Chapter 45: Speech
Minato was the 1st one to give a speech.
"As most of you know, I am a son of a civilian, and the majority of the people in Konoha are civilian. I can comfortably say that I can understand them most out of everyone in this room and I think all of us can agree that understanding the people is one of the most important qualities a leader can have.
"I have also been around different clan heads of Konoha namely the clan heads of Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka during our time on the battlefield against Iwa and I can understand their thought process pretty well too. Lately, I have also been around the clan head of the Uchiha clan and Inuzuka clan which has helped me understand more about the clans in our village.
The Hokage and the elders frowned a little at those words.
He continued. " I also have the strength needed to be the Hokage, I am sure you all have heard about my feats during the war, I killed the whole Iwa battle squad alone, they issued a flee on sight order on me.
"My speed is second to none I fought against and dominated the current Raikage. I also have the complete support and trust of my wife who is one of the last few Uzumaki and also the Jinchuruki of the 9 tails. I am also fairly young and still have a lot of room for improvement.
"So because of the understanding and knowledge I have of the people of Konoha, the clans of Konoha and also my strength, the people around me, and my youth I think I should be the next Hokage of Konoha.
All the people in the room had to agree that everything Minato said was true and Minato was more than qualified to become the 4th Hokage.
There was a bit of silence in the room after Minato's speech.
*clap clap clap* Yama clapped his hands. After that everyone else started clapping.
" That was a great speech, you have what it takes to be the Hokage but 1st let's hear Orochimaru out too." Hiruzen said.
*Hehehehe* Orochimaru chuckled.
"I am not a man of many words so I won't bore you with a long speech, whatever Minato said might be true, but I just don't think he is quite ready yet to be the Hokage, he has not experienced any real adversity as for me we all know how I got the title of sannin.
" Let's not even go to the 2nd world war let's talk about this war, there is a reason why when Minato was in Iwa battlefield he was not the main commander I was and even when he was in Kumo battlefield Jiraiya was the main commander.
"And if we want to talk about reputation I don't think he has quite reached the level of sannin quite yet, I am the teammate of his teacher which should also indicate the level of experience difference between me and him.
"I think he should be the Hokage but not yet, I think he should be the 5th Hokage of Konoha after all like he said he is quite young and has a lot of room for improvement."
Many people thought what Orochimaru said was quite reasonable and he was pointing out some valid points. They felt like Orochimaru should be the 4th Hokage and Minato should be the 5th.
Yama felt people starting to agree with Orochimaru so he had to change things quickly. "Orochimaru, you compared yourself to Minato quite a bit but you didn't compare your strength is there a reason for that?"
Orochimaru frowned a little, he had not talked about the strength because he knew at best he was equal to Minato if not he was weaker than him.
"Should I even talk about my strength? Did you forget about the Hanzo incident?"
"Don't be delusional Orochimaru, you were not fighting Hanzo alone Jiraiya and Tsunade were fighting alongside you, and even then you were not able to defeat him, he let you live, your biggest accomplishment is surviving against an opponent who you outnumbered by 3 to 1."
The clan heads who didn't know Yama's personality were all surprised and began sweating they could feel the pressure rising in the room.
Hiruzen didn't want to cause a commotion today so he spoke up. "Ahem, now since both the candidates have given their speech now it's our time to do the job and select a new Hokage."
He looked at Danzo, Koharu, and Mitokado. "Let's start with the elders, elders please give your thoughts."
Currently, Hiruzen, Koharu, and Mitokado were conflicted. They didn't want to make Orochimaru the Hokage because they knew with his personality he was not suitable to become the Hokage. But Minato was too close to the Uchiha and Yama and if he became the Hokage the threat of the Uchiha taking over the village would skyrocket.
Danzo saw their hesitation and he was the one to speak 1st. "I think Orochimaru should be the Hokage. I think because of his experience he has a little edge over Minato."
The other two elders also thought that Orochimaru's personality was less of a threat than the Uchiha's taking over.
"I agree with Danzo here, experience is the biggest teacher in life." Said Koharu.
Mitokado also nodded. "Haha, looks like all of us have similar though I also think currently Orochimaru is more suitable to become the 4th Hokage."
Since all the elders made their decision Hiruzen decided to trust them and his student and go with Orochimaru. "I trust the ability of my student to lead the village properly. I also think he should be the 4th Hokage."
With the 4 of them siding towards Orochimaru the winner was already final even if all the clan heads sided with Minato which was very unlikely, the decision still wouldn't change.
Jiraiya, Fugaku, Minato, and Yama were looking at each other and patiently waiting.
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