Chapter 163 There's no reason to go out anymore
On the day of the Jonin trust vote.
All Jonin-level ninjas from Konoha, as well as the Third Hokage, gathered in the central square of Konoha Village.
A huge number of Konoha residents had gathered around, almost everyone who could come had come, and many Chunin were deployed in various places to maintain order.
After all, the two sides in this election represent maintaining the status quo and completely changing everything about ninjas, respectively, which has a very significant meaning.
Therefore, during this period of time, almost everyone, from the Third Hokage to the children of the Ninja Academy, has been constantly discussing this matter.
A simple wooden platform was set up in the square, with three chairs on it. One chair was placed in the center, and the other two were placed behind it. The three Hokage witnessed the entire voting process.
However, it hasn't started yet.
Only the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, is sitting in the chair in the center.
Hashirama and Tobirama haven't gone up yet.
Standing below the stage were a group of Jonin from Konoha.
Excluding Souji, Danzo, and Orochimaru who is away and has not returned, Konoha has a total of 166 Jonin.
Since it hadn't officially started yet, these Jonin were all in small groups with their friends and family, discussing what to do next.
Because the matter is so significant, even at this point, many people still find it difficult to make a decision.
Mochizuki Souji's idea was not hard to understand, but as one could understand it, one still felt that making ninjutsu universally available and even abolishing the daimyo were too much of a change.
While many people resonate with the idea that ninjas are no longer solely for combat, the drastic change also raises concerns about its lack of realism.
However, with the support of important figures such as the First and Second Hokage, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Minato Namikaze, many people regained some confidence.
Although the two Hokage reappeared, claiming to have used a secret technique to summon the soul from the underworld, this is so incredible that many people still find it hard to believe and even suspect it is an outrageous lie or hoax.
However, the two Hokage had not been dead for many years, and there were still many elderly people in Konoha who had come into contact with them.
After several days of conversations, the vast majority of these elderly people admitted that the two Hokage were indeed themselves.
This forced many people to accept it on the surface, even though they still didn't believe it.
Mochizuki Souji's strength lies in his ideas, which resonate with and are agreed upon by many.
His weakness is a lack of confidence in himself, but this is mitigated by the support of many influential figures who endorse him.
His rival was Danzo Shimura.
This person is a contemporary of the Third Hokage and one of the high-level advisors.
Although he is relatively low-key and keeps a low profile, many people still know him, at least more than they know Mochizuki Souji.
This makes many people have more confidence in him at first glance.
Among the important figures supporting Danzo were two advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
With their long-standing prestige and status, and with many students under their tutelage becoming Jonin, their influence was considerable.
In addition, Danzo claimed that he would continue everything to this day, ensuring that Konoha would prosper forever.
Danzo himself may not be as appealing as the original Minato Namikaze, but he was at least a Konoha leader with a name, achievements, and reputation.
Moreover, for many people, all they wanted was for the next Hokage to maintain the stability of Konoha, and who it was was not that important.
People are always afraid of unknown changes and prefer familiar things.
No matter how strong a ninja's combat power is, this is still the case psychologically.
Therefore, quite a few Jonin were attracted there.
Now, the staunch supporters of both sides have gathered around Souji and Danzo respectively.
The number of people was roughly the same, around twenty.
It's definitely a 50/50 situation.
Therefore, the key to victory or defeat still lies with the remaining 120-odd Jonin.
Souji, having witnessed all of this, smiled at Minato beside him:
"Thank you, Minato. Your support has greatly improved my situation."
"No, Souji-nii, I... I just made what I thought was the right decision."
"In any case, Jiraiya-sama came to support me because of you, and you two have changed the minds of many people, which has been a great help to me."
Upon hearing Souji's words, Tsunade raised an eyebrow and said:
"Hey, are you implying my influence isn't as great as Jiraiya's?"
"How could that be?" Souji laughed.
"Lady Tsunade is not only strong, but she also used medical ninjutsu to save many people during the great war in the past.
This is a great favor to many people, and her influence is naturally no less than that of Lady Jiraiya."
As Souji said this, Jiraiya chuckled and said:
"You've been gone for so many years, and many people don't even remember you anymore.
How could you possibly compare to the goodwill I built up by working like a slave in Konoha every day?"
"..."
Souji was helpless when Jiraiya immediately said something provocative to Tsunade after he had just spoken kindly to her.
However, it's perfectly normal for old friends to joke like this.
Tsunade glared at Jiraiya, then said with her usual arrogant smile:
"Hmph! I don't believe it! Just watch, I'll bring in far more people than you!"
"No, there's no way to know who influenced this kind of thing..."
"That's true.
Never mind, it's fine. Anyway, I'll probably stay in Konoha after this.
My reputation can't possibly be worse than a big, dumb guy like you."
"Aren't you going out?"
"Yes, if everything about ninjas is really different now, then there's no reason for them to leave."
"I see..."
Jiraiya smiled and said:
"Leaving aside future changes, at least for now I see a ninja who has changed because ninjas no longer have to only fight.
It seems that this is indeed a good thing."
Tsunade initially decided to leave Konoha because her younger brother and lover died in battle one after another.
Although she still insisted on finishing the Second Shinobi World War, she left Konoha because of her strong war-weariness and unwillingness to face the endless battles and tragedies that followed.
To put it bluntly, it's basically the same logic: ninjas have to fight, so I'm not going to be a ninja anymore.
If the very nature of ninjas could be changed, allowing them to choose a life outside of battle, then Tsunade would indeed have no reason to leave Konoha.
Understanding this, Jiraiya became even more determined to win this vote.
Although he understood that there was probably no chance between him and Tsunade, if something were to happen, it would have happened long ago, instead of waiting until they were both in their thirties.
Even so, simply as a childhood friend, Jiraiya naturally hoped that Tsunade could overcome the trauma of her past.
PS..
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I've already scheduled 3–4 days of chapters on Webnovel and Patreon, so don't worry.
I just need one thing from you guys: your support (or donation). :)
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end of this chapter...