The room fell into complete silence.
The clan heads looked at one another—
no one dared to step forward anymore.
The reason was simple.
Drake was too damn good at finding flaws.
The three candidates before hadn't even finished a single sentence before being verbally executed and sent back to the line.
In terms of strength, Drake alone had wiped out thousands of Iwagakure elites—there was no debate there.
In terms of eloquence, everyone had just witnessed it firsthand.
As a result, the atmosphere froze solid.
Finally, Nara Shikaku stepped forward.
He cleared his throat and stared straight at Drake.
"What are you looking at me for?" Drake urged.
"Say something."
"Ahem."
Shikaku coughed and began.
"If I were elected—"
"Wait."
Drake interrupted.
A ripple of suppressed laughter spread through the chamber.
Shikaku sighed, completely giving up.
"Alright, I withdraw."
He turned and returned to the line without another word.
He could already guess what Drake was going to say anyway—
not strong enough.
"At least you're self-aware," Drake muttered, stroking his chin.
Then he looked around.
"Anyone else?"
Silence.
Not a single person stepped out.
Drake smiled and turned to Minato.
"Sensei, everyone's been cleared out. It's your turn."
"Well," Minato said calmly, stepping forward,
"I suppose it's time for me to speak."
Everyone instinctively glanced at Drake.
They were waiting—
waiting for Drake to roast Minato too.
But to their surprise, Minato began speaking…
and Drake said nothing.
"I originally planned to run for Fourth Hokage," Minato said.
"But I've thought about it carefully."
His voice carried a hint of regret.
"If I became Hokage, the danger of the Four Great Villages attacking Konoha would still exist."
"Because my strength alone is not enough to deter them."
By now, everyone understood where this was going.
Minato turned to Drake.
"So, I recommend my student—Drake."
"You may not understand Drake's true strength.
But I do."
"He has the ability to intimidate all Four Great Villages."
The moment those words fell—
Drake was completely stunned.
"…Me?"
Sensei Minato was recommending him?
"Wait!"
Drake finally spoke.
"SENSEI! Even if I become Hokage, all I'll do is sleep in the office!"
"That's fine," Minato replied smoothly.
"We'll appoint a Hokage assistant to handle administrative work."
"I'm only twelve," Drake added.
"Age isn't a problem," Shikaku said immediately.
"Your scheming makes even me feel inferior."
"Hey!" Drake protested.
"That's not scheming—that's intelligence!"
Minato smiled.
"Any other objections?"
Drake thought for a moment.
"…Nope."
"Good," Shikaku said.
"Then tell us—what can you bring to the village if you become Fourth Hokage?"
Drake pondered briefly.
Then smiled.
"First—members of all clans can purchase flight abilities at an extremely low price."
"How low?" Shikaku asked.
"100,000 ryō per person."
The room exploded.
"What?!"
"That's way too cheap!"
"I paid seventy-four million!"
"I bought it twice!"
"This price drop is insane!"
Drake raised a hand.
"Calm down. This price applies only to clan members."
Everyone understood immediately.
This was a huge benefit.
With flight abilities becoming accessible,
each clan's combat power—and population—would skyrocket.
"Looks like we're entering an era of booming descendants," Shikaku sighed.
As he said that, he noticed Fugaku's expression darken slightly.
After all—
Everyone else could multiply.
Fugaku had only one son.
When the murmuring settled, Drake continued.
"My second principle as Hokage is very simple."
Minato prompted, "And that is?"
"Only Konoha gets to bully others."
"…And no one bullies Konoha."
"Example?" Shikaku asked.
Drake thought for a second.
"Take Sunagakure.
If we have a small border conflict—what should we do?"
He scanned the room.
"If I'm Hokage, I'll drag the Kazekage here and make him kneel."
The room froze.
"…That escalated fast."
A border skirmish—and you kidnap a Kage?
Seeing the disbelief, Drake added calmly:
"You probably don't know this yet.
When I negotiated with the Tsuchikage, I hung him upside down before we started talking."
"…WHAT?"
Everyone was dumbfounded.
"You did WHAT to Ōnoki?!" Shikaku shouted.
"He resisted," Drake shrugged.
"He defeated one of my Wood Clones."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
No one doubted it.
Drake's abilities had already surpassed logic.
Wood Release.
Counter-Wood Release.
Flight imprinting.
Running trees.
The rumors about trees sprinting through the village suddenly made sense.
"Drake… the abnormalities of the back mountain…" Shikaku asked slowly.
"That was you, wasn't it?"
"I just awakened it," Drake replied casually.
"Gave it life."
Everyone sucked in a breath.
Granting life to mountains.
"This ability is absurd," Shikaku muttered.
"And he can control a Tailed Beast," Minato added casually.
That sealed it.
Drake's value skyrocketed again.
"We're almost done," Shikaku said.
"The final topic is the Third Hokage."
How should they deal with him after forcing him to step down?
Shikaku looked at Drake.
"We know you're young and hot-blooded—but you mustn't kill him."
Drake nodded seriously.
"Of course not. The Third is strong.
There are plenty of missions that still need him."
"…Wait."
"You're making him do missions?" Shikaku's eyes widened.
"Not just him.
The entire Sarutobi clan is going to work," Drake said confidently.
Everyone exchanged glances.
They finally understood.
This was personal.
"This meeting is adjourned," Shikaku declared.
"Tomorrow at noon—
we request the Third Hokage to step down."
The Next Morning
For once, Drake woke up at home.
He casually checked his status panel.
Name: Drake
Age: 12
Strength: 7328 (Sage-level)
Constitution: 9216 (Sage-level)
Agility: 742 (Superhuman)
Spirit: 40960 (Sage-level Immunity)
Chakra: 58246
Skills: None
Ninjutsu: Chibaku Tensei (incomplete)
Abilities:
God-tier Wood Release Control (Trait: Loyalty)
Ultimate Perception (100,000 meters)
Overall Evaluation: Genin
"…Why did the double land on ninjutsu?"
"And what's with this incomplete label?"
Drake sighed and stepped outside—only to find both trees missing.
"Yeah, they definitely ran off to the back mountain."
He headed out for breakfast at the Hot Springs.
On the street, decorations were being hung everywhere.
"…Shikaku's doing?"
"They're preparing early for me, huh."
At the Hot Springs, however—
Kushina and the others were strangely restrained.
"Drake, please sit."
"Here—chopsticks."
"Your food…"
"This is creeping me out," Drake said.
"Even if I'm about to become Fourth Hokage, don't act weird."
"…WHAT?"
The three women froze.
"You're becoming Hokage?" Kushina frowned.
"You're dreaming."
"You haven't woken up yet."
"You're joking, right?"
Drake blinked.
"Then why were you acting so careful?"
Kushina rubbed her forehead.
"Looks like you really don't know."
"This morning, the Hokage Office announced—
the Four Great Village Kage are coming to Konoha."
"You're probably being assigned to protect the Third Hokage."
Drake almost laughed.
Inviting all four Kage…
while Konoha was under siege?
Either they were fearless—
Or his reputation still wasn't terrifying enough.
"…Looks like my name still isn't loud enough yet."
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