Chapter 67: I, Shimura Danzo, the Fifth Hokage!

Konoha Jonin Qingchengyuanji stood up and said, "I am not eloquent, so I won't list reasons; I nominate Lord Orochimaru to become the Fifth Hokage!"

Another Konoha Jonin stood up and said with a smile, "I also nominate Lord Orochimaru."

"My reason is very simple: Lord Orochimaru is powerful and has served as a frontline commander many times, leading us to victory over the enemy."

"In terms of military achievements, Lord Orochimaru is even stronger than the Fourth Hokage, so he is the only candidate for Fifth Hokage!"

His words gained the approval of many Konoha Jonin; everyone chimed in one after another, and the conference room was filled with praise for Orochimaru.

The corners of Shimura Danzo's mouth curled up.

【Flatter him, praise him; the more you exalt Orochimaru, the less Sarutobi Hiruzen will be able to accept Orochimaru taking the position.】

【Once Orochimaru is rejected, no one will be able to compete with me.】

【I, Shimura Danzo, will soon be the Fifth Hokage!】

The Konoha Jonin discovered that everyone's views were surprisingly consistent; everyone believed that given Orochimaru's war merits and strength, the position of Fifth Hokage should be his.

This so-called Jonin conference was merely a formality to grant Lord Orochimaru a glorious passage.

However, they were soon stunned.

Utatane Koharu slowly stood up and said in a cold tone, "Orochimaru's war merits are outstanding and worthy of praise, but the Hokage position cannot be handed to him!"

"Orochimaru has a perverse personality, acts ruthlessly, is self-willed, never considers the feelings of others, and cares even less about the public opinion of the Konoha villagers."

"I believe it is irresponsible to Konohagakure for such a gloomy and uncontrollable ninja to become Hokage!"

Utatane Koharu's words were like a cold wind blowing through; the enthusiastic atmosphere in the conference room instantly froze, and the Jonin were shocked and speechless, closing their mouths simultaneously.

Qingshui Zhiyan, a Jonin who had once followed Orochimaru, stood up and stared coldly at Utatane Koharu: "Elder Koharu, one cannot speak recklessly. Do you have evidence for slandering Lord Orochimaru like this?"

Mitokado Homura stood up and sternly rebuked: "Jonin Qingshui, you are presumptuous!"

"Elder Koharu is a member of Konoha's high command; how can you question her so rudely!"

"Orochimaru's personality flaws are known to everyone in Konoha; there is no need for evidence at all."

"Do you, a mere Jonin, have the qualifications to vouch for Orochimaru—to guarantee that he won't blindly pursue power, won't be blinded by power, and won't do things that harm Konoha?"

Qingshui Zhiyan was able to stand up because he was thirty-eight years old, had no wife, no children, no parents, and no loans!

He was an invincible man!

He didn't care about any Konoha Elder and retorted with a sneer: "Harm Konoha?"

"Lord Orochimaru has braved life and death for Konoha and established countless war merits; how has he harmed Konoha?"

"I remember now, during the Second Shinobi World War, Elder Homura, you commanded the Land of Rain campaign, left without telling anyone, didn't arrange a replacement commander, and suddenly returned to Konohagakure, causing our Konoha ninja to lose command and three thousand ninja to die miserably..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly interrupted: "Qingshui Zhiyan."

Qingshui Zhiyan looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen in disbelief: "Lord Third, you..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen said: "Those are all things of the past; do not mention them again, as it will affect the unity of Konohagakure."

Qingshui Zhiyan was dumbfounded, but had nothing to say in response.

Shimura Danzo spoke up: "Everything the Elders do is for the sake of Konohagakure; you should not have any doubts."

"Elder Koharu is not targeting Orochimaru, but his personality and way of doing things are indeed not suitable for serving as Hokage."

"The Hokage Konoha needs should be steady, wise, and sunny, capable of soothing the public heart to the greatest extent and stabilizing the overall situation, just like... the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato."

By bringing up the Fourth Hokage, Danzo precisely struck a chord with the Konoha Jonin.

They certainly recognized Orochimaru's war merits and strength, but they had to admit that compared to the sunny Namikaze Minato, Orochimaru's gloomy personality was indeed lacking.

But... the Fourth was already dead!

If Namikaze Minato were still alive, would everyone still need to hold a Jonin conference?

But the Konoha Jonin could also see that the three Elders—no, plus the Third Hokage—were all firmly opposed to Orochimaru serving as Hokage.

Thus, the meeting fell into a stalemate.

Although the Konoha Jonin who supported Orochimaru dared not speak out due to the dignity of the Elder Council, they had made up their minds not to support any ninja proposed by the Elder Council.

After all, Konohagakure had no candidate for Fifth Hokage more suitable than Orochimaru; even Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade were a step behind.

Just then, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke again: "Everyone, listen to me."

"Orochimaru's war merits are obvious to all, and his strength is sufficient to qualify for the position of Hokage. But the concerns of Elder Koharu, Elder Homura, and Elder Danzo are also reasonable."

"I am Orochimaru's teacher; I know very well that his personality does indeed have shortcomings. If he were rashly allowed to serve as Hokage, there would indeed be risks."

"If it were peacetime, a few risks would certainly not be a problem."

"But now Konoha is at a critical juncture of life and death: the Nine-Tails Incident, the Cloud invasion, the Mist harassment—people's hearts are wavering."

"We need stability and unity. If Orochimaru serves as Hokage and causes Konoha to split, it will be a disaster even more terrible than war."

How should one put Sarutobi Hiruzen's words...

He was right!

With the tragedy of the Fourth Hokage's sacrifice added to the heavy pressure of the border wars, Konohagakure truly could not afford internal friction.

Using the crisis to divert everyone's attention, Sarutobi Hiruzen used the gentlest tone and his status as a teacher to "convict" Orochimaru.

Then, using the urgency of the war as a reason, and hinting that Orochimaru could be Hokage when peace returned, he negated the rationality of Orochimaru becoming Hokage now.

Sarutobi Hiruzen watched everyone nodding one after another, feeling confident, and then continued: "Based on the current situation, I propose..."

Shimura Danzo held his head high and chest out, his single eye shining with smug satisfaction; in his heart, he recited the inauguration speech he had prepared for ten years, while constantly reviewing the angle and frequency of his waving...

"That I temporarily return to the position of Hokage to lead the Konoha ninja in defending Konohagakure and defending the Land of Fire!"

Shimura Danzo: "!!"

Konoha Jonin: "?"

"... Once the war ends, the Land of Fire is safe, and the hearts of Konohagakure are stable, we will reconvene the Jonin conference to elect the most outstanding ninja to serve as the Fifth Hokage."

"Whether it is Orochimaru or any other capable Konoha ninja, everyone can compete fairly!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's proposal stunned the Konoha Jonin present.

Restoration!

The Third Hokage, who had already stepped down, actually proposed his own restoration as Hokage!

This is just too... shameless!

You can't just pick up something you've eaten and excreted to eat it all over again!

Is the Hokage a golden needle mushroom?