NOVEL NEXT Chapter 832 Godaime Hokage Elections?
“Fugaku… what do you mean by ‘hold elections to elect Godaime Hokage?’”
Fugaku looked Elder Koharu eye to eye and answered, “Is it so difficult to understand? I believe my words are quite clear.”
Elder Koharu shook her head, “No, I get what you are saying.” And asked, “Why are you making such a proposal?”
Fugaku answered in a ‘matter of fact’ tone, “Former member of the Elder Council Shimura Danzo was chosen to be the acting Godaime Hokage… however, he betrayed the village and used that position for his personal benefit. He even went as far as to commit many atrocities and defected brazenly. Since his defection, the position of Hokage has been vacant. Although Hiruzen-sama is doing Hokage’s work, he is not ‘The Hokage’. Isn’t it time we chose someone to be the Godaime Hokage?”
Hearing Fugaku’s words, the conference room went silent for a while and one by one, everyone’s gaze turned to Hiruzen.
Noting everyone looking at him, Hiruzen nodded and said, “Right, it’s time we officially elect the Godaime Hokage.”
Elder Koharu was taken aback by Sandaime Hokage’s response, “Hiruzen.. what are you…?”
Hiruzen signaled Elder Koharu to stay silent for a while, then spoke to everyone in the conference, “The Patriarch of the Uchiha Clan is correct, after the defection of Shimura Danzo, there was a need for someone to stabilize the situation and deal with the aftermath. My experience as the former Hokage proved useful so I took this responsibility upon my shoulders. Now that the overall situation has temporarily stabilized, it is indeed time that we officially elect the Godaime Hokage.”
Indeed Hiruzen does not want to see Uchiha in power, however, he wouldn’t break the traditions and rules of Konoha to see that happen. Because these rules and traditions guarantee the continuous inheritance of Hokage from one generation to another, if he breaks rules, then he really can’t expect anyone else to follow these rules either.
The other people attending the meeting were caught off guard, they didn’t such an explosive topic to be brought up on the table and no one knew what to say.
It was the Uchiha Patriarch who broke the silence, he looked at everyone with a smile and said, “Since Lord Hiruzen agrees that we have to elect the Godaime Hokage, then it is time we select the candidates.” He took a brief pause here, and continued, “As the Patriarch of the Uchiha Clan, I hereby announce that I and the deputy captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, Uchiha Shisui will be participating in the elections. Both of us have enough merits.”
As soon as Fugaku declared the candidates participating from the Uchiha Clan, Elder Koharu immediately denied bluntly, “I am afraid that won’t be possible as this goes against the rules. The candidates for the elections are selected by the Hokage, former Hokage, and the members of the Elder Council.”
A set of rules has been established in Konoha when it comes to Hokage Elections. As stated by Elder Utatne Koharu, only Hokage, former Hokage, and the members of the Elder Council have the right to nominate the candidates.
The nominated candidates then compete in the elections. Only Tokubetsu Jonin and Jonin have the right to participate in the Vote of Confidence. The candidate who wins the Vote of Confidence is then elected to be the next Hokage with the permission of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
This has been the precedent since the retirement of Shodaime Hokage.
Senju Tobirama became Hokage in this way, Sarutobi Hiruzen became the Hokage following these rules, and Namikaze Minato also ascended to the position of Hokage by following these rules.
Although Shimura Danzo failed to officially become the Hokage, he too followed these protocols.
These ‘rules’ or ‘protocols’ for the Hokage Elections were created decades ago at the time Konoha was established. And they are the key to the Hokage’s inheritance.
So long as the members of the Elder Council have the right to select the candidates for the Hokage Election, they can decide the person who will become the next Hokage.
Therefore, even if Uchiha Fugaku or Uchiha Shisui wanted to participate in the elections, they needed the approval of the members of the Elder Council.
The meaning behind Elder Koharu’s words was quite clear, ‘the members of the Elder Council are probably not going choose him or Uchiha Shisui as the candidate, so he shouldn’t get his hopes up.’
Realizing this, Fugaku sharply looked at Elder Koharu, and spoke, “That is indeed true, however, I believe that we not to change a few things taking into account the ‘mistakes’ made by the Elder Council.”
Elder Koharu’s eyes widened as she realized Fugaku’s intentions behind using the term ‘mistakes’. Before she could speak anything in response, Fugaku had already spoken–
“The two previous candidates selected by the Elder Council are Orochimaru in the election of Yondaime Hokage, and Shimura Danzo in the election of Godaime Hokage… both of these decisions were big mistakes as Orochimaru harmed the orphans of the village and later defected, as for the deeds of Shimura Danzo… we all are well aware… It’s a blessing that the other four villages did not put all the responsibility on our shoulders… Considering the poor track record of the current Elder Council, I can not completely trust the candidates selected by the Elder Council.”
The lack of faith Fugaku displayed in the Current Elder Council angered Elder Koharu, what angered her more was the fact that she really had no counter to his accusation.
Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed tiredly.
He and the Elder Council really cannot shrug off the responsibility. Orochimaru and Shimura Danzo were core members of the Hokage Faction, and the damage they caused was really–
Looking at the helpless expression of the members of the Hokage Faction, the Patriarchs of various clans whispered to each other. They had to take Fugaku’s words into account. The candidates selected by the Elder Council are really not completely trustworthy. If they happen to again select someone like Orochimaru or Shimura Danzo, then everyone would be in big trouble.
The doubts on the faces of the Patriarch of various clans did not go unnoticed by Hiruzen’s eyes. He could see a lack of trust and worry in their eyes. He realized that they can not suppress the Uchiha Clan from participating in the election, so he had no other choice but to compromise, “If that’s the case, then it will be allowed this time.”
Seeing that Sarutobi Hiruzen relented, Fugaku smirked, and immediately said, “Then it’s decided that I and Shisui will be participating in the Hokage Election… And… I propose that we add another aspect to the election…”
‘Another aspect?’ thought everyone in the meeting as they looked at Fugaku with confused expressions.
Fugaku didn’t keep them clueless for too long and explained, “We need to add the aspect of Strength. The threat of Akatsuki is always on our back… therefore, we need a strong Hokage, someone who can face them without any fear… Therefore, I propose that we organize a tournament of sorts between the candidates in order to test their strength.”
“This…!” muttered Elder Koharu in surprise. She didn’t expect that Fugaku would put forward such an idea. She could see the reason why Fugaku would put forward such an idea. Uchiha Shisui is considered to be the strongest Shinobi not only in Konoha but also in the five great Shinobi Villages, his strength is second only to the likes of Yama, Nagato, and ‘Madara’. And his being part of the election exponentially increases the chances of Uchiha coming into power.
The Hyuga Patriarch sat silently as he noted the confident expression of the Uchiha Patriarch and the hesitant expression of Sandaime Hokage. He was a little saddened and couldn’t help but think to himself, ‘If only we had found the Tenseigan.’
This time, the Hokage Faction has no other choice but to compromise and relax the restrictions. If they had found the Tenseigan, this would have become a golden opportunity for the Hyuga Clan. With the power of the Tenseigan, he might have had an opportunity to defeat Uchiha Shisui, however, without the Tenseigan…? There is no hope. So, he has no other choice but to watch silently as a bystander.
The Patriarch of the other clans had similar thoughts. Considering that they might have to face Uchiha Shisui, they lost hope.
Since no one opposed Fugaku’s proposal, Hiruzen–who had remained silent the entire time–finally nodded, “Very well, then we shall include that aspect.” And added in a majestic tone of voice, “In the name of Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, I hereby nominate Hatake Kakashi as my candidate for the Godaime Hokage.”
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