Chapter 181: The Fifth Hokage
That evening, many heroic deeds of Jiraiya were being enthusiastically discussed by the villagers.
Jiraiya had served as a frontline commander for a long time during the war years. He was powerful, approachable, and had excellent rapport among ninjas, especially civilian ninjas. Many of them felt that Jiraiya becoming Hokage was a great and widely anticipated event.
While the heads of the ninja clans remained silent, some members of the branch families spoke up. The branch family of the Hyuga clan believed that only Jiraiya could become Hokage and save Konoha Village.
Danzo was furious.
He was very familiar with this kind of tactic. Back then, the Third Hokage had used similar propaganda to make Minato Namikaze surpass Orochimaru in terms of personal image, reputation, and achievements, ultimately securing the appointment as the Fourth Hokage.
He now realized his own weakness. He was even inferior to Orochimaru. At least Orochimaru had fought on the front lines for many years and had many subordinates. What about him? He had always hidden in the shadows. He claimed to have accomplished many feats, but who knew for sure?
Danzo could only prove himself through action, demonstrating that he was the only suitable candidate for Hokage.
If he lacked achievements, he would simply create one.
Returning to the Root, he began to mobilize his forces!
The ninjas belonging to his Root organization, some secretly trained civilian ninjas, and the ninja clans under his command, including the Yamanaka and Aburame clans, were all within his recruitment scope.
Third Hokage, didn't you say that one must make meritorious contributions to become Hokage? Fine, you wait. Once I wipe out the Sound Village and then, riding the momentum of a great victory, force the Sand Village to retreat, let's see what else you have to say!
The title of Acting Hokage wasn't prestigious enough. Mobilizing the ninja clans at this time would likely fail, and after some back-and-forth, his authority would be damaged. Therefore, he only recruited his own subordinates.
A swift and decisive action to eliminate the Sound Village, and then sharing some of the benefits with the ninja clans to gain their support – his position as Hokage would be secure.
After all, he was seventy years old; he possessed this much political acumen.
The Root ninjas moved out en masse.
The Yamanaka clan dispatched one hundred and fifty ninjas, all under the command of Yamanaka Fu.
Inoichi and Ino did not come. Danzo understood their desire to diversify their investments. The Ino-Shika-Cho formation was powerful, and at this time, they could only be courted, not suppressed.
The Aburame clan was much more compliant. The clan head personally led the team, and it was Shino's father, Aburame Shibi, who came.
He was also a veteran Jonin who had been teammates with Minato Namikaze and Choji Akimichi during their youth.
Aburame Shibi wore sunglasses and carried a large jar on his back. Like his son Shino, he had a low presence and was usually silent.
Inoichi had the right to resist the summons, but he didn't. The Acting Hokage had issued an order, and he had to come. If he didn't, Shino would have to.
Some ninjas from smaller clans also arrived successively. After the number of ninjas on site likely exceeded eight hundred, Danzo, along with Yamanaka Fu and Torune Aburame, made their appearance.
"Target, the Sound Village in the Land of Rice Fields. Let's go."
Danzo wanted to wear the Hokage hat, but all three advisors in the village currently opposed it, so he didn't insist on it.
The group left the village. The gatekeepers were still Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki. Danzo's side had absolutely no intention of going through the departure procedures, and the two gatekeepers acted as if they hadn't seen them, allowing the large group to leave the village unhindered.
"Cough cough," the Third Hokage, sitting in a wheelchair and pushed by an Anbu ninja, stopped Danzo at the crossroads.
Then, lowering his voice, he said, "Danzo, deploying troops at this time will definitely trigger a chain reaction and disrupt the balance of power between various factions. Have you considered this?"
Danzo sneered, "Hiruzen, put away your hypocritical facade. What does the ninja world need? You've been Hokage for forty years and still haven't figured it out. The ninja world needs iron and blood, it needs power! Peace can never be achieved through negotiations alone."
"Danzo, you will regret this."
"Hehe, Hiruzen, I am the Hokage!"
After this classic exchange, the Fourth and a Half Hokage, Elder Shimura Danzo, waved his hand, and the large force quickly left Konoha Village.
Having successfully deceived Danzo and his confidantes into leaving, the Third Hokage immediately began working. Messengers constantly traveled back and forth between the village and the border. As representatives of the Ino-Shika-Cho three-family alliance, which was friendly with Gaara, Shikaku himself made two trips.
On the last trip, Jiraiya personally went and flattened half a mountain, finally reaching an agreement with Ebizo. The two ninja villages reaffirmed their unbreakable alliance, and then the Sand Village withdrew its troops.
The Sand Village returned to lick its wounds, and the selection of Konoha's Fifth Hokage reached its most critical moment.
The Third Hokage tossed the Daimyo's order aside. He usually cared about such things, but now that he was dying, the village was undoubtedly more important. Some formalities could be made up for by future generations. Politicians feared nothing more than personal grudges.
The Third Hokage had always adhered to the rules throughout his life. Before his death, he broke them once. Danzo, on the other hand, had always disregarded the rules, but at this crucial moment, he wanted to play by them, only to be outmaneuvered by the Third Hokage.
Taking advantage of Danzo's absence from the village, the Third Hokage used his last bit of influence to secure the firm support of Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado. He also made deals with various ninja clans, gaining their approval for the new Hokage.
He ultimately persuaded Jiraiya by arguing that Danzo's ascension would bring disaster to Konoha Village and the entire ninja world.
Forced into the position, Jiraiya couldn't quite describe his feelings. He mechanically accepted the Hokage hat, becoming the Fifth Hokage of the village.
His teacher was the Third Hokage, and his student was the Fourth Hokage. Now, after going full circle, he was back to become the Fifth. He couldn't help but feel the capriciousness of fate. Could someone like him really be the Hokage?
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Kakashi, and Asuma said he could.
Tsunade said he definitely could.
Naruto even cheered him on loudly.
Jiraiya's feelings were complex.
On the afternoon of his inauguration as Hokage, the Third Hokage told Jiraiya many of the village's secrets.
No one knew exactly what the two of them discussed, only that Jiraiya's angry cursing never stopped during those two hours. He cursed the Third Hokage and Danzo.
The Third Hokage died in the old Sarutobi family residence on the evening of the day after Jiraiya took office as Hokage.
Ino's estimate of a month was an overestimation.
In reality, an old man of that age, especially in a profession like a ninja with a lifetime of injuries, usually wouldn't show it because of their chakra. Now that his soul was significantly diminished, most of his organs were failing, and his body could no longer extract chakra. Without chakra, all the accumulated injuries instantly erupted.
The Third Hokage felt that he had fulfilled his wishes by taking Orochimaru with him in his final moments and passing the Hokage position to Jiraiya.
Actually, he also wanted to take Danzo with him, but his body simply couldn't hold on any longer.
Jiraiya might have seemed clueless, but he was actually wise in disguise. The Third Hokage believed that Jiraiya was fully capable of dealing with his old comrade.
With the last breath he had been holding finally released, the Third Hokage passed away.