So their decision was to feign ignorance and act as if they hadn't seen anything.
This way, Sarutobi Hiruzen's supporters could tell themselves that Sarutobi Hiruzen was above responding to such rumors, or that the overworked Sarutobi Hiruzen simply hadn't heard of this insignificant matter, allowing them to refute and counter accordingly.
"Speed up the election process, compress the procedure; we must quickly achieve a result for the Fourth Hokage election." Sarutobi Hiruzen said seriously.
This was the reason for calling the high-level meeting; feigning ignorance was merely a temporary measure, not a suitable strategy.
Only by electing a new Fourth Hokage, and allowing Mokgetsu, the second Wood Release ninja who is widely supported, to take office can the issues be better resolved.
Once the specific decision was made, even though the news that "Sosuke defeated Sarutobi Hiruzen" was fervently discussed in Konoha Village, Konoha took no action, neither explaining nor suppressing the discussion environment, but instead focused on advancing the election process.
In this situation, the voting results from the Genin quickly came out.
The vote difference was enormous enough to be described as staggering; the ninja counting the votes had to confirm multiple times to ensure no mistakes were made.
Mokgetsu received a strikingly high percentage—ninety percent of the total Genin votes!
That means, out of every ten Konoha ninjas, nine supported Mokgetsu becoming the Fourth Hokage.
When the voting results were announced, Mokgetsu's astonishing vote count shocked Konoha.
People temporarily stopped discussing the various rumors about Sarutobi Hiruzen and Sosuke, and Konoha was once again abuzz with discussions about the Hokage election.
"Wait, according to the voting rules, Mokgetsu has already won." Someone said, after reviewing the results from both rounds of voting, realizing something remarkable.
Even if Orochimaru received one hundred percent of the public votes, he would still lose to Mokgetsu.
The voting weights for Jonin, Genin, and the civilians are different.
Only over a hundred Jonin voted, but they accounted for forty percent of the total voting weight.
Genin and civilians, although many in number, each accounted for just thirty percent.
Combining the Jonin votes for Mokgetsu with the Genin votes, the total weight is already close to sixty percent.
Even if Orochimaru maximized his remaining weight in the subsequent voting, he would only reach a total weight of forty at most.
Clearly, the election has concluded early, and no matter what, Mokgetsu will become the Fourth Hokage.
Thus, after consulting with Orochimaru personally, the high-level meeting altered the election steps.
The civilians voting continued, but was merely used to calculate the final tally, while the election results were immediately settled, inviting the Daimyo and Land of Fire officials to determine the final Hokage candidate.
Uchiha Fugaku and Shisui didn't waste such an excellent opportunity. Seeing that everyone in the village accepted Mokgetsu as the next Hokage, they summoned the clan elders for a discussion.
Since the number of participants wasn't large, they didn't convene at Nankai Shrine but instead chose Uchiha Fugaku's study as the location.
"Due to the victory in the war, Konoha has gained numerous high-quality commissions..." Uchiha Fugaku stated without any deviation, directly addressing their subsequent actions.
"Temporarily leaving the Police Department to undertake high-level missions?"
Uchiha Seisei instinctively wanted to refuse, but thinking about the rewards of high-level missions, he didn't speak immediately.
"Isn't it somewhat inappropriate? If we Uchiha elites leave the Police Department, what about Konoha's security? What if we can't return to the Police Department?" Uchiha Katsu posed the question.
"There's no need to worry about security issues. Normally, the Police Department doesn't require excessively strong forces; some Genins can temporarily assume responsibility." Uchiha Fugaku replied.
"What about the positions within the Police Department? If it's not a suspension, but rather everything remains as usual, simply swapping patrol tasks with high-level commissions, I think that's not bad," Uchiha Katsu expressed his thoughts.
Shisui understood that they wanted to earn commission money, but didn't want to give up positions in the Police Department.
"I'd like to clarify, this is not my or Uncle Fugaku's idea, but rather Teacher Mokgetsu's suggestion regarding the Police Department." Shisui explained.
"Teacher Mokgetsu believes the current power of the Police Department is too much for maintaining security and has thoughts of liberating the powerful forces within it."
Once Shisui said this, the study instantly fell silent.
Uchiha Katsu smiled, "Makes sense, Mokgetsu's support is justified; our Uchiha Jonin's strength is substantial, merely patrolling the village indeed seems somewhat wasteful."
"I support Mokgetsu's suggestion."
Should have known earlier; knowing it's Mokgetsu's will, he would've supported it from the start.
Everyone in Konoha knew that Mokgetsu becoming the Fourth Hokage was a done deal.
He has the potential of the second God of Ninjas, becomes Hokage, and has two Uchiha disciples. The Uchiha Clan should definitely align with Mokgetsu.
"I also support it; I'm aware of Mokgetsu's talents, and under Mokgetsu's leadership, the Police Department and Uchiha will surely develop better." Uchiha Yashiro also quickly showed his stance.
He was initially always aligned with Uchiha Fugaku, but hadn't expected Uchiha Katsu to be so flexible with his stance.
"I support." Uchiha Seisei finally nodded.
At this point, whether he agreed or not honestly wouldn't affect the big picture.
The moment Shisui brought up Mokgetsu, the outcome was determined.
The Uchiha were too eager for a Hokage who could be somewhat closer to them, and Mokgetsu perfectly fit their requirements.
Unless Uchiha Seisei could prove Mokgetsu becoming Hokage would harm the Uchiha Clan, standing against Mokgetsu would only affect his reputation within the clan.
At the Jonin meeting, all twenty-plus Uchiha Jonin cast their votes for Mokgetsu, not a single one abstaining or voting for Orochimaru.
"Well, now that everyone agrees, let's begin discussing the specific details." Uchiha Fugaku continued.
Shisui nodded in satisfaction as he observed.
Once this step is done, the Uchiha and the Police Department will no longer be tied together, resolving issues within the Police Department.
Next, they just need to build a good image for the Uchiha Clan and improve ideological education within the clan; the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha will naturally ease and eventually disappear.
"Thank goodness for you, Teacher Mokgetsu," Shisui silently thanked.
Mokgetsu has helped him immensely; without Mokgetsu, he wouldn't have his current strength or knowledge.
If he hadn't been taught by Mokgetsu, he would likely be struggling alone to solve the issues.
Because he couldn't even think of asking for help or find anyone to assist him.
...
After receiving Sarutobi Hiruzen's letter, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire quickly gathered high officials and guards, and headed to Konoha under the escort of numerous elite ninjas for the meeting.
The Hokage election is a major event for Konoha, and for the Daimyo as well.
As the top sponsor, the Daimyo naturally wishes for his household's ace fighter to be strong.
"Third Hokage, I heard that you were defeated by that Sosuke; is the news true?" The Daimyo, seated at the main position, covered his face with a fan, leaving only his eyes visible, curiously asked.
He had seen Sosuke at the Youth Martial Arts Tournament and thought he was a good person, unexpectedly powerful.
Sarutobi Hiruzen: …
"Daimyo, this is a meeting for the Hokage election; unrelated topics should be discussed after the meeting." Mitokado Homura sternly addressed.
Regardless of his relationship with Sarutobi Hiruzen, purely based on Sarutobi Hiruzen's identity as Hokage, Mitokado Homura couldn't allow the Daimyo's impoliteness.
The Daimyo was merely their titular leader.
Seeing the Konoha ninjas being somewhat displeased, the Daimyo laughed awkwardly and redirected:
"So who do you recommend?"
"I recommend Habu Mokgetsu!" Sarutobi Hiruzen replied immediately.
"Habu Mokgetsu." Namikaze Minato was second to speak.
The captain of the Jonin Squad usually can't attend high-level meetings, but can attend the Hokage election meetings.
"Habu Mokgetsu," Mitokado Homura followed.
"Habu Mokgetsu," Utatane Koharu chimed in immediately.