Hiruzen sat back in his chair, hands folded, waiting for their answer. He didn't expect any hesitation - one of them had to take the job. He had waited long enough, and quite frankly, he was too damn old for this.
Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged a glance. Then Tsunade sighed and leaned back in her chair.
"We talked about it," she said. "And neither of us wants to be Hokage."
Hiruzen's eye twitched.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard her, old man," Jiraiya said, grinning as he stretched his arms behind his head. "We respectfully decline."
Hiruzen pinched the bridge of his nose. Of all the outcomes, this was the one he wanted the least.
"Tsunade." He turned to her first, because between the two, she was the more rational one. "You were trained to be a leader. You have the strength, the intelligence, the name. Your grandfather founded this village, for heaven's sake…"
"And he also died fighting to protect it," Tsunade cut in. "So did my granduncle. So did Dan. So did Nawaki." Her fingers curled into fists. "I'm done watching people die in the name of this village."
Hiruzen exhaled slowly. He understood her pain, and even though Konoha needed her he had to take a step back.
"I can't force you," he admitted, then turned to Jiraiya. "That means you're up."
Jiraiya snorted. "Not happening."
Hiruzen's jaw tightened.
"Why?"
"Because I suck at paperwork," Jiraiya said, "You write books…" Hiruzen cut in but Jiraiya threw up his hands signaling he was not done. "And politics, I suck at politics. And meetings. And sitting still. Hell, the only thing I'm really good at is…"
"Peeping?" Tsunade deadpanned.
Jiraiya grinned. "Research."
Hiruzen sighed. This was not how he thought today would go.
"Jiraiya." His voice was stern now. "This isn't a request. Konoha needs a strong leader, someone who understands its people. You…"
"Tch." Jiraiya shook his head. "Old man, I'm a wandering hermit. I've been out of Konoha more than I've been in it and that's because of your orders." Jiraiya took a pause and looked at Hiruzen who showed faint traces of guilt and continued with a satisfied but faint smile. "You really think I'd make a good Hokage?"
"Yes," Hiruzen said without hesitation.
Jiraiya frowned, clearly thrown off.
Tsunade watched the exchange quietly. A part of her felt guilty. She could take the job. But every time she imagined herself sitting in that office, wearing that hat, she saw another corpse being covered with a white sheet.
No, she couldn't do it.
"I'd be a terrible Hokage," Jiraiya muttered.
"No, you wouldn't." Hiruzen leaned forward. "You trained Minato."
Jiraiya stiffened, Minato was a sensitive subject.
Hiruzen didn't stop. "You found a boy with no last name and made him into the Fourth Hokage. He believed in this village. He believed in you. Do you think he'd want you running away from this responsibility?"
Jiraiya's jaw clenched.
"That's low," he muttered.
"But true."
There was silence for a long moment. Then Jiraiya scoffed and leaned back, rubbing his face.
"Look," he said, more serious now. "I never wanted to be Hokage. I'm not cut out for it. I can barely take care of myself, let alone a whole damn village."
"You don't have to do it alone," Hiruzen said. "The Hokage has advisors, a council, a village that wants to support them. You think I did this by myself?"
Jiraiya snorted. "You sure acted like it."
Hiruzen gave him a flat look.
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Just admit you're scared."
Jiraiya's head snapped toward her. "Scared? Me? Of being Hokage?"
She smirked. "Yeah. You're afraid you'll screw it up, so you'd rather not try."
'That's good, Tsunade knows how to push him' Hiruzen marveled at Tsunade taking his side.
Jiraiya crossed his arms. "I'm not scared. I just know myself. I don't belong in an office."
Tsunade shrugged. "Maybe not. But if you don't take the job, someone else will."
Jiraiya frowned. "Like who?"
She glanced at Hiruzen.
"I hear Danzo has been interested," Tsunade said.
Jiraiya's face darkened.
"Oh, hell no." No one liked Danzo, but Jiraiya genuinely hated him. Danzo basically stood against everything Minato and Jiraiya believed in.
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "Then do something about it."
Jiraiya groaned, rubbing his temples. "You planned this, didn't you? You knew I'd hate the idea of Danzo taking over."
"I had a hunch," Hiruzen admitted.
Jiraiya sat there, he was looking for a way out. Then he exhaled, running a hand through his hair.
"This is a nightmare," he muttered.
"Not really," Hiruzen said. "Konoha is strong. You won't have to do this forever, but right now, you're the best choice."
Jiraiya stared at the ceiling. "I can't believe this is happening."
Tsunade smirked. "Guess that makes you Lord Fifth."
Jiraiya groaned louder. "That sounds awful."
Hiruzen chuckled. "You'll get used to it."
Jiraiya looked at him, then at Tsunade, then back at the ceiling.
Finally, he sighed.
"Fine," he muttered. "But I swear, if I have to sit through a single boring meeting, I'm sending a shadow clone instead."
Hiruzen smiled. "That's the spirit."
'Just put this damn hat on and then do whatever you want,' he was so close to getting his freedom back.
Jiraiya slumped in his chair. "You owe me for this."
"I'll buy you a drink," Hiruzen offered.
Jiraiya perked up. "Make it two and also, you will become my advisor, you need to be there for me all the time."
Hiruzen nearly choked, ready to argue, but Jiraiya raised a hand to stop him.
"I'm not done," Jiraiya said firmly. "I'll take the Hokage seat, but only on one condition. I'm taking Naruto in. I'll be raising him. If you don't agree, then forget it."
Hiruzen stared at him.
'He's not part of any clan, so it should be fine… no one would dare challenge a legendary Sannin and Hokage without a damn good reason. But this advisor thing… He's just going to dump all the paperwork on me, I know it.'
His initial relief gave way to irritation, but he wasn't about to push his luck. If Jiraiya backed out now, getting him to reconsider would be near impossible.
After a long pause, Hiruzen sighed. "Fine. Thank you."
Jiraiya scoffed. "Yeah, yeah. Just give me a few months, old man. I need time to set up a place and get to know Naruto properly. He's just a kid, and I want to bond with him first. Once I become Hokage, I have a feeling I won't have much time for that."
Hiruzen nodded, a small smile forming on his lips.
'At least my conscience won't be eating at me anymore.'
Jiraiya was about to stand up and leave when Tsunade started talking.
"I also have something to say," she began. "Since I kind of returned, Itarama is already pushing me to become the head of the clan, but I can't. At least not yet. So, I'll be leaving the village for a few months, but I'll be back."
She turned to Jiraiya and grinned. "I'll be on this pervert's council. Someone needs to keep him in check - who knows what kind of rules he'll try to pass under the pretext of 'research.'"
Jiraiya coughed, looking away. He had been planning to use his new position to make "research" a little easier, but now… yeah, that wasn't happening.
"Anyway, where are you headed?" Jiraiya asked, eager to change the subject but genuinely curious.
"The Land of Water," said Tsunade, and her face turned serious. "There's a clan I need to visit." She then glanced at Hiruzen. "And I'll also be stopping by Takimura."
Hiruzen choked at the mention of the Land of Water. "Why do you want to go there?"
"I know you were planning to send an ANBU squad on a long-term mission," Tsunade said, pouring herself a cup of water. "Don't. I'll handle the information gathering while taking care of my own business."
'She really meant it when she said she was back. This kind of intel shouldn't have been easy to get.'
Hiruzen didn't object. If anything, he was relieved. The main reason Tsunade had decided to return was Orochimaru. But even before that, she had already been planning to go to the Land of Water, and she wasn't going alone. She was going to bring Nora with her.
The Arasami Clan was about to receive an unexpected visitor.
'At first, I thought it was a coincidence. But now that I know the truth about Orochimaru… I can't keep lying to myself. The Arasami Clan is under his influence.'
Tsunade hadn't told anyone, but she once helped Orochimaru with his research. And when she examined Nora, she saw traces of that same research on her body.
"Going to the Land of Water is one thing," Hiruzen said, "but you also want to represent Konoha in Takimura?"
"I'm going to Takimura for my own reasons," Tsunade said with a sigh. "But considering my status, I'll be treated as Konoha's representative whether I want to or not."
"Fine, then. It's settled," Jiraiya said, stretching. "I'll go do some research before finding a place for me and setting up a meeting with Naruto, old man."
With that, he disappeared in a flicker - straight toward the nearest bathhouse.
Hiruzen and Tsunade exchanged glances, identical smirks forming on their faces.
Maybe making him Hokage wasn't such a great idea after all.
<<<>>>
Kaoru walked through Konoha's bustling streets, his thoughts focused on tomorrow's match. It had been decided that he would face Hyuga Yuki. With only three participants left and only two spots in the finals, the rules followed the second round's system - whoever had the most impressive fight would advance automatically. And while his match against Toji had been a great fight, it hadn't been as flashy as Itachi versus Mizuki. At least, not to the audience, who had been captivated by Mizuki's Butterfly Inferno.
'I don't mind, actually. More fights mean more experience, and that's always a good thing. Especially when I'm up against a Hyuga. who knows when I'll get another chance to experience the Byakugan firsthand?'
Right now, he was on his way to meet Itachi, who had agreed to take him to a certain shop - one that supposedly sold rare scrolls and items unavailable elsewhere.
'That day, I didn't pay much attention, but now that I think about it… the head of Konoha's police force knows about a shop that sells forbidden goods and does nothing? That's kinda weird.'
Not that he cared. As long as he found what he was looking for, it didn't matter.
"Kaoru, over here," Itachi waved when he spotted him.
After Kaoru's unexpected visit, Itachi had decided to drop his suspicions. Instead of overthinking, he chose to be grateful - Kaoru had helped him, and that was enough. He hadn't sought Kaoru out afterward, but now, since Kaoru had asked about the shop, he agreed to show him the place so he could check the prices.
Kaoru currently had 1.5 million ryō - a huge sum by normal standards, but on the black market it might not amount to much.
The shop itself didn't seem suspicious at first glance. It openly sold scrolls and other shinobi-related goods, which made Kaoru skeptical. But when Itachi whispered something to the shop owner, they were led to a back room. There, the owner handed Kaoru a small scroll with a list of items.
"Itachi, if you don't mind me asking… how does the head of the police force know about this and do nothing?" Kaoru asked as he scanned the list.
"Because this shop belongs to Konoha," Itachi answered casually. "And all the money it earns goes back to Konoha. The items here aren't forbidden because they're too powerful—they're forbidden because of their drawbacks. Besides, all the other great villages already know about them, so Konoha might as well make some money by selling them at outrageous prices."
Kaoru glanced at the list and immediately saw what he meant.
"Premium Soldier Pill" – 10k Ryō
"Advanced Chakra Paper" – 100k Ryō
"How To Create Kekkei Genkai" – 10M Ryō
...
Some of the items were obvious scams. 'How to create Kekkei Genkai? Yeah, right.' There was no way Konoha would sell something like that. But if Itachi hadn't told him the truth, Kaoru might've been tempted. The shop was selling it for 10 million ryō, there had to be people desperate enough to fall for it.
Then, his eyes landed on the one thing he truly wanted.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu" – 5M Ryō.
'What the hell is this price?! How is anyone supposed to afford this?!'
Kaoru felt utterly dejected. Now he understood why Konoha allowed these sales - 5 million for the basic Shadow Clone Jutsu? Not even the Multi-Shadow Clone version? That was straight-up robbery.
Itachi noticed the look on Kaoru's face and smirked. "Did you expect it to be cheap?"
"No, but I didn't expect something this ridiculous," Kaoru scoffed, still glaring at the price.
"Don't worry," Itachi said, amused. "My parents said it's fine if I teach you. I'll give you a scroll, let's just pretend you bought it here."
Kaoru nearly hugged him.
'He's so damn nice… I'll make sure to help you in the future!'
Itachi didn't need to be a mind reader to see Kaoru's determination, it was practically radiating off him.
"There should be other things here that might be useful to you," Itachi added. "I was never going to let you buy that scroll, anyway."
Laughing, he handed Kaoru a sealed scroll. Without hesitation, Kaoru stored it in his seal.
"I'll repay you for this kindness someday," he said sincerely, glancing back at the shop's list.
"You did save my life, you know," Itachi chuckled. "I'm worth more than a scroll."
Kaoru nodded but said nothing. He still wanted to return the favor.
After scanning the list again, he made a few purchases. He bought five Premium Soldier Pills, which supposedly let a shinobi fight non-stop for three days - he wasn't sure if he'd ever need them, but better safe than sorry. He also got three Advanced Chakra Papers, which would allow him, Mizuki, and Akane to find out their second element affinity, and a few books, mainly on human anatomy and various sciences unrelated to shinobi techniques.
When he was done, he had 1 million ryō left. But after betting on himself in the upcoming matches, he was confident he'd earn even more.
'I'll bet on myself tomorrow.'
As he and Itachi parted ways, Kaoru's mind was already on his next fight. He would be facing Hyuga Yuki next.
**
A/N -
This will be the last chapter focusing on Konoha. I spent extra time on it since I was making a major change with Jiraiya as the Fifth Hokage.
Tsunade mentioning that Hashirama died in battle isn't canon, but since his exact cause of death was never stated, I decided to go with a version that makes more sense to me. The idea of Hashirama dying of natural causes, especially while Tobirama was still alive, never sat right with me - he wasn't that old, and it just doesn't fit his character.
I debated a lot about whether the scroll shop should even exist in a world where violating laws can get you killed. But in the end, I figured where forbidden goods exist, smuggling will always follow. So, I introduced the shinobi black market - with a few tweaks, of course.
Finally, Kaoru's second elemental affinity will be revealed soon, but not for a few more chapters. I'll let you decide it through a poll.
Sorry for the late upload this time! I had a lot on my plate, and writing two chapters a day is really tough xD
Character Notes:
Jiraiya - Lord 5th - "I'll be even more popular among ladies when I'm Hokage"
Kaoru - Satisfied - "I finally got my Shadow Clone Jutsu"
**