Regarding the attitude toward Haseo and the issue of "final judgment," everyone quickly reached a unanimous conclusion—to abandon him.
The conclusion was straightforward; after all, they were rational people. However, emotional and subjective issues still existed. At this moment, in some people's minds, Konoha felt like a pure-hearted girl who'd been dumped by a real scumbag.
Hmph, today you ignore me… tomorrow you'll regret it.
"The problem is that the Fourth Generation has left too deep an impression in the eyes of ordinary ninja. Even though he's completely vanished, we absolutely cannot simply announce something like this directly... Otherwise, the consequences will be unpredictable."
Although Haseo had already left Konoha for some time, this reality remained unchanged.
His influence on Konoha ninja, especially the younger ones, was just too great. The village couldn't possibly announce outright that the Fourth was gone and now it was time for the Fifth.
Additionally, there was also the factor of how other Ninja Villages might react. Konoha wanted to keep Haseo's threat factor going for as long as possible.
"Also, equally important is the issue of selecting the Fifth..."
"There needs to be a transition period. I believe at least three more years are needed. If we extend three years from the current point in time, then the Fourth Hokage's reign would nominally run from Konoha Year 41 to Year 47. That timeframe sounds barely acceptable, and then we can officially announce his retirement.
Say he's lazy, or just needs a break—it doesn't matter. Any excuse will do. Either way, Konoha can smoothly transition into the era of the Fifth.
And by Year 47, this war should have mostly wound down... At least reached its final phase.
Until then, I think it's best we maintain the illusion that the Fourth is still in the village and functioning normally."
Uzumaki Shikou said this.
On the one hand, it was the safest move; on the other, she still wanted to protect Haseo's reputation as best as she could.
"In other words, even though Haseo has left, we still have to keep playing the trick he orchestrated?"
Koharu Utatane spoke, sounding both angry and helpless. When Haseo left, he did leave behind a decoy—though admittedly, it was just a mere cat.
Homura Mitokado stopped her from continuing further before saying, "This arrangement is actually the best possible option."
In the end, humans must submit to reality, acting based on reason rather than emotion. The one and only decent thing Haseo did was to ensure the village's power structure stayed intact after he left.
Regardless of personal relationships, ever since the two Elders chose Haseo as the Fourth and pushed Danzo to the Eastern Front, the disciples of the Second had become politically divided and entered into direct confrontation with each other.
Therefore, when discussing major topics concerning the Fourth and the Fifth, someone as influential as Danzo wasn't here at all.
No one in the room wanted him to show up—not now, not ever.
So, having allies or friends is really important. Take Danzo for example; he didn't even know everyone was having a meeting because nobody bothered to inform him. Even now, it's unclear whether Danzo has realized that the Third Hokage had been overly lenient toward him.
"I get it. Arrangements will also be made for Tsunade-sama's decoy," Uzumaki Shikou said.
This matter was quite a bit of trouble—not only did Haseo need a decoy, but Tsunade did as well. Otherwise, Konoha might witness a farce where "the Hokage is still here, but his wife ran off."
"Hmph, you can handle that as you please."
When mentioning Tsunade, the two elders gritted their teeth in frustration... It was tolerable enough when Haseo left, considering he wasn't originally from Konoha and thus his attachment to the village was naturally tenuous.
But Tsunade was different. She was the granddaughter of the First Hokage, Konoha's princess and jewel. Yet when Haseo decided to leave, she not only failed to try stopping him, but instead quickly followed right after him without even slapping a hundred divorce papers on his face...
What kind of situation was this? Was she just some teenage girl blinded by romance?
She failed to fulfill her responsibilities both as a wife and as a member of the Senju clan and a Konoha ninja. Didn't Tsunade understand the honor and belonging tied to Konoha?
In the two advisors' eyes, Tsunade was even more infuriating than Haseo in this incident.
But they could do nothing but stew in anger, as there was no way to confront someone who had simply vanished.
"As for the most critical matter—the selection of the Fifth Hokage—it seems the most suitable candidate would be..." Homura Mitokado trailed off, directing his gaze toward Jiraiya and Orochimaru, finally settling on Jiraiya.
"Me? I'd rather not."
"I thought you had grown tired of Hokages with problematic personalities who act recklessly on whims," Jiraiya waved it off bluntly. He held little interest in the Hokage position itself. As for his reasoning, though he often played the fool regarding women and indulged his eccentricities, in matters of principle and crucial decisions, Jiraiya could be counted on.
If anyone carried forward the Third's thoughts and upheld his legacy, it would undoubtedly be Jiraiya himself... Jiraiya deeply valued Konoha, so if he truly desired to excel as Hokage, he absolutely could.
However, accepting the Hokage title would severely interfere with Jiraiya's personal hobbies. Once Hokage, at the very least, he wouldn't be able to lounge around the Hot Spring Town or sneak peeks into women's bathhouses anymore.
"...".
From the elders' point of view, Jiraiya's easygoing nature bore some resemblance to Haseo's. Considering Haseo's recent poor behavior, the elders had indeed grown weary of such character traits... If Jiraiya became Hokage, what if scandals started breaking all the time? The Anbu couldn't waste manpower constantly dealing with the Hokage's scandalous side activities, could they?
Thus, Homura shifted his gaze past Jiraiya onto Orochimaru.
"Me?"
"I won't deny having some interest in the Hokage position, but the issue is I've already been explicitly warned against pursuing it... Seems like they're afraid I might trigger some kind of biochemical disaster."
Orochimaru's attitude and demeanor remained unchanged. But did he really want to become Hokage? Clearly, he was just lusting after Konoha's Kinjutsu.
"Was it Haseo who made these additional interventions before leaving...?"
Homura Mitokado was about to criticize Haseo for unnecessary interference, yet he refrained from speaking further because, upon reflection, the Fourth Hokage's concerns seemed highly plausible. After all, Orochimaru had always shown disturbing levels of enthusiasm toward certain matters.
After thinking through the situation, the two Elders realized a startling truth: all three apprentices of the Third Hokage seemed to each have their own issues—each displaying rather extreme tendencies...
So could the Third's teaching methods truly have failed this badly?
"In that case, does the choice for Fifth Hokage necessarily have to come from the younger generation?"
The Elders and upper echelon officials actually didn't object to young people becoming Hokage. Frankly speaking, youths were easier to control—at the very least more adaptable than someone like Haseo, who was as immovable as a boulder wedged in a drainpipe.
As for raw capability, there was also Sakumo Hatake. However, everyone instinctively ignored him. The reason was simple: for quite a long time, Sakumo had been working in Haseo's shadow. Haseo once jokingly referred to Sakumo as his "lackey," and even though it was meant humorously, such an impression genuinely clung to Sakumo.
"If that's the case, then I do have one candidate in mind... In fact, he has already drawn considerable attention recently."
Almost immediately, Jiraiya offered what seemed to be a perfectly "natural" suggestion.
He was Jiraiya's disciple, with connections tracing back to the lineages of the First, Second, and Third Hokages; linked to both the Uzumaki clan and Kagenami, thus gaining support from those factions; young, possessing strength, charisma, and personality; his thinking was mature and upright, with a strong sense of the big picture and solid personal integrity...
Coming from commoner stock, he already enjoyed widespread grassroots popularity; at the same time, he had strong connections within the upper levels of power, giving him significant political backing.
How many shinobi like him could there possibly be?
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