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The Founding Year of Konoha
The newly established Hidden Leaf Village had already begun to show signs of what it would become in the future. The vaguely familiar streets overlapped with scenes buried deep in his memory.
Akio strolled leisurely through the newly built Konoha, recalling the day before, when Hashirama and Madara stood atop what would one day be the Hokage Rock. With arms spread wide, Hashirama had announced the official founding of Konoha.
The name "Konoha" had been suggested by Uchiha Madara, while it was Hashirama who proposed the title of Hokage as the symbolic leader of the village.
The successful founding of the village had earned Akio 100 Witness Points. Combined with the points he had previously accumulated, he now had a total of 130. However, he wasn't in a rush to spend them. He planned to relax for a while, as the establishment of Konoha meant that there would be no immediate need for him to act again for some time.
"Madara's expression must be priceless right about now…" Akio chuckled softly.
At this moment, a full assembly was being held in what would later be known as the Hokage Building, to decide on the selection of the First Hokage. In Akio's mind—and likely in everyone's—this was just a formality. The only possible candidate was Hashirama.
Some of the mid-sized clans might have their own thoughts, but the smaller clans, led by Sarutobi, would certainly support Hashirama. The head of the Uzumaki Clan, who was also Hashirama's nephew-in-law, would no doubt back him as well. Regardless, it was clear no one would support the Uchiha.
"No, Hashirama will definitely support Madara…" Akio shook his head.
As he wandered the village, Akio couldn't find the building he most wanted to see: Ichiraku Ramen.
"I must be out of my mind… actually believing in the legend of Otsutsuki Ichiraku…" he muttered with a bitter smile.
Though Ichiraku Ramen was nowhere to be found, Akio did spot several barbecue restaurants. Considering that Konoha was essentially a collection of shinobi clans at this point—with only a few dozen civilians—the presence of BBQ shops puzzled him. Curious, he approached one, only for his expression to darken.
"Oh, it's the Akimichi clan…" he cursed under his breath, recalling the image of a towering, hundred-meter-tall Akimichi during the battle over the mines.
If it weren't for their "unique" physique, Akio would've seriously considered training in the Akimichi's secret techniques, which reminded him of a legendary jutsu from his past life—Expansion Jutsu: True Form of the Cosmos.
"True Form of the Cosmos?" Akio whispered. "I really must be going insane…"
After making his rounds, Akio returned to the Hokage Building and saw people beginning to trickle out.
The first to leave were the clan heads of the smaller families. Among them, Akio only recognized Sarutobi Sasuke and Shimura Ken. Next came the heads of the mid-sized clans—six in total, all familiar faces to Akio.
He sighed. "Still clinging to power at their age… Looks like there's a gap in the younger generation."
With the Warring States Period over and ninja skirmishes greatly reduced, the overall combat strength was inevitably in decline.
Each of the three Great Ninja Wars in the future would give rise to remarkable figures, proving how much war tempered shinobi.
"Gains and losses…" Akio didn't bother greeting his six old acquaintances and simply sighed. "Right now, Konoha is absurdly strong. There are two people above clan leader—or rather, Kage—level… well, maybe two and a half if you count me. As for Kage-level shinobi, there are about ten, and elite jōnin? Too many to count."
Standing less than a hundred meters from the six clan heads, Akio watched them walk by, each lost in thought. Not one of them noticed him.
"Damn… am I really that unnoticeable?" Then, seeing Hyūga Tennin walk out with a furrowed brow, he added, "Even the Hyūga clan head didn't sense me?"
Next came Tobirama Senju and the Uzumaki Clan Head. They at least gave him a stiff nod before turning away.
"What's got everyone so tense?"
Fifteen Minutes Later – Akimichi Clan BBQ Shop
"So, Hashirama, you want Madara to become the First what? Fruit Fly? You came to me for advice with just a plate of grilled meat?" Akio mumbled, mouth full of barbecue.
"You're seriously trying to win over your second granduncle with just this?" he said after swallowing.
Hashirama scratched his head sheepishly and nodded.
"I'm guessing no one in the meeting supported Madara…" Akio sighed. "He can't be Hokage. You'd better come up with another suitable position for him…"
"Like… Ambassador of External Affairs for Konoha?"
Hashirama fell silent, feeling like he had wasted a plate of perfectly good barbecue. That role clearly didn't suit Madara.
"In the meeting, I saw Madara's expression turn sour when I proposed a village-wide vote," Hashirama muttered. "In hindsight, that was probably a mistake."
"Pfft…" Akio nearly choked on his meat. "A public vote? What, you think Madara's pride hasn't been stomped enough already?"
Seeing Hashirama slipping into a gloomy mood again, Akio softened his tone.
"Alright, alright. You become Hokage. Make Madara a Grand Elder. Let your nephew and the other mid-sized clan heads be elders too. Leave Tobirama out of it, and Madara might not oppose."
That only seemed to make things worse. Hashirama looked even more dejected, clearly thinking about the conflict between his brother and Madara.
"One's your brother, the other's your… best friend. Tough spot, huh, Hashirama?"
"Best friend?"
"You misheard. I said 'comrade'…"
Akio enjoyed his meal thoroughly, completely cleaning out Hashirama's secret stash of money.
Akimichi must have some kind of secret BBQ technique, Akio thought. Otherwise, how could I possibly eat this much? I need to get that recipe someday…
He paid no attention to Hashirama's pained expression beside him.
One Week Later
As expected, Hashirama was overwhelmingly chosen as the First Hokage. Just thinking about Madara's expression during the announcement was enough to make Akio smile.
He didn't know the full story of what happened behind the scenes, but on the night before the vote, Madara overheard a private conversation between Tobirama and Hashirama. In it, Tobirama opposed Madara becoming Hokage and revealed his theory about the nature of the Uchiha's Sharingan. That was what truly soured Madara's mood.
After Hashirama was officially confirmed as Hokage, the number of elders was also finalized—four in total: Uchiha Madara, Hyūga Tennin, the head of the Nara clan, and Akio.
The Uzumaki Clan Head did not take a seat among the elders, as he had to return to manage affairs back in the Uzumaki homeland.
Interestingly, Akio was brought in as a representative of the smaller clans. These clans had no Kage-level shinobi of their own and could only nominate someone like Akio, who was close with both the Sarutobi and Shimura clans.
To appease Madara, Hashirama allowed his vote to count as two, preventing any ties. Though in Akio's opinion, that didn't really matter much.
As for Tobirama, he got what he wanted—becoming the First Hokage's personal guard and founding the original Hokage Guard Platoon.
With everything settled, the village got busy again, preparing for the official coronation of the First Hokage.
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