Hiruzen Sarutobi's Strategist

"Think of your wives and children!"

"Is there any future in becoming a rogue ninja? You'll only make your children hang their heads in shame forever!"

"Even if you don't have a wife or children and you're all alone, don't you want to find a girl from a big village? With a dead-end career like being a rogue ninja, do you think you can marry someone from Konoha?"

Zhengyi was helping Orochimaru recruit at the Kumogakure front.

Every rogue ninja felt the pressure mounting as they listened to Zhengyi. It was as if someone had suddenly shackled them with morality: if they didn't marry and have children, their family line would end...

Before Zhengyi said all that, the rogue ninjas had never felt ashamed. They'd even thought being rogue ninjas was great! Free! No one to answer to.

But it seemed Zhengyi was right. If they wanted to marry a girl from a big village, they first had to shed their rogue-ninja status and get legitimate, stable residency in a major village.

There were countless rogue ninjas in the Shinobi World: some had fled after committing crimes, some had been betrayed by their villages and had no choice but to defect, and some had failed to seize their village's leadership and been driven out... The list went on.

Those were exactly the people Zhengyi needed to recruit, giving the homeless somewhere to go.

With Konoha backing them, they could get Konoha residency as soon as they arrived. Who wouldn't be tempted?

In the past, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been afraid of offending people and damaging Konoha's reputation, so he hadn't dared take in rogue ninjas.

But who was he? Who was Danzo? Who was Orochimaru?

What reputation was there to speak of?!

The split between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru in Konoha was no longer some obscure matter. After the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire had stepped in several times to mediate and found it useless, he could only leave them to it.

At this point, Orochimaru's goal was to make a bid for the Hokage position!

There were plenty of rogue ninjas dreaming of joining Orochimaru's faction, riding his coattails, and rising to the top.

The village had collected ninety percent of the tax from the wealthy.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't dare handle anything that might offend people, so he could only rely on Root's reports to know how much had actually been collected.

Orochimaru and Danzo were lining their own pockets, and for a while, they had no shortage of money.

Orochimaru's faction was growing quickly.

After a short while without keeping track, its numbers had jumped from twelve hundred to thirteen hundred, and they were still rising by a few each day.

"Lord Third, you should call Zhengyi back and forbid him from going out again." Shikaku Nara went straight to the Third's home that day.

What could Hiruzen Sarutobi do?

During Zhengyi's absence, Orochimaru and Danzo were clearly much less effective in their struggle.

As Hiruzen saw it, those two were still easy to handle.

All he had to do was deliberately act furious and helpless, then glare at them in frustration. Orochimaru and Danzo would immediately get carried away and let their guard down around him.

At the end of the day, the two of them might seem grim and cold, like highly intelligent people, but politically speaking, neither had as much talent as Minato.

Minato > Danzo > Orochimaru. Orochimaru put all his intelligence into experiments.

That was roughly how Hiruzen ranked them in his mind.

"Even so, we can't just watch Orochimaru take over the Northeast Land of Fire, Third." Shikaku had watched Zhengyi recruit and line his pockets by shaking down the local nobles.

Normally, ninjas felt a certain reverence for the nobility, and even felt inferior to them.

After all, the villages relied on nobles to issue missions and provide the money they needed to survive.

But Orochimaru, Zhengyi, and Danzo were each more brazen than the last when dealing with nobles. Shikaku couldn't tell whether they were genuinely confident or simply didn't understand the consequences.

"If things keep going this way, Minato's advantage in the Hokage race will gradually disappear. Third, it seems we can't afford to hesitate any longer."

"If we don't settle this now, a year from now Orochimaru's faction will have grown into a towering tree, with his people inside the village and his troops outside it. Even if Minato becomes Hokage, do you think he'll be able to command Orochimaru?"

Shikaku's analysis was exceptionally thorough.

Everything Orochimaru's faction was doing now amounted to reasonable expansion.

If they didn't nip Orochimaru's rise in the bud while they still could, then in the future...

Shikaku's suggestion was to hold the Hokage election now, then have Minato lead the charge as Hokage and personally bring the Third Shinobi World War to an end!

Hiruzen let out a breath. He knew that too. "But, Shikaku, given Minato's current standing, I can't guarantee he'll beat Orochimaru."

Orochimaru had fought in the Second Shinobi World War, after all, and had years of experience behind him. If he leaned on his seniority, there was a real chance Minato would lose.

Hiruzen wanted to play it safe.

Minato had to win decisively. With Hiruzen's help, he would surely prevail.

"I see." Shikaku nodded helplessly. That was true. Back then, Minato and he had still been in school, while Orochimaru had already distinguished himself time and again.

Wait...

In an instant, Shikaku came up with a solution.

"Third, what if we persuade Jiraiya to compete with Orochimaru for the Hokage position?"

"Him?" Hiruzen shook his head with a tut. Jiraiya was such a carefree slacker that it would be a miracle if he agreed to become Hokage.

"Not exactly, Third. Jiraiya can compete with Orochimaru to become Fourth Hokage, but he'd only hold the title. You would still personally teach Minato how to handle the affairs of state. Then, after two or three years of transition, Jiraiya can pass the Hokage position to Minato."

"This has many advantages."

"First, with Jiraiya as Hokage, Minato would be the direct disciple of the Fourth Hokage. It would be much harder for Orochimaru to compete against the Fourth Hokage's own disciple."

"..."

"Sixth, Jiraiya has his own prestige, as well as Minato's and your support. Orochimaru's seniority alone wouldn't be enough to give him an edge."

Shikaku's words suddenly made everything click for Hiruzen.

Right!

Jiraiya only needed to have his own face carved into Kage Rock. That would give Minato's candidacy even greater legitimacy.

"As expected of you, Shikaku." Hiruzen praised him.

Who didn't need a strategist? Shikaku was clearly several times better than Zhengyi. Pair him with Minato, one to handle strategy and one to handle force, and Konoha would enjoy decades of prosperity once more.

"Not at all, Lord Third. You flatter me."

Since Shikaku had laid out a strategy for making Minato Hokage right in front of him,

Hiruzen, who was always willing to take good advice, used this period of peace in the Shinobi World to urgently recall the jonin who were away.

As for Jiraiya's opinion? It didn't matter.

It wasn't as if they were asking him to sit in an office.

Hiruzen was a little annoyed with Jiraiya. If it weren't for Minato, would he really carve the face of that unlucky fellow who spent every day wandering the red-light district into Kage Rock? It would be an utter disgrace to Konoha.

He was just afraid some woman from the red-light district would bring a child over, point at the Fourth Hokage on Kage Rock, and say, "Child, that's your father."