Jiraiya hesitated as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't add another word.
Because he understood Tsunade. Once she made up her mind, she wouldn't change it.
Hiruzen instinctively stroked his beard. Even though he had already retired, he was still a jōnin—and with the Akatsuki threat looming, he had come to attend the jōnin meeting as well. He just hadn't expected the very first agenda item to be the selection of the Sixth Hokage.
But Hiruzen didn't stop it. After all, when Tsunade became Hokage back then, it hadn't been entirely by choice either. Of course, the most important reason was that Hiruzen was very satisfied with Kitazawa. If Kitazawa became Hokage, there wasn't really anything to criticize.
Uchiha Fugaku and Hyūga Hiashi exchanged glances with the other clan heads, and both saw the same spark of excitement in each other's eyes.
After Tsunade became Hokage, she treated them well—but there was always a layer of distance.
Kitazawa was different. If he became Hokage, then Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Nara Shikamaru, and the others would, in a sense, become the Hokage's students. Even if they weren't "formal students," the Advanced Class connection meant they would stay very close to him.
And more likely than not, Kitazawa would choose three students from the Advanced Class as his true personal students.
Those three would become Hokage candidates—competing for the Seventh Hokage.
Whether it was Fugaku or Hiashi, both believed their child would be one of the three.
When that happened, the Hokage's seat would be within reach.
"We'll now begin the first procedure of the Hokage selection: Hokage nominations," Tsunade paused, then said. "If you have someone in mind, say it."
"I believe it can only be Kitazawa," Fugaku stood up first.
Hiashi froze for a split second, immediately regretting that he'd been a step slower.
"I also nominate Kitazawa," Nara Shikaku quickly added.
Ino–Shika–Chō always moved as one. His suggestion was also Akimichi Chōza's and Yamanaka Inoichi's.
"Right now, Kitazawa is Konoha's strongest shinobi. He's the best fit to become the Sixth Hokage," Hiashi came back to his senses and spoke immediately.
After that, Aburame Shibi, Hatake Kakashi, Might Guy, and many other jōnin echoed the same support.
The most thrilled of all was Yūhi Kurenai. She'd long expected this day would come, but when it truly arrived, her heart still raced—so excited she could barely contain herself.
Tsunade glanced at Kitazawa and smiled.
As expected of her student. The choice was unanimous—no one raised an objection.
"Besides Kitazawa, do you have any other candidates?" Tsunade asked again.
Under normal circumstances, there would be multiple Hokage candidates. If there was only one, it would look almost too blunt.
"No," everyone shook their heads.
In this situation, bringing up a second candidate would only offend two Hokage at once. No one was foolish enough to do that.
Kitazawa blinked in surprise as three lines of text suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[Current Mission: Become the Sixth Hokage.]
[Reward: Master-level Fire Release chakra nature transformation.]
[Accept?]
His first reaction was that the reward seemed a bit stingy.
But after thinking it over, it made sense.
Rewards were tied to difficulty, and for Kitazawa, becoming the Sixth Hokage was basically effortless.
Still, master-level Fire Release chakra transformation was nothing to scoff at.
Once he completed this system mission, he'd have master-level mastery of seven natures—or even all chakra natures.
In theory, once you mastered all attributes, you could form Truth-Seeking Orbs by hand—or reach the realm of kekkei mōra.
Of course, in practice, that was extremely difficult.
What new effects would actually appear… he'd only know after he obtained master-level Fire Release transformation.
"Since today happens to be a jōnin meeting, we'll proceed with the jōnin vote first," Tsunade raised a hand to quiet the room.
Becoming Hokage roughly involved four steps: nomination, jōnin vote, civilian vote, and the daimyō's appointment.
In other words, you needed both strength and reputation.
And Kitazawa, needless to say, had both maxed out.
If you asked which step mattered most, it was obviously the nomination.
In special circumstances, nomination alone could even be enough—like when the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, directly designated Hiruzen as the Third Hokage during wartime.
"Shizune," Tsunade said calmly.
Shizune immediately brought out a ballot box and placed it on the table.
The jōnin vote officially began.
In seating order, Jiraiya and the others went up one by one and cast their vote.
"Sensei, you count the ballots," Tsunade thought for a moment, then said.
Hiruzen smiled.
You're calling me "Sensei"—what else is there for me to say?
He stood up, walked to the ballot box, and began counting.
In truth, there was barely anything to count.
"Kitazawa—unanimous approval!" Hiruzen announced loudly.
An entirely unsurprising result. The room erupted into applause.
Quite a few people wore looks of anticipation.
A new Hokage taking office meant a shift in power.
And because of the Advanced Class, many of them felt they had a good relationship with Kitazawa—and could benefit from it.
"As for the civilian vote, the Konoha Police Force will handle it," Tsunade said after the applause died down.
Normally, the civilian vote would be handled by Anbu.
But considering Kitazawa's relationship with Anbu, she reassigned it to the Police Force.
And the Police Force was a good fit now anyway, because it was no longer a department exclusive to the Uchiha.
Long ago, under Kitazawa's suggestion, the Police Force began recruiting shinobi from non-Uchiha clans.
Even though Fugaku was still the head, non-Uchiha members now made up more than half.
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Fugaku's spirits lifted, and he responded at once.
For the Uchiha, this was undoubtedly a good sign.
Letting them oversee the civilian vote was also a way to show goodwill toward Kitazawa.
Hiashi inwardly clicked his tongue.
The Hyūga didn't have a department like the Police Force.
But maybe they would someday—depending on how Hinata and Neji performed.
"After the civilian vote is complete, I'll send someone to notify the Fire Daimyō," Tsunade paused. "Now we'll discuss the second matter: the Akatsuki."
At those words, everyone's expression turned serious.
Many of them had lived through the Great Ninja Wars, but the storm Akatsuki brought was fundamentally different.
After all, never before had a single organization captured seven tailed beasts—or jinchūriki—at once.
The pressure Akatsuki posed was far greater than Kumogakure or Iwagakure—an unprecedented challenge since Konoha's founding.
But what surprised many was that Tsunade only outlined routine deployments, without mentioning cooperation with other villages.
"Tsunade, are we not going to cooperate with the other villages?" Jiraiya asked after hearing her plan.
"They won't agree," Tsunade shook her head. "Even if they talk about cooperation, they'll wait until we've suffered a crushing defeat first."
With that, everyone understood.
Jiraiya sighed helplessly.
The reason peace in the shinobi world was so hard was because every great village had its own schemes.
That was the norm. The ones who truly pursued peace were the minority.
"This jōnin meeting is adjourned. If Akatsuki makes new moves, I'll have Anbu notify you," Tsunade said, then stood and left the room.
Kitazawa intended to follow, but he was immediately surrounded by a crowd of jōnin.
They didn't have any other business—they just wanted to congratulate him on becoming the Sixth Hokage.
By the time Kitazawa responded to everyone one by one, another half hour had passed.
"You're really popular now," Kurenai said with a bright smile.
"What's popular is the Hokage, not me," Kitazawa replied casually.
"Oh, please," Kurenai stepped closer. "You were popular even before this."
"Fair point," Kitazawa pulled her close and teased her in a familiar, playful way. "At least you like me."
Kurenai reflexively looked around to make sure everyone had already left, then finally relaxed.
"Don't worry. If people are around, I won't act up," Kitazawa lowered his head and gave her a light, mischievous nibble on her lips.
"I really didn't expect you'd become Hokage this quickly," Kurenai rolled her eyes, then sighed with emotion.
With Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Seal, in theory she could've served another ten or twenty years easily.
"Given Tsunade-sensei's personality, her being Hokage this long is already pretty impressive," Kitazawa shook his head.
"Tsunade-sama really is… unique," Kurenai chuckled.
"I'm heading to the Hokage's office," Kitazawa asked as they walked, "Want me to see you home?"
"It's still early. I'm going to check on the film crew," Kurenai replied.
Since the Film Department was established, Konoha's first movie had started preparations, and now filming was underway.
The subject was the legendary life of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
"Alright," Kitazawa nodded, then turned and went upstairs.
A moment later, he arrived at the Hokage's office.
He knocked, entered after being permitted, and walked in.
"You're about to become the Sixth Hokage. How does it feel?" Tsunade set down the document in her hands and asked with a smile.
"Doesn't feel like much," Kitazawa walked up to her and lightly touched her cheek. "I'm more curious how you're going to thank me."
"Thank you? Shouldn't you be thanking me?" Tsunade swatted his hand and complained. "Why do you make it sound like becoming Hokage is some terrible burden?"
"Then you keep being Hokage," Kitazawa blinked.
"…"
Tsunade was immediately speechless.
Kitazawa couldn't help laughing.
Fortunately, there was no third person in the office.
Otherwise, hearing their teacher-and-student banter about the Hokage position would've left anyone dumbfounded.
The position the whole village—no, the whole shinobi world—dreamed of was, to them, like a scorching hot potato.
"Speaking of rewards," Kitazawa's eyes shifted as he said, "I do want one reward."
"What?" Tsunade asked curiously.
She couldn't imagine what else she could possibly give him.
After all, she'd already given everything she could.
"After I say it, you're not allowed to hit me," Kitazawa cleared his throat.
"…?" Suspicion surfaced on Tsunade's face.
"Promise me first," Kitazawa insisted.
"I promise," Tsunade's interest was piqued, and she agreed without thinking too hard.
Kitazawa leaned down to whisper a sentence into her ear.
Tsunade's expression stiffened instantly, and she swung a fist at him.
"You just promised—how are you breaking it already?" Kitazawa grabbed her wrist and protested.
"You really do have a pretty imagination!" Tsunade snorted, clearly displeased.
"I'm just saying it out loud. You don't have to take it seriously," Kitazawa hurriedly said.
"As if I don't know you," Tsunade lifted her leg and gave him a kick, then demanded, "You've had that idea for a long time, haven't you?"
Kitazawa studied her.
She didn't seem as angry as he'd expected.
Was his ridiculous daydream actually not impossible?
"If you don't like it, we won't talk about it," Kitazawa said, deliberately retreating a step.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes and looked up at him.
Kitazawa met her gaze without flinching.
"You really are shameless," Tsunade shook her head.
"I'm completely guilt-free," Kitazawa said, spouting nonsense.
"Enough. You think you can fool me?" Tsunade rolled her eyes. "We'll see how you behave."
"What?" Kitazawa blurted out.
"I have work to do. If you don't have anything important, don't interrupt me," Tsunade didn't explain further, her tone turning serious.
"Thank you, Tsunade-sensei," Kitazawa hugged her and kissed her cheek.
Tsunade wore a look of disgust, but she didn't push him away.
After he left, she fell into thought.
By noon, the Advanced Class students stopped training and gathered to eat lunch.
Just then, a commotion rose from the school gate.
"What happened?" Inuzuka Kiba asked curiously.
"I'll go look!" Sarutobi Konohamaru immediately dashed toward the gate, brimming with excitement.
"I'm coming too!" Ise Udon hurried after him.
"So much energy," Shikamaru yawned.
"Honestly, Neji could just check with Byakugan from here," Tenten joked.
"Same difference," Neji said indifferently. "We won't have to wait long."
A moment later, Konohamaru and Udon sprinted back.
"Looks like something big happened," Kurama Yakumo guessed, watching the two of them vibrate with excitement.
"The Sixth Hokage!" Konohamaru panted.
"What do you mean?" Kiba blinked. "Isn't it still the Fifth Hokage?"
"Next Monday, there'll be a civilian vote to choose the Sixth Hokage!" Konohamaru answered immediately.
"Changing Hokage at a time like this? How is that possible?" Shikamaru's face filled with disbelief.
They all came from major clans—they knew the state of the shinobi world.
"It's real!" Udon chimed in. "The notice has already been posted. It was decided at this morning's jōnin meeting!"
"No wonder Kitazawa-sensei and the others weren't here this morning," Sakura said, suddenly realizing it.
"Who's the Sixth Hokage going to be?" Naruto asked impatiently.
"You should be asking who the candidates are," Sakura corrected.
"It has to be Kitazawa-sensei," Ino snorted.
Hinata nodded unconsciously.
"It really is Kitazawa-sensei," Konohamaru hesitated, then said. "There's only him—no second candidate."
"So does that mean the Sixth Hokage can only be Kitazawa-sensei?" Hanabi asked without thinking.
"That's reasonable," Shino pushed up his glasses.
"Even if there were other candidates, none of them could compete with Kitazawa-sensei," Jūgo said.
Kimimaro and Tayuya nodded in agreement.
Only Gaara and Fū barely reacted.
After all, they weren't Konoha shinobi—at least, not fully integrated yet.
"As expected of Kitazawa-sensei!" Naruto gave a thumbs-up. "I'm going to inherit Kitazawa-sensei's youth and become the Seventh Hokage!"
"The Seventh Hokage will definitely be Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shot back immediately.
"…" Sasuke looked like he wanted to speak but didn't. Sakura spoke so fast he didn't even get the chance to react.
"Maybe it'll be me," Kiba bragged with arms crossed.
"Being Hokage sounds like such a hassle," Shikamaru shook his head. "I'm definitely not doing it."
"No problem," Ino said with obvious schadenfreude. "Then you'll be the Hokage's advisor."
"…" Shikamaru instantly went silent.
The Hokage seat had many variables, but the Hokage's advisor was more than ninety-nine percent likely to come from the Nara clan.
Lunch passed amid everyone's chatter.
After the break ended, afternoon training officially began.
And Kitazawa, Jiraiya, Hiruzen, Kakashi, and the others who hadn't come that morning all returned to teach.
Only Kurenai stayed away, busy with the Film Department—she was effectively half-resigned already.
"Before training starts, I'm announcing something," Kitazawa walked to the front of the Advanced Class.
"Kitazawa-sensei, we already saw the notice!" Kiba raised his hand and blurted out.
"I'm not talking about that," Kitazawa chuckled. "What I'm talking about is this month's final exam."
"A new kind of practical combat format?" Naruto asked reflexively.
Sasuke, Kimimaro, and the others immediately looked intrigued.
"No," Kitazawa shook his head. "It's the graduation exam."
"Graduation?" The class looked at one another, stunned by the sudden news.
"Under normal circumstances, you still have half a year before you graduate," Kitazawa said evenly. "But with your current strength, you can graduate early."
"I've been waiting for this day," Hiruzen sighed with emotion.
"Too bad I'm too old to be their squad leader," Maruboshi Kosuke said regretfully.
"There's no age limit for squad leaders," Hiruzen laughed. "If you truly wanted to do it, you absolutely could."
"Leave the opportunities to the younger ones," Kosuke waved it off. "And besides, the Advanced Class still needs teachers."
As far as he knew, Kitazawa, Yamato, Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Kurenai would all be leaving the Advanced Class.
"I'll stay too," Master Chen said with a smile.
He was advanced in years and didn't have many years left. Better to spend them peacefully teaching the Advanced Class.
Hiruzen nodded. His thinking was similar to Kosuke and Master Chen's.
Once you got old, you didn't feel like running around as a squad leader anymore.
"The graduation exam will be a one-on-one combat format with no restrictions," Kitazawa said after giving them time to process.
Sasuke's eyes lit up instantly.
He could finally have an all-out fight with Naruto.
More importantly, this was the graduation exam—the Advanced Class's last ranking.
If he didn't take first this time, his rank would be locked forever, with no chance to change it.
"This is the final dance of youth—I will go all out!" Naruto clenched his fist, trembling with passion.
"Naruto!" Rock Lee burst into tears and shouted, "Youth doesn't end here!"
The two of them immediately hugged.
Sasuke, Neji, and the others instinctively took two steps back to keep some distance.
Hinata bit her lip.
She was worried about something else—the squad leader assignments.
After graduation, they would each have their own squad leader.
Of course she hoped her squad leader would be Kitazawa.
But with Kitazawa about to become the Sixth Hokage… would he still lead a team?
"Everyone keep training. Prepare for the graduation exam in half a month," Kitazawa said, shaking his head.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei!"
With graduation approaching, the Advanced Class students trained harder than usual.
Except for Hanabi and Moegi and the other younger ones—this early graduation didn't include them.
"Naruto, come here," Kitazawa called, looking at Naruto.
Naruto immediately separated from Lee and ran over.
"You've defeated the darkness in your own heart. Next, you need to defeat Kurama," Kitazawa reminded him. "Get ready. In a couple of days, we'll go to Turtle Island again."
"Okay, Kitazawa-sensei," Naruto nodded.
"Stand still," Kitazawa raised his hand and held it in the air over Naruto's forehead, activating his Byakugan.
He quickly locked onto the chakra of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina inside Naruto's sealed space.
Kitazawa began simulating their chakra—adjusting it until it was identical—then withdrew his hand.
He didn't immediately draw Minato and Kushina's chakra out.
He'd do that when the actual training began.
"Go train," Kitazawa said casually. "I'll come find you when it's time."
"Mm," Naruto responded and turned to leave.
Kitazawa then called over Hinata and Neji.
He taught them Yin Release Chakra Mode.
If they learned quickly, they could master it before the final exam.
Because at its core, this Yin Release Chakra Mode was essentially a half-tailed-beast transformation.
All they needed was their bows—Satori and the Zero-Tails—to cooperate.
Naturally, those two weren't willing, so Kitazawa simply used his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to force them into compliance.
~~~
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