Chapter 75: Danzo Feels a Slight Chill
"What?"
Inside the Shimura clan compound, Danzo suddenly looked up. Shock flashed across his face as he stared at the person in front of him.
"Is that true?"
"Yes." The messenger's expression was solemn. "It has been confirmed. Uchiha Kei has made a public statement and is preparing to enter the Hokage election."
"A significant number of people have already expressed their support."
"To think it would turn out like this…"
Hearing the news, Danzo could not help but feel a headache building behind his eyes.
In a Hokage election, success depended not only on one's own strength, but also on the opponents standing in the way.
Originally, Danzo had been confident.
He believed he would most likely become Konoha's Third Hokage.
After all, his main opponent was the Uchiha clan head.
Defeating the Uchiha clan head did not seem difficult.
Even before Danzo made a move, the clan head had already stirred up widespread resentment throughout the village. If things continued like that, the Hokage seat would inevitably fall into Danzo's hands.
But at this moment, Kei stepped forward.
If Kei had stayed out of it, everything would have been simple.
Yet the instant he entered, Danzo and many others were thrown into alarm.
Before today, Danzo knew Kei's reputation and influence. He had a general understanding of it, but he had never truly felt its weight.
Now he did.
The moment Kei officially stepped forward, a wave swept through Konoha.
Many shinobi who had previously stayed silent immediately began to speak.
They poured into the streets, openly supporting Kei, calling for him to become Hokage.
This was the result of Kei's years of work.
Over the years, it had looked like he did not do much.
In reality, he had been quietly stabilizing Konoha's foundation from the shadows.
Konoha Hospital had been built under his direction.
A vast number of medical ninja were his students, personally trained by him.
He had opened the earliest medical training classes.
He had participated in compiling textbooks.
By now, more than half of Konoha's medical ninja were his students.
It was no exaggeration to say that within Konoha's current medical ninja community, Kei's prestige was even greater than the later Tsunade's.
Normally, when he was not needed, those supporters seemed quiet.
But the moment Kei stepped onto the stage, his influence erupted, terrifying in its scale.
Medical ninja began calling on everyone around them, urging them to support Kei.
And with that group as a base, they could influence even more.
The display had only begun, yet it was already shaking the village.
Danzo felt the danger as well.
As he watched the swelling crowds in Konoha and heard the villagers whispering everywhere, the only thing he felt was jealousy.
Support from ordinary villagers and ordinary shinobi might seem insignificant.
But it represented a level of prestige that had become unreachable for most people.
And with those people as a foundation, Kei could influence many others, including those with far greater status.
After all, even in Konoha, ordinary shinobi made up the majority.
Kei held near absolute prestige among them. That kind of standing naturally spread upward.
Seeing this, even many jonin who had originally intended to support Danzo began to waver.
If Kei had not entered the race, they would have supported Danzo simply because there was no better option.
But now that Kei had stepped forward, they suddenly had another choice.
At the very least, compared to Danzo, Kei was far more popular.
In an instant, the people around Danzo began to hesitate.
"Sensei… was this also your arrangement?"
Feeling the shift around him, Danzo let out a long sigh.
Before he entered the race, he had not felt it.
But now that he was truly campaigning, he finally understood how deep the resources Tobirama had prepared for Hiruzen really were.
That included Kei.
If Hiruzen had not gone missing, Kei, as Hiruzen's student, would have been a loyal supporter.
Then this power would have belonged to Hiruzen.
It was precisely because Hiruzen was gone that Danzo even had the chance to compete.
Otherwise, with Danzo's current base, let alone fighting for Hokage, he would not even have qualified to stand among the candidates.
"I cannot give up yet," Danzo told himself. "It is not over until the very end."
"Torifu… and Homura…"
His eyes shifted into the distance as he thought of his old comrades.
They were all pillars of Konoha, each representing a major faction.
As long as they were willing to support him, there was still room to compete.
With that thought, Danzo strode toward where Homura and the others were staying.
But only a short time later, he returned with a livid expression.
Not one of his old friends supported him.
He had expected resistance, but he had not expected such a thorough refusal.
Homura and Koharu rejected him on the spot, stating clearly that they would support Kei.
Torifu did not refuse outright, but he did not agree either, only saying tactfully that he did not wish to be involved.
As for Kagami, Danzo had not even counted on him.
Kagami was from the same clan as Kei, and Kei had personally treated him before. Whether by emotion or relationship, Kagami would certainly support Kei.
After making the rounds, Danzo realized that not a single one of his old comrades stood with him.
His heart grew cold.
His support base was far weaker than he had imagined.
He had thought that even if they did not openly back him, they would at least refuse to side with his opponent out of respect for their past.
But it seemed he had been overthinking.
Torifu might remain neutral because of their history.
But Homura, Koharu, and the others were firmly on Kei's side.
And Kagami did not even need to be mentioned.
Danzo's situation was worse than he had imagined.
"The only breakthrough point right now lies in…"
Danzo's gaze turned toward the Uchiha clan compound.
"The Uchiha…"
Of course, he was not expecting the Uchiha to support him.
Setting aside Danzo's long standing attitude toward them, the clan would never abandon their own leader to support an outsider like him.
What Danzo was considering was something else.
Kei was also Uchiha by blood, yet he had carved out his own path and was now competing directly with the Uchiha clan head for the Hokage seat.
Putting himself in their shoes, Danzo could easily imagine how furious the Uchiha clan head must be right now.
If Danzo could spark conflict between those two sides, he might still find an opening to turn the tide.
...
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[TITLE: Starting in One Piece with Vector Manipulation]