Chapter 269: The Fourth Hokage
After the "Old Men's Jonin Meeting," the position of the Fourth Hokage was basically settled.
Except for Nawaki and Minato, everyone else dropped out of the race for Hokage. And compared to Nawaki, Minato's approval rating was far ahead.
Minato originally came from a civilian ninja background and held a relatively high status among them. After this meeting, apart from a few clans dependent on the Senju, and the Uchiha and Hyuga who had not stated their stances, the majority of the other clans also supported Minato.
Masahiko was not surprised by this result. Although no one directly responded during the meeting, their silence had already explained everything.
"I'm actually a bit disappointed."
In the Taobao Shop, Masahiko sighed. Everyone supporting Minato proved that they also agreed with Danzo and Koharu Utatane's thoughts.
His relationship with Hiruzen was far from the intimacy he shared with Tobirama and Hashirama. A rift had finally formed. As time passed, Masahiko's feeling of being unable to integrate into this era deepened.
"Father, Father, what are you thinking about?"
Beside him, Sara spoke up worriedly. She felt Masahiko's mood had not been right these past two days.
Masahiko was startled, then shook his head and chuckled. "It's nothing. You seem very free these past two days."
Sara nodded. "The shop isn't busy right now. The branch in the Land of Whirlpools is already being prepared. Once Matsu goes there, I won't be free anymore."
Because Sara refused to go to the Land of Whirlpools to open the branch, Teuchi could only take in another apprentice, Matsu. However, this child was clumsy, and it was only now that Teuchi was finally ready to send him out.
Masahiko paused. "How about I take you back to the Land of Whirlpools? That is our own country, after all."
Sara was stunned. "Father, what is wrong with you?"
Masahiko sighed. "It's nothing. I just want to go back and stay for a few years. Probably in a little over a year, I might go back for four or five years. I'm not at ease leaving you alone in Konoha."
Sara hesitated. "I don't really mind, but what about Master and Matsu..."
"It's fine, I'll go talk to them," Masahiko interrupted her.
Sara still looked confused, not knowing which of Masahiko's nerves had snapped.
Masahiko wasn't preparing to go back because he was "sad" or anything. Rather, his Witness Points were about to reach two thousand, and he was about to obtain the Kekkei Mora he had been looking forward to for a long time.
He planned to completely master the Kekkei Mora during the period after Naruto's birth and before his enrollment in the Academy, and it was better to choose the Land of Whirlpools as his training location.
As for whether he could gather enough Witness Points by then, Masahiko didn't need to consider it at all. If it really came down to it, he would just seal the half of the Nine-Tails he had into Naruto. He had planned to do so anyway. Such a major main storyline wouldn't give few Witness Points; it would definitely be enough when the time came.
"Buy one get one free, and I'll even throw in a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Satisfied now, Hiruzen?" Masahiko muttered inwardly.
He also didn't need to worry about any problems occurring during Naruto's childhood. On the day of Kushina's delivery, he would definitely stand guard nearby. As long as the Nine-Tails wasn't released that day, with Kushina's strength, it would be impossible for anything to go wrong afterward.
"Then the current trouble is still... Teuchi." Masahiko revealed a slightly embarrassed smile. He was the one who stopped Sara from going to the Land of Whirlpools back then, and now he was the one changing his tune. Teuchi's training of this apprentice had also been quite hard work.
However, unexpectedly, Teuchi was simply overjoyed at Masahiko's decision.
"That's wonderful, Boss Hagoromo. Matsu is clumsy, and I was just worrying that he wouldn't do a good job in the Land of Whirlpools. It's so great that Sara can go!"
"Are you sincere?" Masahiko showed a strange expression.
Facing Masahiko's doubt, if Teuchi didn't have flour all over his hands, he would have patted his chest to guarantee it.
"Real, couldn't be more real."
"Phew... That's good. I was afraid of putting you in a difficult position. When does Sara need to leave?"
Teuchi hesitated for a moment. "My wife is currently selecting a shop location in the Land of Whirlpools, and it still needs to be renovated afterward... It might need to be a bit later, probably three to six months."
"That's still a bit early..." Masahiko muttered. He took out over a dozen banknotes, each with a denomination of one million ryo, from his coat.
"Ichiraku Ramen in the Land of Whirlpools, it's the first time opening a shop there after all, and it's Sara who is going. Take this money, have your wife choose a larger shop in the Land of Whirlpools and renovate it nicely. There is no rush on the time."
Teuchi scratched his head, getting white flour all over his hat. "Boss Hagoromo, how could I accept this?"
Masahiko glared at him. "Do you think I'm giving this to you for free? Half the ownership of the shop in the Land of Whirlpools belongs to Sara!"
"Ah? Oh!" Teuchi nodded repeatedly. "No problem, Boss Hagoromo!"
"So easy to talk to." Masahiko walked out with a face full of smiles. Behind him, Teuchi also had a face full of smiles. His wrinkled face was very dazzling...
...
Time flowed, and another two months passed.
The "vigorous" selection for the Fourth Hokage finally came to an end.
Miracles couldn't match destiny. Tsunade did absolutely everything she could for her younger brother, but ultimately couldn't compete with Minato. And the straw that broke the camel's back was precisely Jiraiya, who had returned from his distant travels.
"Jiraiya has a lot more integrity than I imagined."
Masahiko had actually thought he would abandon his own disciple for Tsunade's sake.
Right now, Masahiko was located in the open space in front of the Hokage Building. It could be said to be a sea of people here, because today was the day Minato succeeded as the Fourth Hokage.
To prevent the crowd from squeezing his daughter away, Masahiko gently activated his repulsive force, making the space around them a bit roomier.
"Master!" Obito's voice came from behind.
"Damn it... let me through... who stepped on my foot? Don't push... don't touch me."
Masahiko didn't know whether to laugh or cry watching Obito being squeezed back and forth by the crowd. Because there were too many civilians and he didn't dare use force, he couldn't get through no matter what.
"Huh?" Masahiko narrowed his eyes. The head of a little boy popped out from behind Obito. He nimbly pulled Obito and wove his way through the crowd to reach them.
"Good job, little bro!" Obito satisfyingly patted the boy's head, receiving a look of disdain in return.
"Master, this is my newly taken little bro, Shisui Uchiha!"
Masahiko sighed. "Being taken as your little bro, this child probably has no future left."
Of course, he knew who Shisui Uchiha was, but he didn't expect Shisui to actually cross paths with Obito. He was probably forcibly taken as a little bro. Wasn't Kagami afraid his grandson would be led astray?
Obito was just about to retort when he noticed the surroundings had quieted down. Hiruzen and Minato appeared on the rooftop of the Hokage Building.
Masahiko quietly listened to Hiruzen's "Inheritance of the Will of Fire." After about ten minutes, Hiruzen officially handed the hat representing the Hokage to Minato, and it was Minato's turn to speak.
Minato was already handsome, and wearing the Hokage hat made him look even handsomer.
"Should I also get a set of clothes worthy of my handsome face?" Masahiko thought inwardly.
A line of Chinese characters flashed by: "Witnessed and slightly changed the Naruto World main storyline: Fourth Hokage. Obtained 50(*2) Witness Points."
"Slightly changed, it should be that the time was brought forward a bit. Not bad, an unexpected harvest..."
At the end of Konoha Year 46, Minato Namikaze successfully succeeded as the Fourth Hokage!
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