Chapter 752 : Fujin, the Fifth Hokage?

"Woah! Why is there a bloody mess here?" Naruto exclaimed while looking at the gore left behind by the explosion of two giant snakes outside Fujin's compound. After returning, Naruto entered the hospital like most of his comrades. Unlike them, he was discharged within an hour.

Yuji cheekily replied, "They were two giant snakes. You should have seen them. They bared their fangs and hissed viciously as they slithered towards our compounds. However, a single glance from sensei's clone made them go BOOM!"

Naruto looked at him and asked, "Huh? How did they explode just by the big brother's gaze?"

Yuji shrugged and answered, "How would I know that? Sensei is too mysterious."

Naruto looked at Yuji with a deadpan expression. Sayaka said, "Yuji, stop fooling around. Naruto, they were dealt with by Sensei's Fuinjutsu. I'll explain…"

In the council room, the Fire Daimyo glanced at everyone after asking his question. After Minato's death, Konoha hadn't appointed the Fifth Hokage as Hiruzen took the reins once again. However, he was growing old rapidly. The severe injury raised huge doubts about his ability to lead Konoha again.

Even though the Fire Daimyo wasn't sure about the level of Hiruzen's injuries, the fact that no one opposed him made him realize their severity. He thought, 'His injuries must be far more severe than they let us believe. Sigh, I hope Konoha has enough strength. If the next Great War begins, we'll lose all the progress we made once again!'

Once again, Homura broke the silence and said, "There isn't much to consider. Though we have several capable ninjas, there is only one who is suitable for the role of Fifth Hokage right now. I propose we make Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, the Fifth Hokage!"

Koharu added, "I agree. Jiraiya's combat prowess has long been proven. He made several contributions during the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars and is the student of the Third Hokage and the teacher of the Fourth Hokage. Every Konoha ninja respects him while enemy villages fear him."

Everyone in the room subconsciously nodded. There weren't any doubts about Jiraiya's capability. The only question that most wondered was whether Jiraiya would accept the seat or not. After all, it was well known that Hiruzen had long wanted Jiraiya to succeed him but Jiraiya always declined the seat.

Even though no one opposed it, the Fire Daimyo didn't make any announcement and instead looked at Fujin. To everyone's surprise, he said, "While I was outside, I kept hearing about a mighty youngster who turned the tides of the war single-handedly several times. Almost every Konoha ninja is speaking of you, Suzuki Fujin. I suspect so will everyone in Sunagakure. Would you like to become the Fifth Hokage?"

For the first time, every clan leader's and elder's gaze became sharp. The civilian council members became slightly nervous but didn't show it on their faces. The Fire Daimyo was unbothered by their gazes and continued looking at Fujin.

Shikaku squinted his eyes and analyzed, 'Is he trying to sow discord? Hmm, no. He should know that wouldn't work. In that case, his goal must be…'

Inoichi glanced at Fujin with curiosity in his eyes. He wondered, 'To get an offer to become the Fifth Hokage directly from the Fire Daimyo… Tempting, especially for his age. However, I have never seen him act like a teenager. This should be interesting. I wonder if he'll fall for it.'

The others had similar thoughts as Inoichi. They wondered how Fujin would respond. More importantly, they wanted to see what Fujin's ambitions were. With the strength and intelligence Fujin displayed and how invested Hiruzen was in him, they knew that Fujin would be a sure candidate for the Hokage in the future. However, they weren't sure whether Fujin would compete with Jiraiya over the seat of the Fifth Hokage or wait patiently for his turn.

Fujin was confused by the sudden offer. He thought, 'What the hell? Since when did Daimyo get the power to choose who the next Hokage would be? Is it the civilian council members?'

Thoughts flashed quickly in Fujin's mind as he analyzed, 'No, they don't get a vote in choosing the Hokage either. That right is reserved for the Jo… Oh, I see. Tsk, it's so simple. As expected of a Daimyo.'

Fujin smiled and replied, "As tempting as that offer is, I would have to pass upon it. I wouldn't know the first thing that a Hokage is supposed to do. Lord Jiraiya would be far more suitable than me."

Even though there was a smile on his face, Fujin was cursing internally, 'Old fox! He just wants to curry some favor with me since I'd be the likely candidate for Hokage in the future. Luckily I have no interest in that position beyond getting access to that scroll and any other forbidden techniques Hiruzen is keeping hidden. Otherwise, I'd have been in a spot of bother.'

Needless to say, if Fujin had agreed, he'd have put himself against the council. Not only would he not become the Hokage as he'd not have the votes, but it'd also show his impatience to be the next Hokage, something that would have been detrimental to him had he actually wanted to become one. As such, the Fire Daimyo wasn't just trying to curry favor but also wanted to gauge Fujin's character.

Fujin's reply caused several of the council members to analyze him.

Hiromasa thought, 'As expected of Renjiro's student! Even if he wants to become the Hokage, he understands that now isn't the time to bicker. Besides, Jiraiya might just pass on the hat when he is ready.'

Tsume wondered, 'Interesting. However, is he really not in a hurry to become the Hokage or did he just spot the trap? His reply wasn't immediate, which means he analyzed the offer a bit.'

Inoichi thought, 'Even if he spotted the trap, it displays his intelligence even further. That is a necessity to become a Hokage. It'll be very difficult for others to compete with him for the position of the Sixth Hokage. Though Kakashi had fair bit of a lead over others, Fujin far exceeds him in raw strength. And, his strength is still growing steadily and rapidly!'

Homura nodded approvingly and so did Koharu despite her issues with Fujin. Only one person had different thoughts. Shikaku looked at Fujin and thought, 'Of course, he'd decline. Seeing that he shows up less than once a week to his office, I suspect he'll decline it even in the future. He is far more interested in causing trouble than doing the work to fix any problems!'

While Shikaku knew that Fujin couldn't be called lazy, he understood that Fujin had little interest in administration and establishing influence. Even though he had a seat in the council and was building up a new faction inside Konoha, both were things that Hiruzen forced upon him. In fact, Fujin had outrightly refused the second. However, the others in the council weren't entirely sure of it.

The Fire Daimyo smiled and said, "Alright. Since no one opposes Jiraiya, I'll appoint him as the Acting Hokage. He'll take over all the duties of the Hokage. Considering the situation, there is no need to hurry with the voting. Do it when things calm down."

Everyone agreed. The council discussed a few more topics, including the financial aspects. Due to Shikaku's plans, Konoha didn't suffer much structural damage. The gigantic snake had caused the village wall to collapse in 8 different spots, but it wasn't much.

Only two of the eight units managed to break through the wall but neither could enter the village. Hence, the damage was minimal. Since the financial demand wasn't much, the Fire Daimyo agreed to bear all of it without much argument. After discussing other topics for around an hour, the Fire Daimyo finally took his leave.

Shikaku glanced at the civilian council members and said, "You guys can leave as well."

Hearing the seriousness in his tone, none of them argued. Once again, only ninjas remained in the council room. Without a hint of laziness on his face, Shikaku said, "Now that the civilian aspects are dealt with, we need to address the military aspect.

First, we need Lord Third to recover and wake up. The only one who can heal his soul is Lady Tsunade. Unfortunately, we have no idea where she is. Lord Jiraiya has already agreed to find and bring her back. He wants to take Naruto with him to find her."

Koharu squinted her eyes and said, "The Jinchuriki? Why him?"

Shikaku shrugged and answered, "No idea. I guess he wants to train Naruto, considering that he trained him for the finals of the Chunin exam."

Homura thought and said, "That is fine. He won't be in any danger with Jiraiya looking over him. However…"

Shikaku completed his sentence, "We have to convince Lord Jiraiya to accept the position of the Fifth Hokage. While I'd have liked to help, I don't think a junior convincing him would work. I hope you two can convince him to do so."

Homura and Koharu nodded and replied, "Alright."

Shikaku replied, "Good, we'll leave it to you. That brings us to the second point…"

Shikaku's gaze turned towards Fujin as he spoke.

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