakashi's shoulder.
"Hey, Kakashi, tell us, how did you teach that kid Naruto to use Ice Style and Dust Style? Give your old classmates a hint!" Asuma's eyes were filled with curiosity. He wasn't asking for too much; he didn't expect to turn the Ino-Shika-Cho trio into monsters like Naruto, but even Sasuke's or Sakura's level of progress would be a great start!
Instantly, Kurenai and Might Guy locked their gazes on Kakashi, their eyes full of anticipation. Naruto? They had looked into him after that day. A famous dead-last in the Ninja Academy, yet after only half a year of training with Kakashi, his strength had skyrocketed! If it were just him, it might have been an anomaly, but the rapid progress of the entire Team 7 could only be attributed to Kakashi.
Feeling the three intense stares, Kakashi's dead-fish eyes almost wanted to roll into a pure white. Would you believe me if I said I was slacking the whole time?
In the end, under the "friendly" siege of his three friends, Kakashi signed a "contract": he would give special lectures to their teams in rotation! Only then was he able to escape their clutches.
"See that?" Asuma gestured with his cigarette at a solitary figure in a corner of the meeting room, towering over the others. He lowered his voice, "With Lord Jiraiya here personally, the position should be a lock, right?"
Might Guy followed his gaze, and his eyes lit up. "It's Lord Jiraiya!" His voice was filled with irrepressible excitement, and he unconsciously clenched his fists. "He's one of the Legendary Sannin! My youthful role model! If he becomes Hokage, he'll have everyone's support!"
Kakashi, who was in the know, gave Jiraiya a brief side-eye, his mouth twitching almost imperceptibly. In the end, he chose to remain silent.
A moment later, the Elder Council and the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, entered and took their seats at the head of the room. The bustling meeting room instantly fell silent. Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze swept over the crowd, his voice low and resonant.
"You all know the purpose of today's gathering," he said directly. "To elect the Fifth Hokage! Now, please propose your candidates!"
The moment he finished, a chorus of voices rose from the crowd. "Lord Third! Why won't you continue to serve as Hokage?!" This question expressed the thoughts of many present.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for a moment. "The matter of Orochimaru is my undeniable responsibility. Let's not discuss my continuation as Hokage anymore. Today's task is to elect a new Hokage. Let the nominations begin!"
The position of Hokage required not only fame and prestige but also powerful strength. The number of suitable candidates was actually very small.
"I nominate Lord Jiraiya to be the Fifth Hokage!" a loud voice suddenly rang out in the meeting room!
At these words, swish!
Almost everyone's eyes instantly converged on the burly, white-haired man in the corner.
"I second that!" an excited jonin immediately responded. "Lord Jiraiya is one of the Sannin and was a terror of the ninja world during the Second Great Ninja War! His strength and reputation are beyond question!"
"I also support Lord Jiraiya!"
"Lord Jiraiya! We support Lord Jiraiya!"
"Cough, cough! Cough, cough!"
At the center of the storm, Jiraiya coughed heavily, rubbing his temples as if he had a headache. His face was a picture of helplessness and reluctance. He stood up, his voice loud and with his usual swagger, but also with a hint of annoyance at being put on the spot.
"Everyone, the Great Sage is here today not to become Hokage! I'm here to rec-o-mmend a can-di-date!"
"My recommendation is—Naruto Uzumaki! Let him be the Hokage!"
BOOM!
These words were like a bombshell in the meeting room! On the dais, the two elders, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, frowned deeply, their faces so grim they could drip water. Hiruzen Sarutobi, seated in the center, remained outwardly calm, though the depths of his murky eyes held unknown thoughts.
Below, the jonin erupted into a frenzy of discussion. Asuma, Kurenai, and Might Guy all stared at Kakashi, their jaws dropped. This guy's disciple is being nominated for Hokage?
Some ninjas looked bewildered. "Naruto Uzumaki? Is that the kid who's in the Ninja World Daily every day?"
"That's right," someone next to him nodded. "He's supposedly only twelve! And Lord Jiraiya's disciple."
"What?! A twelve-year-old as Hokage?!" an incredulous gasp echoed from a corner.
"You must not have been in the village that day!" a ninja who had experienced the Konoha Crush interrupted excitedly, his voice raised. "He defeated Lord First and Lord Second single-handedly! He even learned Lord Fourth's Flying Thunder God Technique! And he saved over a hundred of our comrades from the Sand and Sound ninjas that day! Haven't you read today's paper?" he added, exasperated.
The questioner looked shocked. "I just got back from a top-secret mission and haven't had a chance to read the paper yet."
In the midst of the buzzing noise, a person suddenly raised their hand! "I nominate Naruto Uzumaki for Hokage!" Their voice was loud and firm; they were one of the jonin Naruto had saved.
This was a bombshell that created a ripple effect!
Cries of support followed one after another. "I also support Lord Naruto!"
"Me too!"
More and more people stood up.
At this moment, being Jiraiya's disciple, a "Yellow Flash" like the Fourth Hokage, and having a relentless publicity campaign in the Ninja World Daily all came together. Many of them may not have known Naruto personally, but his heroic feat of saving the day had already become a legend. With the extensive coverage in the Ninja World Daily, a heroic image of a kind, filial, diligent, and patriotic sun-like hero who embodied all the virtues of the world had gradually taken root in their hearts!
Not only that:
Some people, having seen the drawbacks of the Third Hokage, wanted a younger leader.
Some had read the historical novel Five Nations' Fable and supported the Third Hokage becoming the "Uchiha-style Cao Cao" who controlled things from behind the scenes.
Some were fans of the Fourth Hokage and had been helped by the "Yellow Flash."
And still others were swayed by Jiraiya's endorsement and the support of Kakashi and the others.
However—
Just as Naruto's momentum was building, a powerful name was shouted out by another group of people.
"Since Lord Jiraiya has no intention of being Hokage!" a jonin exclaimed. "I nominate Lady Tsunade!"
Her reputation was no less than Jiraiya's, and she was even more respected by many because of her identity as a medical ninja.
"I support Princess Tsunade!"
"Lady Tsunade's healing hands are legendary, and her wartime contributions are immense. Her reputation is unmatched!"
The voices in support of Tsunade immediately formed a powerful wave. For a moment, the votes for Tsunade and Naruto were neck and neck.
A quick cut to the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi held the thin report sheet in his hand, his eyes scanning the vote counts. There's no such thing as "neck and neck." The jonin weren't fools; Naruto's age, only twelve, was an insurmountable obstacle. Although he had a lot of vocal support, the actual number of votes was not very high.
"Lord Danzo! Please wait! Lord Hokage..."
BANG!
The door was kicked open! Danzo Shimura stormed in, his fury barely contained. Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression remained calm as he simply raised a hand to the anbu guarding the door, giving a simple "stand down" signal.
"Today's meeting room... was very lively," Danzo's voice was a low growl. His sharp single eye was fixed on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face, as if he were trying to find some clue beneath the calm mask.
To his disappointment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes were murky but completely transparent.
"I heard that the twelve-year-old blond brat, Naruto Uzumaki, has gained quite a bit of support?" He took a menacing step closer, his voice a low roar. "Hiruzen! You're not actually thinking of putting the Hokage's hat on his head, are you?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't answer. In the time since the Orochimaru incident, he had been reviewing his life, one event after another. In many of them, there was a shadow of his old friend. But these shadows were mostly not very bright. He could see that his old friend was still eyeing the seat he was currently in.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
Seeing that he remained silent, Danzo's immense rage finally exploded. "Are you trying to be like that Uchiha-style Cao Cao? Playing 'control the emperor to command the lords'? Making that kid your puppet Hokage while you hide behind the scenes as the 'retired emperor' who holds all the power?!" His single eye was bloodshot, his hair bristling with rage. "Don't you dare think about it!"
Control the emperor to command the lords? Hiruzen Sarutobi remembered the political novel; he had read it when he was bored. Danzo had a point, but Naruto's vote count was already not enough to win. Besides...
He took a deep look at his old friend, his gaze piercing through the dust of time, back to the moment he had decided to use the Forbidden Jutsu, the Reaper Death Seal. At that time, two things had weighed heavily on his mind like a thousand-ton burden: one was whether the young, talented blond boy would grow up successfully, and the other was his old friend right in front of him, Danzo Shimura, who had long since ventured too far into the swamp of darkness.
Danzo's Root was a product of his own compromises in a complex situation, a dark scar embedded in the very body of Konoha. Now that he had chosen to step down... this "dark scar" that had accompanied him for half his life would be excised by his own hand!
"Danzo, you have actually enlightened me." Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was unusually calm. He decided to give his old friend a bit of a treat first. "You're right, Naruto... is indeed not a suitable candidate."
Danzo's furious aura, which had reached its peak, suddenly stopped. "Really?"
"Of course." Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly uttered the two words, then delivered a final, invisible blow. "However... you, go back and disband Root."
He added gently, "Wouldn't it be better to lay down your burdens and enjoy retirement?"
Danzo's mind was struck as if by lightning, filled with shock. "You want to disband Root?"
Seeing that Hiruzen's expression was not fake, Danzo erupted in fury. Root was the result of his own hard work and effort. Before, even during the Uchiha massacre, all he had to do was give up his position as Hokage's adviser, and his Root was not touched. But now...
Danzo had no time to figure out why. He roared, "Without Root! How can Konoha stand! Hiruzen! You will regret this!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze was as calm as ice, yet it carried a resolve strong enough to sever all entanglements! It was the resolve to seal Danzo away with the Reaper Death Seal!
There was not a single trace of anger in his voice, yet every word was as heavy as a thousand pounds.
"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"