Fourth Hokage Orochimaru

Konoha, inside the Jonin meeting room.

The Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire requested to meet the ninjas of Konoha. Hiruzen Sarutobi had no reason to refuse, so he summoned all the Jonin currently in the village.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had intended to introduce Minato Namikaze to the Feudal Lord, but unfortunately, Minato was not present; he had led a team to Kirigakure.

"Tell me, Third Hokage, how is the election for the Fourth Hokage going?" the Feudal Lord asked with a genial smile.

The Third Shinobi World War had caused the Land of Fire to suffer heavy losses, and naturally, the responsibility for those failures fell upon the Third Hokage, whose duty was to protect the safety of the Land of Fire.

Therefore... he had to step down and yield his position to a worthy successor.

"Konoha is full of talent. We are still deliberating on who shall succeed," Hiruzen Sarutobi replied with a smile.

"In that case, Teacher, since the Feudal Lord is present today, why don't we decide on the candidate for Konoha's Hokage right now?" Orochimaru stepped forward, wearing the mask of a model student and disciple, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi with feigned reverence.

"Oh? I think that is acceptable," the Feudal Lord nodded in immediate agreement upon hearing this.

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned; Orochimaru was putting on quite an act.

Wait!!

What did Orochimaru just say?

A cold sweat broke out behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, and he stared at Orochimaru with wide, incredulous eyes!

You! You were waiting for me here?!

Sending Minato to Kirigakure was all for this very moment?!

He looked around, scanning his surroundings.

The Jonin meeting room today was filled entirely with Orochimaru's die-hard supporters. Zhengyi looked at him with the same reverence as Orochimaru, as if the two of them were truly filial sons and grandsons.

That old dog Danzo was also acting like a decent, upright man today.

And Minato...

Minato and his supporters had all been sent by him to Kirigakure!!!

Hiruzen Sarutobi expanded his chakra to sense the entire village of Konoha. Only a few of Minato's supporters remained in the village, and they were all recovering from injuries.

It was over.

He had been deceived by Orochimaru.

"I nominate Orochimaru to be the Fourth Hokage."

With that, Danzo, the elder advisor of Konoha, stood up to support Orochimaru.

"I choose Lord Orochimaru; he is the one the people truly desire."

Orochimaru's supporters followed suit, cheering and waving their banners.

Only now did Hiruzen Sarutobi realize that every time Orochimaru had acted pleased or smug upon seeing his anger, it had all been a performance!!

It was all an act!!!

It was all meant to paralyze him and make him lower his guard!!

"Oh? So Orochimaru has this much support."

The Feudal Lord did not understand Konoha's politics. Seeing so many supporters for Orochimaru, he assumed he was truly the popular choice. In truth, he had favored the young man nicknamed the Yellow Flash, but unfortunately, no one was there to support him.

Since that was the case.

"Very well, then it is decided. The Fourth Hokage of Konoha shall be Orochimaru."

As the Feudal Lord issued his decree.

"His Excellency the Feudal Lord is wise!!"

Zhengyi did not give Hiruzen Sarutobi any chance to refute the Feudal Lord; he immediately had someone drape the Fourth Hokage's haori, which had been prepared long in advance, over Orochimaru's shoulders.

Though it was labeled as the Fourth, one could see that the character for "First" had originally been stitched onto the back, later mended and altered to read "Fourth."

It was a Hokage haori originally crafted for the day Orochimaru defected, intended to remind him of his hometown so that one day he might return to claim his prize.

It fit perfectly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was unable to stop it! Minato's faction was nowhere to be found, and neither were Homura or Koharu!!

Finally, the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire issued an official edict in the name of the Feudal Lord's palace, firmly cementing Orochimaru's position as the Fourth Hokage.

The characters for Minato Namikaze and Orochimaru were vastly different.

Therefore, there was absolutely no possibility that Orochimaru's faction could have tampered with the edict!

And so, Orochimaru's faction entered the MVP results screen.

The pear blossoms in the courtyard wither for another year... standing in the clear night... moonlight spills over the empty steps...

The teammate who secured a 16.0 rating was, of course, Zhengyi.

He helped Orochimaru contact A to ambush Jiraiya's army, helped Orochimaru devise ways to make money, helped Orochimaru recruit various rogue ninjas to consolidate his power, helped Orochimaru eliminate Jiraiya, helped Orochimaru scheme to send Minato to Kirigakure, and helped Orochimaru seize the title of Hokage...

Zhengyi deserved the primary credit for Orochimaru becoming Hokage.

The second credit went to Danzo, who at least earned a silver medal with a 10.2 rating. All the work targeting the ninja clans had been handled by him; this guy was an expert at dealing with his own people in the village, showing absolutely no mercy.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked as if he had aged ten years in an instant; he had clearly helped Minato build a solid foundation, so how could he have still lost to Orochimaru in the end?

Minato had clearly held an increasing advantage! Why did he still lose?

He could not fathom it! He simply could not fathom it at all!!

"Third Hokage! You should just take Biwako and go into retirement." After becoming Hokage, Orochimaru did not rush to hold an inauguration ceremony; the first thing he did was to settle scores with his teacher.

Danzo had bet on the right horse; he had transformed from the leader of Root into the leader of the Anbu. Previously, the leader of the Anbu was implicitly the Hokage, with Root subordinate to the Anbu. But now, Danzo could mobilize both the Anbu and Root simultaneously.

Zhengyi was helping Orochimaru handle administrative affairs.

Orochimaru, meanwhile, brought Danzo along to the Sarutobi Clan Estate to visit their good teacher and good classmate.

This Hokage position was not yet stable; if Minato returned with his people and Hiruzen Sarutobi took action, they could be toppled in a heartbeat.

Therefore, the Third Hokage had to be sent away from Konoha!

"Stop dreaming; I will not leave Konoha."

"Konoha is the place where I have lived and grown up since I was a child! What exactly are you two trying to do?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the pair indifferently; they had only fought one battle, and he was not afraid of these two fellows who had ascended to the position of Hokage through underhanded schemes.

"Teacher, Asuma has grown taller recently," Orochimaru said with a sinister tone.

"You!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened in fury; for the first time, he truly saw the wolfish ambition of his student!!

"Orochimaru! Do you not understand that disaster should not extend to one's family?" Biwako walked out from the house at this moment, pointing her finger at Orochimaru as she rebuked him, "The Third Hokage is your teacher; without him, how could you be who you are today!"

"Is this the attitude you take when speaking to the Hokage, Biwako? Monkey, your wife seems to lack proper upbringing."

Danzo was not leaning on his cane at this moment, and his combat prowess was still quite formidable; as the victor, he had the right to berate the defeated.

It felt great!!

In the past, it was always Monkey telling him: I am the Hokage!

Now that Monkey was effectively a prisoner, what was he worth?!

"Danzo! Orochimaru, do not forget that Minato and Jiraiya are still out there," Hiruzen Sarutobi warned.

"Third Hokage, those who do not support me will be dealt with one by one," Orochimaru made no effort to hide his hostility toward Minato and the others.

"Is that so? I hope you can manage it."

"Of course, that day is not far off."

"Orochimaru! Why are you wasting breath on him?! You are the Hokage now! He is nothing more than a retired old piece of wood."

"Hiruzen! Look! This is the bond of the classmate you protected your whole life, and this is the student you taught with everything you had!"