Senju Tobirama's patience finally snapped.
"Enough."
His chakra surged like a blade drawn halfway, frost-cold and biting.
But the surrounding clans only scoffed.
"Trying to threaten us? You think this is your forest, Senju brat?"
Their eyes narrowed — not with fear, but with the kind of hostility that comes from centuries of shared corpses.
Before it escalated into a full-on brawl, my voice cut through the tension.
"Quiet."
The entire square stilled.
"The candidates for Hokage, as submitted three days ago, are:
Uchiha Madara.
Senju Hashirama.
And myself, Amamiya Raizen.
You'll vote for one of us. Simple as that."
I gestured toward the boxes.
"Begin."
Tobirama met the mocking stares of a dozen clans. The look they gave him basically said: You're lucky the old rules still apply.
He bit his tongue and stepped back beside Hashirama.
The Votes Start Falling
The crowd surged toward the boxes, whispering.
"Who're you voting for?"
"Seriously? Lord Raizen built Konoha. Who else could it be?"
"Yeah, yeah — I'm not voting for the new guys. Relax."
Then the Hyūga patriarch, Hyūga Tennin, raised his voice.
"Hyūga clan — vote for Lord Raizen."
"Yes!"
They stepped forward in perfect formation, each dropping a ballot with quiet dignity.
Other clans rushed after them, not to be outdone. Once the momentum started, it was basically a tidal wave.
Ninety percent of Konoha moved as one.
After ten minutes, my ballot box was overflowing.
Hashirama's and Madara's?
Only their own clans' votes.
Tobirama stared at the boxes, face twitching.
Hashirama dragged a hand down his face.
"Maybe… maybe Tobirama shouldn't have insisted we run."
Madara didn't move a muscle. But his eyes were burning — angry, hungry, and something else curled deep beneath it.
When the final vote dropped, the first Hokage election was over.
Not just a victory — a landslide.
Konoha Shakes the Sky
I stepped forward.
"Thank you," I said. "For your trust."
Truth be told, I already knew the outcome. The election wasn't about winning.
It was about giving the Senju and Uchiha the chance to enter the ring on equal footing.
Now no one could claim I'd shut them out.
"Lord Hokage!"
Someone shouted.
Then ten voices.
Then a hundred.
Then thousands.
And I finally let myself breathe.
I'd spent more than ten years crawling through mud, blood, fire, and paperwork to get here.
A reincarnated salaryman trying to build a dream in the middle of a battlefield.
And today, that dream had a name.
"Sasuke!"
Sarutobi Sasuke stepped forward, carrying a folded robe in both hands.
He knelt and raised it to me.
I took it.
The robe unfurled in the wind — white fabric, flame-pattern hem, and on the back, five bold kanji:
初代火影
First Hokage.
The cheering shook the sky.
I raised one hand. Silence rolled out like a wave.
"From this moment," I said, my voice carried by chakra across the village,
"I — Amamiya Raizen — serve as Konoha's First Hokage."
For a heartbeat, Konoha held its breath.
Then the roar came.
"LORD FIRST HOKAGE!"
"FIRST HOKAGE!!"
If sound could break clouds, this was it.
I didn't stop them. Not this time.
A man's allowed one victory lap in a lifetime.
Witnesses to a Dream
Off to the side, Senju Hashirama watched with a small smile.
For him, this wasn't humiliation. It was closure.
Raizen had dragged him out of despair, forced him to confront what he truly wanted, rebuilt his will, and showed him the shape of a peaceful future.
He bowed his head slightly.
"Even if I'm not Hokage," he whispered, "I'm a son of Konoha. I'll protect this village with everything I have. Anyone who threatens it… becomes my enemy."
Resolve burned in his eyes.
Madara's Shadow
Madara snorted, arms crossed.
"Tch."
But the glint in his gaze betrayed him — pride, rivalry, desire, something jagged and unspoken.
As I stood before the village, wearing the Hokage's robe, even Madara's lips curled into the faintest smile.
He wasn't happy for me.
He was hungry for the same throne.
For the same dream.
And for the first time, he saw that it was real.