As the vote counting concluded, ten people handed the final results to Tsunade.
At that mont, the entire crowd was on edge, hearts pounding in anticipation.
Nawaki and Minato stared intently at the ten slips of paper, their expressions tense.
Tsunade cast a brief glance at both candidates before politely dismissing the twenty vote counters. Only then did she finally speak.
"The results are now in my hands."
"Do you all want to know the answer?"
She suddenly raised her voice, and the crowd roared in unison, "Yes!"
"Well... you'll have to wait a little longer."
"I'm not very good at math."
"I need a mont to count, haha~"
Tsunade smirked, clearly enjoying herself as she teased the audience.
"Ugh, co on!"
"I'm good at math!"
"Don't keep us in suspense like this!"
"Hurry up already, Lady Hokage!"
The crowd erupted with groans and complaints, frustrated by her antics.
"Alright, alright, I'll count now," she said, realizing she might have pushed too far.
She quickly reviewed the numbers on the ten slips, but when she finished, her expression shifted slightly.
She hadn't expected the race to be this close—just a single vote separating the two.
To be sure, she double-checked, then triple-checked the count. Only when she confird the accuracy did she relax.
She glanced at Nawaki and Minato, feeling a pang of sympathy for the one who had lost.
But for her, the outco hardly mattered—as long as a winner was chosen, she could finally retire.
That was the real victory.
"Alright, I've kept you waiting long enough."
"The final count is in."
"There is only a one-vote difference between the two candidates."
"It's a close result, but we must respect the decision of the people."
"The Fifth Hokage is—"
Tsunade paused dramatically, and the entire audience leaned forward, stretching their necks in anticipation.
"—Ugh, my throat's a little dry."
She cleared her throat theatrically, dragging it out even further.
At that mont, if people weren't afraid of her strength, soone would have definitely challenged her to a fight.
Even Kawakaze was grinding his teeth in irritation.
Where had she learned to be this annoyingly mischievous?
"Seriously?!"
"Don't push our limits! Our hearts can only take so much!"
"Just say it already, Lady Hokage!"
Recognizing that she was on thin ice, Tsunade decided not to push her luck any further.
With a final deep breath, she finally made the announcent.
"Let us all congratulate Minato Namikaze—the Fifth Hokage!"
The mont the words left her lips, the crowd erupted into cheers, chanting Minato's na.
Kushina, overco with excitent, jumped up and wrapped Mikoto in a tight hug before planting multiple kisses on Itachi's face.
Itachi, looking utterly unimpressed, wiped his face in disgust—just in ti to notice a flicker of disappointnt on Karin's face.
"Karin, it's okay."
"It's just as good to be happy for Uncle Minato."
Misaki kept her usual gentle smile, showing no sign of disappointnt.
"I understand, Mom."
Karin pouted but nodded obediently.
...
Amidst the cheers, Minato stood frozen for a mont before turning to Nawaki.
"Congratulations."
A flicker of disappointnt flashed in Nawaki's eyes, but he quickly replaced it with a genuine smile.
"Thank you, brother."
Minato stepped forward and pulled Nawaki into a tight embrace. No matter the outco, they were still close as ever.
"Go on, Sis is waiting for you."
Nawaki patted Minato's shoulder twice before turning and heading backstage.
...
Minato straightened his attire and strode confidently to Tsunade's side.
The crowd fell silent, knowing they were about to witness the transition of power.
"Congratulations, Minato."
Tsunade removed the Hokage hat, her smile warm and approving.
"If not for you and Sensei guiding , I wouldn't be standing here today."
Minato would never forget the kindness and ntorship of Kawakaze and Tsunade.
"Do your best. Both your Sensei and I have high hopes for you."
Truthfully, they had also placed high expectations on Nawaki, and their words were sincere regardless of the outco.
"I will."
Minato nodded firmly, and with that, their private conversation ended.
...
"Is everyone satisfied with the result?"
Tsunade raised the Hokage hat with both hands, addressing the audience.
"Satisfied!"
"Good. Then this hat, the symbol of the Hokage, now belongs to Minato Namikaze."
After receiving the villagers' response, Tsunade handed the hat to Minato.
"I, Minato Namikaze,"
"From this mont on, officially assu the position of Hokage."
Placing the hat on his head, Minato proudly declared his new title.
"Hokage! Hokage!"
...
No one knew how long the cheers lasted, but eventually, the crowd began to disperse.
On this day, at just 22 years old, Minato Namikaze beca the Fifth Hokage of Konoha.
Though it was one generation later than in the original tiline, he had assud the role even earlier in terms of age.
...
"Brother-in-law, where are we going?"
Just after stepping off the stage, Nawaki was pulled away by Kawakaze before he could witness the final monts of the ceremony.
"I'm taking you where you need to be."
Kawakaze flashed a mysterious smile, making Nawaki uneasy.
Was he about to be eliminated just because he didn't beco Hokage?
"This is the way to the ANBU headquarters..."
Noticing the increasingly familiar path, Nawaki began to put the pieces together.
"That's right."
Kawakaze offered no further explanation and continued walking forward, leaving Nawaki no choice but to follow silently.
Under Kawakaze's lead, they arrived in front of Sakumo's forr office.
"Brother-in-law, what are we doing here?"
For a mont, Nawaki thought he was being assigned so kind of mission.
But Kawakaze's expression didn't suggest that, leaving him unsure of what to expect.
Instead of answering, Kawakaze pushed the door open and walked in.
The office was empty, the desk pristine, with no signs of recent use.
Apart from shelves filled with docunts, there was no indication that this room had seen any work at all.
"This will be your office from now on."
Kawakaze gestured for him to step inside. Nawaki, still in a daze, slowly approached the desk and sat down.
"What do you an?"
"I'm going to be the ANBU Commander?"
It took him a mont to process the situation. Was this ant as compensation?
"Yes."
"We old folks should finally enjoy life."
"Konoha's future should be in the hands of the younger generation now."
Kawakaze nodded, confirming Nawaki's suspicions.
In reality, he and Tsunade had planned this long ago—regardless of who beca Hokage, the other would lead ANBU.
After years of working together, Nawaki and Minato were the perfect match for such a system.
Kawakaze also had no doubt that neither of them would turn into soone like Danzo.
"Never thought I'd end up working under Minato, huh?"
Now understanding the bigger picture, Nawaki let out a laugh.
"Get used to the place. I'm heading out."
Having brought Nawaki to his new position and explained everything, Kawakaze had no intention of lingering.
He knew Nawaki wouldn't dwell on losing the election for long.
With a snap of his fingers, Kawakaze vanished on the spot.
...
After he left, Nawaki stood up and wandered around the office.
"Not becoming Hokage... this isn't so bad either."
A small smile ford on his face as he muttered to himself.
...
anwhile, after the election, Minato made a brief stop at the Hatake residence to put away his Hokage hat before heading straight to the Senju compound.
Kushina had been waiting for him for a long ti—she knew he would co.
"I did it."
Minato rushed toward her, looking just as excited as the young boy who had once gathered the courage to confess his love under Kawakaze's encouragent.
"I saw."
Kushina t his gaze, eyes filled with love.
"Then... will you be the Hokage's wife?"
"Yes."
A simple question, a simple answer.
A promise made long ago, finally fulfilled today.
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