Hokoma...
Hearing Chiba's words, Minato Namikaze could not help clenching his fists tightly, trying to suppress the grief surging within him.
So it had all been your arrangement...
In his mind, the scene of Hokoma coming to find him on the day Chiba returned flashed by.
That day, when he received the report that Chiba had returned to the village, before he could feel happy for long, Hokoma—who had received the same intelligence—came to see him and brought up the matter of taking leave.
At the time, he had been puzzled. The village was in a sensitive period, and there were many major plans that needed to be carried out. How could they do without the Hokage Assistant? Moreover, given what he knew of Hokoma, there was no way he would request leave or rest at such a critical time.
If anything, he would work even more tirelessly to assist him, assist the Hokage, and might even voluntarily sacrifice his vacation.
To be honest, when Hokoma brought it up, he had found it somewhat unbelievable.
But soon afterward, Hokoma recommended the returned Chiba and explained that Chiba, who had returned as a hero after narrowly escaping death, was the most suitable candidate for Assistant Agent. Through the assistant's work, he could gradually familiarize himself with the village's operations and prepare for the future.
Clearly, Hokoma had not truly meant that he wanted a vacation. He had been making a long-term plan: cultivating Chiba as a Hokage, beginning by having him serve as Hokage Assistant.
That was right. It had actually been Hokoma's idea to begin cultivating Chiba so early.
As his teammate, a teammate who had studied under Jiraiya alongside him, and the Third Hokage's assistant, Hokoma also knew about the policy of grooming Hokage candidates in advance.
Moreover, the