Chapter 681 Mu Yue Hokage!

All the Konoha Ninja present, except Muzuki, recommended Muzuki.

Muzuki, not being Danzo Shimura, naturally couldn’t recommend himself, so he just watched quietly.

“Habsheng Mugetsu…” The Daimyo subconsciously looked at Muzuki, who was sitting next to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He knew Muzuki, firstly because Muzuki was very famous after experiencing several major battles, and secondly because Muzuki had once escorted him to the Land of Rain to watch the Youth Martial Arts Tournament.

“Habsheng Mugetsu is indeed a very good choice; he contributed greatly to the Land of Fire’s victory in the Third Shinobi World War,” a somewhat portly Land of Fire official stated.

“Yes, and Habsheng Mugetsu is also a Wood Release Ninja, capable of using the First Hokage’s signature Ninjutsu,” a long-bearded Land of Fire official also agreed.

When electing the Hokage, they generally only support the candidates put forward by Konoha, never oppose them.

If Konoha recommended multiple people simultaneously, then Konoha would discuss and decide further.

Clap.

Seeing no one raise objections, the Daimyo closed his fan and clapped his hand, saying:

“Since Habsheng Mugetsu has distinguished himself in battle and is also the inheritor of the First Hokage’s Ninjutsu, then let Habsheng Mugetsu serve as the Fourth Hokage.”

At this point, the election of the Fourth Hokage concluded, and the Hokage candidate was definitively confirmed.

“Thank you for your approval, Daimyo,” Muzuki said politely.

Clap, clap, clap!

The officials and Hiruzen Sarutobi, among others, all applauded, celebrating the birth of the Fourth Hokage.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi clapped, he glanced at Muzuki, exhaled lightly, his expression somewhat complex.

He wasn’t greedy for the Hokage’s power, but when Hiruzen Sarutobi thought about how he would soon no longer be able to stand by the Hokage Office’s glass window and overlook Konoha, he still felt a different kind of emotion.

For Hiruzen Sarutobi, Konoha was not just a powerful Ninja force, nor just the place where he grew up; it was the Ninja Village he led when he was entrusted with a mission in a crisis.

At that time, Hiruzen Sarutobi truly struggled; even with Senju Tobirama’s dying wish, Hiruzen Sarutobi still put in a lot of effort to stabilize his position as Hokage.

During this process, his companions like Danzo Shimura and Homura Mitokado, as well as his clan, all contributed greatly, so Hiruzen Sarutobi was very grateful to them.

After stabilizing his position as Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly began to integrate forces to participate in the war, driving all forces attacking Konoha out of the Land of Fire and launching counterattacks.

Gradually, the situation stabilized, and Konoha grew stronger; countless Konoha residents thanked him for his contributions to Konoha, and many Konoha Ninja regarded him as an idol, making the position of Hokage their life goal.

He ushered in a new era of Konoha belonging to the Third Hokage.

The more difficult it was, the deeper Hiruzen Sarutobi’s love for Konoha was; this was the Village he had painstakingly built up.

If his succession had been smoother, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s feelings for Konoha might not have been so profound.

“Our era is coming to an end,” Homura Mitokado sighed softly at this sight, thinking to himself.

It would be fine when he first became Hokage, but after serving as Hokage for a period, Muzuki would inevitably establish a core team centered around himself, just as Hiruzen Sarutobi had employed him, Utatane Koharu, and Danzo Shimura back then.

At that time, the best choice for these old-timers would be to gracefully step down, preserving their final dignity.

After all, Muzuki was not like others; though young, he was not someone who could be easily manipulated.

Homura Mitokado was reluctant to give up his Advisor authority, but he also wasn’t prepared to directly confront Muzuki when the time came.

He had indeed worked hard for Konoha’s development, but in the process, he had also sought some personal gain.

Homura Mitokado didn’t want to end up with a bad reputation in his old age; stepping down was fine, having served as a high-ranking official for so long, he had achieved something in his life.

“Perhaps, this is the best outcome,” Minato Namikaze clapped hard, smiling slightly as he thought.

As a Ninja who aspired to become Hokage, witnessing Muzuki’s step-by-step journey from a Chunin teacher to Hokage, if Minato Namikaze were to say he hadn’t felt disappointment, it would absolutely be a lie.

This was his lifelong dream; no matter who his competitor was, Minato Namikaze would put in his full effort to contend and compete.

However, the gap between him and Muzuki was too vast, so vast that he couldn’t even become Muzuki’s competitor.

The most awkward thing was that Muzuki was now also proficient in the Flying Thunder God Technique that Minato Namikaze had mastered, and their appearances were also quite similar, which gave Muzuki the feeling of being a super Minato Namikaze.

Everything Minato Namikaze had, Muzuki had; what Minato Namikaze didn’t know, Muzuki also had.

How could he even compete?

It was precisely because of this huge disparity that Minato Namikaze quickly let go; he loved Konoha, not Konoha with him as Hokage, so Minato Namikaze actually didn’t care that much about who became Hokage.

When the applause stopped, the Daimyo announced the official end of the meeting.

“Sandaime, is that information true or false?” The Daimyo was still very curious about the rumor and asked in a low voice.

“It’s true,” Hiruzen Sarutobi replied.

“It’s not a rumor after all; that Sōsuke is so strong,” the Daimyo snapped open his fan, covering his somewhat surprised face.

He hadn’t expected the Land of Rain to have such a powerful Ninja.

“No need to worry, it was just me who lost, but our Fourth Hokage will not lose to any Ninja, not even the First Hokage,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a confident expression.

Although in many people’s eyes, being second only to the God of Shinobi was the highest praise for Muzuki, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that Muzuki not only had the potential to become the second Senju Hashirama but might even surpass Senju Hashirama.

If he were to say it, probably no one would believe him; when Senju Hashirama was at Muzuki’s age, his strength was actually not as strong as Muzuki’s.

In Hiruzen Sarutobi’s view, Muzuki was somewhat like a combination of their First to Third Hokage.

The First Hokage’s heaven-defying Wood Release talent, the Second Hokage’s Ninjutsu development, and Hiruzen Sarutobi’s Ninjutsu talent—Muzuki possessed all of these.

The Daimyo was somewhat surprised, not expecting Hiruzen Sarutobi to even bring up Senju Hashirama for comparison.

As the founder of Konoha, coupled with his incredibly terrifying strength, Senju Hashirama held a transcendent position in Konoha; even though the Second Hokage and Third Hokage were quite well-regarded, no one had ever claimed to be on par with the First Hokage.

“Then I’ll await your good news,” the Daimyo said with a cheerful smile.

His relationship with Konoha was mutually beneficial; a stronger Konoha meant a better Land of Fire.

“Muzuki, congratulations. It won’t be long before I have to address you as Lord Fourth,” Minato Namikaze said with a smile as he walked beside Muzuki.

Muzuki’s position as Fourth Hokage was only confirmed; he would only truly become Hokage after the Hokage succession ceremony.

“Lord Fourth isn’t necessary; actually, I think you’re more suitable to be Hokage than me,” Muzuki said, shaking his head.

If he could give up the Hokage position, he truly wanted to give it to Minato Namikaze.

The reality was that Muzuki couldn’t; if he really forced Minato Namikaze to become Hokage, it would only lead to a flurry of conspiracy theories and dissenting voices in the Village, which would harm Minato Namikaze instead.

Muzuki’s various conditions could even crush Orochimaru, let alone Minato Namikaze.

Due to Muzuki’s influence, Minato Namikaze’s battle achievements were significantly less than in the original work, and even his nomination might face criticism.

“That’s your misconception, Muzuki. I’m happy that you recognize my abilities, but if even you can’t be a good Hokage, then I’d have an even harder time,” Minato Namikaze said seriously.

After the high-level meeting, Hiruzen Sarutobi had summoned Minato Namikaze and informed him that Muzuki wanted to nominate him to become the Fourth Hokage.

Minato Namikaze was deeply touched by Muzuki’s trust, but in terms of ability, he was indeed inferior to Muzuki.

“Since you’ve become Hokage, Muzuki, you must face yourself and not be overly humble. So many people voted for you, which means everyone trusts your abilities.”

Seeing Minato Namikaze lecturing him so earnestly, Muzuki could only nod and say yes.

One can only say that people’s joys and sorrows are not interconnected.

Compared to the affairs of the Hokage, Muzuki had other, more meaningful things to do for himself.

Muzuki once again thanked Senju Tobirama in his heart.

Shadow Clone was truly useful, especially after acquiring the Yang Seal.

Shadow Clone’s teaching effectiveness was not as good as the original body, but it was sufficient for handling Konoha’s political affairs.

Half an hour after the meeting ended, Hiruzen Sarutobi announced that Muzuki was confirmed as the Fourth Hokage, and the succession ceremony would be held a week later.

After all, the Hokage was Konoha’s supreme leader; it wasn’t like a Ninja Academy teacher who could be replaced so casually. There were many things that needed to be handled.

In fact, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already begun preparations as soon as he decided on the succession; otherwise, this one week wouldn’t be enough.

The news that Muzuki was about to become the Fourth Hokage quickly spread throughout Konoha.

“As expected, it’s Muzuki who will be Hokage.”

“Although Orochimaru-sama is also good, I still think Muzuki will be able to lead Konoha to prosperity better.”

“What Muzuki? It’s our beloved Lord Fourth!”

“What’s going on? Why are you all gathered here making so much noise?” An Uchiha Ninja patrolling the Konoha streets saw people gathered and arguing, so he walked over and reprimanded them.

The crowd instantly quieted down; after all, these were members of the Uchiha Police Force, and they truly had the authority to imprison people.

“Sir, we heard that Muzuki is about to become Hokage, so we were happy and couldn’t help but get a bit loud,” one person explained, mustering his courage.

“Muzuki is going to be Hokage?!” The leading Uchiha Jonin showed a surprised expression.

Their Uchiha’s new era was finally coming.

Thinking of this, the Uchiha Jonin’s mood immediately improved, and the surrounding crowd no longer seemed so annoying.

“Keep your voices down a bit, and don’t disturb others,” the Uchiha Jonin said simply before leading his people away.

The citizens showed surprised expressions; some of them had just been mentally prepared to be locked up for a few hours by these Uchiha on some pretext.

It wasn’t that they were being overly anxious, but there were genuinely many similar rumors.

There were rumors that if the Uchiha were in a bad mood, even if a passerby accidentally dropped something on the ground, they could use the excuse of ‘damaging Konoha’s environment’ to arrest the passerby and detain them for several days.

There were also rumors that the Uchiha looked down on everyone outside the Uchiha Clan, regardless of age, and if you didn’t set up your stall according to the rules, even if you were an old person, they would overturn both you and your stall.

However, regarding this particular rumor, many elderly people in Konoha held dissenting opinions, saying that not all Uchiha should be generalized, and there were also good Uchiha who were not employed in the Police Force.

In short, there were many rumors about the Uchiha in Konoha, but most of them were bad reputations.

“Maybe they’re just in a good mood today,” the citizens thought to themselves.

Hyuga Clan compound.

“It’s truly a pity. In recent years, the Ninja within our clan have only been mediocre; not a single one has caught Muzuki’s eye,” Hyuga Hiashi sighed.

As a Bloodline Limit clan with Eye Technique and numerous Jonin, the Hyuga Clan had always viewed the Uchiha as rivals.

And the fact that Muzuki, who was about to become Hokage, had two Uchiha Clan disciples but not a single Hyuga disciple was undoubtedly very disadvantageous to them.

Previously, Hyuga Hiashi never worried about the Hyuga Clan’s status in Konoha.

Because the Byakugan had too much strategic significance; the Byakugan’s powerful long-range observation ability was incomparable to the Sharingan.

Now it was different; the Kenbunshoku Haki developed by Muzuki was far more powerful than ordinary sensory Ninjutsu, and it even provided great assistance in combat.

The emergence of Kenbunshoku Haki wouldn’t directly put the Hyuga Clan out of work, but its importance would certainly not be as it was before.

“I hope some more outstanding children will be born in the future.”

Hyuga Hiashi prayed in his heart; he didn’t want the Hyuga Clan to decline under his leadership.

Families connected to Muzuki were excited about his succession as Hokage, while some families not connected to Muzuki were somewhat worried about the future.

…

Although Orochimaru was Muzuki’s competitor, he only learned about Muzuki’s impending succession in the evening.

During the day, he had been researching Hashirama cells in the training team’s laboratory; even if someone wanted to inform him, they wouldn’t know where he was.

It was only when Muzuki invited him to eat together that he heard about it.

“Congratulations, Lord Mu Yue,” Orochimaru said with a faint smile.

He had long since given up, having no intention of competing with Muzuki for Hokage, otherwise he wouldn’t have stayed cooped up in the lab without taking action.

Orochimaru knew he couldn’t win the competition, so it was better to use this opportunity to show Muzuki his sincerity.

“This Hokage election was really well done,” Tsunade said, nodding in satisfaction as she looked at the lavish feast on the table.

That’s right, this was a celebration proposed by Tsunade to celebrate Muzuki’s succession as Hokage.

She had already thought it through; once Muzuki truly became Hokage, they could celebrate again.

And after Muzuki had been Hokage for a week, they could celebrate the one-week anniversary of becoming Hokage.

“One week is too much; at least it should be one year, right?” Shizune couldn’t help but retort.

Tsunade then realized that she had unconsciously spoken her thoughts aloud.

“You misheard; I said one year,” Tsunade said, rubbing Shizune’s cheek.

Muzuki would most likely not agree to a one-week celebration.

“It was one week, I heard it too,” Obito stepped forward and said.

“Hmm?” Tsunade raised her fist.

“Uh, on second thought, it seems it was one year,” Obito retreated.

It wasn’t that he disregarded their friendship as classmates; it was that Tsunade truly didn’t care about age when hitting people.