Naruto: I Borrow from the Future

Chapter 86 Orochimaru's Promise

Nanga Shrine.

The Uchiha clan held another clan meeting.

This clan meeting requires all Jonin to attend, and those below Jonin level who wish to attend may also participate as observers.

"As you all probably know, the Third Hokage just announced that he is preparing to elect the Fourth Hokage."

Uchiha Fugaku sat upright at the front and said, "There are currently two candidates for Hokage: Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, and Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash."

In the Hokage election, all the Jonin in the village have the right to vote.

The purpose of this clan meeting is to reach a consensus as much as possible and determine which candidate the clan should vote for.

In fact, this can be considered the first truly meaningful Hokage election since the founding of Konoha.

In the election for the First Hokage, only Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were qualified to compete, but their prestige and popularity were not on the same level at all.

Later, Madara Uchiha died in the Valley of the End, and the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, passed away. At that time, there were no other candidates in the village who could compete with Tobirama Senju for the position of Second Hokage.

As for the Third Hokage, needless to say.

It was entirely Tobirama Senju's will before his death!

In this election for the Fourth Hokage, the two candidates appear to be evenly matched, at least on the surface.

Whoever gains the support of more Jonin and attracts more neutral Jonin will have a better chance of eventually succeeding as the Fourth Hokage!

"Why are there only these two candidates?"

The Eighth Hokage of Uchiha was extremely dissatisfied: "It's already the Fourth Hokage, shouldn't it be our Uchiha's turn?"

They, the Uchiha, were also among the founders of the village!

Leaving aside the First and Second Hokage, the Third Hokage passed on his skills to the Second Hokage's disciple, and the two candidates for the Fourth Hokage were the Third Hokage's disciple and the disciple's disciple.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the Uchiha clan!

"that is!"

Uchiha Yakumi, unusually, didn't contradict the Eighth Hokage and instead spoke up for him: "Clan leader, you are clearly the infamous Fugaku with the Fierce Eyes, how come you don't even qualify as a candidate?"

Upon hearing the two squad leaders speak, the group of Uchiha Jonin began to chatter, most of them expressing dissatisfaction with the village's arrangements.

"Don't say that, I'm still far behind those two."

Fugaku Uchiha had a headache.

Should we send him to compete with Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze for the Hokage position?

Wouldn't that be embarrassing for him?

"Now that the candidates have been decided, everyone should stop complaining and quickly decide who to support," said Fugaku Uchiha helplessly.

"Why do we have to choose one? I abstain. I don't approve of either of them!" Uchiha Hachimoku said indignantly.

"I support Uncle Eighth Generation, and I'm abstaining!" Uchiha Inahi chimed in.

Qingye sat quietly to the side, watching without saying a word.

This clan association is practically the corporate culture of the Uchiha clan.

Every little thing in the family requires a clan meeting, which usually ends in a lot of arguments and no results are achieved.

Coupled with the incompetent clan leader Fugaku Uchiha, there was no way to unite the clan members or reach a consensus, which made it even more impossible to reach a conclusion through arguments.

It's no wonder that in the original timeline, they couldn't even reach a consensus on who should be chosen for the Hokage election, so they had to hold clan meetings repeatedly to decide whether or not to stage a coup.

Uchiha Tetsuka, who was huddled in the back, asked in a low voice, "Aoya, who are you planning to support?"

Shisui looked over with some curiosity: "Shouldn't you be supporting Jonin Minato?"

He had also learned that in the latter half of the battle in the Land of the Sea, it was Aoya and Minato Namikaze who were cooperating with each other, so they must have a good personal relationship.

Sitting in front, Uchiha Inahisa's ears twitched. She turned her head and couldn't help but feel a little regretful: "If only you were a bit older, Aoya! With your battle achievements, you would definitely have gotten a candidate spot!"

"Indeed, what a pity!"

Uchiha Hachiro and Uchiha Yakumi both nodded in agreement.

It would be fine if Orochimaru became Hokage.

The worst-case scenario is that if Minato Namikaze becomes Hokage, given his age, who knows how many years he'll have to stay in that position!

Even if Aoya is qualified to be Hokage, how many years will it be before he can truly compete for the Fifth Hokage position?

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Qingye finally spoke up: "I don't really care. If it's a vote, I'll probably vote for Minato Namikaze."

"Sending it to Minato Namikaze—it's not entirely unacceptable." Uchiha Yakumi hesitated for a moment.

"Then I'd rather vote for Orochimaru!"

The Eighth Hokage shrugged and said to the Jonin clan members around him, "It would be best to let Orochimaru take over, then retire after a few years to make way for Aoya!"

Seeing a group of people talking at once, each with their own opinions and ideas, Fugaku Uchiha became increasingly helpless.

"Elder, what do you think?"

Fugaku Uchiha ultimately chose to consult the most respected elder in the clan.

"You guys decide this kind of thing."

Uchiha Setsuna glanced coldly at Fugaku, then slowly shook his head and said, "Anyway, my voting rights have long been taken away, so it's not my turn to participate."

What should I do?

Fugaku Uchiha was completely stunned.

The Jonin clan members had various opinions: some supported Minato Namikaze, some wanted to vote for Orochimaru, and some wanted to abstain.

Even he, as the clan leader, couldn't reach a consensus.

On a day when the police department was on leave, an unexpected guest came to Aoya's house.

"Orochimaru-senpai?"

Aoya brewed tea, poured a cup for Orochimaru and one for herself, and asked with some curiosity, "Coming to see me at a time like this, you're not here to campaign for votes, are you?"

"—Aoya-kun really speaks very directly."

Orochimaru looked slightly embarrassed.

Qingye took a sip of tea, narrowed his eyes, and said, "If this isn't about campaigning, then I don't think I've had much interaction with Orochimaru-senpai, have I?"

strange!

How strange!

Orochimaru came to him not to solicit votes, but perhaps because he had his eye on his Kaleidoscope Sharingan?

Even if that were the case, he shouldn't have come to me so directly, right?

"Since you're being so blunt, I'll be frank with you."

Orochimaru seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said directly, "Aoya-kun, your Sharingan has been upgraded to the Mangekyou Sharingan level, right? Heh, although I haven't witnessed the power of those eyes, I still know a lot about them."

"so what?"

"I am also aware of the flaws of the Mangekyou Sharingan."

Orochimaru immediately offered his bargaining chip: "Furthermore, I also know that the Second Hokage conducted more research on the Sharingan. However, to see all the relevant information, it would probably be impossible without the Hokage."

"—So you still want to campaign for votes?"

"You can understand it that way, Aoya-kun." Orochimaru no longer bothered to hide it. "Minato's strength is indeed very strong, and his popularity and prestige are also very high. However, when it comes to scientific research, if I consider myself second in Konoha, no one would dare to claim to be first."

I believe that!

Qingye nodded secretly.

In the original timeline, during the Boruto era, Orochimaru even created a cloned Mangekyou Sharingan!

"Therefore, with my talent, if I can become Hokage in the future, I will be able to see more sealed data and mobilize more funds for scientific research."

"Even the flaws of the Mangekyou Sharingan can be addressed if we continue to invest in research."

"Also, Aoya-kun is currently a squad leader in the police department, right?"

"Hehe, I personally have no objection to your clan leader Fugaku, but when I think about how, with Aoya-kun's strength and achievements, he is now subordinate to Fugaku-kun, even I can't help but feel indignant."

97

Qingye's gaze suddenly sharpened.

That being said, why did we suddenly bring up Uchiha Fugaku?

Orochimaru, are you trying to sow discord here?

"If I were to succeed as the Fourth Hokage, I could decide to disregard your age and promote you, Aoya-kun, to a high-ranking position as an elder, or even to assist the Hokage in the future!"

"In that case, there's no need to compete with Clan Chief Fugaku for the position of Police Chief in the future, right?"

Orochimaru spoke slowly.