During the meeting, Hiruzen Sarutobi recounted the experiences of the two candidates to the higher-ups. He highly praised both their performances during the Third Battle. From his words, there was no sign of bias, as if the two were evenly matched, each possessing their own strengths.
When Fugaku heard this, his tense expression finally relaxed. It seemed the Third Hokage was still fair after all.
Anya, however, secretly sneered. Formalities—no matter where you went, they always existed. Only Fugaku was foolish enough to come here just to play the role of a token candidate. Look at the other clans—they kept quiet as mice.
During the Third Battle, both the Hyuga Clan and the Aburame Clan had also performed brilliantly. So where were they now? You could barely even feel their presence within the village. That's how smart people acted.
In Hiruzen's mind, Fugaku probably lacked the leadership mindset of a Hokage. Within the entire Uchiha Clan, only Shisui had reached the standard in his mind. If not for Shisui being too young, he would have had a better chance at competing for Hokage than Fugaku.
After Hiruzen finished speaking, it was time for both candidates to give their campaign speeches, starting with the older one, Fugaku.
He took out his prepared speech notes and rambled on at length. Anya nearly dozed off before he finally finished. When it was Minato's turn, he looked a little confused, unable to understand why Fugaku had prepared so much. Isn't an election speech simply about speaking from the heart?
Minato's speech was much simpler. He didn't even bring any notes, directly stating his inner thoughts briefly and announcing some of his plans after becoming Hokage before concluding.
Witnessing this, Fugaku couldn't help but feel secretly delighted. Indeed, the boy was still too young. He hadn't prepared anything at all. Looks like this Hokage position is highly attainable this time.
However, when it came to the crucial voting phase, Fugaku was completely stunned. Except for Anya, who voted for him as agreed upon beforehand, nearly all the higher-ups who previously appeared smiling and chatting happily cast their votes for Minato. The vote ratio wasn't even close to a fifty-fifty split—Minato practically wiped the floor with him.
What was going on?
Only now did Fugaku wake up to reality. What kind of Hokage election was this? It must've been decided in advance, wasn't it? He had run around like a clown the entire day, only to end up with this result? At this moment, deep resentment unconsciously rooted itself in his heart, yet he still forced a smile on his face and congratulated Minato.
On the contrary, when Hiruzen saw Anya voting for Fugaku, his eyes were full of profound meaning.
Thus, the Hokage election officially concluded. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stepped down, welcoming Konoha's newly appointed Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
Putting on the iconic Hokage hat and wearing the Fourth Hokage's cape, Minato stood on the plaza of the Hokage building, accepting the cheers from the villagers. Clearly, Hiruzen had already paved the way for Minato before he took office, widely promoting his achievements during the Third Battle. Therefore, the villagers held extremely high recognition for Minato, constantly applauding.
Each sound was like a slap straight to Fugaku's chest. He left the scene with a heavy heart.
Looking down at the villagers, Minato felt a surge of excitement in his heart. His childhood dream had finally been realized. Now shouldering the name of Hokage, he would definitely protect Konoha and safeguard this peace from now on.
Anya stared at Minato's back, her gaze momentarily distant. The anime's first episode had already introduced his cause of death. With him becoming Hokage, the death knell had officially sounded.
The death of Rin Nohara would inevitably lead to Obito's descent into darkness. Uchiha Madara's plan was already halfway completed. With the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, controlling the Nine-Tails to destroy Konoha would be a simple task. After the Third Battle, Konoha's elite forces were nearly wiped out completely. The current Third Hokage lacked the strength to defeat the frenzied Nine-Tails. As for ordinary ninja, they wouldn't last a second against it.
If Fugaku had been willing to expose his Mangekyo Sharingan, he might have stood a chance against the Nine-Tails—but after today, that path had been sealed shut.
Should she follow the original story route? Or try to change the plot?
Anya had already cautiously discussed things with Minato previously. From their conversation, their differences had become very clear. Minato might eventually end up on the opposite side from her.
But… he seemed to be the only purely sincere friend I have. Could I really just stand by and do nothing?
Wearing her mask, Anya stood motionless like a statue, inwardly filled with turmoil.
She didn't know how much time had passed before Minato's voice softly reached her ears. "What's wrong?"
Looking around, Anya suddenly realized that they were now the only two left at the scene—everyone else had already left.
"You seem distracted. It's unusual for you," Minato smiled slightly.
Anya sighed. "I was just thinking about the dream you used to talk about back at the Ninja Academy. I never imagined that after all these years, your dream would finally come true."
"Yeah," Minato also seemed deeply moved, patting Anya's shoulder. "Time passes, but we're still the best of friends. From now on, please continue to give me your guidance."
"I will," Anya replied softly.
"I've always felt like you've had a lot on your mind lately. Want to talk about it?"
Having grown up together, Minato could clearly sense something was off.
Suddenly, Anya laughed. "I just think this world is incredibly cruel, but I'll still help you. Someone like you should live properly."
"Huh?" Minato didn't quite understand.
"Haha, I'm off." Anya didn't explain, quickly bidding farewell. "Go celebrate properly with Little Pepper. I won't intrude on your little two-person world."
Minato watched Anya's retreating figure with a complex expression, filled with confusion. Anya must certainly know things he didn't understand, but since she wouldn't say anything, there was nothing he could do either. Sigh. He'd just have to take things as they come. At the very least, the fact that they were friends wouldn't change.
Leaving Minato behind, Anya plunged straight into the Wood Release Laboratory, determined to continue researching how to eliminate the side effects of her Mangekyo. There was no need to consider other things for now. As long as she ensured Minato's survival when the Nine-Tails attacked, that would be enough. As for others, they weren't important.
At this moment, at the entrance of Konoha Village, a group of young ninja led by Shinku Yuhi were returning to Konoha.
Might Guy was the first to shout, "Finally back in Konoha. This training mission was pointless."
The other young ninja also felt confused. They had been told they were going out for training, but they had simply circled around and came back without completing any real mission. It was essentially a complete waste of time.
Red maintained a smile on his face as he looked at the lively young ninjas and said, "Haha, you've all worked hard these past days. Head home now, you all deserve a rest."
After the crowd dispersed, Kurenai Yuhi eyed her father suspiciously and asked, "Are you hiding something from us?"
"Nothing much," Red replied cheerfully. "Let me tell you some good news — the Third Battle is over."
"Ah, really?" Upon hearing this, Kurenai's face lit up with joy. Then she seemed to remember something and said, "I'll go check if he's back yet."
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