Chapter 111: Chapter 110: Two Factions with No Chance of Becoming Hokage

A few days later, Fugaku walked out of the Hokage building with a somber expression.

During the high-level meeting to nominate the Fourth Hokage, the Third Hokage nominated Namikaze Minato, while Danzo recommended Orochimaru. The other advisors also nominated their preferred candidates.

But the Uchiha clan wasn't even considered for a nomination, which made Uchiha Fugaku very displeased.

He knew that the Uchiha's chances of being elected as the Fourth Hokage were slim, but to not even be given the opportunity to participate in the election was too much.

This wasn't the first time the Uchiha had been excluded from a Hokage nomination.

Ever since Uchiha Madara failed to become Hokage, the Uchiha had not been nominated again. Nearly fifty years had passed since then.

After returning to the Uchiha compound, Fugaku announced this matter during a meeting at the Naka Shrine.

Upon hearing that the Uchiha had once again been excluded from the Hokage nomination, the gathered members of the Uchiha clan erupted in anger, with complaints about the unfairness of the leadership echoing throughout the room. They, too, found it hard to accept this powerless reality.

But this was the reality. The Uchiha were not only far from becoming Hokage; they didn't even have the qualification to run for the position.

The Uchiha clan, after all, boasted over a dozen Jonin and hundreds of elite ninjas. In terms of strength, they were not inferior to any other clan. The actions of the leadership were indeed excessive.

"Captain Fugaku, the leadership's actions are too much. We must make them pay!"

"Captain Fugaku, if we were to make one of the candidates have an 'accident,' wouldn't we gain the qualification to run for Hokage?"

When these words were suddenly uttered from the crowd, every Uchiha froze and turned to look at the speaker.

The Uchiha had considered running for Hokage and had even openly challenged the leadership. However, that particular Uchiha elder had ultimately been imprisoned by the Second Hokage.

But they had never considered attacking a Hokage candidate.

The pride of the Uchiha would not allow them to plot such schemes in the shadows. They preferred to face their enemies head-on, to achieve victory honorably with their strength.

Fugaku glanced at the Uchiha who had spoken, his expression stern as he said, "The ninjas of the village are our comrades. We, the Uchiha, intend to become Hokage openly and fairly. We absolutely cannot resort to such tactics."

At this, the Uchiha member muttered quietly, "But we didn't get nominated. If the position of Hokage is always held by someone from the Senju line, we'll never have the chance to become Hokage. They won't even give us an opportunity."

Fugaku's expression changed, but he still scolded him harshly.

While the speaker may not have meant much by it, his words sparked a new hope in the hearts of many Uchiha. If they couldn't run for Hokage, perhaps they could take a different path and initiate a coup against the leadership.

Becoming Hokage through a coup would still make them Hokage.

However, the strength of the Hokage faction was currently too overwhelming. Even if they had the idea, it was merely that—an idea. It would be difficult to put it into action.

In a corner, Shisui quietly listened to the content of the clan meeting.

On the surface, Shisui appeared emotionless, but inside, he recalled something Byakuya had once said: getting too close to the position of Hokage would bring misfortune to the Uchiha, and eventually, the clan would be destroyed because of the Hokage.

Whether the Uchiha would truly face destruction due to the Hokage was something Shisui couldn't be sure of.

But what he could see now was that his clansmen were indeed developing dangerous thoughts because of their desire for the Hokage position. Things were progressing in the exact direction Byakuya had predicted, which left Shisui feeling deeply anxious yet powerless to change anything.

...

A few days later, a meeting of all Jonin was convened at the Hokage building to begin the election for the Fourth Hokage.

Only two ninja qualified and chose to participate in the Hokage election: Namikaze Minato, who had gained great renown during the war against Iwagakure, and Orochimaru, who had achieved extraordinary feats in the Battle of Kikyo Pass.

Of the remaining qualified candidates, Jiraiya voluntarily withdrew from the race, while Tsunade had left the village and did not participate.

After a brief introduction by the candidates, the election for the Fourth Hokage officially began.

The Jonin of Konoha expected a fierce competition between Orochimaru and Namikaze Minato, perhaps even a close contest. However, the voting results shocked everyone.

Namikaze Minato won by an overwhelming majority, almost crushing Orochimaru, and was declared the Fourth Hokage of Konoha.

The outcome surprised all the Jonin present. After all, although Orochimaru was known for his cold demeanor, he was actually well-respected in the village, considered a capable and responsible leader.

After his defeat, Orochimaru walked off the stage without any expression on his face, heading directly towards the Root base.

Danzo, standing nearby, shot a fierce glance at both Namikaze Minato and the Third Hokage on stage before following closely behind Orochimaru, disappearing into the crowd.

Once inside the Root base, Orochimaru remained silent, as if the Hokage position was of no concern to him, certainly not more important than the experiments he was about to conduct.

Danzo, however, was far from pleased. He glanced at Orochimaru and remarked with dissatisfaction:

"Orochimaru, Hiruzen must have rigged the voting results. With your track record, there's no way you should've lost by such a wide margin to Namikaze Minato. He deliberately kept you from becoming Hokage."

"How could that brat Namikaze Minato possibly handle the role of Hokage? In the end, it'll just be Hiruzen again, wielding power under the guise of 'advising the Fourth Hokage.'"

Hearing Danzo's words, Orochimaru quietly set down his test tube.

Though his face remained impassive, inside, Orochimaru was far from calm. The loss in the Hokage election infuriated him, but he wasn't one to wear his emotions on his sleeve.

"I'm not particularly interested in the Hokage position, but my teacher did go a bit too far this time."

Orochimaru's thoughts were simple: he didn't need to be Hokage, but the position shouldn't be denied to him through underhanded means.

After a pause, Orochimaru continued:

"I'll let it slide this time for my teacher's sake. But Lord Danzo, I believe Namikaze Minato's ambitions are not small. He won't easily let the teacher control him."

"If the successor personally chosen by my teacher ends up becoming his political adversary, that would certainly be interesting."

While Orochimaru seemed indifferent to the Hokage position, Danzo felt very differently.

Danzo had supported Orochimaru's candidacy for Hokage precisely because Orochimaru lacked true interest in the position. If Orochimaru had been elected, Danzo would have effectively become the Hokage himself, controlling Orochimaru from behind the scenes.

He had a hundred ways to ensure Orochimaru would obediently become a mere rubber stamp. Unfortunately, the election had still ended in failure.

Feeling frustrated, Danzo brushed aside the topic of the Hokage and turned his attention to the surrounding experimental subjects. "Orochimaru, how is the progress on the Wood Release experiment? Have there been any successful subjects?" he asked.

Orochimaru flicked out his forked tongue and then shook his head, replying, "The cells from the First Hokage are too overpowering. So far, no experimental subject has been able to withstand them. We need many more experiments to make any real progress."

He continued, "The main issue is that the Yang Release energy within the cells is too abundant. We need Yin Release to balance it out…"

Danzo, uninterested in hearing the details of the experiment, cut him off. "How much longer will it take? If Hiruzen catches wind of this, he'll have another excuse to come after us."

"At most, three more experiments will yield the final results. You need to secure more subjects for the labs," Orochimaru replied, his expression remaining indifferent. He wasn't concerned with Danzo's worries—his only focus was on obtaining the necessary materials and funding for his experiments.