— — — — — —
"I got it."
Minato gave a slightly helpless smile. "Let's head back then. See you at ho in a bit."
With that, he dispelled the Shadow Clone.
Yep—this version of Minato wasn't the real deal. The original was still back at ho in Konoha.
And this place? It wasn't even Konoha—it was just a small town sowhere in the Land of Fire.
"Geez, everyone's gone already! No one thought to give a ride? Seriously?"
"Flying Thunder God this, Flying Thunder God that… I'm just so poor guy stuck walking ho."
Grumbling to himself, Jiraiya started making his way back to the village.
"All this trouble for my students… what a pain. So much for my materials-gathering trip, too…"
— — —
Eight days later,
Most of the ninja from the Kirigakure front had returned ho in triumph.
Well… everyone except for the Uchiha.
Aside from Fugaku and a few others, the clan mbers had been reassigned to other battlefields—Kumogakure and Iwagakure.
That sa day, the Third Hokage put on a bit of a show at the village gate, welcoming Orochimaru back with a full-on ceremony.
As for Fugaku? Sorry, not invited.
He'd been summoned back to the village half a day early.
And not just that—Hiruzen and Danzo personally t with him in the Hokage's office.
They offered a few words of half-hearted praise, and then…
That was it.
"…Heh. Just like Renzo warned —it's the classic 'Burn bridges after crossing them' routine."
"They really think they can just use the Uchiha like disposable tools?"
Fugaku felt humiliated, but thanks to Renzo's warning, he didn't lash out. He just gave a cold snort, stood up, and left in a huff.
— — —
At the ceremony…
"Orochimaru, you've done well. For now, go ho and get so rest—you've earned it," Hiruzen said, smiling as he greeted his student warmly.
"I understand, sensei."
Orochimaru responded with a polite smile.
Rest? What a joke.
This was just the Hokage's way of brushing him aside. Sa treatnt as Renzo got back then.
Orochimaru was deeply disappointed.
It was obvious now—Hiruzen didn't trust him. He was afraid Orochimaru had gained too much popularity and might threaten the selection of the next Hokage.
Hiruzen stepping down was pretty much a done deal.
The real question was: who would be the Fourth?
Hiruzen wasn't looking for soone capable. He was looking for soone he could control—a puppet Hokage.
Young, inexperienced, without any real backing or influence. Soone ek, soone easy to manipulate…
And Orochimaru? Yeah, he didn't fit that mold in the slightest.
Hiruzen knew exactly what his student was like—popular, well-connected, cunning, and proud. All the things he couldn't tolerate in a successor.
So Orochimaru had been written off from the start.
...
"Tch… Sa old routine, huh? What a sha. This ti, things won't go the way you planned, old man."
"Let's see how tomorrow's clan leader eting plays out… I'm expecting so real drama."
With those thoughts swirling in his mind, Orochimaru quietly slipped away from the welco parade.
Hiruzen watched him leave, feeling a strange unease he couldn't quite explain.
Everything seed fine… but still.
Sothing just didn't feel right.
— — —
Back at the Uchiha compound…
Fugaku had just finished catching up with his family after returning from that awkward eting with the Hokage when Renzo arrived.
"Hey Fugaku, Mikoto!"
Renzo stepped in with a relaxed grin, greeting them casually.
"Have a seat. I've got a few things I want to talk to you about." Fugaku gestured to the open spot across from him.
Renzo sat across from him, took a sip of the tea Mikoto had set out, and finally said: "So… looks like you already got the cold shoulder from Hiruzen and Danzo?"
Fugaku rolled his eyes. "You brat. Like you didn't already know exactly how that eting went."
"I an, co on. We ca back from the front lines with a huge win. But only a handful of us returned—including just and a few bodyguards. And all I got was a few empty words of praise?"
"No follow-up? No recognition? Not even a proper welco ceremony?"
"anwhile, the rest of our guys are just being shoved off to other battlefields again!"
"This is outrageous! They're heroes! And this is how the Third treats them?! Sending them right back to die?!"
This, honestly, might've been the most insulted Fugaku had ever felt.
Sure, things had been unfair in the past, too. But at least back then, he couldn't argue—he hadn't made any major contributions.
But this ti? This was ridiculous.
"Hah."
Renzo just chuckled lightly.
"Didn't we already see this coming?"
"Calm down. Tomorrow's when we make our move. Right now, the real cancer in Konoha is Hiruzen, Danzo, Koharu, and Homura — those so-called elders at the top."
"It's about ti they stepped down."
"Just stick to the plan tomorrow, Fugaku. I'll step in at the right mont."
After so much planning, it was finally ti to bring it all to an end. Even Renzo was starting to get impatient.
"Alright."
Fugaku gave a firm nod.
After that, the two of them discussed so final details. Fugaku even had Renzo stay for dinner before letting him leave.
— — —
The next morning
In the main conference hall of the Hokage Tower, clan leaders from all across the village were gathering one after another.
Renzo ca along as Fugaku's bodyguard. Once Fugaku found the Uchiha seat and sat down, Renzo took his place quietly behind him, waiting for the eting to begin.
Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Minato had all shown up as well.
Creak—
The door to the hall swung open.
Hiruzen walked in with Danzo, Koharu, Homura, and several ANBU behind him. They all quickly took their seats.
"Ahem!"
Hiruzen stood up, cleared his throat, and began speaking:
"Everyone, thank you for coming. First, I want to share updates about the Kiri front. We'll be comnding those who perford outstandingly in the recent battles."
"Second…" His expression turned a little more serious. "Lately, I've been feeling the burden of age. I believe it's ti to elect the Fourth Hokage."
"I'd like to hear everyone's opinions today. We'll co up with a few candidates together, and then let the villagers vote to decide who the new Hokage should be."
Of course, this was sothing he had already planned long in advance.
With the major wars nearly over on all fronts, it was the perfect ti to hold an election — especially before most of the front-line ninjas returned.
That way, neither Minato, Orochimaru, nor even Fugaku had many supporters present in the village.
It was the ideal situation. The outco of the vote would still be under his control. And keeping power close was a lot easier this way.
The next Hokage will just be his puppet, with all the power still in his hands, the Third Hokage.
---
"Whoaaah—!"
"Such boldness from Lord Third!"
"I think Lord Minato would be perfect!"
"I vote for Lord Orochimaru!"
"Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya are great picks too!"
Voices rose across the hall as the clan leaders and a few civilian jonin representatives began to speak up.
Unsurprisingly, Minato and Orochimaru were the top picks.
Tsunade and Jiraiya also had their fans, though both had publicly stated before that they weren't interested in running. So most of their supporters shifted to either Minato or Orochimaru.
As for Danzo?
Yeah… no one liked him. Not even a ntion.
Danzo's face turned sour. He'd expected it, but it still stung. His eyes quietly scanned the hall, taking ntal notes of those who spoke the loudest.
"Hmph! If the timing wasn't right, and I hadn't told the Shimura clan and my supporters to keep quiet for now, things would be different," Danzo thought bitterly. "I just don't want to attract too much attention from Hiruzen yet… That's all!"
Suddenly, Fugaku stood up and declared loudly:
"On behalf of the Uchiha Clan, I fully support Namikaze Minato for Fourth Hokage!"
The room instantly fell silent. All eyes turned to him in shock.
Just half a year ago, rumors had been flying that Fugaku himself was aiming for the Hokage seat. Many of the Uchiha in the Police Force had been openly pushing that agenda.
They clearly had ambitions for the position. And now, out of nowhere, Fugaku was backing Minato?
Hiruzen, Danzo, and the two advisors exchanged uneasy glances.
When did Minato and Fugaku get so close?
Hiruzen glanced over at Minato and saw him sitting there calmly, completely unfazed. It was obvious he'd known about this in advance.
That only made Hiruzen more uncomfortable.
This wasn't in the script.
He thought he had Minato completely under control.
But now, right when it mattered most, sothing unexpected had happened.
And Fugaku, of all people, had publicly and clearly thrown his support behind Minato.
What the hell is going on?
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