Chapter 66: It Is Time to Confirm the Hokage Position

Shimura Danzo gave a cold snort: "Hiruzen! Orochimaru is your student; you understand him better than I do, so you must know that this man is unfathomably deep, his thoughts are devious and unpredictable, and he never reveals his true heart."

"What is even more terrifying is that he will stop at nothing to achieve his goals, treating human life like grass, his mind filled with forbidden experiments and evil arts of eternal life."

With every word Shimura Danzo spoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression grew a shade darker, and the look he cast toward Danzo grew a shade fiercer.

But Danzo did not care in the least, continuing to say even harsher words: "This child Orochimaru is by no means a good sort, and even less a person Konoha can use."

"On the contrary, he is a dangerous element that must be guarded against at all times, a dangerous element in Konohagakure second only to the Uchiha!"

Danzo took a deep breath and delivered the trump card he had prepared for a long time: "Hiruzen, do you think he doesn't know about the suppression you've subjected him to? Doesn't he hate you?"

Crack!

Sarutobi Hiruzen snapped his pipe in two and growled at Shimura Danzo: "Shimura Danzo, shut your mouth!"

"By the way, you are the commander of the East Front; how could you return to the village privately without filing a report?"

"Go back and take command immediately!"

Shimura Danzo shook his head and said: "It makes little difference whether I am there or not, Hiruzen. I am a commander appointed by you, the retired Third Hokage; the Konoha Ninja simply do not obey me."

"I have returned to confirm the new Hokage; only when the sitting Hokage appoints the East Front commander can everyone be truly convinced."

Sarutobi Hiruzen was dumbfounded, muttering to himself: "Could it be, could it really be like this?"

Associating this with the "you are only a retired Hokage" he had heard more than once since the sacrifice of Minato Namikaze, Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze changed.

"Danzo, you are right; it is indeed time to have the Hokage confirmed."

The corners of Danzo's mouth curled up slightly; he knew his old classmate had taken his words to heart.

There was no need to say anything more.

The celebrations of the Konoha villagers and ninja lasted until late at night, and by the next day, they had evolved into a petition for "letting Lord Orochimaru become the Fifth Hokage."

Petitions flew toward the Hokage Office like snowflakes, putting Sarutobi Hiruzen in a terrible mood.

But what made his mood even worse was seeing the detailed battle report from the North Front, seeing the miraculous battle results of Yamanaka Chujiu, and his command ability that defied understanding.

Sarutobi Hiruzen understood Orochimaru; his disciple's strength was comprehensive and without blind spots, but he truly had no interest in power.

Although Orochimaru's pride would not allow him to become a puppet and he would surely seize all power upon becoming the Fifth Hokage, as long as Sarutobi Hiruzen used a small trick to push a massive amount of trivial work onto him, it would cause him endless annoyance, making him eager to hand the position of Hokage to a successor.

Whom could Orochimaru hand it to?

Tsunade—she had the ability and the prestige, but she would never accept a gift from a classmate.

Mitarashi Anko—the little girl didn't even qualify to be a Jonin, let alone a Kage.

Kakashi Hatake—this child's heart was already dead.

The only successor Orochimaru could choose was his, Sarutobi Hiruzen's, eldest son, Konohagakure Anbu Captain Sarutobi Shinnosuke!

For the position of Hokage to circle through Orochimaru's hands and return to the hands of Sarutobi Hiruzen's son—this was the tiny bit of selfishness he could never tell anyone.

Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't originally thought this way, but Hatake Sakumo had committed suicide, Orochimaru was obsessed with experiments, Jiraiya was chasing the Child of Prophecy, Tsunade had developed hemophobia, and even Minato Namikaze had sacrificed himself to seal the Nine-Tails.

As for why so many young Shadow-level Ninja were out of the running, Sarutobi Hiruzen dared not think.

But he couldn't help but think that after Orochimaru, the only successor to the Hokage would be his own son, so handing the village to his favorite student wasn't entirely out of the question...

When Sarutobi Hiruzen first heard that Orochimaru had taken a new student, he was very happy in his heart.

He knew that child was named Yamanaka Chujiu, the younger brother of the Yamanaka Clan head, a Special Jonin at fourteen, possessing the potential to become a Shadow-level Ninja.

At the time, he was truly happy, genuinely happy for Orochimaru.

Regardless of anything else, Orochimaru was Sarutobi Hiruzen's favorite student; it was truly great that his heart hadn't been destroyed by his own suppression.

But now, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt it was not great.

How could Yamanaka Chujiu have such powerful command ability?

He shouldn't be this strong!

With this fourteen-year-old Yamanaka Chujiu being so strong, how could his own son compete with him? By relying on his experience in the Anbu?

Impossible!

Strength was the primary requirement for a Hokage; a ninja who could lead Konoha Ninja to victory was one who could crush those who did not participate in the war.

Senju Hashirama fought across the world without a single defeat, thus suppressing Madara Uchiha and being publicly elected as the First Hokage.

Minato Namikaze single-handedly slaughtered 50 Rock Ninja and fought the Fourth Raikage's AB Combination to a draw, becoming the widely recognized Fourth Hokage.

Yamanaka Chujiu commanded 4,500 Konoha Ninja to face 6,000 Cloud Ninja, killing over 1,300 enemies without a single casualty of his own.

Such a battle record far exceeded Orochimaru's, and in two more years, he would even be qualified to compete for the Fifth Hokage.

If Yamanaka Chujiu were taught by Orochimaru for ten years and grew into a Shadow-level Ninja, how could Sarutobi Shinnosuke possibly compete with him?

If there were no Sarutobi as Hokage for two consecutive generations, would there ever be a Hokage from the Sarutobi Clan in the future?

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat alone in the Hokage Office, motionless until the sky turned dark, letting himself be swallowed by the darkness.

The next day, the Third Hokage convened a Jonin meeting.

Due to the impact of the war, only half of the Konoha Jonin attended the meeting, but the three Elders of the Konoha high command and the Third Hokage, who was acting with the authority of the Hokage, were all present.

They sat at one side of the conference room, their every movement radiating majesty.

The eyes of the ninja were filled with gravity, looking from time to time at the main seat of the conference room, which symbolized the supreme power of the Hokage.

Since the sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, it had been too long since Konohagakure had a Hokage.

The Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen was acting in the position, but after the war restarted, the volatility of people's hearts was so intense that it had seriously affected the operation of the village.

Previously, the Third Hokage always said that they could not cause chaos and collapse on the front lines for the sake of choosing a Hokage, and asked everyone to endure a little longer.

The Konoha Ninja felt it made sense and could only grit their teeth and persist.

But now that Kumogakure had come to sue for peace and the war on the North Front was about to end completely, electing a new Fifth Hokage had become a top priority that could not be delayed.

After all, without a sitting Hokage, who could represent Konohagakure to sign a peace treaty with the Fourth Raikage?

Mitokado Homura spoke first: "The Jonin are all here; the meeting begins."

"Today, I have summoned all the Jonin; there are two issues that need to be determined in this meeting: first, determine the candidate for Hokage, and then, the Hokage will decide whether to accept the peace proposal from Kumogakure."

The words of Mitokado Homura hit the mark of the Konoha Jonin's thoughts, immediately causing a slight commotion.