After the war ended...
"The auspicious hour has arrived! Please welcome the two couples!"
The host's clear voice rang out.
Amid countless pink and white flower petals drifting through the air, two couples stepped onto the red carpet side by side.
The two couples were... Arisu and Tsunade.
Sakumo Hatake and the female medical ninja.
Arisu wore a black suit, still carrying his gentle smile as he firmly held the hand of the person beside him.
Tsunade had set aside the clothes she usually wore.
Her white wedding dress made her look bright and beautiful. Her golden hair was styled into an elegant bun, decorated with a pure white camellia flower.
Following behind them were Sakumo Hatake and his bride.
Sakumo wore Konoha's traditional wedding attire. A subtle Hatake clan crest was embroidered on his black haori. He stood straight as a pine tree, and the usually stern man wore a rare gentle expression.
The medical ninja beside him wore a white furisode kimono embroidered with light-colored wisteria flowers. Her black hair was arranged into a dignified bun.
One couple embodied passionate, dazzling modern romance.
The other carried a gentle, reserved traditional elegance.
Amid the falling cherry blossoms and the applause of the guests, they slowly walked toward the ceremony stage.
The wedding was grand and lively. Nearly every well-known ninja in Konoha had come.
Minato Namikaze, Kushina, and Shinnosuke squeezed into the front row.
The three young people waved excitedly with sparkling eyes and shouted loudly, "Congratulations, Teacher and... Teacher's Wife!"
Even Jiraiya, who was far away in Amegakure teaching Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan, sent a handwritten letter with his blessings through the fastest messenger hawk as soon as he received the news.
———
The smoke of the Second Ninja War had faded, but Konoha's wounds had not yet fully healed. Even so, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already begun quietly considering stepping down and passing the position to someone worthy.
In truth, he had been thinking about this for a long time.
Looking across all of Konoha, only one person met his standards as a successor.
That person was Arisu.
He wanted to make an unprecedented and bold decision... to place this land, protected by the blood of countless ninjas, into the hands of this young man.
Sakumo Hatake's edge was too sharp. He was Konoha's sharpest blade and could not become Hokage.
Orochimaru's talent was exceptional, but recently he had become far too close to Danzo. His thoughts were difficult to read and required long-term observation.
As for Jiraiya and Tsunade, Hiruzen had never even considered them.
Tsunade was too casual. She was unsuitable.
Jiraiya was too carefree and was still away from the village.
Neither possessed the steadiness and sense of responsibility needed to sit in the Hokage's seat.
Only Arisu was the undisputed best choice.
His strength was overwhelming. During the Second Ninja War, he had achieved one great feat after another, earning fame far and wide.
He treated people with warmth and humility, acted with restraint, and naturally possessed a convincing personal charm.
He had also married the granddaughter of the Second Hokage, Senju Hashirama, linking him to Konoha's most legitimate bloodline.
What moved the older generation who had once followed the First Hokage the most was that Arisu's features bore a shocking resemblance to the First Hokage's. Some of them were moved to tears and almost thought they were seeing things.
With so many buffs stacked together, Arisu was far ahead of anyone else in the competition for the Hokage position.
One day, Arisu was urgently summoned to the Hokage's office.
The Fifth Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat behind his desk. A pipe rested between his fingers, and wisps of smoke curled through the air as he wore a gentle smile.
"Fifth Hokage."
Arisu nodded slightly, calm and composed, having no idea why Hiruzen had called him over.
Hiruzen waved his hand.
"Arisu, I'm old. Konoha's future will eventually belong to you young people. I want to ask you, what exactly is a Hokage in your eyes?"
Arisu calmly took a seat as instructed. His eyes shifted slightly at the question.
The two began a long conversation.
The more they talked, the more shocked Hiruzen became.
He discovered that Arisu's understanding of the Hokage position and his plans for the village's future far surpassed even his own despite having served as Hokage for many years.
The young man before him did not seem like an inexperienced junior at all.
Instead, he seemed like someone who had already led Konoha through countless storms.
When the discussion finally came to an end, Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe, exhaled a ring of smoke, and said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Arisu, you haven't actually been Hokage before, have you?"
"People in the village have long said you're the reincarnation of the First Hokage. Looking at it now, that might not be false."
Arisu deliberately put on a surprised and nervous expression.
"You must be joking. How could my shallow understanding compare to the First Hokage's? Lord First Hokage was someone who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Sage of Six Paths."
"Then... would you be willing to become Hokage?", Hiruzen asked gently.
This time, Arisu almost failed to keep a straight face.
Become Hokage?
How long had it even been since he stepped down? And now they wanted him to be Hokage again?
The First Hokage had done the job for so many years. He had long since grown tired of it.
"I don't want to be Hokage.", Arisu refused without hesitation.
A look of surprise appeared on Hiruzen's face.
The Hokage position was the dream job of countless people.
Yet Arisu had rejected it so casually.
Meanwhile, Danzo next door would practically kneel and beg for the position.
But Arisu did not want it?
Did he truly not want it, or was he only pretending?
One reason Hiruzen wanted to pass the position to Arisu involved his son.
His son was Arisu's student.
If Arisu became Hokage, then his son might also become Hokage in the future.
If he passed the position directly to his own son, people would certainly criticize him.
He had never expected Arisu to have no interest at all.
Suppressing his shock, Hiruzen asked, "Why?"
Arisu shook his head, "I'm too young."
Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe and could only shake his head, "Alright. But you need to think about it."
Seeing that Hiruzen was determined to push him into the position, Arisu could only nod before leaving.
After Arisu left, Danzo immediately stepped out.
"Arisu truly isn't suitable to be Hokage. Konoha's Hokage should be someone mature and steady. Preferably one of the Third Hokage's disciples."
Shimura Danzo immediately spoke up.
Hiruzen was slightly speechless.
"So preferably his surname should be Shimura too? Preferably he should have spiky hair? Preferably his name should end with the character 'zo'?"
Danzo froze for a moment, then nodded.
"That's right! Next time just tell them my ninja registration number directly!"
Hiruzen's face darkened.
At first, he had genuinely thought Danzo was quite suitable to become Hokage.
But later events proved that he had simply been overthinking it.
If Danzo became Hokage, Konoha would walk down Madara's path again.
Now Danzo and the Uchiha clan were getting along extremely well.
The Uchiha clan practically followed his lead in everything.
Hiruzen had gathered the Senju, Hyuga, Ino-Shika-Cho, and other clans to his side.
Danzo, meanwhile, had won over the Uchiha.
He had also heard that Danzo was involved in the destruction of Uzushiogakure and had taken many sealing techniques.
Hiruzen never pursued the matter and chose to pretend he hadn't seen anything.
Back at home...
"What did the old man want with you?"
Tsunade asked lazily while lying on the bed.
Arisu answered directly, "He actually wants me to become Hokage."