After Hiruzen's words, the conference room fell silent.
The election of the Fourth Hokage is an extremely serious and important topic regarding the change of power in Konoha. This is not a simple conversation, every word requires extreme caution and judgment.
"I propose that my disciple, Namikaze Minato, be the Fourth Hokage."
Amidst the silence, Jiraiya spoke slowly.
He looked at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru sat on the spot indifferently, not reacting at all to Jiraiya's gaze.
Yeruashi sat at the corner of the table, sipping his tea in a relaxed manner, saying nothing, watching quietly from the side.
The meeting room was silent.
None of the patriarchs of the great clans spoke, nor did anyone whisper.
"Namikaze Minato is indeed a suitable candidate for the position of Fourth Hokage."
Finally, someone voiced an opinion, it was the Hokage's advisor, Homura Mitokado.
Following Homura, Koharu also expressed his support for Minato, then the Elite Jounin present their opinion.
But some of them continued in silence, looking at Orochimaru and Yeruashi. All the participants are well aware of the importance of Yeruashi and Orochimaru, even without saying a single word.
Uchiha Fugaku also looked at Yeruashi.
The heads of the big clans are not in a hurry to express their opinion.
Suddenly, Orochimaru slowly stood up, drawing the attention of everyone present and said with a smile, "...He supported Minato's candidacy as Fourth Hokage."
This statement caused a silence in the meeting room.
The clan chiefs looked at Orochimaru, making sure that the Sannin was absolutely serious, looked at each other and began to speak individually.
As the clan chiefs began to voice their opinions, Hiruzen looked at Orochimaru and Orochimaru at Hiruzen, their views crossed for a moment.
Orochimaru smiled slightly.
His smile was relaxed.
As if he had shed a heavy burden.
A trace of guilt shone in Hiruzen's eyes, but it was only a slight moment, then he sighed, stood up from his seat and said, "It seems that we have reached a consensus, then, in the next few days, I will go together with Minato to meet with the Daimyo to finally resolve this matter."
After Hiruzen's words, Minato stood up and started talking about how he would lead Konoha to greatness and so on.
Yeruashi didn't bother to listen.
He simply looked at Orochimaru.
"In the end, you couldn't go against your master..."
Yeruashi muttered in his mind.
He could guess why Orochimaru had made this decision.
In this era, it was true that Minato actually shone brighter than Orochimaru and was able to get more support, including Hiruzen's support. Since Hiruzen supports Minato unconditionally, in order to fight for the position of Fourth Hokage, Orochimaru will have to face his master.
Orochimaru retreated.
He did not surrender to the Third Hokage, but to his former master.
...
The Hokage building.
On the roof.
Orochimaru walked out of the lecture hall and climbed onto the roof, looking at Konoha, which began to prosper again after the end of the war.
"You still decided to surrender..."
Yeruashi appeared behind Orochimaru standing on the edge of the roof.
Orochimaru didn't turn around, but kept looking at Konoha and said, "Professor Hiruzen chose Minato, and I respect his choice as much as you respect mine."
"Indeed, becoming a Hokage is nothing, like those leaves that fall and wither in the flames ... Compared to that, isn't eternity something humans should pursue?"
Orochimaru's voice was very calm and light.
Yeruashi sighed.
He knew that by this point, Orochimaru had already completely dismissed Konoha and Hiruzen, and was now expressing the last remnants of emotion he had left.
After that, the same cold and terrifying Orochimaru from the anime would appear.
"It's not too late... If you still want to become a Hokage..."
Orochimaru turned around and looked at Yeruashi with a smile, the hint of moisture in the corners of his eyes dissipated in the wind, and his figure became blurry and disappeared, using Shunshin.
Yeruashi looked at the place where Orochimaru disappeared and raised his head, looking at the sky.
"Hokage?..."
Yeruashi decided not to compete for the position of the Fourth Hokage.
It wasn't that he was too young or anything, such restrictions could easily be crushed by absolute power. There were two reasons why he did not run for the position and did not enter the fray. First, Kakashi is Minato's student. Second, he obtained Hiraishin no Jutsu from Minato.
Although it was not difficult for the current Yeruashi to get Hiraishin on his own, and it was not a big debt, he decided not to go against Minato.
Y.
He understands perfectly.
Minato becoming the Fourth Hokage was just the beginning.
"I won't go against you, but I won't take your side, Minato. If Konoha can't accept my existence.... I will begin my purge."
Yeruashi muttered, looking up at the sky, then his figure blurred and disappeared.
...
Half a month later.
After receiving recognition from the Daimyo of the Fire Country and settling all the formalities, the news of Minato becoming the Fourth Hokage spread within Konoha.
As a result, only Orochimaru's most loyal followers voiced their objections, but after learning that Orochimaru also supported Minato's candidacy, they immediately fell silent, and the voice of opposition dissipated completely.
Compared to the past.
When Hiruzen held the position of Hokage, it is unknown how many disagreements erupted and blood was shed within Konoha, this time the change of power was unusually smooth, without causing any internal conflict.
Orochimaru was not present at Minato's inauguration. He was conducting experiments in his laboratory as usual, and when he received this news, he only paused for a moment.
"You should be satisfied with this result, Sarutobi-sensei..."
"However..."
"Konoha will not be quiet..."
The innards of the current Konoha are too ugly....
Danzo has a Root that only obeys him, two advisors have Konoha's finances in their hands, and Hiruzen definitely won't hand over all of Anbu's forces to Minato and will continue to control Konoha from the shadows.
It would seem that everything is balanced, but in fact, as soon as something appeared that shakes this delicate balance, immediately everything will be turned upside down.
And Yeruashi.
It threatens the balance.
Orochimaru already saw this clearly, but did not pay much attention to it, because now he had only one goal, he longed for eternal life.