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At the word Hokage, Tsunade shot upright in bed and turned to Manji.
"What did you tell him?" she asked immediately.
"I don't want to be Hokage, so I turned him down," Manji said with a shake of his head.
"YOU TURNED HIM DOWN?!"
Tsunade stared in disbelief. Becoming Hokage had been her little brother's dream. Honestly, almost every shinobi wanted that as a kid, and Manji had just turned it down.
"Yep," he said, nodding.
"People would kill for that job! And you just turned it down? Why?"
"I just don't want it. That's all," Manji said, chuckling.
Tsunade laughed too, then leaned forward and looped her arms around his neck. She drew close enough for him to feel her breath against his skin.
"So you don't want to do the Hokage's job. How about doing me?"
Manji paused, then gave her a helpless look.
"I'm wiped out." Since they got married, Tsunade only wanted him more. She even gave up gambling for it.
It was every day, anywhere, anytime.
…
"Once we pull this off, Orochimaru, you and I will run Konoha together." Danzō stood in the dim basement, watching Orochimaru work on an experiment.
"Have you made the arrangements with the daimyō?" Orochimaru asked, nodding without pausing his work.
"He's already agreed to make me Hokage," Danzō said, rubbing his chin with a small smile. "Those old guys are just waiting for a bigger payout."
"But once this is over, I don't want you hurting my teacher," Orochimaru said.
"What are you talking about? He's your teacher and my brother. Of course I won't hurt him!"
Satisfied with that assurance, Orochimaru gave him a slow nod.
…
A few days later, Hiruzen Sarutobi went to the daimyō's residence. He trusted Danzō and Orochimaru completely and saw little reason to take precautions.
At noon, Orochimaru used his authority as ANBU commander to reassign the operatives guarding the Hokage's offices.
Normally, the ANBU only answered to the Hokage. But with him gone, they followed their commander's orders instead.
Danzō then stationed his own Root operatives throughout the building.
When Hiruzen returned, he entered alone. He'd just finalized the year's border defense budget with the daimyō and was thinking about discussing an expansion of the ANBU with Danzō and Orochimaru.
He stopped just inside the entrance.
The familiar presence of the ANBU hidden around the building was gone. Instead, he felt a cold hostility and noticed the smell of blood.
"Are these ANBU?" he asked, looking around.
Root operatives wearing tanuki masks stood on both sides of the hall. They stood stiffly, eyes empty. None of them saluted him.
His ANBU squad leader normally appeared with a report the moment Hiruzen arrived. Now there was no sign of him.
"Orochimaru did this?" Hiruzen tightened his grip on his pipe. He didn't like where this was going.
For a moment, he considered turning back.
Instead, he continued without calling for anyone, heading toward the wooden door bearing the Hokage's emblem. It stood slightly ajar.
He pushed it open.
Danzō stood at the window with his back to him, while Orochimaru leisurely wiped down his Sword of Kusanagi.
Sunlight came through the window, stretching their shadows across the floor and leaving Hiruzen in the dark.
"Hiruzen. You're back." Danzō turned with a faint smile. He looked calm and confident, sure he would get what he wanted.
"Perfect timing."
He drew a red-and-white scroll from inside his robe and set it carefully on the desk.
"My appointment from the daimyō. Effective today, I, Danzō Shimura, take office as Hokage."
"Danzō… Orochimaru…"
Hiruzen looked from the scroll's wax seal to his student.
Orochimaru looked up and gave a slight nod of confirmation. His golden eyes, with their narrow vertical pupils, showed no emotion.
"Sensei, I'm following the daimyō's orders."
"Why?" Hiruzen asked in a level voice, with only a faint trace of exhaustion.
"For Konoha," Danzō said gravely, stepping up to him.
"You're too soft, Hiruzen. Every time you go easy on our enemies, our own people pay for it. Under your leadership, Konoha has looked peaceful enough, but it's far weaker than it appears."
"Kumogakure is waiting for its chance. Sunagakure is getting restless. Konoha needs an iron fist if it's going to be strong."
"The Second Shinobi World War showed just how incompetent you are. We won because our shinobi came through. If we'd relied on your leadership alone, we never would have won that war!"
Danzō paused and patted Hiruzen's shoulder, deliberately softening his tone.
"Don't worry. I won't hurt anyone."
"You're a hero of Konoha. You always will be. Step down and enjoy your retirement. Orochimaru and I can take care of the village from here."
Hiruzen looked at the man he'd grown up with, the brother who'd risked his life alongside him so many times.
Then he looked at Orochimaru, the student he'd been proudest of, the one he'd once had such high hopes for.
He could fight back. If he called out, the jōnin loyal to him would rush to help. Even Danzō and Orochimaru together might not be able to stop him.
But he couldn't. Fighting back would throw Konoha into a civil war.
The ANBU and Root would end up fighting each other. The jōnin would split into groups, and nearby villages would use the chaos to destroy Konoha, which had lasted for decades.
Many innocent people would die. Young shinobi would lose their lives for no reason.
And then there were the Uchiha. Danzō was close to the clan, and they clearly supported him. If they joined the fight, Konoha would face a full civil war.
Hiruzen would never let it come to that.
He slowly closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.
"What are you doing? I'm warning you, Hiruzen—I'm just as strong as you!"
Danzō tightened his grip on his cane. Beside him, Orochimaru stopped wiping his sword.
Hiruzen removed his Hokage hat and gently set it on the desk.
"I understand. I'll step down," he said calmly.
"I knew you'd put the village first, Hiruzen," Danzō said, his relief showing in a faint smile.
"Summon all the elders and jōnin. We'll hold a meeting this afternoon."
Hiruzen ignored the attempt at praise and continued in the same even voice.
"I'll announce my resignation in front of everyone and hand the position over to you."
"No!" Danzō cut in. "You don't need to go in person. Put it in writing. Now. Then go straight to the rest home I've arranged for you. You can relax there."
No way was Danzō letting Hiruzen gather all the jōnin in one place.
"All right," Hiruzen said with a nod.
He'd wanted out of the job for a long time. That was why he'd approached Manji about taking over in the first place.
If Manji had said yes, he'd already be the Sixth Hokage.
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
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