But there was another way: during a meeting of the Hokage and the elders, any elder could propose a change in leadership.
As long as more than two-thirds of the elders agreed to a new election, the current Hokage would be powerless to stop it, even if he wished to.
However, since this rule was established, it had never once been invoked.
The prestige of the First and Second Hokage was simply too immense; there had never been a time when two-thirds of the elders opposed them.
From the day it was created until now, the rule had never been used.
Kawasaki said casually, "Back then, there were many capable candidates for the position of Fourth Hokage. But why is it that Nawaki, Dan, and the White Fang all met with 'accidents' and died early, while Minato, a man with no background to speak of, rose to the top?"
Upon hearing this, Hizashi's hand trembled, and he nearly dropped his teacup.
Kawasaki burst into laughter. "Relax, Hizashi. You're in charge here."
Hizashi replied with a bitter smile, "Kawasaki, you can't make such baseless accusations."
Kawasaki shook his head dismissively. "Other matters might require proof, but does the incident with the White Fang truly need any?"
Hizashi fell silent.
Indeed, while other events could be dismissed without evidence, the circumstances surrounding the White Fang's death defied all logic.
Choosing to save his comrades over completing a mission was simply a choice. No matter the losses incurred, the village should not have been filled with such vicious gossip. At the time, the White Fang was one of the village's greatest heroes, his list of merits long and distinguished.
Under normal circumstances, even if a few dissenting voices had appeared, the Anbu would have quietly silenced them. The situation should never have been allowed to escalate into a public scandal.
The most bizarre part was that when the rumors first started, the Third Hokage pretended not to know. But the moment the White Fang died, the Third immediately stepped in to quell the turmoil, declaring that the White Fang was a hero and should not have been treated that way. He even made a show of punishing a few individuals.
Kakashi was young then and couldn't see through the charade, so he actually believed the Third Hokage was a good person. For all these years, he had remained utterly loyal to him.
Seeing Hizashi's silence, Kawasaki continued, "I've already discussed all of this with Kakashi."
Hizashi lifted his cup and took a sip of tea. He calculated inwardly: if Kawasaki had spoken to Kakashi, it meant the bond between Kakashi and the Third Hokage was no longer unbreakable. Though Kakashi had been withdrawn for years, men like him—possessing both great power and unwavering loyalty to the Hokage—were rare. This was tantamount to severing one of the Third's own limbs.
Kawasaki spoke again. "As things stand, there are very few viable candidates for the Fifth Hokage."
"The Third Hokage's three students are all in the village," he continued, "but Jiraiya's reputation is poor, Orochimaru is only interested in his research and even defected once, and Tsunade has no desire to be Hokage at all."
"No matter who the Third nominates, the number of votes he could rally would be negligible."
"Our Uchiha clan and your Hyuga clan are the two largest clans in Konoha with the highest number of jounin. If we can force the Third Hokage to select a new successor…"
Kawasaki paused for a moment before declaring, "Our chances of victory are extremely high!"
Hizashi's expression turned exceptionally serious.
It was true. As Kawasaki had said, the Third Hokage's options were severely limited. Ever since Kawasaki had risen to prominence, the authority of the Hokage's lineage had been steadily declining. Many ninja clans had grown disillusioned with the Third Hokage.
This was especially true regarding the disgraceful affairs of Shimura Danzo. While everyone knew he had committed many dark deeds, the specifics were unclear. The Third Hokage had planned to pin numerous incidents on Danzo; executing him would have been the perfect opportunity to restore his own prestige.
But no one had expected Shimura Danzo to escape!
He broke out of a heavily fortified and guarded prison. Moreover, the prison was specially designed to suppress the use of ninjutsu. A man in his sixties, Danzo had managed to escape.
The consequence of this event was a further collapse of the Third Hokage's already tarnished reputation. Many began to suspect that the Third Hokage had intentionally allowed Danzo to flee. With his prestige plummeting, the trust placed in him also diminished. However, because the Third Hokage had spent years cultivating his power and controlled a large portion of the Anbu, everyone could only swallow their dissatisfaction and bide their time.
Hizashi sensed from Kawasaki's words that he intended to unite the major clans and elect a new Hokage through a vote.
At this thought, Hizashi's eyes sharpened as he stared at Kawasaki. Was the Uchiha clan really making a play for the Hokage seat? But the Uchiha only had two honorary elders and lacked any significant, village-wide accomplishments. How could they possibly contend for the position?
The process of selecting a Hokage began with a nomination. If an honorary elder made a nomination, it required the approval of more than half of the elder council to proceed to a confidence vote. A nomination from the Hokage or an advisor elder, however, bypassed this initial step and went straight to the confidence vote.
The confidence vote was typically preceded by a buffer period of about two months, allowing the nominee to campaign for support. Every elder and every jounin in Konoha held one vote. As long as a candidate received more votes than any other, they would become the next Hokage. Even when the Second Hokage appointed Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sarutobi had to return to the village and win a vote before officially taking office. In reality, the selection of a Hokage had always involved a voting process.
Kawasaki's first step was to force an election for the Fifth Hokage. But this required the consent of a majority of the elders.
Facing Hizashi's intense gaze, Kawasaki continued with unshakable confidence, "The development of Konoha's clans has been somewhat slow. This is because the successive wars in previous years caused too many casualties. In recent years, with fewer missions, life hasn't been easy for anyone. If more funds were injected, I believe it would promote much better development. Wouldn't you agree, Hizashi?"
Kawasaki smiled at him.
Hizashi recalled Kawasaki's business dealings in recent years and understood his game. "With a large injection of capital, the clans could indeed achieve long-term growth," he agreed.
"Then let's be frank, Hizashi. The Hyuga clan's development is currently stunted mainly due to a lack of manpower. The Police Force occupies a significant number of your members, which has slowed the cultivation of your younger generation."
As he spoke, Kawasaki produced a storage scroll. He placed it on the table and pushed it toward Hizashi.
"This contains one hundred million ryo. It's an investment from our Uchiha clan in the Hyuga. In the future, we will have many more opportunities for cooperation."
Hizashi's cup nearly clattered onto the table. This was being a little too frank—delivering money straight to his door?
Hizashi gave a wry smile. "Kawasaki, shouldn't you be discussing this with my brother?"
Kawasaki shook his head. "Hiashi is too conservative. I don't like dealing with him. For this matter, you can simply inform him."
Hizashi tried to push the storage scroll back, but Kawasaki placed a hand over his, holding it in place. "Hizashi, the road ahead is long."
Hizashi struggled for a moment, but seeing how firm Kawasaki's grip was, he gave up. Kawasaki released his hand, and Hizashi made no further attempt to return the scroll.
Kawasaki nodded in satisfaction. Winning over the Hyuga was a critical move. For some time, the Third Hokage had noticed the Hyuga clan leaning toward the Uchiha. However, he could never have predicted the depth of the alliance Kawasaki was forging. This visit was meant to raise the stakes and solidify the Hyuga's commitment.