Konoha's selection of the Fourth Hokage quickly spread throughout the Ninja World, and the other major villages each reacted differently.
However, with this, every village except Iwagakure had fully entered the era of the Fourth Kage.
It was not that Ōnoki of Iwagakure did not wish to pass on his position. Unfortunately, there was still no candidate among the younger generation who satisfied him. There had once been outstanding talents, but they had died in the last Ninja World War, and he had mourned them for a long time. Furthermore, due to the unique nature of Dust Release, although he was growing older by the day, his combat strength had not weakened much. Thus, he had no intention of relinquishing his position anytime soon.
Minato Namikaze was elected Fourth Hokage by a wide margin. Though Orochimaru, who had competed against him, felt somewhat dissatisfied, he had no desire to say much about it.
To him, gaining the position of Hokage would certainly have been pleasing, but losing it was not worth grieving over. After all, he had never intended to devote his entire life to Konoha.
It was precisely because Hiruzen Sarutobi had seen through this aspect of his character that he had favored Minato Namikaze when choosing the Fourth Hokage.
Konoha's fifty-seventh New Year's Eve arrived quietly. Everyone felt it was a year worth commemorating. The Third Hokage—now more properly called the former Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi—personally hosted a grand New Year's Eve Festival, drawing a perfect conclusion to his decades-long career as Hokage.
Thus, he became the first Hokage to retire while still alive. He believed that Konoha had finally escaped the vicious cycle of endless warfare, and that under Minato Namikaze's leadership, the village would surely rise to even greater heights.
That night, Konoha was ablaze with