Clap, clap, clap!
As Sarutobi Hiruzen finished speaking, the conference room erupted into applause even louder than before.
Obito and Asuma, the students and disciples, gave face generously, almost using Chakra to amplify their clapping.
Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Yashiro exchanged glances and joined in the clapping, quite enthusiastic.
For the Uchiha Clan, Mokgetsu becoming Hokage was an incredibly good thing.
Not to mention, just having Obito and Shisui recognized for the Hokage path was already exciting enough.
With a Hokage teacher, coupled with their own potential, achieving a high position, if not Hokage, seemed assured.
"I choose Teacher Mokgetsu! He can lead us to become stronger," Obito said excitedly.
Without a doubt, he firmly supported Sage Mokgetsu to become Hokage.
"Jonin Obito, please calm down. It's unnecessary to voice your thoughts like this," Mitokado Homura reminded.
The Jonin meeting for the Hokage election wasn't a raise-hand vote but a secret ballot.
Otherwise, it would be awkward to see one's subordinates and friends not voting for them but for a competitor.
Kakashi covered his face awkwardly and subtly moved his chair a little to the side.
"These are all the candidates for the Fourth Hokage in this Fourth Hokage election. Voting will begin in five minutes," Sarutobi Hiruzen continued.
The atmosphere in the meeting turned somewhat silent, with few discussing whom to vote for.
Not for any special reason, just that it was easy to offend people this way.
After all, everyone present was an elite ninja, and at this distance, unless whispering directly into the ear, one could roughly hear what was being said.
Shisui and others were overjoyed when they heard that the only competitor was Orochimaru.
Their biggest concern was Tsunade being nominated, for which they had planned out numerous tactics to grab votes.
If the opponent was only Orochimaru, it was much easier. With Mokgetsu's current momentum in Konoha, even doing nothing could potentially surpass Orochimaru and win the Hokage position.
"Tsunade, who are you planning to vote for?" Jiraiya asked straightforwardly.
He had originally left the Land of Fire but returned a week ago after Sarutobi Hiruzen contacted him about an important matter.
For Jiraiya, debating over who to vote for wasn't necessary, as if he wanted to, he could easily be nominated.
He was in such a state that the ninjas nominated should thank him for resisting the Hokage position, eliminating a strong competitor.
"Mokgetsu," Tsunade answered tersely.
Mokgetsu becoming Hokage was something she didn't want to see, but Tsunade wouldn't vote for Orochimaru just to prevent that. If Mokgetsu missed the Hokage seat because of her vote, how could she shamelessly enjoy so many good meals?
Also, Tsunade felt Orochimaru wasn't fit to be Hokage. In her eyes, Orochimaru had become a bit crazed, seeking to learn all the Ninjutsu and achieve immortality.
Letting such a ninja become Hokage could lead to who-knows-what chaos.
"How about you?"
"I'm planning to abstain," Jiraiya replied.
He also believed Orochimaru wasn't suitable for the Hokage role, yet he felt voting for Mokgetsu would be too harsh on Orochimaru.
So, he decided to abstain, which was still within the rules.
Five minutes quickly passed.
A voting slip was distributed to every Jonin present.
It was a piece of paper with the names of two candidates.
If you wanted to choose someone, you draw a circle under their name. If you didn't want to choose anyone and wished to abstain, draw a circle in the space between the two names to indicate abstention.
Obito, Kakashi, and others immediately drew circles under Mokgetsu's name upon receiving their ballots.
Led by Uchiha Fugaku, the Uchiha Jonins quickly drew circles under Mokgetsu's name as well.
Voting for Mokgetsu was also choosing an opportunity for the Uchiha to enter the core power structure.
"Lord Orochimaru, apologies, it's not that you're not good, but Teacher Mokgetsu is just too good."
Some Jonins who had served under Orochimaru during the Third Ninja World War but participated in Mokgetsu's special training silently circled Mokgetsu's name.
"Mokgetsu to assist? My son seems to admire him a lot, maybe I'll choose him,"
Some Jonins, torn in indecision, thought of how their children often praised Mokgetsu. They finally circled Mokgetsu's name.
Many among them hadn't interacted much with Mokgetsu but had heard of his deeds to some extent.
After the votes were tallied, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu took the data to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
A look of surprise flashed across Sarutobi Hiruzen's face, and he quietly asked, "Have you checked repeatedly with no issues?"
"Checked thoroughly five times, there can be absolutely no errors," Mitokado Homura replied.
Counting votes was an extremely important task, requiring multiple ninja confirmations and supervision by both Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu to prevent any problems.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Orochimaru with a touch of reluctance but turned to the Jonins and said:
"Orochimaru received a total of twenty-eight votes."
The Jonins in the room all showed incredulous expressions.
Twenty-eight votes meant twenty-eight Jonins, and though that seemed a lot, over one hundred sixty Jonins were present at this meeting.
This meant that those supporting Orochimaru accounted for less than twenty percent of the total.
This was the legendary Sannin Orochimaru, renowned as early as the Second Ninja World War, yet such a dismal vote count surprised most of the Jonins.
Many thought Mokgetsu had the upper hand but not by much because this was a Jonin meeting.
Compared to the newly risen Mokgetsu, most Jonin were more familiar with Orochimaru.
"Could it be that many people abstained?" someone considered a possibility.
If the high number of abstentions reduced the total vote count, then such dismal numbers would make sense.
"Habu Mokgetsu received a total of one hundred thirty-nine votes," Sarutobi Hiruzen said after a slight pause.
The conference room fell into an eerie silence.
The Jonins who voted for Orochimaru looked around in surprise, as if asking why so many voted for Mokgetsu.
Meanwhile, Jonins who voted for Mokgetsu couldn't help but glance around, realizing they had an overwhelming majority.
This vote gap was enough to let Mokgetsu secure the Hokage position in advance.
Although there were still Genin and citizens who hadn't voted, those two segments combined only accounted for sixty percent of the weighting.
Unless Orochimaru had enormous popularity among the citizens and ordinary ninja, a comeback seemed unlikely.
Everyone present was a Konoha ninja, and they knew Orochimaru's standing in Konoha — he had supporters but definitely fewer than Mokgetsu.
Mokgetsu played a huge role in the Third Great Ninja War. The war had just ended, marking Mokgetsu's absolute strong phase.
Uchiha Fugaku's lips curled into a rare, excited smile.
Finally, a Hokage who might lean towards the Uchiha was emerging!
With Shisui and Obito, the twin stars of the Uchiha, coupled with Mokgetsu as a Hokage capable and unbiased against the Uchiha, how could the Uchiha not regain their glory?
"Teacher Mokgetsu is Hokage!" Obito laughed loudly, exclaiming in his heart.
He had studied the rules of the Hokage election. Though the final results were yet to be announced, Mokgetsu's vote count was rock solid, with almost no chance of an upset.
"History has been further altered," Obito silently apologized to Namikaze Minato in his heart.
Their actions caused a significant impact, and Namikaze Minato, who was originally supposed to become the Fourth Hokage, hadn't even been nominated.
Obito thought it was likely because Mokgetsu's survival led to many battles in the original history resolved by Namikaze Minato, now resolved by Mokgetsu.
After all, Mokgetsu was stronger than Namikaze Minato.
But even if given a hundred chances, Obito would still try to change history.
Anyone could be Hokage; he just wanted everyone to be well.
This time, Naruto might not become an orphan.
PS: I've been busy and tired lately, accidentally falling asleep again.
Thankfully, I'm finally done, so updates should resume normally around one or two o'clock tonight, right?