After sending Hyuga Hiashi away, Araki's residence received several more waves of visitors.
Clearly, Hyuga Hiashi was not the only smart person in Konoha.
Aside from the proud Uchiha Clan and the clans assigned to the former Hokage's camp, who were ineligible to run, nearly every other clan head came by.
However, their purposes were not entirely the same.
Some, like Hyuga Hiashi, had come seeking Mist Village's support. But they had neither the Hyuga Clan's historical ties nor Hiashi's willingness to pay a price, so there was no need to dwell on them.
Others knew they had no hope of becoming Hokage. They had merely come to sound Araki out, intending to vote for whichever candidate he favored and curry favor in advance.
After spending half the night sending them all away, Araki stretched and said wearily, "Every one of them still had to put on airs when they spoke, hemming and hawing without getting to the point. Compared to them, Hyuga Hiashi was practically the most straightforward one. Do I really have to arrange a childhood betrothal with them? Tch... the Hyuga Clan's strength and reputation are still a little too great!"
Just as he sighed, a faint tapping sounded outside the window again.
This visitor seemed particularly furtive. Not only was the person wrapped from head to toe in a cloak with a hood hiding the head, but a black face covering concealed everything but a pair of eyes.
"Good grief, are we playing Assassin's Creed here?"
Araki was somewhat speechless at the person's tightly wrapped, armed-to-the-teeth appearance.
"Come in."
He spoke softly.
The visitor entered the room, pulled down the hood, and removed the face covering, revealing an utterly ordinary face.
Well... the reason it was an ordinary face was because Araki could not recognize who