Naruto: Starting from Eating the Gold Fruit

Chapter 656 The Last Two

Konoha Village Inner Castle, Nara Clan:

Looking at Temari dressed as a Sand Village villager in front of her, Yoshino Nara's mouth gaped open into an "O" shape.

Shikamaru scratched his cheek, feeling that something was amiss.

Nara Yoshino looked at her son Shikamaru, then at her husband Shikaku.

Nara Shikaku and his son moved in unison, then he sighed and took a step forward, saying, "Let me explain."

So it is, and so it is...

Nara Yoshino looked at her son with shining eyes, and couldn't help but slap him to the ground beside her: "Well done, son!"

Temari stared blankly at Shikamaru, who had been slapped away.

Nara Yoshino had already come over and taken Temari's hand, saying repeatedly, "Alright, alright! Stay at my house as long as you want. When are you and Shikamaru planning to have a banquet? Don't worry about the cost. Although my family isn't exactly wealthy, we can still host a lavish party! You must be tired after leaving Sunagakure, my good child. Come, come, sit down, sit down! Honey! Hurry up and go wash the vegetables and boil some water! Are you hungry? Do you want to take a bath first? You must be very tired. Don't worry, it's okay. Just tell Auntie if you need anything, and Auntie will take care of everything perfectly!"

Temari looked at Yoshino Nara in front of her, her face showing utter embarrassment...

How is she supposed to respond to this...?

Nara Shikaku sighed, grabbed his wife who was getting a little too excited, and then half-pushed, half-pulled Nara Yoshino back to his room.

Just as they were about to enter the room, Nara Shikaku poked his head out and said, "Shikamaru, go help Temari make the bed and show her around the house. Your mom and I are going shopping today, so we won't be back."

Nara Shikamaru, who had been called aside, stood up, dusted off his backside, and nodded: "What a hassle, but I'll get it done."

Nara Shikaku nodded and quickly left with his wife.

After the two left, Temari let out a heavy sigh of relief.

then……

Then, looking at the empty house where only she and Nara Shikamaru were, a blush slowly crept onto Temari's face.

"Ugh, this is such a hassle. Never mind, let me show you some empty rooms first. I have plenty of spare rooms. Where would you like to stay?"

With that, Nara Shikamaru led Temari into the backyard.

Nara Shikamaru's family home is a Japanese-style villa with a yard. Before the Nara clan was fully integrated into the inner city of Konoha, Nara Shikamaru's grandfather planned to take his family to settle in the inner city.

Later, when other clansmen saw this, they followed suit. Decades ago, before the inner city of Konoha was so developed, the Nara clan bought up most of the houses on this street.

Nowadays, compared to other clans living in high-rise buildings in the heart of Konoha Village, the Nara clan members are quite happy living in villas.

Yes, this area is in the suburbs, so although the infrastructure is complete, people from the Nara clan who work in the Hokage Building often find their daily commute quite miserable.

After all, whether you drive or take public transportation, you will face traffic jams.

When Konoha Village's inner city was still relatively small, public transportation, including buses and subways, was already under construction. Now...

It's barely enough. Konoha Village now has a population of over ten million, including both the inner and outer walls. This population is actually larger than that of many cities in the previous life.

Although it can't compare to the total population of a top-tier city in his previous life, Youya is already very satisfied.

Currently, there is no longer such an urgent need for population in the tourism industry.

For Yuya, a city with a total population of ten million is undoubtedly the best.

But if there's more, that's fine too, hahaha~

……

While Nara Shikamaru was showing Temari around the room, Yua was holding two photos and seemed hesitant.

"Click"

The door was unlocked, and Tsunade, carrying a bag of vegetables, walked into the house from outside.

"Oh, you're back?" Tsunade complained to Yua while changing her shoes, "Why didn't you send me a message? I only bought groceries for myself."

You Ya sighed, "I'm not eating anymore, I have no appetite."

Tsunade paused slightly, placed the groceries she had bought on the table, walked to the sofa, and leaned close to Yua. Looking at the two photos in Yua's hand, she asked with a puzzled expression, "What's wrong? Why do you look so worried?"

Yuya sighed: "It's still a matter of who will be the next Hokage."

Tsunade understood: "Hmm, so these two children are your final candidates for the next Hokage?"

You Ya nodded: "Mm."

Looking at the photos of Uchiha Shisui and Hyuga Hinata, Tsunade stroked her chin and said, "They're both from ninja clans..."

Yuya shook his head: "After all, Konoha Village was built on the foundation of ninja clans. Ninja clans have accumulated at least three generations of experience compared to ordinary people. It would take at least three generations for an ordinary person to catch up with a ninja clan. And that's just catching up with the current ninja clans. No one dares to imagine how far the ninja clans will develop after three generations."

Tsunade smiled and looked at Yua, saying, "So you tried everything to disband the ninja clan? Why are you still so troubled?"

Yuya shook his head: "I'm not worried about the future of Konoha Village. What I'm really worried about is the governance plan of these two children."

Tsunade became interested: "Aren't these two children capable enough?"

Youya stroked his beard and shook his head: "No, judging from the situation over the past two years, it's definitely enough."

only……"

"only?"

"It's just that Shisui tends to be conservative, while Hinata, while conservative, also knows how to target other villages."

Tsunade shook her head: "I don't understand."

Yuya thought for a moment and said, "To give an example, it's like the Hidden Cloud Village sending someone to infiltrate our Hidden Leaf Village..."

Tsunade's eyes widened: "What?! The Hidden Cloud Village is being so presumptuous?!"

You Ya looked at his wife speechlessly and sighed helplessly: "For example, to give you an example..."

"Oh, oh, please continue."

You Ya smiled helplessly.

In reality, which of the five villages doesn't have spies or undercover agents in each other's villages? It's just that they all see through each other but choose not to say it.

Forget it, it's best not to let Tsunade worry about this kind of thing.

Yuya continued, "The Hidden Cloud Village planted an undercover agent on our side, and then the agent was caught. If it were Shisui, he would probably punish the undercover agent and then send a message to the Hidden Cloud Village to question him."

Hinata, on the other hand, would be more aggressive, not only punishing them but also demanding an explanation from Kumogakure.

Tsunade looked at Tsunade with a puzzled expression: "Isn't this a good idea?"

Yuya sighed helplessly. This was just an analogy, meaning that Shisui was more mature and experienced in handling matters, while Hinata was more radical. For example, she deliberately planted a trap in Rasa's flood control plan in Sunagakure. If Rasa had adopted it, the flood control efforts would have been in vain.

The problem is that Rasa isn't stupid either. He is stupid, and the old woman Chiyo, the advisor of Sunagakure, isn't stupid either. This kind of thing, which involves digging a pit for others, won't be very effective.

As for stopping the water flow, the proposed solution in this water management plan is a standard and conventional approach.

Simply put, they just copied Sunagakure's old flood control plan and handed it over to Rasa.

If you ask whether it can be cured, it certainly can, but according to the water-stopping plan, some of the dikes on the Luosha side will have to be demolished and rebuilt.

Yuya and Shisui had talked. It wasn't that Shisui didn't know how to completely eliminate the hidden danger, but Shisui said: He's not from Sunagakure, so why should he do his best to help Sunagakure control the flood?

This idea is fine, but that kid from the Shimura family doesn't see that point. When asked for help, he genuinely helps; anyone who didn't know better would think he was from Sunagakure...

Neji was eliminated because he had thought of this, but stuck to his own ideas and sent over a mediocre solution.

This makes her a step below Shisui and Hinata.

You either need to do what Shisui did, devising a plan that the other party can't accept but is definitely usable, or you need to do what Hinata did, embedding traps within the plan.

Providing a conventional solution will only make the people of Sunagakure think you're not very capable, and they won't have any other thoughts about it.

Of course, this doesn't mean Neji isn't smart. By the time he's made it to the candidate list, there are no fools left.

It's just that the level of thinking is one level lower.

This one-level difference alone is enough for Yua to pass on Neji.

So here's the question...

Hinata and Shisui...

Who should Yuya choose as the next Hokage?

This is what's giving Youya a headache.

Tsunade, watching from the side, noticed Yua's troubled expression. She thought for a moment and offered some words of comfort: "Why don't we just announce these two names and let the villagers of Konoha choose for themselves?"

You Ya was taken aback, then stroked his chin...

hissing...

This method...

It seems like it could work!

You Ya's eyes grew brighter the more he thought about it.

He picked up Tsunade and gave her a big kiss on her smooth cheek: "As expected of my wife! So smart!"

After saying that, Yuya hurriedly put on his coat, grabbed his Hokage cloak, and ran outside...

Tsunade quickly called out to Yua, "Are you coming back for dinner tonight?!"

You Ya waved his hands repeatedly, "I don't want to eat anymore! Don't save any food for me!"

As he spoke, You Ya vanished in a flash.

Tsunade pouted slightly, then couldn't help but chuckle.

Looking at the two photos Yua had thrown on the table, Tsunade fell into thought.

The Uchiha boy and the Hyuga girl...

Well, if I had to choose, I wouldn't know who to pick.

But it doesn't matter, as long as I can firmly hold onto the position of Hokage, that's enough.

Tsunade rested her head on her hand, thinking happily.

……

Meanwhile, Yuya had already called Nara Shikaku and asked him to call someone.

Nara Shikaku, who was shopping with his wife, apologized to her helplessly and then went to call for help.

Not long after, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shikaya Nara, and other older generation members were summoned to the conference room by Yua.

Youya quickly explained the current situation.

The head of the Shimura clan was the first to express his dissatisfaction: "Why are we being forced to choose between the Hyuga and Uchiha clans? Our son is on the candidate list too!"

Yuya then recounted the actions taken by the Shimura clan's candidates in Sunagakure.

Chief Shimura fell silent.

That kid of his...

That's so honest...

If he were to take over, he might just hand over the benefits that originally belonged to the Shimura clan to someone else.

Thinking about it that way, let's let someone else do it.

If Chief Shimura had no objections, then the others had even fewer.

You Ya then proposed a public election system.

In other words, the villagers of Konoha Village's inner city will hold three rounds of referendums. The votes from the three rounds will be added together, and the person with the most votes will be elected as the next Hokage.

Hiashi Hyuga and Fugaku Uchiha had no objection to the proposal.

That's how this matter was settled.

Yuya looked at the people around him; these were all remnants of the ninja clan's system.

But it's okay.

Before the next Hokage takes office...

He will definitely take the problems of these old-timers with him.

……

Soon, the election for the Fourth Hokage was announced in various parts of Konoha Village's inner city.

To prevent some villagers in Konoha Village's inner city from not using mobile phones or watching TV, Yuya specially had banners hung up on every street.

The Hokage election is related to everyone's life. There will be three elections in total, one at the end of this year, and another in the middle and end of next year. It would be best if everyone in the village could come and vote.

Such elections are highly susceptible to manipulation such as vote buying and fake votes.

Therefore, a third party is needed to supervise.

Who is the best candidate for this third party?

From Yuya's personal perspective, he wanted the Anbu to come.

However, although Kagami Yua was trusted, he was a member of the Uchiha clan.

Some people may have objections.

The same applies to Minato Namikaze; he's Hinata's father-in-law, so his presence as a supervisor will definitely cause some resentment.

That would mean a smaller range of choices.

Hiruzen Sarutobi?

Yuya went to find Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not refuse, but raised a new question.

For example, it's fine if the Sarutobi clan members are in charge once, but if they are in charge three times... won't people gossip?

You Ya patted his head.

This is indeed a problem...

Then we need to find two other forces.

The second faction, Yuya entrusted to the Nara clan almost without hesitation.

It's true that no one from this clan could become Hokage, but they've never made a mistake in serving the Hokage.

It can be said that the Nara clan's way of life is very simple.

Show your loyalty to the Hokage; whoever is the Hokage, be loyal to them.

This way of life means that as long as Konoha Village exists, the Nara clan will be safe.

Furthermore, although Nara Shikamaru was removed from the candidate list, the Nara clan was not surprised at all.

The Nara clan is simply not cut out to be Hokage.

Then there's only one election left.

Who will oversee this final election?

You Ya thought long and hard but couldn't come up with a good force.

Everyone else is more or less involved with Hinata or Shisui's supporters...

Then I'm afraid...

He had to personally supervise this final round.

That's enough, this will be the last time I'll do this.

Once everything is done, I can step down and relax.

……

Therefore, at the end of Konoha Year 69, the first Hokage candidate election was held in the inner castle of Konoha Village.

Uchiha Shisui led with a large number of votes.

If we're using a ratio, it's roughly Shisui to Hinata.

7: 3.

(End of this chapter)