Danzo Shimura, a consistently ambitious figure, surprisingly secured the nomination for Fourth Hokage with strong support from the Daimyo.
Suddenly gaining nominal righteousness, combined with the support of most Konoha Ninja, the change of Hokage was already inevitable.
Although Hiruzen Sarutobi had openly revealed his intention to abdicate and clearly stated that the Fourth Hokage, who was supposed to appear in the future, should inherit the Hokage position, he even went so far as to disclose important intelligence about the Lou Lan mission, directly stating that in the original parallel timeline, the Hokage position should have belonged to Minato Namikaze.
But unfortunately.
None of this could change the decisions made by the other small and medium-sized clans in their hearts. They seemed to have a special preference for Danzo Shimura.
Or rather.
They had an unspoken understanding to no longer trust the Sarutobi Clan. Regardless, Hiruzen Sarutobi's efforts were ultimately forcibly rejected by these small and medium-sized clans.
After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi, as Konoha Village's veteran leader, had deep-rooted influence and power in the Village.
While Minato Namikaze possessed extraordinary strength and talent, he was, after all, a follower of Hiruzen Sarutobi. Even if he became Hokage, it would be difficult for him to escape Hiruzen Sarutobi's control.
Originally, everyone had high hopes for this Hokage of commoner origin, expecting him to bring more opportunities and development space to small and medium-sized clans and commoners.
However, as the Lou Lan mission was publicized and the parallel timeline exposed, reality was a great disappointment.
Minato Namikaze in the parallel world, after becoming Hokage, seemed not to have truly sought benefits for the groups that genuinely supported him; instead, he remained at the mercy of Hiruzen Sarutobi, becoming his puppet and working for Hiruzen Sarutobi.
This was just as Hiruzen Sarutobi once said, it's not about becoming Hokage to gain everyone's recognition, but about gaining everyone's recognition to become Hokage.
However, the current Minato Namikaze had already lost the recognition of all Konoha Ninja, and his path to Hokage would become extremely difficult.
Not only that.
Even the few clans that were originally close to him continued to support him only out of consideration for their own interests.
This superficial support could not conceal the true thoughts in the hearts of these clans close to him.
In terms of trust, Minato Namikaze had nothing.
The Konoha Ninja's loyalty to him had been greatly discounted, and his Hokage dream was thus almost completely shattered.
Only in this situation.
The notorious Hiruzen Sarutobi, shamelessly clinging to the Third Hokage position, still insisted on the election of the Fourth Hokage. Even if he did not abdicate himself, he still wanted the Fourth Hokage to succeed him. This approach, while appearing very awkward and abnormal, was in fact very abnormal and full of an inexpressible strangeness.
This made Danzo Shimura, who was about to become the Fourth Hokage, curse: "Hiruzen, you dog, you are truly shameless to the extreme! You cling to the Third Hokage position, refusing to abdicate, yet you want to elect another Fourth Hokage just to prevent me from becoming Hokage. As the Fourth Hokage, I will do ten thousand times better than you!"
Unfortunately, although Danzo Shimura's angry curses made the small and medium-sized clans who supported him light up, thinking that they could live in a fair Village in the future.
It did not change Hiruzen Sarutobi's slightest expression.
It seemed that after his true colors were exposed, he no longer cared about these superficial appearances.
He continued to act as he pleased.
He put Minato Namikaze's name forward for the Fourth Hokage election. With the support of 2,000 Ninja from the Sarutobi Clan, and the alliance support from Ino–Shika–Chō, who were long-standing allies of the Sarutobi Clan, the election gained momentum and vigor for a time.
However, with only this level of support, he could at most contend with Danzo Shimura, but there was no possibility of him fully becoming Hokage.
"Therefore, what I believe in is not Hiruzen Sarutobi's promise as the Third Hokage, but Minato Namikaze, who once served as Hokage in the parallel timeline. If he is Hokage, we can trust his fire will."
"At least, as Hokage, he indeed sacrificed himself to protect everyone in Konoha; there is no doubt about that!"
Nara Shikaku said, also stating the bottom line Hiruzen Sarutobi had given him: he could accept abdication, but only if the person who became the Fourth Hokage was his grand-disciple, Minato Namikaze.
"So, what are your subsequent thoughts? With this strength alone, we can at most contend with Danzo; we absolutely cannot prevent Danzo Shimura from becoming Hokage." Akimichi Chōza clearly stated this point, "Danzo is already obsessed with becoming Hokage. If we switch sides now and completely drive Hiruzen Sarutobi out of Konoha, he won't settle accounts later!"
"But we can't afford to gamble!" Nara Shikaku said with a worried expression, looking at the two, and hesitated, "Thinking back, we followed Hiruzen Sarutobi like shadows, cheering for his every action, giving him so much support. However, his every action was like a sharp blade, mercilessly piercing Konoha's body, bringing endless harm to Konoha. Yet each time, we were as if hypnotized, unconsciously casting those default votes. If Hiruzen Sarutobi completely falls, do you think no one in Konoha will settle accounts later!"
For a moment, with Nara Shikaku's words, the three of them fell silent, like eggplants struck by frost.
Yes!
Hiruzen Sarutobi, in the past, was like a greedy vampire, frantically sucking the blood of various Konoha clans and commoner geniuses. All of this was thanks to his masterful disguise techniques and his vast, intricate web of subordinates. Among these many powerful forces, their Ino–Shika–Chō three clans were prominently listed.
And if the Sarutobi Clan were to be completely eliminated, what fate would their Ino–Shika–Chō, as staunch allies closely connected to the Sarutobi Clan, face?
However, how could they trust the Sarutobi Clan's exposed ambition and their despicable acts of devouring allied clans?
On the scale of gains and losses, Minato Namikaze had already become the most dazzling weight.
Both of them were intelligent people; even without Nara Shikaku's intelligence, which far surpassed ordinary people by dozens of times, they were not fools.
Only then did he understand that his actions were merely to ensure a balance.
Neither siding with the Third Hokage nor supporting him, but merely temporarily maintaining peace within Konoha.
Everything would wait until a Hokage completely harmless to them ascended to power, and then they would reveal their chosen faction.
"Therefore, what we urgently need now is to rely on Hiruzen Sarutobi's support and rack our brains to help Minato Namikaze ascend to the Hokage's throne. However, to avoid repeating the same mistakes, before that, we must obtain his promise. That is to say, after he ascends to the Hokage position, not only must he not confront Danzo, but he must also win over Danzo to jointly resist Sarutobi. Otherwise, Minato Namikaze, with no foundation, would merely be Hiruzen Sarutobi's puppet, and Konoha would still be unable to escape the fate of being devoured by Hiruzen Sarutobi's Sarutobi Clan!"
Nara Shikaku's voice was low and helpless, as if filled with a sense of powerlessness towards this situation. "At that time, our alliance with the Sarutobi Clan will likely come to an end, and we will become a purely Hokage faction. Whoever becomes Hokage will control the overall situation and become the true person in power. Then, all we can do is support that Hokage. This is truly a last resort!"
He couldn't help but sigh, secretly pondering that he and the Ino–Shika–Chō three clans had always been known for their intelligence and wisdom, yet they never expected to fall into such a desperate situation with no choice!
And Nara Shikaku believed that the root cause of all this was none other than the inherently evil Sarutobi Clan.
Soon, after this secret meeting, the three clans, who had already decided to part ways with the original Hiruzen Sarutobi, began to secretly contact Minato Namikaze personally and demand his promises.