Inside the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already begun another day's work. Yet the wrinkles between his brows were deeper than usual. There were simply too many matters troubling him lately: the ongoing Chunin Exams, signs of Orochimaru moving about within the village, and Jiraiya's deliberate avoidance of the Hokage position...
What weighed even more heavily on his heart was the intelligence Hayate Gekko had risked his life to bring back not long ago—the Otogakure and Sunagakure seemed to be secretly plotting something against Konoha, and the target was clearly him... and Naruto! According to the report, Otogakure's leader was most likely Orochimaru, who had already infiltrated Konoha.
Assassinate him? Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep draw from his pipe and slowly exhaled the smoke. He did not fear death. Ever since he had first stepped onto the battlefield decades ago, he had been prepared to sacrifice himself for Konoha. What truly worried him was this: after he fell, who would inherit the position of Hokage?
He had indeed remained in this position for far too long... He knew that in other villages, some people might mock him behind his back for clinging to power... But the truth was that Konoha truly could not find a member of the next generation capable of shouldering the burden of Hokage.
After Minato Namikaze died in his prime, of the former Konoha's Sannin, one had defected while the other two had stayed away from the village for long periods. And among the Jonin currently in the village... his son Asuma and Kakashi were still somewhat short of the level required of a Kage... As for Might Guy... whenever he imagined all Konoha shinobi in the future wearing green bodysuits and shouting about "youth," his head began to ache.
That was precisely why, when Jiraiya