Chapter 72 (Patreon)

The next morning, Roy planned to speak with Kushina about his idea of killing two birds with one stone after breakfast.

Before he could bring it up, however, an ANBU shinobi arrived and summoned them to the Hokage’s Office.

“What? You want me to become Hokage? And most of the village supports me?”

Kushina stood before Hiruzen’s desk, staring at him and the two advisors in disbelief.

She had planned to remove the corruption from Konoha’s leadership and change the village for the better. However, she had not expected to become Hokage so soon.

Roy also found the situation strange.

Danzō had fled before they could make their move, and now these three old-timers were retiring as well.

Could they somehow see the future?

Had they realized that holding on to their positions any longer would ruin whatever reputation they had left?

Otherwise, why did everyone keep leaving before Roy and Kushina could act?

“That’s right,” Hiruzen replied. “Yesterday, we called a meeting with Konoha’s jōnin and the heads of every clan. In the end, everyone agreed that you are qualified to become Hokage.”

“Then why wasn’t I invited to the meeting?” Kushina asked.

“We wanted everyone to speak honestly. If you had been there, anyone who disagreed might have felt pressured to support you.”

Hiruzen’s explanation made sense, but neither Kushina nor Roy was completely convinced.

“I have already sent your nomination as the Fifth Hokage to the Fire Daimyō,” Hiruzen continued. “Once we receive his approval, we can hold the official ceremony.”

He looked directly at Kushina.

“Konoha will soon be in your hands. We believe the village will grow stronger under your leadership.”

From the way Hiruzen spoke, it was clear that he had no intention of allowing Kushina to refuse.

“Because of their age and health, Homura and Koharu will also retire on the day you become Hokage. You should use the next few days to choose your new advisors. The three of us can still help you look over the candidates.”

Each of the Five Great Shinobi Villages had elders or advisors who helped its Kage.

If a Kage ever became completely unfit to lead, the advisors could call a meeting and have them removed from power. However, nothing like that had ever happened in any of the five villages.

More importantly, the advisors helped the Kage handle the village’s daily work.

If the Hokage had to deal with every matter personally, no one would be able to keep up with the workload for long.

Even on the way home, Kushina still felt dazed.

She could hardly believe that she was about to become Hokage.

Becoming Hokage had been her dream ever since she was a child. Back then, she had not understood what she needed to do to reach that position.

She had simply believed that becoming the strongest shinobi in the village would be enough.

Later, she met Minato and watched as he slowly earned the village’s trust and became the Fourth Hokage.

Only then did she realize how naive she had been.

After Minato’s death, Roy was the one who made her think about that dream again.

She wanted to become Hokage and turn Konoha into the village she had always believed it could be.

But now that the position was almost hers, she suddenly felt lost.

“Roy-kun, do you really think I can be a good Hokage?”

During the year or so that Minato had served as Hokage, he had always returned home on time. Even so, Kushina could tell that he had been under far more pressure than before.

At the time, she had known nothing about Konoha’s darker side or its politics. She had assumed Minato was simply exhausted by the weight of his responsibilities.

“I’ll help you.”

Roy wrapped his arms around Kushina from behind.

“Being Hokage isn’t as difficult as you think. You only need to decide which direction Konoha should take. For everything else, put the right people in charge.”

He smiled.

“If there’s one thing Konoha doesn’t lack, it’s capable shinobi.”

His words immediately lifted Kushina’s spirits.

She had spent all this time training and fighting on the front lines because she wanted to become Hokage.

Now that the opportunity was finally in front of her, why was she hesitating?

After steadying herself, Kushina asked, “What about the advisors Hiruzen mentioned? Who do you think we should choose?”

“Nara Shikaku should be the first.”

Roy answered without hesitation.

“He’s one of Konoha’s best strategists, and he has always supported the Hokage. If Shikaku stands with you, the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans will follow his lead.”

Kushina nodded.

Shikaku was an obvious choice.

“The second should be Uchiha Fugaku,” Roy continued.

“The Uchiha helped found Konoha, but Hashirama’s hope that Madara would one day become Hokage never came true. After that, the clan was slowly pushed away from the center of the village.”

“That is the reason some members of the Uchiha believe rebellion is their only choice. If Madara had become the Second Hokage as Hashirama intended, many of the problems that followed might never have happened.”

Kushina had already learned the history between Konoha and the Uchiha, so she understood what Roy meant.

“Fugaku was also close to Minato, and he knows you personally,” Roy added. “More importantly, he is one of the more moderate voices within the Uchiha clan.”

“He will be much easier to work with than one of the elders demanding a coup. If Fugaku is given a real place in Konoha’s leadership, fewer Uchiha will listen to those hardliners.”

“Over time, the Uchiha can finally become a true part of Konoha again.”

In truth, the Uchiha were not asking for much.

If the village gave them the respect and treatment they deserved, then even if a few members still wanted to rebel, most of the clan would stop them.

However, Danzō had always treated the Uchiha as a threat.

Under his influence, Hiruzen had also begun watching and suppressing them.

The only reason the Uchiha had not already launched a coup was that Fugaku, a moderate, was their clan leader.

If one of the hardliners had been leading the clan instead, they would have acted long ago.

“For the third advisor, I think the head of the Hyūga branch family, Hyūga Hizashi, would be suitable.”

Kushina looked confused.

“If we want the Hyūga clan’s support, shouldn’t we choose Hyūga Hiashi, the head of the main family?”

“The Hyūga main family does not see itself as being beneath Konoha,” Roy explained. “Even if Hiashi accepted the position, the elders of the main family would most likely oppose it.”

“Hizashi is different. The main family would not stop a member of the branch family from becoming an advisor.”

“They might even welcome it. They would believe that having a branch family member in such a high position would help them gain more influence in the village.”

“But at the same time, it would show the branch family that they have another choice.”

“They don’t have to depend on a main family that only uses them. They can choose to stand with the village instead.”

Kushina quickly understood what Roy was planning.

“Are you saying we should remove the Caged Bird Seal?”

“We need to remove part of it, but not the entire jutsu.”

Kushina tilted her head, not understanding what he meant.

“I don’t think the Caged Bird Seal was originally created to enslave the branch family,” Roy explained.

“The main family preserves the Hyūga bloodline, while the seal prevents the Byakugan of a fallen branch family member from falling into enemy hands.”

“The original purpose of the jutsu was probably to protect the Byakugan.”

He paused.

“But whoever created it failed to consider what would happen over time.”

“Once the main family became used to controlling the branch family, the seal stopped being a form of protection.”

“It became a real cage.”

Roy moved in front of Kushina and looked directly into her eyes.

“So we’ll keep the part of the seal that protects the Byakugan.”

“Everything that allows the main family to control or punish the branch family will be removed.”

Kushina’s eyes immediately lit up.

If they could modify the Caged Bird Seal, the members of the branch family would finally regain their freedom.

When that happened, they would undoubtedly support her.

The list of candidates was soon delivered to Hiruzen.

He stared at the three names in silence.

Nara Shikaku made sense.

He could even understand why they had chosen Uchiha Fugaku.

But Hyūga Hizashi?

Hiruzen pulled several hairs from his beard, yet he still could not understand why they had chosen the head of the Hyūga branch family.