Ninja Pot Shadow

He didn't have the energy for a long speech, so he could only shake his head: "I disagree. This is a chaotic decision. The appointment of a village's Kage is recommended by the ninja village. The daimyo only has the right to agree or disagree. This..."

He pointed weakly at the document: "...It's not in accordance with procedure."

Danzo threw the appointment document in front of him: "Are you going to refuse the appointment as a daimyo and the reconstruction supplies for the Land of Fire?"

When money and reconstruction were mentioned, Mitokado Enoki and Utatane Koharu hesitated.

The appointment of the daimyo still carried some weight in their hearts.

Konoha lacked money, supplies, and manpower in all aspects, which the Daimyo possessed.

If the daimyo refuses Danzo's offer of the Hokage position, will he stop providing these things?

After much deliberation, the Third Hokage decided to back down temporarily in order to keep Danzo in suspense. He said, "This appointment is not in accordance with procedure. I can step down. After I die, you can go to the capital to hold a meeting to officially determine the Hokage. During this period, you can temporarily act as Hokage."

Although it wasn't a perfect appointment all at once, Danzo was still a Hokage even if he was acting as his agent. He then looked at the other two advisors.

The two could only nod in agreement.

"Alright, then I will act as Hokage. Hiruzen, you can be the advisor for now. Take good care of yourself and recover. The village still needs your wisdom and experience." Having gotten what he wanted, Danzo left the hospital room triumphantly.

The Third Hokage was no ordinary, rule-abiding man. If you do the first day of the month, I'll do the fifteenth. He immediately summoned Shikaku, and the two discussed things in hushed tones for over an hour.

Chapter 181 The Fifth Hokage

That evening, many heroic deeds of Jiraiya were hotly discussed by the villagers.

Jiraiya served as a frontline commander for a long time during the war years. He was powerful and approachable, and was very popular among ninjas, especially civilian ninjas. Many civilian ninjas felt that Jiraiya becoming Hokage was a great thing that met everyone's expectations.

Although the clan leaders of the ninja clans did not speak, some of the branch clans of the ninja clans spoke up. The Hyuga clan's branch family believed that only Jiraiya could become Hokage and save Konoha Village.

Danzo was furious.

He was very familiar with this tactic. Back then, the Third Hokage used this kind of propaganda to allow Minato Namikaze to suppress Orochimaru in terms of personal image, reputation, and achievements, and ultimately obtain the appointment as the Fourth Hokage.

He then realized his weakness; he wasn't even as good as Orochimaru. Orochimaru had at least fought on the front lines for many years and had a large following. What about him? He had always been hiding in the shadows. He claimed to have accomplished many great things, but who knew?

Danzo could only prove through his actions that he was the only one who could become Hokage.

If you don't have any achievements, then just create them artificially.

Once back at the base, he started calling for reinforcements!

The ninjas belonging to his Root organization, some civilian ninjas secretly trained, and ninja clans under his command, including the Yamanaka and Aburame clans, were all within his recruitment scope.

Third Hokage, didn't you say that becoming Hokage requires meritorious service? Fine, you wait and see. After I wipe out the Sound Village, and then, with the might of a great victory, force the Sand Village to retreat, let's see what you have to say then!

The title of acting Hokage was not yet prestigious enough, and it would be difficult to mobilize the ninja clans at this time. With everyone passing the buck, his prestige would be damaged instead, so he only summoned his own subordinates.

He should act swiftly and decisively, annihilate the Hidden Sound Village, and then share some of the profits with the ninja clans to gain their support, thus securing his position as Hokage.

He's at least seventy years old; he still has some political acumen.

The Root ninjas came out in full force.

The Yamanaka family mobilized 150 ninjas, all of whom were placed under the command of Yamanaka Fu.

Neither Ino nor Ino came. Danzo knew about their idea of ​​diversifying their investments. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio was powerful, so at this time, they could only win them over, and absolutely could not suppress them.

The Aburame family was much worse off; the clan chief personally led the delegation, and the one who came was Shino's father, Aburame Shiki.

This is also a veteran Jonin. In his youth, he was a teammate of Minato Namikaze and Choza Akimichi on missions.

Aburame Shii wore sunglasses and carried a large jar on his back. Like his son Shino, he had a low profile and was usually quiet.

Inoichi is qualified to resist the summons, but he is not. The acting Hokage has given the order that he must come. If he doesn't come, Shino will have to come.

More ninjas from smaller ninja clans arrived, and after the number of ninjas on site exceeded eight hundred, Danzo, Yamanaka Fu, and Aburame Torune made their appearance.

"Destination: Otogakure in the Land of Rice Fields. Let's go."

Danzo wanted to wear the Hokage's hat, but since the three advisors in the village were against it, he didn't insist on it.

As the group left the village, the gatekeepers were still Izumo and Kotetsu. Danzo showed no intention of going through the exit procedures, and the two of them acted as if they didn't see them, letting the large group of people leave the village.

"Cough cough" The Third Hokage, sitting in a wheelchair and being pushed by an Anbu ninja, stopped Danzo at the intersection.

He then lowered his voice and said, "Danzo, sending troops at this time will definitely cause a chain reaction and disrupt the balance between the various forces. Have you considered this?"

Danzo sneered, "Hiruzen, put away your hypocritical face. What does the ninja world need? You've been Hokage for forty years and still haven't figured it out. What the ninja world needs is iron will and power! Peace can never be achieved through negotiation."

"Danzo, you'll regret this."

"Heh heh, Hiruzen, I am the Hokage!"

After the classic dialogue, the Fourth and Fifth Hokage, Danzo Shimura, waved his hand, and the main force quickly left Konoha Village.

……

After luring Danzo and his cronies away, the Third Hokage immediately began his work, with messengers constantly traveling between the village and the border. As the representative of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, who were on good terms with Gaara, Shikaku personally went twice.

Finally, Jiraiya personally took action and leveled half a mountain before reaching an agreement with Ebizo. The two ninja villages reaffirmed their unbreakable alliance, after which Sunagakure withdrew its troops.

While Sunagakure went back to lick its wounds, the selection of the Fifth Hokage in Konoha reached its most crucial moment.

The Third Hokage tossed aside the Daimyo's orders. He usually cared about such things, but now that he was about to die, the village was definitely more important. Some formalities could be made up for by future generations. Politicians are least afraid of personal grudges.

The Third Hokage upheld the rules his entire life, but broke them for once on his deathbed. Danzo, on the other hand, had been unruly his whole life, but at this crucial moment, he tried to uphold the rules and ended up being outmaneuvered by the Third Hokage.

Taking advantage of Danzo's absence from the village, the Third Hokage sacrificed his last shred of dignity to gain the unwavering support of Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, and also made deals with various ninja clans to secure their approval for the new Hokage.

He persuaded Jiraiya by arguing that Danzo's rise to power would bring disaster to Konoha and the entire ninja world.

Forced into a corner, Jiraiya couldn't quite describe his feelings as he mechanically accepted the straw hat representing the Hokage and became the Fifth Hokage of the village.

His teacher was the Third Hokage, his disciple was the Fourth Hokage, and now, after going around in circles, he has returned to become the Fifth Hokage. For a moment, he felt that fate was unpredictable and wondered if someone like him could really become Hokage.

Ino-Shika-Cho, Kakashi, and Asuma said he could.

Tsunade said he was sure he could do it.

Naruto cheered him on enthusiastically.

Jiraiya had mixed feelings.

On the afternoon he took over as Hokage, the Third Hokage told Jiraiya many of the village's secrets.

No one knows exactly what the two said, but all that is known is that Jiraiya's angry curses never stopped during those two hours. He cursed the Third Hokage and Danzo.

The Third Hokage died in the old house of the Sarutobi family the evening after Jiraiya took over the position.

Ino said a month, but that's an overestimation.

In reality, elderly people of this age, especially those in professions like ninjas, are covered in injuries. Normally, they don't show because they have chakra, but now that their souls are mostly gone and most of their organs are failing, their bodies can no longer extract chakra. Without chakra, the accumulated injuries and illnesses erupt instantly.

The Third Hokage felt that he had fulfilled his wish by taking Orochimaru away at the last moment and handing over the Hokage position to Jiraiya.

He actually wanted to take Danzo with him, but his body simply couldn't hold on any longer.

Jiraiya may seem foolish, but he is actually wise beyond his years. The Third Hokage believed that Jiraiya was fully capable of dealing with his old friend.

Once that pent-up breath was released, the person was gone.

Chapter 182 A New Chapter

A light rain was falling from the sky, the whole village was dressed in mourning, and the flowers at the mountain flower shop were selling like hotcakes...

Ino quietly launched family meals, couple meals, children's meals, and so on, with various discounts and promotions, or at least that's what she said.

After attending the Third Hokage's funeral, everyone went about their usual routines.

It wasn't exactly a tragedy; even Jiraiya and Tsunade, his disciples, and Asuma, his own son, weren't particularly saddened.

Ninjas have seen too many life-and-death situations.

Dying at seventy years old is hardly considered premature death. Compared to those children who went to the battlefield in their teens and were killed in their first battle, dying at this age is really nothing to say.

The older ninjas reacted calmly. They had seen too much and knew the Third Hokage well, including his merits and demerits, so they were mentally prepared for his death.

On the contrary, the younger generation of ninjas were very sad. Ino made a very sad expression in public. Three days after the funeral, she was still dressed solemnly and kept reminding everyone not to forget the Third Hokage's achievements and to hurry to the flower shop to buy two bouquets of flowers to remember the deceased elder.

Naruto was truly sad, but his sadness was limited. For him, it was simply the loss of an elder who recognized his worth. Konohamaru, on the other hand, was the one who suffered the most.

Children are more sensitive to certain things, and adults sometimes don't pay much attention to their words and actions. He used to be the Hokage's grandson and was known as "Lord Konohamaru" by many people. Now that his grandfather is dead, he has instantly become Konohamaru.

It's not appropriate for outsiders to say much about this; we can only let him figure it out himself.

……

Jiraiya may seem unreliable, but he is actually quite adept at political maneuvering and has a wide network of connections.

Following Shikaku's advice, he sent a secret letter in his own name to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. The gist of the letter was that the Third Hokage's death was too sudden, and the acting Hokage was not in the village. The villagers and ninjas were enthusiastically supporting him, so he had no choice but to become the Fifth Hokage. He hoped that the ninja village and the Land of Fire would continue to maintain a harmonious relationship and build a better home together.

The wording was perfunctory, but this was the usual attitude of ninja villages towards daimyo. As long as it was superficial, that was enough. Did you, a daimyo, really think you could decide the appointment and dismissal of the village's kage? Don't be ridiculous.

Jiraiya maintained the political structure established by the previous three generations and won over the two advisors.

After that, Shikaku gradually handed over the work of the Jonin squad leader, and focused on being the Hokage's advisor. If any advisor passed away in the future, he could take over the position.

The position of Jonin squad leader is going to be handed over to Kakashi, making the succession plan quite clear.

When Jiraiya became the Fifth Hokage, his choices were similar to those of Tsunade in the original timeline; or rather, there weren't many options available for this position.

He used the guise of promoting Chunin to win over and test the intentions of the major ninja clans.

Jiraiya's prestige is higher than Tsunade's, and he also has the legacy of the Third Hokage, giving him more skill and flexibility in handling problems.

Classes like Team 7 and Team 10 generally don't exist for very long. Jonin have extremely demanding tasks, and it's impossible to raise them like children for three to five years; that would be a waste of resources.

This is similar to a new employee starting a job. After a period of guidance from an experienced colleague, once you are familiar with the work process, you can work independently.

Once they are promoted to Chunin, they have the ability to work independently, and Jonin can leave at this point.

Gaara is from Sunagakure, but we won't go into that.

In Konoha, Ino and Sasuke should be promoted to Chunin, while Naruto, Shikamaru, and Shino need to be further evaluated by the village's higher-ups.

With so many things to deal with before, Jiraiya took over as the Fifth Hokage. After sorting out the chaotic situation, he began to address the unresolved issues from the Chunin Exams.

After review, Ino, Sasuke, Naruto, Shino, Neji, and Shikamaru are all on the promotion list.

They basically covered four classes led by Jonin, one or two per class, and also involved most of the major ninja clans.

He wanted to make amends to Naruto as much as possible; becoming a Chunin was just the first step.