Monday. Early morning.
Natsuki opened his eyes on schedule.
Kushina lay beside him, utterly spent.
Since the Sakazuki template had boosted his physical constitution, the women in his life had been paying the price. The Uzumaki clan was famous for stamina and massive chakra reserves — and it still wasn't enough.
Nonou fared no better. Both of them were suffering.
He dressed and stepped into the hallway.
Two paces out, he nearly collided with Tsunade.
She was half-asleep, wearing loose pajamas that did nothing to conceal the architecture beneath them. The fabric shifted with every drowsy movement, outlining curves that turned "faintly discernible" into an understatement.
"Why are you here?"
The question was reflexive. A heartbeat later, she answered it herself — he'd obviously just come from Kushina's room.
Then she caught his gaze drifting.
"Go cook."
She turned and walked toward her own room. Quickly. Hips swaying with the pace, each step accentuating what the pajamas were failing to hide.
Natsuki seriously considered turning around and going back to Kushina's room.
Time won out. He went to the kitchen.
Shortly after, Nonou arrived from next door. Under normal circumstances, she and Natsuki shared the adjacent house. Last night, the order had been reversed.
"Natsuki — today's the jōnin vote. Nervous?"
Nawaki picked up his chopsticks, genuinely curious.
"What would he be nervous about?" Tsunade laughed. "Do you honestly think you and Minato are threats?"
"You never know." Nawaki said something even he didn't believe. "What if I become the Fifth Hokage?"
Kushina burst out laughing. Nonou smiled.
Nawaki twitched and buried his face in his bowl.
After breakfast, the four of them walked to the Hokage Building.
They met Jiraiya and Minato outside the conference room, exchanged brief greetings, and filed in together.
The room was already filling with jōnin. Every one of them stood when the group entered.
In the past, the attention would have split between Tsunade and Jiraiya. Today, every eye tracked Natsuki.
Tsunade shook her head. She couldn't blame them for reading the wind. Their careers and futures depended on the next Hokage, and the outcome was a foregone conclusion.
In the days since nominations opened, a parade of clan heads and senior shinobi had visited Natsuki. The Uchiha had been the most generous — between Mikoto, Obito, and the promise to take Shisui as a student, their clan had never been closer to the Hokage seat.
9:00 AM.
Orochimaru entered. The room fell silent.
"The jōnin vote begins now." No preamble. "Cast your ballots among the three candidates: Natsuki, Nawaki, and Namikaze Minato."
Anbu operatives materialized and distributed blank ballots to every jōnin — except the three candidates.
"Minato." Jiraiya clapped his student's shoulder, blunt as ever. "I'll vote for you next time."
"I understand." Minato's smile was easy and genuine. "If I could vote, I'd vote for Natsuki myself."
"Same," Nawaki added.
He'd talked big over breakfast, but with the room full of their peers, honesty took precedence.
The nearby jōnin registered the exchange with quiet amusement. Hokage elections were typically fierce. This one featured two of the three candidates openly endorsing the third.
The vote concluded quickly.
Mikoto and Nara Shikaku stepped forward to count.
Halfway through, the outcome was already mathematically certain. Natsuki's name appeared on virtually every ballot.
"I hereby announce: the Fifth Hokage is Natsuki."
Applause erupted.
Nawaki and Might Duy clapped hard enough to sting their palms.
"Expected." Tsunade looked at Natsuki, warmth in her expression.
She had no interest in the seat herself, but Konoha was her grandfather's village. She cared deeply about who led it. She'd withheld support from Nawaki because Natsuki was the better choice — and now that it was real, she felt genuinely optimistic about the Leaf's future.
Mikoto bit her lip, happiness radiating off her. Starting today, she wasn't just the Hokage's secretary in title — she was Natsuki's secretary.
Minato felt a quiet sense of closure. Since the Academy, Natsuki had been the ceiling he chased. At some point, the chase had transformed into acceptance, and acceptance into respect.
Fugaku and Hyūga Hiashi were already calculating: what did Natsuki's ascension mean for their clans' positions?
"Dismissed." Orochimaru ended the applause. "Natsuki — with me."
"Go on ahead," Natsuki told Tsunade and the others. "I'll catch up."
He followed Orochimaru to the Hokage's office.
"One procedure remains. I've already sent for the Fire Daimyō — he arrives next week." Orochimaru stopped short of the Hokage's desk. He didn't approach it. "The succession ceremony is scheduled accordingly."
"I'll have the Anbu handle arrangements."
"There's also the Stone's peace delegation."
"Negotiations aren't my strength. Shikaku can lead that."
"Your call." Orochimaru smiled faintly. "Everything from here is yours. Come find me on ceremony day."
He turned and walked out without waiting for a reply.
The door closed.
Natsuki stared at it.
Is the Hokage seat a hot potato? Why is he running?
He crossed to the desk and sat down.
A new Hokage meant a power transition, and that started immediately.
Homura and Koharu.
They had to go.
But replacements needed to be credible — shinobi whose credentials left the outgoing advisors no grounds for complaint.
One name surfaced instantly: Tsunade.
Her strength, her lineage, her reputation — any one of those qualified her for the advisory role. With all three combined, Homura and Koharu couldn't object without looking absurd. Opposing Tsunade meant opposing a constellation of allies too vast to antagonize.
The problem was her laziness. Under normal circumstances, she'd refuse outright.
He'd have to make the pitch carefully.
For the second advisory seat, Jiraiya was the obvious choice — and the obvious refusal. The Child of Prophecy mission made him impossible to pin down.
Natsuki reconsidered. Why limit it to two? Expanding to three advisors would accommodate both Nawaki and Minato. Their seniority was thin compared to the outgoing pair, but their strength and standing were beyond question.
Minato was Jiraiya's student. Nawaki was Orochimaru's student, Tsunade's brother, and a Wood Release user — the Senju clan's orthodox line. Neither would need convincing.
If those two became advisors, the Guard and Secretary positions would need restructuring.
Mikoto and Shikaku could remain as secretaries. Nonou, Uzumaki Kae, and Inuzuka Suzume could stay as Guards.
But additional appointments made sense. The issue was age — Guy, Kakashi, Kurenai, and the rest of the next generation were twelve at most. Assigning them to the Hokage's inner circle this young would strain credibility.
Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato would have been ideal — if they were Leaf shinobi. They weren't.
Natsuki thought through the options.
The best way to build loyalty was to let people see a path forward. From the clans: Hyūga Hizashi — representing the Branch Family — and Aburame Tatsuma, a former Root operative now under Natsuki's direct command. Both had the strength and the backing.
From the civilian-born ranks: Might Duy, whose power and loyalty were beyond question. And Hatake Sakumo — overqualified for a Guard role, frankly, but his temperament suited fieldwork over administration. An honorary position with mission flexibility would fit perfectly.
Secretaries were harder. The role required loyalty and administrative competence — which ruled out combat specialists like Duy and Sakumo. The candidates who qualified were all too young.
He'd solve the secretary problem later. Tsunade came first.
He opened an Air Door and returned to the Senju compound.
The familiar scent hit him before the familiar impact did — Kushina crashing into his chest.
"Home alone?"
"Mm." She looked up. "How'd the vote go?"
"I'm the Fifth Hokage."
"I knew it!" Pure, immediate joy.
"Wasn't that your dream? Becoming Hokage?"
"Dreams are dreams. Not all of them come true." She held his gaze. "Besides — you becoming Hokage counts as mine coming true, too."
Something clicked.
A thought flashed through his mind — bright, sudden, perfectly formed.
"What's wrong?"
"How would you feel about being a Hokage Secretary?"
"Wait — me?" Her eyes went round. "Can I?"
Under normal circumstances, the Nine-Tails jinchūriki was kept hidden — no public exposure, no freedom of movement. Kushina's current liberty in Konoha existed only because Tsunade and Natsuki had fought for it.
A secretary position went further. She'd be visible to every village, domestic and foreign. A Hokage Secretary was a recognized member of the Leaf's leadership.
"Of course you can."
"But — I'm the jinchūriki—"
"The way things stand, the Leaf doesn't need you on a battlefield." He paused. "And who would ever expect the Nine-Tails jinchūriki to be sitting behind a desk in the Hokage's office?"
"If I could be secretary, that would be amazing." She hesitated. "But won't you face pushback?"
"What pushback? I'm the Hokage. What I say goes."
"Then — yes!" Her smile was radiant. "I'll be your secretary starting now!"
The position meant full freedom — no different from any other shinobi. And working alongside Natsuki every day was a bonus she hadn't dared imagine.
She bit her lip. He'd said it casually, but appointing a jinchūriki to a visible leadership role would generate real opposition. If he was willing to push through that for her, she wanted to reciprocate somehow.
The only idea that came to mind involved Nonou.
She'd been feeling outmatched lately. Reinforcements were in order.
"I need to see Tsunade-sensei," Natsuki said, ruffling her hair. "I'll be back."
"She's probably at the hospital." Kushina straightened. "I'll come with you — I need to talk to Nonou."
"About what?"
"Girl stuff." She blinked. "Secret."
He didn't press.
An Air Door deposited them at Konoha Hospital. Kushina split off toward Nonou's ward. Natsuki headed for Tsunade's office.
He knocked.
"Come in."
"Tsunade-sensei."
"Shouldn't you be doing the transition with Orochimaru right now?"
"He said approximately four sentences and declared the handover complete."
Tsunade threw her head back and laughed. "That's exactly his style."
"I want to replace the Hokage Advisors."
She read it instantly. "You're worried those two will make trouble for whoever replaces them?"
"I'm not worried about them making trouble for me. I'm worried they'll sabotage the new advisors."
"Who are you appointing?"
"Nawaki and Minato."
"Aren't they... a bit young?"
"I'm about the same age."
"Fair. But seniority and track record—"
"They're lighter than mine, but not negligible. And if you and Jiraiya publicly endorse them, no one can object."
"With our backing, the appointments would hold." Tsunade turned it over. "But once they're actually working, Homura and Koharu could have left traps — procedural landmines, institutional obstacles. Nawaki and Minato don't have the experience to navigate that."
"Tsunade-sensei." He smiled. "If you were an advisor, none of that would be an issue."
Her eyes narrowed.
"That's what you were building toward! Your real target was me all along!"
"You're the most qualified person in Konoha for the role."
"And if I agree? What do I get?"
"I'll grant you one request. Anything."
"I don't need favors from you." She glared. "I'm not lacking for anything."
"You are. My cooking, for instance. And money."
Tsunade's expression locked.
That was, in fact, a devastating threat.
"Besides," he continued pleasantly, "you don't want Nawaki getting pushed around by career bureaucrats, do you?"
Silence.
Her fists clenched.
"Tsunade-sensei — assaulting the Hokage is a punishable offense."
"Hmph."
She lowered her hands. The internal battle played out across her face — annoyance, resignation, and the grudging acknowledgment that he was right.
"Three years." Her tone was final. "Not a day more."
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