Young, dazzling, approachable, and unexpectedly dead—any Konoha Ninja with a functioning brain would feel deep regret over the death of the Fourth Hokage.
That was why the Fourth Hokage's official funeral was so somber. Everyone's emotions throughout the ceremony were painfully genuine.
Konoha's ninjas gathered in silence, waited in sorrow, and then dispersed without a word... Once the funeral ended, the Yellow Flash had become nothing more than a name in history.
The Third Hokage had taken back all his power, but that was hardly something worth celebrating. After Minato's death, the Third Hokage had to reconsider the candidates for the next Hokage. In truth, there was not much to consider, because everything had merely returned to the situation before Minato was chosen... Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya had always been candidates for the next Hokage.
The Fourth Hokage should originally have been selected from among those three. Later, however, Jiraiya had strongly recommended his disciple, Minato Namikaze. After getting to know him for some time, the Third Hokage had approved of Minato Namikaze... He had strength, reputation, character, and connections. Thus, Minato Namikaze became the Fourth Hokage.
Therefore, the Third Hokage was not without a successor.
However, since Tsunade was not currently in the village, the only candidates the Third Hokage could consider were Orochimaru and Jiraiya. Yet each of his two disciples had his own flaws... Jiraiya was lax and frivolous, while Orochimaru was gloomy and terrifying.
But if he had to choose the next Hokage from among these two disciples with flawed personalities...
In the Hokage's Office, the Third Hokage held a pen. On the desk before him lay a sheet of paper with Orochimaru's and Jiraiya's names written on it. The Third Hokage first moved his pen over Jiraiya's name. After pausing for a while, he shook