Chapter 170: Still Choosing the Hokage?

The good news is...

The Uchiha clan has defected from Konoha, and Jiraiya, who wants to become the Fifth Hokage, no longer needs the support of their votes.

In this case, the upcoming Jonin vote of confidence is undoubtedly a great opportunity for Jiraiya.

Firstly... the Jonin of the Sarutobi, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans will undoubtedly support Jiraiya wholeheartedly.

Secondly...

The Ino-Shika-Cho clans of Konoha have always been staunch supporters of the Hokage lineage, and have been loyal to the Third Hokage for decades. As long as he gives the order, they will cast their votes for Jiraiya.

There's also the Hyuga clan.

This clan has also been won over by the Third Hokage through the police department and has joined his camp. They won't betray him.

Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh. His teacher, the Third Hokage, had already paved the way for him, allowing him to get half of the Jonin votes in Konoha without lifting a finger.

The rest are the other small and medium-sized ninja clans and civilian Jonin.

In the conference room...

The Third Hokage, with a serious expression, gave Jiraiya some advice:

"Leave the votes of the Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi, and Hyuga clans to me. Jiraiya, before the Jonin vote of confidence begins tomorrow, you should visit the other ninja clans more often. The more votes you can get, the better. Try to make it foolproof."

"I understand." Jiraiya responded solemnly.

Hearing this, the Third Hokage nodded in satisfaction and smiled:

"Then, I look forward to personally handing over the Hokage hat to you tomorrow. Be prepared, Jiraiya."

"For Konoha, I will not hesitate to die a thousand deaths."

Jiraiya's gaze was firm.

At the same time, he realized that today might be his last day of freedom.

In the evening… after running around between the various ninja clans in the village for most of the day, Jiraiya, dragging his tired body, unknowingly arrived at the gate of the Senju clan's ancestral home.

He came here to see someone.

Tsunade.

Because, among the tens of thousands of ninjas in Konoha, the person Jiraiya most wanted to get support from for his upcoming Hokage position was Tsunade.

However, to his disappointment...

"Lady Tsunade just went out."

The door was opened by Shizune, who was holding a pet piglet in her arms, and she said to Jiraiya.

"Where did she go?" Jiraiya was taken aback and quickly asked.

"She seems... to have gone to find Uchiha Dan." Shizune guessed, frowning.

Hearing Dan's name, Jiraiya was taken aback.

Ten minutes later...

Outside the Uchiha clan's territory...

As soon as Jiraiya arrived here, he saw Tsunade's figure from a distance, walking into the Uchiha's Medical Corps building.

"..." He was silent for a long time, and finally left with a gloomy expression.

In the Medical Corps, equipment area...

Dan was alone in the large gym, sweating profusely as he worked out.

What he enjoyed the most was indeed the feeling of muscle soreness after a workout.

Suddenly, a figure appeared at the door.

Clang.

Dan put down the barbell, picked up a towel from the side to wipe his sweat, and

then looked at the newcomer.

"I agree to your terms. You teach me the Yin Release: Phantom Body Technique, and I'll teach you the Yin Seal."

Tsunade got straight to the point, it seemed she had made up her mind.

"Good, that's straightforward."

Dan didn't waste any words, asking Tsunade to wait a moment in the training dojo, "Let me take a shower first, then we can start exchanging techniques."

Tsunade crossed her arms and nodded, "Hmm."

As the sun set and the moon rose, night fell.

To dispel Tsunade's doubts and to show his sincerity, Dan took the initiative to propose that he would teach Tsunade the Yin Release: Phantom Body Technique first.

Tsunade naturally agreed.

So... in the indoor dojo of the Medical Corps, two figures were intertwined, sparring until late into the night.

The night passed without a word.

Early the next morning, Dan put on the high-collared blue robe of the Uchiha clan, tied his belt, and prepared to go out.

Tsunade came out of the room next door and asked in confusion, "Going out?"

"Today is the day of the Jonin vote of confidence. Jiraiya is about to become the Hokage. Don't you want to witness this historic moment?"

Dan's eyes flashed, extending an invitation to Tsunade.

Tsunade, however, shook her head and yawned, "I'm not interested in joining the crowd."

After saying that, she raised her hands and stretched, then turned around and went back to her room.

She had practiced the Phantom Body Technique with Dan until late last night, which left her with a sore back and waist. She decided to stay the night here, but it seemed like she didn't sleep well and needed to catch up on some sleep.

Today seemed to be a good day.

The weather was fine, the sky was clear, and a flock of birds soared above Konoha.

When Dan arrived in front of the Hokage building, it was already crowded with people. Tens of thousands of Konoha villagers were eagerly waiting for the official announcement of the Fifth Hokage candidate.

In this difficult period, Konoha needed a young and strong new Hokage to boost the morale of all the villagers and lead the village out of the trough.

Many people firmly believed that Jiraiya was the chosen one.

Dan's appearance caused a stir in the crowd, followed by—

Swish, swish, swish.

A series of hateful and hostile gazes came from all directions, falling on him.

If looks could kill, Dan would have died thousands of times by now.

In the eyes of the villagers, the Uchiha clan was the root cause of Konoha's current situation. Uchiha Dan was the biggest tumor parasitizing on Konoha.

Such a person could still sit in the position of the Hokage's assistant, which was simply a disgrace to Konoha.

Dan didn't care about the hostility of the villagers.

He walked straight into the Hokage building, came to the rooftop, where all the Jonin of Konoha had gathered, whispering to each other.

After a while...

As the protagonist of today, the prospective Fifth Hokage, Jiraiya, finally appeared amidst everyone's anticipation.

He walked out of the crowd alone, then turned around, faced everyone on the rooftop, and bowed.

Then, the Third Hokage also walked to Jiraiya's side and announced in a deep voice:

"Now, let's officially start the Jonin vote of confidence. Those who support Jiraiya as the Fifth Hokage, please raise your hands."

As soon as his words fell...

Swish, swish.

The Jonin of the Sarutobi, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans were the first to raise their hands.

Under their lead, some Jonin from the smaller clans, as well as Jonin of civilian origin like Might Guy, also raised their hands to cast their votes.

However, to everyone's surprise...

The Jonin of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans stood with their arms crossed and did not raise their hands.

Hmm?

Seeing this scene, the Third Hokage couldn't help but narrow his eyes in surprise.

He realized that he might have made a mistake this time.

Yesterday, the Third Hokage had met with the clan leaders of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans and earnestly asked them to support Jiraiya's ascension to Hokage.

He had thought that the three clans would follow him as they always had, but it turned out they had their own ideas.

The Third Hokage had indeed been careless, or rather, he had overestimated the weight his title of "former Hokage" carried in the hearts of others.

Not long ago.

In the battle between Konoha and Amegakure, the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans, as the main forces of Konoha, suffered heavy losses, with many of their elite falling on the battlefield.

Among them, the Akimichi clan had lost Torifu Akimichi, a respected elder of the clan.

Because of this, the Ino-Shika-Cho clans held resentment towards the Third Hokage for hastily initiating the war, and by extension, they didn't have a good impression of his student, Jiraiya.

When the Third Hokage came to them yesterday, although he seemed sincere and repeatedly spoke for the sake of Konoha and the Will of Fire, he didn't promise any specific benefits.

The Ino-Shika-Cho clans were no longer buying into this.

At this moment, they chose to express their protest and dissatisfaction with the Hokage lineage in this way.

The Third Hokage's face became somewhat unsightly.

His gaze temporarily moved away from the Ino-Shika-Cho clans and turned to the Hyuga clan.

After the Uchiha clan left, the Hyuga clan rightfully became the largest clan in Konoha, with a large number of Jonin within the clan, and they held considerable influence in the village.

As long as the Hyuga clan voted in favor, even without the votes of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, Jiraiya could still smoothly ascend to the position of Hokage.

Don't disappoint me, Hiashi.

With this thought, the Third Hokage looked intently at Hiashi Hyuga, only to find the latter looking bitter and full of resentment.

These days as the captain of the police force, Hiashi Hyuga gradually understood something.

The seemingly glorious police force was actually a tough job.

The patrol team of the police force was a thankless profession.

No matter how civilized the Hyuga clan enforced the law, maintaining the order of Konoha Village in an orderly manner, they would not receive praise from the villagers, because in the eyes of many villagers, this was the basic duty of the police force.

However, once the police force had conflicts and disputes with the villagers over security issues, they would often be accused by the villagers of abusing their power and oppressing the villagers.

In simple terms, it was a thankless job.

If this continues, it's feared that in a few years, the reputation of the Hyuga clan in Konoha will rapidly deteriorate, and sooner or later, they will become the second Uchiha.

What Hiashi Hyuga was most dissatisfied with was—

The police force was busy every day, but most of the issues they dealt with were trivial matters.

Whenever a major situation arose, the Konoha Anbu would intervene first in the name of protecting the village and the Hokage, excluding the police force.

The result was the police force didn't have much power, but the work was full of hardship, helplessness, and heartache, making the Hyuga clan, who had previously had high hopes for the police force, feel more and more disillusioned and deceived.

Now, Hiashi Hyuga finally understood why the Uchiha clan wanted to give up the police force.

He couldn't help but recall the pitiful look in Uchiha Fugaku's eyes during the handover ceremony of the police force.

The Uchiha clan had thrown the heavy shackles they had worn for decades to the Hyuga clan.

And the Hyuga, happily put the shackles on themselves, thinking they had found a treasure.

Back then.

When the Third Hokage handed over the police force to the Hyuga clan, Hiashi Hyuga was grateful to him. Now he realized that it was a complete trap.

He finally saw the true face of the Third Hokage.

Now, the Third Hokage even fantasized that the Hyuga clan would support his student Jiraiya to ascend to the position of Hokage.

That was simply a dream.

So, led by Hiashi Hyuga, a group of Hyuga Jonin also adopted the same approach as the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, folding their arms and showing no intention of raising their hands.

"Old man, what's going on?" Jiraiya also noticed something was wrong at this time and looked at the Third Hokage in surprise.

If this continues, he will not be able to pass the Jonin trust vote within Konoha and will miss the position of Hokage.

"Interesting." Dan, seeing this good show, couldn't help but laugh. It seemed that the Third Hokage's actions over the years had finally caused a backlash and exploded completely.

The current Konoha, tt was already full of factions, each clan scheming for their own interests, becoming a loose sand, no longer able to unite.

This was a sign of destruction.

Time passed by every minute and every second.

On the rooftop, just as the atmosphere fell into a stalemate and it seemed that Jiraiya was about to miss the position of the Fifth Hokage.

Swish.

A member of the Anbu suddenly appeared, knelt on one knee in front of the Third Hokage in a panic, and reported in a hurried tone:

"Hokage-sama, the Land of Lightning has suddenly declared war on the Land of Fire, the Fourth Raikage is leading ten thousand ninja from Kumogakure southward, and they have already entered the Land of Hot Springs!"

What?!

Upon hearing this news, everyone present, except for Dan, changed their expressions.

The Land of Hot Springs is a small country sandwiched between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, and has always served as a buffer zone between the two major countries.

During the Third Great Ninja War, the war between Konoha and Kumogakure was ignited on the territory of the Land of Hot Springs.

Is history going to repeat itself now?

The Third Hokage's face became even more gloomy.

The situation he was most worried about had finally happened.

Kumogakure suddenly declared war on Konoha, obviously taking advantage of Konoha's period of weakness to loot.

Was Dan manipulating this behind the scenes?

The Third Hokage's eyes flashed, and he cast an angry glance at Dan.

Dan showed a mocking smile and calmly met the Third Hokage's gaze.

Just then. "Hokage-sama, Daimyo-sama has initiated a remote video call, please go to the conference room immediately." Another member of the Anbu appeared and said this.

Although the Third Hokage had announced his resignation from the position of Hokage, these Anbu of Konoha had followed him for many years, each of them loyal and only recognizing him as the Hokage.

"Let's go, to the conference room."

The Third Hokage didn't dare to delay, taking Koharu, Yamato, and Jiraiya with him, and hurriedly left the rooftop.

The Jonin of Konoha looked at each other and followed.

A minute later, nearly a hundred people poured into the conference room.

On the TV screen on the wall.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire was pacing back and forth, fanning himself, his face full of anxiety.

When he saw the Third Hokage and the others appear, he immediately put away his fan, slapped the table, and began to question them:

"What are you doing, still choosing a Hokage here, when the enemy's army has reached the doorstep of the Land of Fire!"

The Daimyo's face was full of anger at this time, losing his noble demeanor, looking completely different from his calm and composed self yesterday.

That's because he had just spoken with the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, asking for an explanation for the declaration of war, but was mocked by the latter, which made him very angry.

Faced with the Daimyo's roar, the people of Konoha looked at each other.

Huh? Seeing that no one was responding to him, the Daimyo's angry gaze finally fell on Jiraiya:

"Jiraiya, you are the Fifth Hokage, tell me what you plan to do?"

He didn't know about the internal strife in Konoha, or that Jiraiya had failed to pass the Jonin trust vote, and still thought that the latter had officially taken the position.

This was an opportunity.

Seeing this, the Third Hokage immediately gave Jiraiya a look.

Jiraiya gritted his teeth, his expression firm, and made a resounding promise to the Daimyo on the spot:

"Daimyo-sama, please rest assured. I will personally lead the Konoha forces to the Land of Hot Springs and will spare no effort to stop the Raikage's army, not allowing the enemy to step into the border of the Land of Fire!"

Hearing Jiraiya's words, the Daimyo's expression eased slightly.

"Good, I hope the Fifth Hokage won't disappoint me. In terms of logistics, the Land of Fire will provide all necessary support to Konoha."

The Daimyo calmed down and said this.

The Land of Fire and Konoha Village have a symbiotic relationship.

Just as he finished speaking.

"Daimyo-sama, something terrible has happened!" A minister from the Land of Fire suddenly appeared in the TV screen, stumbled, and ran to the Daimyo, reporting something to him.

Slap!

Upon hearing this, the Daimyo's face turned white instantly, as if he had been struck by lightning, and the fan in his hand fell to the ground.