Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two close friends gathered in the Hokage's Office, the three of them sitting in mutual silence.
Just moments before, they had concluded the Jonin Meeting.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had nominated four candidates for Hokage: Yashiro Uchiha, Hiashi Hyuga, Shikaku Nara, and Kakashi Hatake.
Yet at the meeting, all four unceremoniously refused to serve as Hokage, throwing the proceedings into disarray and causing it to break up in discord.
"Hiruzen! Nara, Hyuga, and Uchiha—they harbor zero desire for the seat of Hokage. We cannot go on like this!" Koharu Mitokado said with an anxious expression.
Beneath his Hokage straw hat, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was equally gloomy. He certainly had no wish to relinquish the authority of the Hokage, but the fact that the major clans cared nothing for the position presented a massive problem.
It meant his political credibility within the village had essentially gone bankrupt.
"A plea for reinforcements has arrived from the border, urging the village to dispatch troops immediately, or else they won't be able to hold out against the Cloud Village's massive army much longer," Koharu Utatane said with deep concern.
Hiruzen Sarutobi smoked his pipe in silence.
"Hiruzen! Since these clans are unwilling to take the vanguard, why don't you go to the front lines yourself?" Koharu Mitokado suggested.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag from his pipe and said in a deep voice, "Can the two of you go in my place to command the great army?"
"What?" x2
Originally, Koharu Mitokado and Koharu Utatane assumed the major clans would fall for the trap. Having coerced all the clans into a corner, the two of them would indeed have dared to go to the front lines to oversee the battle. But now that the clans refused to take the bait, they lacked