Uchiha's personal opinion

Upon hearing this, everyone understood the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's stance.

"We will certainly do our utmost!"

Despite suffering a major defeat that damaged his reputation, Sarutobi Shinnosuke regained his composure and became more composed afterward.

"How do you plan to maintain the situation in the Land of Lightning's occupied territories?"

Mitomon asked.

"Join forces with Mist Village to stabilize Rock Village and contain Cloud Village!"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke replied in a deep voice, "The occupied territory must be stable in order to achieve continuous production, and the stability of the occupied territory requires the continuous weakening of Kumogakure!"

"Perhaps that's feasible..."

Xiaochun, who was switching dorm rooms, nodded in agreement.

"What about domestic affairs?"

Mitokado Yan continued to ask.

"……political reform!"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke remained silent for a while before uttering two words through gritted teeth.

How should the reform be implemented?

Akimichi Torifu squinted and interrupted to ask.

"...Use the shogunate's superior techniques to subdue the Hidden Cloud Village!"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke took a breath before slowly answering.

Although this statement is considered incorrect in the context of the Naruto lineage, it does not mean that the matter itself is wrong, nor does it mean that the Naruto lineage cannot learn from Uchiha Tokumitsu's shogunate system.

The struggle between the Hokage lineage and Uchiha Tokumitsu has always been like a confrontation between an elderly billionaire who made his fortune collecting rent and a successful young entrepreneur in his prime.

While the former possesses immense wealth and unparalleled riches, the latter also has unlimited potential for development.

The former lacks time, and the latter also lacks time.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, turned his gaze back to Homura Mitokado.

Mitomon Yan first shook his head, then nodded.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke's understanding and performance have improved significantly compared to before. At least according to Mitokado Homura's judgment, he is capable of guarding the occupied territory of the Land of Lightning.

So, another question arises—how can Sarutobi Shinnosuke win over the masses?

It should be noted that the northern border defense forces originally under his command have been taken over by Uchiha Himon at the behest of Uchiha Tokumitsu, and the Sarutobi Shogunate faction members in the ninja army have been purged, and there is still no sign of returning control of the border forces.

The border ninja army was under the jurisdiction of the Military Command, and Hatake Sakumo, who also served as the chief of the Military Command, was an ally of Uchiha Tokumitsu, so he naturally wouldn't order Uchiha Himon to hand over military power.

With the loss of its border troops, the Sarutobi Shogunate is now an empty shell, and controlling the occupied territories of the Land of Lightning has become a problem.

Thinking of this, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, touched a royal edict on his desk.

A special edict approved by the daimyo of the Land of Fire.

"By the way, I recently asked the Daimyo for a candidate for the Fourth Hokage..."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, took a few deep drags on his pipe and said quietly, "Now we have the daimyo's permission..."

Apart from Koharu Uta, everyone else present was shocked.

Even Orochimaru straightened up a bit.

The position of Hokage is one of the long-cherished wishes of every ninja who grows up in the Hidden Leaf Village.

Although the harsh reality of tedious and tiring tasks after graduation may extinguish one's former dreams, that childhood longing still lies hidden deep in one's heart.

Akimichi Torifu's eyes flashed for a moment, then he returned to his calm demeanor.

Mitomon was initially startled, but then remained unmoved.

The leaders of the three clans—Pig, Deer, and Butterfly—exchanged bewildered glances.

Only Orochimaru and Sarutobi Shinnosuke, though their expressions remained calm, found their breathing becoming heavier involuntarily.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, picked up the imperial edict from his desk and turned his gaze to his beloved disciple Orochimaru and his eldest son, Shinnosuke Sarutobi.

Both of them were his most precious treasures, and he would feel a pang of heartache no matter which one he chose.

However, the failure to capture the tailed beasts meant that Shinnosuke Sarutobi would never have the chance to become Hokage again.

The proud Konoha ninja would not accept someone who had suffered the shame of defeat becoming Hokage.

and so……

"Orochimaru……"

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, turned his gaze to his beloved disciple.

The eldest son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, lowered his head slightly.

Orochimaru also straightened his back.

“You have always been outstanding, and you have a group of supporters in the village.”

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, said gently, "Therefore, I have nominated you to the Daimyo as one of the candidates for the Fourth Hokage."

one……

Orochimaru's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and stood up to bow to his teacher.

"In addition, the nominations of two other people have also been approved by His Highness the Daimyo..."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, continued.

"They are Tsunade Senju..."

"...and Sakumo Hatake."

After speaking, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, handed the imperial edict to Homura Mitokado, who was closest to him, and gestured for him to circulate it among the crowd.

Of the three candidates for the Fourth Hokage, two were disciples of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Although Tsunade is a noblewoman from the Senju clan, she has had very little contact with the Hokage lineage since she took the lead in reorganizing the Senju clan. She has focused on training and cultivating the ninja power of the Senju clan, and her relationship with her teacher has become quite distant.

Hatake Sakumo was an ally of Uchiha Tokumitsu, with not only the strong support of the Uchiha clan behind him, but also the influence of the Reform Society, which he spearheaded and established.

Judging from what he just said, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's biggest supporter is his beloved disciple Orochimaru.

The chieftains of the three clans—Pig, Deer, and Butterfly—exchanged glances and made arrangements for their meeting that evening.

The changes in everyone's expressions were observed by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was happily smoking his pipe.

What do you think?

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, spoke again.

The three clan leaders of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio exchanged glances and said in unison, "We support the Hokage's correct decision!"

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, nodded slightly.

As expected, the Ino-Shika-Cho clan remains a staunch supporter of the Hokage faction.

His gaze returned to his three old classmates.

"support!"

Akimichi Toki was the first to answer.

Mitokado En and Utatane Koharu both nodded in agreement.

"Then that's settled. We'll make a formal announcement in the village at a later date."

Just then, the daimyo's edict had finished being circulated and was returned to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"As for the occupied territories of the Land of Lightning, let's settle on that..."

"Shinnosuke, you will be appointed as the garrison commander of the occupied area."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, turned his gaze to his eldest son.

"As ordered!"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke stood up and replied.

"Orochimaru, as a candidate, you should also give Shinnosuke some guidance in his work."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, said gently to Orochimaru, "You'll need to put in some effort to organize the occupying forces."

"……I see."

Orochimaru's usually cold and stern face was slightly flushed.

This is also another form of exchange of benefits.

By having Sarutobi Shinnosuke leave the occupied territory, he signaled to the various ninja clans of the Hokage lineage that the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had no intention of inheriting the throne, and he also brought out his beloved disciple Orochimaru as the object of loyalty for the next generation of each ninja clan.

Orochimaru was also assigned the responsibility of managing the occupied territories and forming the occupation army. This placed Sarutobi Shinnosuke under Orochimaru's command, allowing him to stabilize the situation through Orochimaru's direct influence and begin rebuilding the shogunate's direct ninja army.

"If there are no objections, then prepare to issue a public notice..."

Seeing that no one had any further objections, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, made the final decision.

Chapter 243 Money and Military Power

Following the issuance of the eight billion bailout bonds in the Land of Lightning, Uchiha Tokumitsu secretly purchased one billion ryo of gold coins issued by the Tokumitsu Shogunate in the southern region of the Land of Water.

Although the Land of Lightning expressed its objections after receiving the funds, Uchiha Tokumitsu admitted that it was a currency recognized by the Uchiha clan and could be used to purchase various materials produced in the territories under the rule of the Tokumitsu Shogunate and the Kaga Shogunate.

"The shogunate can sell even the weapons and ammunition that the Hidden Cloud Village needs in battle..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu's words were strongly suggestive.

The Land of Lightning understood Uchiha Tokumitsu's intentions and left 500 million ryo gold coins to Kumogakure, and also raised 500 million ryo fire country banknotes to give to Tokumitsu's shogunate as reparations.

Thus, the funds raised from the bonds that the Land of Lightning had just received were taken back by the Tokugawa Shogunate before they could even be enjoyed. However, it was comforting to note that the sales of the 5 billion ryo special infrastructure bonds issued by the Hidden Cloud Village were also quite good, reaching 1.5 billion ryo in sales within seven days.

In response, Uchiha Tokumitsu explained to the Cloud Village that after all, the Cloud Village was just a ninja village, and it had just suffered several defeats, so the wealthy merchants lacked confidence in it; moreover, it lacked the hard guarantee of bonds from the Land of Lightning with tax revenue as collateral, so it was normal for the sales progress to be a little slower.

Even so, the Cloud Village was very satisfied.

It's worth noting that the Hidden Cloud Village had previously issued bonds on its own, but due to a lack of effective promotion and sales channels, the time required to sell one-year bonds was as long as three months. Now, with 30% of the bonds sold in just seven days, the Hidden Cloud Village was naturally very satisfied.