Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

Although the experiment had been authorized by her grandmother, Tsunade's eyes involuntarily dimmed when she thought of her familiar clansmen who had died.

"I'm so sorry, Tsunade, it was my fault," Hiruko apologized earnestly.

He didn't really care about the matter, but adhering to the principle of avoiding trouble, he didn't want to provoke Tsunade.

After all, he still lusted after Tsunade's body and couldn't forget those big lamps.

At this moment, inside the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage made it clear that he wanted to discuss serious matters, so everyone was somewhat restrained. Tsunade couldn't possibly start a fight and cripple Hiruko.

The Third Hokage suddenly stepped forward and said, "Alright, now that everyone is here, let's get down to business. The main reason we're all here is to determine the candidate for the Fourth Hokage."

As soon as the third generation finished speaking, the scene suddenly fell silent.

He took a deep breath and continued, "I'm getting older and older, and I feel increasingly powerless."

"It's time to retire. The village needs a successor, and it needs a younger, stronger Hokage to bring new vitality to the village and lead Konoha to prosperity."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said earnestly that he truly felt he was getting old and that someone needed to take over the burden of the Hokage and continue to protect this land and its people.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a deep sense of powerlessness in his body; the years had left indelible marks on him.

As ninjas typically enter middle age, their overall strength begins to decline slowly, their energy diminishes, and their thinking becomes less sharp than it was in their youth.

Chakra, though a powerful energy, comes at the cost of draining one's life force.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was acutely aware that he was no longer as decisive as he had been in his youth.

He also lost the decisiveness that a Hokage leader should have, becoming increasingly indecisive.

Rather than clinging to the position of Hokage and becoming incompetent and decadent day after day, it would be better to choose to retire gracefully and hand over the future to the younger generation.

Unlike Danzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi's obsession with becoming Hokage was not as deep.

He has already served as Hokage and experienced that glory. Now, he cares more about the future of the entire village, how to protect the village, and how to pass on the Will of Fire.

He is happy to hand over the Hokage position to the next generation of young people, so that they can write their own glorious chapter.

Unlike that old guy Danzo, who became increasingly obsessed with the Hokage position, even to the point of being somewhat fanatical.

Hiruzen Sarutobi hoped that Danzo would understand that the position of Hokage was not everything; the future of the village was the most important thing.

Hiruko had absolutely no interest in this kind of formalistic meeting; he found it utterly boring and a complete waste of his precious time for scientific research.

In particular, Hiruzen Sarutobi, having been a cadre for so long, had gotten used to it and was still lecturing everyone on irrelevant things.

They spout platitudes like "the Will of Fire," "the sacrifices of our predecessors," and "Konoha's current peace and stability are all thanks to everyone."

But so far, he hasn't gotten to the point: who does he want to appoint as his preferred successor?

"Old man, stop dawdling and get to the point!" Tsunade was clearly becoming increasingly irritable because of Nawaki's death.

However, in Konoha Village, only a princess like Tsunade would dare to interrupt the Third Hokage in public.

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head helplessly, rubbed his forehead, and glanced at his carefree disciple.

He actually felt very sorry for this disciple who had suffered a severe psychological blow, after all, he was the child he had raised since childhood.

If it weren't for Nawaki's death, Tsunade wouldn't have become so withdrawn, drinking heavily all day, and her mental state wouldn't have deteriorated so much, which was really worrying.

In fact, Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted Tsunade to become the next Hokage directly.

After all, Tsunade is the granddaughter of the First Hokage, the founder of the medical ninja system, and has made great contributions on the battlefield.

Most importantly, the Senju clan has now completely disintegrated and has no chance to threaten the status of commoner ninjas.

Therefore, the Third Hokage was actually quite inclined to let Tsunade succeed as the Fourth Hokage.

Moreover, from a political perspective, Tsunade possessed absolute legitimacy, and her becoming Hokage should have been an unimpeded process.

However, the Hokage is the leader of the entire village, bearing the future and rise and fall of Konoha on his shoulders.

A person with a mental illness is hardly capable of undertaking this heavy responsibility, nor can Hiruzen Sarutobi entrust the future of Konoha to her. This matter cannot be taken lightly.

"Everyone, I've decided to nominate Minato Namikaze as the Fourth Hokage! Who agrees? Who disagrees?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his hand on the table, his eyes blazing as he stared intently at the elders present.

This sudden decision surprised everyone present.

They all originally thought that the next Hokage would be chosen from among the Legendary Sannin, but to their utter surprise, the Third Hokage's favorite successor turned out to be Minato Namikaze.

Orochimaru glanced calmly at Hiruzen Sarutobi, without saying anything more.

He had actually anticipated this outcome.

As early as the Third Shinobi World War, he had already realized that Hiruzen Sarutobi had been paving the way for Minato Namikaze.

In the past, he might have been willing to compete with Minato Namikaze for the Hokage position.

But now, because of Hiruko, he doesn't care about the mere position of Hokage at all.

Really, really! They don't care at all.

After silently repeating those words through gritted teeth, Orochimaru fell into deep thought, remembering that he had another important experiment to conduct that day.

After careful consideration, the heads of the various clans suddenly realized that Minato Namikaze was the most suitable person to become Hokage.

He was of noble birth, a true successor of Konoha, and a commoner ninja rather than a ninja clan member. He also made numerous outstanding contributions on the battlefield.

He was very caring and attentive to his companions, and was highly respected in the village.

Moreover, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is now his wife, which has given him even more support.

Even the Uchiha clan leader, whose face had been contorted with bitterness, now showed a hint of joy.

He had a very close personal relationship with Minato Namikaze, and his wife also had a very harmonious relationship with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

If Minato had become the Fourth Hokage, the Uchiha clan's situation would have been much better than it is now, and they would have been able to integrate into the Konoha family more perfectly.

Hiruko carefully examined the junior in front of him.

His seemingly handsome yet somewhat unconventional blond hair was truly eye-catching; it has to be said that the nickname "Ninja World Punk" was well-deserved.

Seemingly noticing Hiruko's scrutiny, Minato Namikaze immediately gave her a warm smile.

The two locked eyes.