Chapter 125: Minato—Make Konoha Great Again!
The meeting's adjournment wasn't truly a temporary end but the beginning of private exchanges and contacts. Before Ritsu could even leave the conference room, Orochimaru came looking for him.
"Ritsu, care to join me for drinks tonight?"
He smiled as he extended the invitation.
"Orochimaru-senpai, I'm not yet old enough to drink. However, Sensei should be able to share a few drinks with you. I'll have to substitute tea for wine when the time comes."
Ritsu didn't refuse Orochimaru's invitation.
He readily agreed.
Hiruko hadn't participated in this meeting. He was merely an ordinary jonin in the village without any actual authority or powerful clan backing him. Even as Ritsu's teacher, he wasn't qualified to join the village's temporary ruling group.
"Ritsu, your maturity always makes people unconsciously overlook the fact you haven't yet come of age." Orochimaru said with a smile.
"I still have a long way to go!"
Ritsu shrugged self-deprecatingly. "Truly mature and steady people wouldn't act as impulsively and rashly as I did."
"Not necessarily. Excessive timidity is ultimately just cowardice. At critical moments, one needs the courage to swim against the current. Always going with the flow will never lead to great achievements."
Talking and laughing, the two departed together, completely unconcerned about the various meaningful gazes watching them from behind.
With Orochimaru and Ritsu's departure, the others in the conference room also left in twos and threes. The Ino-Shika-Cho clans naturally traveled together. The Aburame and Inuzuka clan heads accompanied each other on their way. The Uchiha clan remained in their situation where neither grandma cherished nor uncle loved them. Uchiha Fugaku—both Uchiha clan head and Military Police Force commander—left the Hokage building surrounded by several clansmen.
Of course, barring accidents, tonight the Uchiha clan would definitely hold a secret assembly internally.
Following that, after greeting Jiraiya, the remaining department heads also collectively exited.
These people were all appointed by the Hokage. Theoretically, they should all be subordinates Sarutobi Hiruzen trusted. But the reality wasn't quite like that. Those qualified to serve as department heads mostly had backgrounds and origins. Without support, even with the Hokage's appointment, they couldn't sit securely in a department head's seat. Though civilian ninja influence had been rising in recent years, truly entering the upper echelons still required time.
In short, if Sarutobi Hiruzen held great power, these people would naturally follow Lord Hokage's lead. But if Sarutobi Hiruzen himself couldn't be saved, they'd also decisively abandon Lord Hokage. They'd prioritize their own and their families' interests rather than sacrifice themselves for Lord Hokage.
Soon, the spacious conference room became empty.
Only two master-student pairs remained: Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato, plus Hatake Kakashi.
"Kakashi, you go eat too! After you finish, help bring some food back for Jiraiya-sensei and me." Minato proactively sent Kakashi away.
"Yes, Sensei."
Kakashi understood Minato-sensei and Jiraiya-sensei had matters to discuss. He acknowledged and quickly walked out, gently closing the door behind him.
Once the door quietly shut, Jiraiya could no longer restrain himself. He stood up, striding quickly toward Minato. Minato also stood, proactively meeting the approaching Jiraiya.
"Minato, what are you thinking?"
Jiraiya looked at his beloved student, his expression serious. "Why did you agree to impeach Sensei Sarutobi?"
"Because whether I agreed or not, the Third can no longer continue as Hokage. From the moment he lost in direct confrontation to Hyuga Ritsu, his stepping down became inevitable."
Minato answered in a low voice.
Jiraiya was speechless.
These words had no flaws. Serving as a village's Kage required multiple conditions, but undeniably, only the strong had the right to become Kage. Moreover, generally speaking, in the hearts of the village's ninja and villagers, the Kage was their village's strongest!
"I understand that too. The key issue is being impeached and removed—that's really..."
"Sensei, I understand your thoughts. You hope to preserve Lord Hokage's dignity. But first, Hyuga Ritsu definitely won't agree to such things. He'll inevitably do everything possible to eliminate any possibility of the Third causing trouble for him and his clan afterward. If a dispute arises, we might push Ritsu to strike lethally to eliminate future troubles."
Jiraiya's eye twitched.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu were currently imprisoned in this Hokage building's basement. Ritsu had personally used Gentle Fist to block their chakra pathways. Ten Hyuga clan jonin and ten Uchiha clan jonin served as guards.
If Ritsu were pushed to desperation, he might truly resort to physical means to eliminate future problems.
"And the second reason?"
Jiraiya asked.
Since there was a first, there must be a second. Moreover, instinct told him Minato's support for the earlier impeachment was mainly due to this second reason.
"Second—I also think the Third being impeached and removed is better."
Minato spoke frankly.
"Why?"
Jiraiya didn't show anger but looked calmly at Minato, waiting for an answer that could convince him.
"It's simple. I don't want the Third to continue meddling after retiring behind the scenes, turning the succeeding Fourth into a puppet on stage."
"That... wouldn't happen."
Jiraiya's rebuttal was pale and powerless. Even he couldn't convince himself.
And Minato continued, "Perhaps in earlier years, the Third was indeed wise and capable. But in recent years, Konoha has been declining under his governance. Back then, he failed to protect Uzushio Village. He let Danzo act recklessly, causing Senior Sakumo's suicide and making the village lose a top-tier jonin who could intimidate all directions. Simultaneously, he consistently treated the Uchiha clan as enemies, suppressing them. While weakening the Uchiha, he also continuously weakened the village, causing the Uchiha clan to become alienated from the village. Sensei, you should be aware of the Uchiha clan's current reputation in the village, right?"
Jiraiya had no response.
Uzushio Village—that is, the Uzumaki clan. This village wasn't like Konoha, an actual ninja village. It was essentially just the Uzumaki clan's settlement.
In any case, over ten years ago, as the staunch ally of the former Senju clan and current Konoha Village, when Uzushio Village faced crisis and sought Konoha's aid, Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't been able to extend help in time. Ultimately, Uzushio Village was destroyed. The Konoha ninja who rushed to Uzushio Village only managed to save Uzumaki Kushina and most of the Uzumaki clan's family treasures.
This matter was truly difficult to discuss. As Sarutobi Hiruzen's student, Jiraiya truly couldn't deeply investigate this matter's rights and wrongs. No matter what, Sensei Sarutobi had actually treated him very well. Even when he was young and his performance fell far short of Tsunade and Orochimaru, Sensei Sarutobi hadn't simply expelled him. Whatever Orochimaru and Tsunade received, his share was never lacking.
Also, Hatake Sakumo's suicide needn't be elaborated. Hatake Kakashi had chosen to cooperate with Ritsu precisely because of this, making tremendous contributions in Ritsu's temporary coup.
As for the Uchiha clan being targeted and suppressed—anyone not blind could see it. He'd previously been puzzled about this and asked Sensei Sarutobi. Then Sensei Sarutobi told him this was the Second Hokage's instruction before death. The Uchiha clan was a dangerous, easily out-of-control clan that required constant vigilance. Moreover, the Uchiha clan absolutely couldn't be allowed to grow stronger, lest a second Uchiha Madara appear.
Jiraiya, who lacked patience for politics and felt he had no talent for it, ultimately couldn't change anything. Because he had no Uchiha clan friends, he played the ostrich, choosing to turn a blind eye to all this.
But at this moment, looking at Minato's spirited face, he couldn't repeat those words Sensei Sarutobi had told him.
Jiraiya turned around, walking to the window. His gaze cast outward. In autumn and winter, the sun set early. Lights throughout the village were being lit one after another, but they were rather sparse—scattered stars, disorganized, revealing a cold desolation in the night.
Indeed, these years under Sensei Sarutobi's leadership had been declining. Though he felt it couldn't be entirely Sensei Sarutobi's fault, as Hokage, he inevitably had to bear responsibility for the village's weakness.
"Minato, your goal is the Fourth Hokage position, isn't it?"
Jiraiya suddenly asked.
"That's right. I will succeed as Fourth Hokage and make Konoha prosperous and strong once again!"
Minato said decisively.
"Then do your utmost! I'll support you!"
"I will."
Minato and Jiraiya stood shoulder to shoulder, both gazing at Konoha Village's night scenery.
"That Orochimaru fellow also has designs on the Fourth Hokage position. Moreover, it looks like he's established connections with the Hyuga clan. Are you confident?"
"I'll do my utmost to strive for it."
"What will you do? Never mind—you don't need to tell me how. You only need to tell me what I can help you with."
Jiraiya prepared to fully support Minato.
"I'm planning to first talk with Shikaku, then Shibi, and also Tsume-senpai." Minato revealed his calculations. The people he planned to meet were Nara Shikaku, Aburame Shibi, and Inuzuka Tsume. He'd executed missions with all of them, their relationships extremely harmonious.
Moreover, the first two were clan heads. Though Inuzuka Tsume wasn't the Inuzuka clan head, she was also a veteran Inuzuka clan jonin who could help introduce him to the Inuzuka clan head they hadn't much interacted with.
"Sensei, could you help me contact the Sarutobi clan?"
Minato looked intently at Jiraiya.
Strictly speaking, Konoha Village had no fixed rules regarding Hokage elections.
Senju Hashirama had defeated Uchiha Madara—who'd similarly aspired to the Hokage position—with the support of all villagers, becoming the First Hokage. Afterward, when Hashirama died, Senju Tobirama became Second Hokage without any competition—there wasn't even an election process.
When Senju Tobirama died in battle, Sarutobi Hiruzen also hadn't been elected but succeeded as Third Hokage through the Second Hokage's final testament.
However, even without clear election methods, two conditions were necessary for serving as Hokage. First, the individual must possess sufficient martial strength to competently hold the Hokage position. Second, they must have enough supporters.
The former was a hard requirement for participating in elections—insufficient martial strength meant no qualification to compete.
The latter was the key factor determining whether one could be elected Hokage.
The most typical example was the First Hokage's election. Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara dominated the shinobi world. Aside from each other, they had no opponents. Yet ultimately, Hashirama became First Hokage through exceptional charisma and moderate conduct, gaining support from the vast majority of Konoha Village's villagers.
The current Fourth Hokage election situation was rather similar to that First Hokage election. Because the Third was impeached and removed, he clearly lacked the authority to designate a successor. Currently, the competitors appeared to be Namikaze Minato and Orochimaru.
As the two candidates with the highest support, both Minato and Orochimaru's personal martial prowess was unquestionably powerful, both sufficient to competently hold the Hokage position. So the key to winning was who could rally more supporters.
Coincidentally, both Minato and Orochimaru were civilian ninja by birth. Through exceptional personal talent and ability, they'd met famous teachers. Their appeal among civilian ninja was difficult to say who was higher.
So the key wasn't civilian ninja but the support of the village's many ninja families. Compared to the scattered sand of civilian ninja—whom they didn't even know how to approach—ninja families with extremely strong cohesion were more convenient to rally.
"Leave it to me! I've had drinks with the Sarutobi clan head several times."
Jiraiya patted his chest in guarantee.
But Minato didn't let it go at that. He looked at Jiraiya and said, "Sensei, please help convey this to the Sarutobi clan head: Even if the Third erred, he also achieved merit governing for so many years. Moreover, as Konoha's Hokage, he must ultimately preserve dignity. If I succeed as Fourth, I can guarantee I won't escalate matters!"
Jiraiya froze, taking two seconds to realize Minato didn't expect him to persuade the Sarutobi clan through personal connections but planned to make a deal with them. He was actually just a transaction platform.
He felt somewhat lost, somewhat awkward. His heart sighed deeply—indeed, he had no political talent.
But he also felt quite pleased.
He felt Minato would be an excellent Hokage.
"Rest assured, Minato! I guarantee I'll convey your words exactly as stated!" Jiraiya vowed earnestly.
At this moment—
"Knock knock."
A knock sounded.
Immediately after, Kakashi's voice came from outside. "Sensei, is it convenient to enter now? I've brought back dinner for you and Lord Jiraiya."
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