The Fourth Hokage Campaign

"What is Danzo doing with his hand?"

Shintaro remembered that Danzo had a bandage on one of his hands.

"It's used to transplant Hashirama cells."

Orochimaru didn't keep Danzo's intentions a secret.

Shintaro's eyes blinked slightly and he muttered, "Hashirama cells..."

"Is this your collaborative research with Danzo?"

He remembered when Danzo first recruited him, Orochimaru mentioned so-called cooperative research at the Root organization's base.

"That's right." Orochimaru wore a half-smile on his face.

Shintaro nodded slightly and asked, "What is Danzo doing in the Land of Rain?"

"I don't know. It's said he's cooperating with Hanzo."

Orochimaru shrugged.

So Shintaro stopped asking, not too concerned about Danzo.

Orochimaru jokingly said, "Danzo should return to the village soon. One of the agreements between him and me is that he would nominate me to be Hokage when the Third is blamed and resigns."

After saying that, he paused, looked at him, and asked, "Shintaro-kun, do you think I can be the Fourth Hokage?"

"With all due respect... No."

Shintaro calmly expressed his viewpoint.

"I see." Orochimaru nodded quietly and said nothing more.

It seemed he didn't care about the Hokage position, and he appeared unaffected by Shintaro's answer.

But Shintaro sensed his emotional turmoil and used the Six Eyes to observe the hidden loss in Orochimaru's eyes.

In his view, Orochimaru didn't care about the Hokage position, nor did he care about the Hokage title.

Orochimaru knew there was competition from Minato and fundamentally had no hope of becoming Hokage.

But he still wanted to try. After all, he was the student of the Third Hokage.

Orochimaru always had special feelings for his teacher in his heart because he was the Third Hokage's most beloved student.

He continued to explain other research at his institution, as if the question he just asked wasn't his.

The two talked for a long time in the research institution before Shintaro left.

Coincidentally, it was dinner time, and Shintaro was going back to the Yuhi house for dinner.

"Kurenai, I'm back."

Shintaro shouted as he rang the doorbell.

However, he sensed the presence of three people in the house. Besides Kurenai and Shinku, there was also one other presence.

Kurenai came to the door and opened it for Shintaro.

"Shintaro, Uncle Fugaku is here."

"I know."

Shintaro calmly patted her head.

"Don't touch my head; I won't grow taller." Kurenai said with a pouty expression.

Shintaro chuckled, entered the front hall, changed his shoes, and went inside the house.

"Uncle Shinku, Captain."

Shintaro saw Shinku and Fugaku sitting on the sofa chatting.

"Alright, you're back." Shinku looked at Shintaro with kind and fatherly eyes.

Fugaku then mentioned what his beloved son told him today, "Shintaro, I heard from Itachi that you guided him to sign a summoning contract with Yatagarasu and also told him the meaning of life."

"Yes, Itachi happened to be chosen by Yatagarasu." Shintaro nodded and sat beside the two.

Shinku looked at the two beside him, then stood up and said, "Fugaku, you may stay for dinner, I'll get the spoon."

Before Fugaku could say anything, Shinku called Kurenai to help.

Fugaku seemed to understand Shinku's intention, so he didn't refuse.

"Shintaro, do you know that the Third Hokage will be blamed and resign?"

"I've heard." Shintaro nodded.

"So, what do you think about the Fourth Hokage election?" Fugaku asked again.

"Any ideas? Actually, I don't know much about the Fourth Hokage campaign." Shintaro was asked this question for the second time today.

"Among the current candidates, there's Namikaze Minato and Orochimaru. Of course, some are choosing me, but most of them are from our clan."

Shintaro nodded and said, "So, no matter who gets elected, the Uchiha Clan's situation will be better than it is now, right?"

There was a bit of surprise on Fugaku's face, then it turned into understanding.

"Yes, you're right."

Fugaku stroked his eyes and sighed, "I didn't expect I couldn't see it as clearly as you do."

The implication was the Mangekyo Sharingan's ability to predict the future, but he couldn't see it more clearly than Shintaro.

However, Fugaku had long been accustomed to Shintaro's sensitivity and intelligence, so he accepted it calmly.

❀❀❀

A few days later, the Third Hokage officially resigned. At the same time, the Third Hokage and other senior Konoha officials held a high-level meeting to start nominating the next Hokage candidate.

Meeting room.

"Let's start the nomination. Konoha can't live without a Hokage for a day. After nominating candidates, we still need the daimyo's appointment and the Jonin Council's vote."

"So, let's settle this as soon as possible."

Hiruzen's tone was somewhat low, and his face serious. After all, he had just resigned at the meeting and was now the former Hokage of the Konoha Village.

"Orochimaru is good." Danzo folded his hands in front of him, his eyes sharp.

Besides the reason for cooperation, Orochimaru's character also suited Danzo's taste, even though Orochimaru sometimes contradicted him.

However, even if Orochimaru was nominated, it didn't mean he didn't want the Hokage position.

This was also the reason for Danzo's sharp gaze.

He still longed for the Hokage position in his heart. When the Second Hokage chose the next Hokage, he thought he only lost due to slow reaction and one move.

Now that Hiruzen had stepped down, his disciple Orochimaru's takeover seemed one of the most logical choices.

But Danzo knew that Orochimaru was obsessed with research and uninterested in political power.

At that time, Danzo had a chance to touch the Hokage throne.

Of course, this was his wishful thinking.

"No, Orochimaru is my student. I know him best. He has a cold and ambitious temperament. He doesn't have the will of fire in his heart and cannot bear the important responsibility of Hokage."

Hiruzen opposed his beloved student with one sentence.

His expression was also not relaxed, as he had placed great hope on Orochimaru since he was young.

Orochimaru had five chakra attributes and was highly talented in ninjutsu. He should have inherited the Hokage according to the path set by Hiruzen.

Unfortunately, Orochimaru grew more twisted after his parents died on the battlefield, and now he had become a sullen person hiding in the research institute all day, conducting unknown research.

For traditional ninjas like Hiruzen, Orochimaru was clearly not a suitable successor in his eyes.

Danzo lowered his head after hearing this, his black hair covering his eyes.

"How about Jiraiya?" Homura recommended.

"Jiraiya is not good. He is too free-spirited and not suitable to be Hokage." Hiruzen objected again.

"What about Tsunade?" Koharu, also a woman, recommended.

"Tsunade hasn't recovered from the psychological trauma after the last ninja war and can't be Hokage either." Hiruzen objected.

"If there's no other suitable candidate, allow me to nominate."

"Namikaze Minato."