The blond-haired Minato looked at the two people flirting and said helplessly,
"I said, you two—it's the new Hokage election meeting. Is it really okay for you to be so relaxed?"
Simu put his hands in his pockets and said flatly,
"Anyway, whether you're nervous or not..."
Minato sighed.
"That's really your style."
This guy had always been so casual.
But when it came to serious matters, he was terrifyingly calm.
Minato looked around.
"Where is Jiraiya-sensei? I remember he is also one of the candidates?"
Simu scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
"He's probably still grieving over Orochimaru's death.
Ever since he found out I was the one who killed Orochimaru, he's been avoiding me."
Minato said thoughtfully,
"That's understandable..."
After all, they were best friends.
And Simu was Jiraiya's best apprentice.
It was only natural for Jiraiya to have such complicated feelings.
He also knew there was nothing wrong with Simu's choice.
But it was difficult...
Maybe more like blaming himself for not being strong enough to stop Orochimaru.
If only he had discovered the darkness in Orochimaru's heart earlier, maybe things would have turned out differently?
Jiraiya sat in a tavern, holding a wine bottle,
his drunken eyes staring distantly at the crowd.
In fact, it wasn't just Jiraiya's burden.
Even Sarutobi-sama...
Did Sarutobi really not know that Danzo had betrayed Simu's information to the enemy?
Or was he just pretending not to know?
All these thoughts weighed heavily on Jiraiya's heart like a mountain.
But no one cared about the pressure he carried—at least, not yet.
Because everyone was looking forward to the birth of the new Hokage of "643."
"I announce that the voting for the new Hokage has begun."
Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered.
With the ninjas' assistance, the ocean of people began to move in an orderly flow.
Twelve ballot boxes had been set up for this conference.
Every villager would write the name of their chosen candidate on a ballot,
then press their fingerprint on it to prevent vote tampering.
After the civilian votes were counted, the ninja votes would be tallied.
Finally, the top three candidates would enter the final round.
This was the Jōnin vote.
The candidate with the support of the majority of Jōnin would become the new Hokage.
Simu and Kushina calmly awaited the voting results.
After about an hour, the bustling crowd gradually quieted.
After tense vote counting, the top three candidates chosen by civilians and ninjas were finally announced.
"Now that the voting results are in, the top three are Namikaze Minato, Tsunade, and Hanyu Simu."
Sure enough, no Uchiha clan members made the cut.
Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Sifang stood together among the Jōnin seats, sighing quietly.
There was no way around it.
Although the Uchiha clan was strong overall,
their particular situation and years of public prejudice had severely damaged their civilian support.
So much so that they couldn't even pass the first round.
And even if they did, how many Jōnin would support them?
The names of the three candidates didn't surprise most Jōnin.
Only Tsunade felt a little regretful.
Compared to becoming a Hokage candidate herself, she would rather have all her votes go to her boyfriend Kato Dan.
After all, his determination to become Hokage was far stronger than hers.
Unfortunately, most of those who voted for Tsunade were members of the Senju clan,
or commoners loyal to the legacy of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
After all, two Hokages had come from the Senju family in succession, and their civilian base was very deep.
Just because they voted for Tsunade didn't mean they would vote for her boyfriend, as Tsunade wished.
Minato glanced at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was technically his master, and shook his head helplessly.
"Looking at the Third Hokage's plan, you deliberately put your own name at the end."
The Hokage candidates were listed in no particular order.
Sarutobi Hiruzen pronounced their names according to his own preferences.
But many people didn't know this.
By putting Simu's name last, Sarutobi secretly guided some unwitting Jōnin
to think Simu had the fewest votes, so that in the next Jōnin vote, they would support Namikaze Minato, who seemed more likely to become Hokage.
Facing Sarutobi's cunning, Toki shrugged.
"This kind of thing doesn't matter."
Kushina raised her little fist in frustration after understanding the scheme.
"The Third Hokage really is a crafty old fox."
Minato touched his chin.
Putting your own name first—does the Third Hokage have special expectations for himself?
Minato was a little surprised.
Although his reputation in the village was good, it was still far behind Simu's.
After all, Simu had real achievements—
beheading the Third Kazekage, defeating the demigod Hanzō of the Salamander, subduing Onoki, and controlling three tailed beasts, among others.
Though Minato had a good record, he paled in comparison.
So the common Jōnin would naturally choose Simu over him.
Not to mention the ninja Jōnin votes.
"I'm just a common Jōnin. No matter how I look at it, there's no way to get ninja Jōnin support, right?"
With all kinds of thoughts swirling, Simu, Minato, and an impatient Tsunade approached Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi glanced over the three and lingered a moment on Minato.
Normally, Sarutobi should have been pleased.
After all, the next Hokage was still from his lineage.
Among the three candidates were his apprentice and his grandchildren.
No matter how you looked at it, this was a victory.
But one candidate had a completely different philosophy from his own.
Sarutobi sighed inwardly at the messy decision he once made.
Still, his expression was flawless.
Joy, satisfaction, and commitment to the future blended perfectly on the Third Hokage's face.
"Minato, Tsunade, and Simu— you three are Konoha's finest talents.
No matter who becomes the Fourth Hokage, I will feel very gratified.
You will surely make the Will of Fire burn stronger and lead Konoha to greater heights.
The Will of Fire is passed from generation to generation."
After a long speech, Simu coughed and realized he had been rambling for some time.
"Ahem!
Anyway, now begins the final round of Hokage selection—the Jōnin vote!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's majestic voice rang out.
This meeting had finally reached its most critical moment.
"Vote for Jōnin!"
This vote would determine which of the three candidates would become the next Hokage.
Since the number of Jōnin was limited—
Konoha's Jōnin numbered over 300 in total.
Excluding those stationed at the borders or on missions, no more than two hundred were present.
Therefore, the voting method was simple: a show of hands.
"Now, count the votes."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice fell, and the atmosphere immediately grew serious.
"There are 17 Jōnin in our Shimura clan, and all of us support Jōnin Minato."
A Shimura clan Jōnin spoke first.
On the scoreboard beside him, a "17" was marked next to Minato's name.
Minato froze for a moment, disbelief flashing across his face.
But then he quickly understood what the Third Hokage was thinking.
It seemed that, in order to deal with Simu, he would not hesitate to place a puppet Hokage like me on the throne?
Uchiha Fugaku stood up to oppose him head-on.
"We, the 34 Jōnin of the Uchiha clan, all support Hanyu Simu as the new Hokage."
Though the Uchiha clan was suppressed everywhere, the quality of their ninja was undeniable.
This instantly pushed Simu into first place.
"We, the Aburame clan, cast 8 votes for Jōnin Minato."
"Our Inuzuka clan also votes for Jōnin Minato."
"The Yuki clan votes for Jōnin Minato."
"The Mito clan votes for Jōnin Minato."
"I vote for Jōnin Simu."
"I vote for Jōnin Simu as well."
"I vote for Master Tsunade."
"I vote for Jōnin Minato."
As the voting progressed, the gap between Minato and Simu never widened significantly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and his two advisors had controlled Konoha for many years.
Almost every ninja, both great and small, in Konoha was connected to them.
And now was the time to leverage those relationships.
Under Sarutobi Hiruzen's influence, most ninjas voted for Minato.
The civilians, however, were split into three factions.
A small number voted for Minato and Tsunade, but most supported Simu.
By contrast, Tsunade—Princess of Konoha—had become a mere companion in the race.
"I knew it would be like this."
Tsunade sighed faintly as she sat.
After all, Jōnin were not commoners.
Commoners might vote for her simply because of her Senju clan lineage.
The first two Hokages had left a deep impression on them.
There was even a belief that as long as one was of Senju blood, they could lead Konoha to strength.
But among the Jōnin—
Especially those from the major ninja clans—they did not want to see the Senju clan return to the Hokage position.
Even though the Senju clan was now disbanded.
Even though Tsunade was just an orphan of the Senju lineage...
Those ninja would still not allow a Senju to become Hokage again.
For them, only the disbanded Senju clan was the "best" Senju clan.
The Jōnin voting continued.
Though most civilian Jōnin supported Hanyu Simu,
Out of the two hundred plus Jōnin, civilian ninja made up only 40%.
After all, ninja require resources to train.
Clan ninja had access to secret arts from a young age and were taught by family teachers.
If they performed well, their families concentrated resources on their cultivation to make them stronger.
Civilian ninja only began learning ninjutsu at the academy.
They were already behind from the start.
What they could learn was mostly basic endurance.
Simple techniques.
After graduating, they had to continue taking missions to support themselves.
How could they find time to improve and study further?
Therefore, every civilian ninja who became Jōnin through sheer effort deserved respect.
Some civilian ninja did receive clan funding while growing up.
This gave Sarutobi Hiruzen confidence to support Namikaze Minato for Hokage.
By this time, the votes had passed the halfway mark.
Namikaze Minato was tied with Simu.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled confidently.
Because the remaining clans who had not voted were the Yamanaka, Akamichi, Nara, Hyuga, and Sarutobi clans.
The Ino–Shika–Chō alliance had always supported the Hokage faction and were closely connected to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
However, the Hyuga clan had deep conflicts with Hanyu Simu and would never support him.
As for the Sarutobi clan—
Sarutobi Hiruzen himself was the patriarch; what else could they do?
Moreover, thanks to Sarutobi Hiruzen's efforts over the years, the Sarutobi clan's Jōnin had surpassed the Uchiha clan in number,
Reaching a staggering 38 members!
This was a key reason for Sarutobi Hiruzen's confidence.
Different from my own teacher...
Tsunade looked at Simu with worried eyes.
She had mixed feelings about this young man, who had inherited the Wet Bone Forest just like herself.
On one hand, she had a good personal relationship with Simu.
He had saved her boyfriend many times on the battlefield.
But—he had also killed Orochimaru with his own hands.
That murderer indirectly caused her teacher's resignation.
"I hope this kid doesn't do anything reckless."
Everyone knew Hanyu Simu's temper.
If he really lost the election, something big might happen.
"All 10 Jōnin of the Yamanaka clan support... Simu Jōnin."
Chief Yamanaka stood to cast the clan's vote.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's grip on the chair suddenly tightened.
His eyes incredulously met Chief Yamanaka's.
But Yamanaka avoided his gaze.
Instead, he smiled faintly at the Third Hokage.
Soon, the Akamichi clan stood.
"The 11 Jōnin of the Akamichi clan also support Hanyu Simu."
"Take the wind from me…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt his throat dry.
Unexpectedly, my old friends have betrayed me.
"I'm sorry, Hiruzen."
Akamichi, who had lost a calf, leaned on a cane and looked apologetic.
The Nara clan then announced their decision.
"The 11 Jōnin of the Nara clan, 5.9 votes go to Simu."
With support from these three clans, Simu instantly gained 33 votes!
"I didn't expect you to secretly take the three Ino–Shika–Chō families."
Minato whispered.
His expression was calm, betraying no change.
Simu looked indifferent.
Others saw them as rivals.
But to each other, the Hokage position was not that important.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened.
"In that case, I, the old man, will decide for the Sarutobi clan."
"Thirty-eight votes, all for Namikaze Minato."
Minato once again surged ahead by six votes.
Only then did people suddenly realize just how many Jōnin the Sarutobi clan had.
"It's truly terrifying—the family that gave birth to a Hokage."
Simu said this coolly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at him and replied lightly,
"Then only the Hyuga clan remains."
In truth, Sarutobi Hiruzen was almost certain Minato would win.
After all, the Hyuga clan was deeply allied with the advisory group and would never betray them.
As expected, the head of the Hyuga clan, Hiashi Hyuga, stood.
"I vote for Jōnin Minato on behalf of the 24 Jōnin of the Hyuga clan."
With this, Minato would win the election with a 30-vote lead over Simu.
The game was set.
Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen was about to announce the appointment, a discordant voice cut through.
"Who said Hyuga Hiashi can represent the entire Hyuga clan?"
The speaker was Hyuga Hizashi, Hiashi's younger brother.
Hiashi's face darkened.
"Do you know what you're saying, Hizashi?"
"Of course I do, dear brother."
Hizashi smiled faintly, looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen, and said calmly,
"Third Hokage-sama, on behalf of the 16 members of the Hyuga branch house, I vote for Simu-sama."
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