Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

He's been a sycophant for decades, only to end up with nothing. I wonder if Shinto-sama can handle it...

It's common knowledge in the ninja world that Lord Shinto has been relentlessly pursuing Tsunade for decades. They just can't understand what's so great about that spendthrift woman that makes Lord Shinto so infatuated for so long. If it's about looks, Sunagakure isn't lacking in beauties either. And speaking of figures, Sunagakure has plenty of bigger ones...

With Lord Shindou's strength and status, isn't that just a matter of waving his hand?

Although girls these days are all about looks, I've heard that Masato was incredibly handsome back in the day. If you take a closer look, he might still be quite good-looking.

Why is it that Master Dou is so hopelessly in love with that flower?

Isn't this just reaping what you sow?

......

"There are rumors circulating that Tsunade might become the Fifth Hokage, but you don't seem nervous at all. Are you really planning to team up with Kaizo from now on?"

In the Miyako clan, Chiyo looked at her beloved nephew, who was carefree and sprawled on his grandfather's chair without a care in the world, with a hint of annoyance. Lately, rumors had been circulating in the ninja world that Tsunade was very likely to become the Fifth Hokage, and she thought so too, since Tsunade had the perfect combination of timing, location, and people.

The timing is unfavorable; Konoha is currently in a transitional phase, with the old and the young all vying for the position of Hokage, leaving only one or two capable of becoming the next Hokage.

The greatest advantage is being born into the Senju clan.

Needless to say, the Senju clan, though it has declined for many years, still enjoys a strong foundation among the people of Konoha. The village is now filled with supporters of the Senju clan from back then. As long as Tsunade stands up and raises her flag, no one will object. Anyone who dares to object will probably be killed before they even have a chance to speak. She experienced the Senju clan's most glorious era and knows very well how influential the Senju clan is in the Land of Fire.

That's why she hasn't been able to sleep a wink these past few days since hearing this news. Her precious nephew has been flirting with Tsunade for decades. Although she's given up on him, it's not necessarily true that he has no chance. In fact, after Tsunade left Konoha, she thought her precious nephew's chances had increased. The reason he hasn't succeeded is simply because her precious nephew's flirting skills are really lacking.

But none of that mattered. As the saying goes, sincerity can move mountains, and she still had faith in her precious nephew. So even if Tsunade was incredibly extravagant, she gritted her teeth and accepted it so her nephew wouldn't end up alone. After all, her nephew liked her...

But now Tsunade is 99% likely to become Hokage. Once she becomes Hokage, her status will be even more different. Unless her beloved nephew marries into Konoha, there's no point in even discussing it.

This worried her greatly. It was absolutely impossible for her precious nephew to marry into Konoha. They, the Sand Village, even said that the Land of Wind had only produced such a top-tier expert in hundreds of years. If he married into Konoha, what would become of their reputation? It would also be difficult to fight Retsu in the future. What would they say to their elder brother and sister-in-law?

She's spent a lot of money over the years, and now that he's about to become Hokage, this brat is still acting like he has no ambition whatsoever. It gives her the feeling that the emperor is more worried than the eunuch...

"Hey! Don't listen to those people's nonsense. If it weren't for Nawaki, Tsunade might actually have returned to Konoha to become the leader. After all, White Fang didn't want to be the leader, Jiraiya wasn't available, and the rest were either too old or too young. Besides Tsunade, there was naturally no one suitable to be the head. But with Nawaki, it's a different story. Don't worry, I promise I'll give Karin a few little uncles and aunts in a couple of years..."

After stretching out in his grandfather's chair, Masato calmly said...

Is Tsunade going to become Hokage?

Shinto wasn't worried at all. The political struggle among the remaining three leaders of Konoha was much more intense than in other villages. Wasn't that why Tsunade left Konoha with Nawaki in the first place?

Not to mention that Nawaki is still alive and well, and if anyone is going to be Hokage, it would be Nawaki. Everyone hopes their sons will become dragons and their daughters will become phoenixes, and Tsunade only has one younger brother. If she didn't hope that Nawaki could become successful, she wouldn't have agreed to summon Senju to develop ninjutsu for Nawaki.

Although this method wasn't very effective, Nawaki's talent was probably all in his ability to withstand beatings. The Three-Sword Style that Senju specially developed for him is still being studied for its basics. However, Tsunade's desire for her brother to succeed still exists. Since the regular script couldn't allow her brother to take the position, it wasn't impossible for him to take a shortcut to become Hokage. After all, Konoha was founded by Senju, so it would be legitimate for Nawaki to take the position.

Besides, even if Tsunade becomes Hokage, it doesn't matter. The story has progressed this far. In two years, there will be a world war. By then, everyone will be a loving family. Rasa's eldest daughter can marry Konoha's Grand Marshal. So what if Tsunade, the Hokage, marries Golden Lion?

Yes, that makes sense.

If all else fails, Tsunade can just hand over the Hokage position to Kakashi. After all, Kakashi's 50/50 physique will be fully activated after Kaguya comes out, and he'll definitely be a double-flower red stick. He started contributing to Konoha when he was only five years old, plus he has a Hall of Fame father, so becoming Hokage will be a piece of cake for him.

The only thing he regretted was that when Orochimaru summoned Senju, Senju hadn't had a chance to sign Tsunade's marriage certificate before his soul was sealed by Hiruzen Sarutobi. Otherwise, with Senju's autograph, there wouldn't have been so much trouble; he could have gotten Tsunade to third base right now...

1018. Is Hashirama Senju really that bad?

"Heh, all you've got is a silver tongue to make me happy. Hashirama Senju may have a decent background, but he's still far from being good enough. He can't possibly be Hokage..."

Chiyo shook her head with a smile.

She knew what her nephew meant; he just thought that Hashirama Senju was the one who would become the Fifth Hokage, so that Tsunade wouldn't have a chance.

However, in her opinion, this was completely impossible. It couldn't be said that Hashirama Senju's grandson was bad. Hashirama Senju's genes were there for all to see. Back then, she didn't object when her nephew tricked Hashirama Senju's grandson into dating Yoruichiro because although that kid's talent wasn't great, he still had Hashirama Senju's genes, so his foundation wouldn't be too bad.

Whether Hashirama Senju's grandson is bad or not depends on who you compare him to. If you compare him to someone like her precious grandson, then he is indeed far inferior. But if you compare him to other ordinary people, then he is far superior.

Everyone thinks that kid lacks talent because he's burdened by the aura of being Hashirama Senju's grandson. The previous generation, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, were both great figures in the ninja world, and this generation has Tsunade as a precedent. So many people think that if this kid can't become a Double Flower Red Pole, he'll be a failure. It's because everyone has set his ceiling too high, so if he doesn't reach that expected level, subconsciously people judge Hashirama Senju's grandson as inadequate.

But is Hashirama Senju really that bad?

Senju didn't think so. Talent is a vague and intangible thing, but the foundation inherited from Senju Hashirama was there. No matter how much that grandson wasted, he was still better than 90% of the people in the ninja world.

If Tsunade weren't around, from the perspective of Konoha's higher-ups, there would be no problem for the grandson to become Hokage.

But now that Tsunade has stepped forward, the situation is quite different. This world doesn't have a concept of male superiority over females; anyone with ability can rise to power. Tsunade also carries the halo of the Senju clan, and is a double-ranked Red Staff member, her achievements far surpassing that grandson of Hashirama Senju. With Tsunade as a precedent, Chiyo estimates that the chances of Hashirama Senju succeeding are slim...

"Life is unpredictable. You can't judge things by appearances alone. Time will tell. Besides, that's Konoha's business. Sometimes you should worry about Karin instead. I heard she's planning to apply to join the Anbu. You should think about how to persuade her."

Masato said speechlessly.

Although the joint Chunin Exams in Konoha were interrupted by Orochimaru before they were over, results still had to be achieved. Those who performed well in the joint Chunin Exams were promoted by Rasa after returning to the village, which resulted in most of the kids who were chosen to show off their strength in Konoha being promoted to Chunin.

Karin fought her way into the final round and won, naturally advancing to Chunin. There was a little incident here: due to bad luck, she encountered the Savior during the elimination round and was defeated by the Savior's aura with a single normal attack. Kankuro, Rasa's eldest son, who missed the final round, did not get promoted and remained a Genin. He would have to wait another half a year to advance to Chunin.

In this respect, Luo Sha was impartial and incorruptible, not even towards his own eldest son.

Upon returning, Masato had Rasa process Haku's residency registration, successfully making him a special Jonin of Sunagakure. Rasa also arranged for Haku to join the Anbu, since Haku's appearance was so outstanding that he was practically a walking focal point. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to show his face like everyone else; it would be better for him to wear a mask. Moreover, Haku had followed Zabuza for over ten years, and although he was somewhat resistant to killing, his mental fortitude was top-notch, making him perfectly suited to the pace of life in the Anbu.

Knowing that the wicked Bai had joined the Dark Division, she naturally insisted on joining as well. The Sealing Squad was under the jurisdiction of the Dark Division, and Karin herself was a sealer, so joining the Dark Division was not a problem. However, the key issue was that this girl did not apply to join the Sealing Squad of the Dark Division, but rather to join the Action Team, which gave Rasa a headache.

You know, she's a perfectly fine young lady, the little princess of Sunagakure, how could she be so infatuated? First, it was Uchiha Itachi who kept most of the bookstores in the Land of Wind afloat, and now this devilish Haku has appeared, really...

"The little girl has grown up. Anyway, nothing major has happened in recent years, so let her be."

Chiyo always smiles when she talks about her beloved great-grandson.

She knows how to pursue her own happiness at such a young age, just like me!

......

"What?! Danzo wants to become Hokage? Don't be ridiculous, we're all too old, let's leave the opportunity to the younger generation."

In Konoha Village, not long after Hiruzen Sarutobi was buried, a somber atmosphere still lingered throughout the village.

It has to be said that you can say Hiruzen Sarutobi was indecisive as Hokage, or that he often used his power to protect his best friend, but you absolutely cannot say that he was incompetent. It has been almost a week since his burial, and all the villagers still have sadness on their faces, which shows how popular he was.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi is dead after all. No matter how sad he is, he can't climb out of his coffin. Life goes on. The most important thing now is the issue of the next Hokage.

Therefore, the three giants of Konoha, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, Shimura Danzo, Jiraiya, and Hatake Sakumo, the highest-ranking members of the village, held a roundtable meeting in the Hokage Building to discuss the issue of choosing a Hokage.

Sakumo Hatake and Jiraiya expressed little interest in the meeting. Sakumo Hatake was already a half-sleeve Hokage; if he wanted to become Hokage, he could have taken the position years ago, so why wait until now?

Jiraiya never even considered this question. When the Hokage spends all his time in the office dealing with endless documents, wouldn't that interfere with his research on human body art? Even a crystal ball wouldn't help.

Speaking of the crystal ball, in the spirit that disciples can also inherit their teacher's relics, he has searched the Hokage Building and Hiruzen Sarutobi's house thoroughly these past few days, but he still couldn't find his teacher's crystal ball. He didn't know where it went, and even Asuma and Konohamaru didn't know.

This made him even less interested.

However, their lack of interest didn't mean others weren't interested. The cultured Mitokado Homura had just finished announcing the meeting's agenda when Danzo, the "half of Konoha's power," who had been preparing for some time, immediately stood up, pulled out his speech—written after days and nights of agonizing thought—and loudly read aloud "His Life," successfully moving his two companions to tears. Then, seeing the opportune moment, he began recounting his decades of contributions to Konoha, and, citing his own qualifications, declared that the Hokage position was rightfully his!

1019. Mitokado Homura: Danzo's strength is not even as good as mine.

However, Mitokado Homura was not happy after Danzo said this. Although he had a good relationship with Danzo and Danzo would occasionally give him small gifts, he might support Danzo if Danzo said anything else. But Danzo becoming Hokage was absolutely unacceptable.

Mitokado Enoki is a principled person. He may have good relationships with people, but he still needs to keep business matters separate from personal relationships.

Besides, Danzo is about the same age as them, almost seventy. Although there are quite a few people with white hair in the ninja world, I've never seen anyone who is seventy years old and still wants to become the leader. If people say that, they'll be laughed to death, and others will really think that Konoha has no talent.

Let's talk about Danzo's appearance. Even if, as Shiki said, Danzo was quite handsome when he was young, that was decades ago. Look at him now, only half of his old face is visible, there's an "X" on his chin, and he always has a poker face. He exudes the aura of a major villain. Making him Hokage is a joke, isn't it?

However, in order not to discourage his friends, Mitokado only brought up his age and did not mention his appearance, but he was firmly against it.

Koharu, the girl in the dorm, nodded in agreement with Mitokado Homura's statement. If her friend were twenty years younger and had a new face, it wouldn't matter if he rose to power. But now that he's so old, isn't this ridiculous?

The next time Orochimaru summons his teacher, Shiki won't even need to fan the flames; the teacher will just kill them all...

"Hmph! Then tell me, who else is there?"

At this moment, Danzo's face was more disgusted than if he had eaten shit. After Orochimaru had won over his best friend, he thought he had a great chance from every perspective. But then Mitokado Homura, that bastard, brought up his age, and did so in front of two outsiders. If he hadn't been paying attention to his health recently, he would have turned on him long ago. He had even written his inaugural speech.

After hearing what he said, he was too embarrassed to bring it up again. After all, age was indeed a big issue, something he had previously said he had overlooked. Although he hadn't become as powerful as he had imagined after the transplant of the first generation of cells, he still felt full of energy and thought he could live for another fifty or sixty years without any problems. So he had never thought about it in that direction. Now that Mitokado Enoki had said this, he didn't know how to refute it. He couldn't very well tell them that he had transplanted the first generation of cells and had super vitality, could he?

However, Danzo will not give up. In Konoha now, only White Fang and Jiraiya can compete with him for the Hokage position. However, White Fang said he was not interested, and Jiraiya was not cut out for it. So he felt that although he was a bit older, he had lofty ambitions!

The chances are very high.

"...Actually, Hiruzen mentioned to us back then that he wanted Nawaki to become Hokage, but because his health was still relatively good and Tsunade also had to consider it, things were delayed... Now that Hiruzen is gone, his suggestion back then was not bad. Nawaki is indeed a good candidate. At least everyone from the clan heads to the common people would agree."

"Turn to the next room," Xiaochun said slowly.

"No! Nawaki won't do. His strength is too weak. Isn't the example of the Third Kazekage enough?"

Danzo almost slapped himself. How could he have forgotten about Nawaki, such a precious treasure...? Hearing his friend's words, Danzo firmly objected, while mentally cursing his best buddy a thousand times over, wishing he could pour black dog blood on his grave...

Damn it, we were supposed to be best buddies forever, you got tired of Naruto and found someone else but never thought about leaving me behind.

And it wasn't just once or twice!

“?(;￢＿￢)??”

Sakumo Hatake and Jiraiya both glanced at Danzo; they found his words awkward no matter how they listened to them.

Oh my God!

Danzo actually had the nerve to call others weak...

Although Nawaki's talent wasn't great, his foundation was there, and he was definitely a Jonin. If this old guy wasn't a good buddy, he would have been killed decades ago. He still has the nerve to say that others are bad.

However, it's best to keep these things to yourself. It'll hurt feelings if you talk about them. They're not friends or best buddies. It's exhausting to be constantly schemed against by a scheming old man.

"Security isn't a problem. If Nawaki returns, Tsunade will naturally follow. We can just assign him more guards. Sakumo will have to work a little harder as Nawaki's personal bodyguard..."

Mitokado Homura looked at his friend in astonishment. "You have the nerve to say that others aren't strong, but you're incredibly strong?"

I doubt you could even beat a scholar like me...

"...I'm fine."

Hatake Sakumo nodded.

Now is the time to make a statement. He will naturally support Nawaki's rise to power. His Hatake clan has supported the Senju clan for decades, and now that Nawaki has finally risen to power, he has no reason not to support him.

Moreover, for the village, it is indeed a good thing that Rope Tree has returned to be the person in charge.

After the old leader passed away, Jiraiya, a prodigal son, couldn't stay in the village any longer. He was the only one in the village with two red sticks, and the pressure was too great.

If he were ten years younger, there wouldn't be a big problem, but now he's getting older, almost sixty, and his condition is no longer at its peak. He himself isn't confident that he can handle it.

If Nawaki returns, Tsunade will naturally return as well, and then his burden will be much lighter.

As for being Nawaki's bodyguard, that doesn't matter. The Hatake clan started out as bodyguards. His father was a bodyguard for the first and second generation for a while, and he was also a bodyguard for his old leader for a while. So, being Nawaki's bodyguard again is no big deal for him.

"Hmm... Nawaki as Hokage wouldn't be bad either."

Seeing that Sakumo had already nodded, Jiraiya naturally followed suit. Nawaki was his little brother, and Danzo was his teacher's best friend, but they had nothing to do with him, so of course he had to support his little brother.