The weather was lovely today, with clear blue skies stretching as far as the eye could see.
Preparations were already underway in the open space beside the Hokage Building.
Today was the Jonin Squad leadership election, a major event for Konoha Ninja, second only to the Hokage election.
For an ordinary jonin hoping to join Konoha High Command, entering the Jonin Squad was one of the quickest routes.
The staff, who had prepared well in advance, were already welcoming the jonin who had come to vote. After verifying their identities, they handed each one a ballot.
The candidate with the most votes would become Jonin Squad Leader. The remaining candidates would fill the other committee seats in order of votes, up to a maximum of nine members.
After everyone had voted, the ballots would be counted together. The votes would then be read aloud at the scene to prevent any possibility of fraud.
The two Hokage, Minato Namikaze and Sarutobi Hiruzen, had arrived at the polling place early, but they had different reasons for being there.
Minato had come to show his support for Masaki Uchiha.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, on the other hand, wanted to try to stop Masaki from becoming Jonin Squad Leader. The position had little real authority at this point, but he couldn't let the Uchiha Clan win it without a fight. Besides, wouldn't it be better if he could put one of his own people in the position?
While Hiruzen was deep in thought, Masaki arrived with a large group of people.
"Well, look who it is—the Lord Third. What brings you here today?" Masaki joked. Before Hiruzen could reply, he turned to greet Minato. "Good morning, Fourth Hokage."
"Good morning, Masaki," Minato replied with a smile.
"I came here today to vote as a jonin of Konoha, and to see how much you've grown," Hiruzen said pointedly.
"Hahaha, we'll just have to wait and see." Masaki smiled confidently, then turned to the people behind him. "Come on, let's get our ballots first."
"Fourth Hokage, excuse me for a moment."
Seeing that Masaki had no intention of continuing to engage with him, Hiruzen wasn't annoyed. Instead, he watched the Uchiha Clan with a cheerful smile.
I hear you've already been telling everyone that the position of Jonin Squad Leader is yours. Let's see if you can still smile when the votes are read out.
"Good morning, Lord Third, Fourth Hokage." Hyuga Hiashi's arrival interrupted Hiruzen's musings.
"Ah, Hiashi. Who are you planning to vote for today?"
"Whoever you say I should vote for, Lord Third," Hiashi replied, immediately putting on an obedient front.
Minato greeted Hiashi with his sunny smile, but wondered, What's going on? Didn't the Hyuga Clan join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization too? Why would they...
Hiruzen laughed. "Then vote for Kojiro Sarutobi along with me."
"Yes." Hiashi lowered his head. "We'll go get our ballots now, then. Excuse us."
Hiruzen nodded with a smile. "Go ahead."
The Hyuga Clan certainly knew how to read the room. He'd arrange a couple of positions for them in the Administration Department later, give them a little reward.
Walking behind Hiashi, Hizashi finally couldn't help asking, "Brother, weren't we supposed to vote for—"
Before he could finish, Hiashi waved him quiet. "I'm just putting that old fool Sarutobi Hiruzen off his guard. I want to see for myself what the President meant when he said a lot of people would probably lose their tempers today."
So that was it. Hizashi understood at once and said no more.
The Ino-Shika-Cho Clans arrived next, and Hiruzen gave them the same instructions.
Gradually, nearly all the jonin in Konoha had arrived, except for those away on missions or stationed elsewhere.
The vote was presided over by Torifu Akimichi of the Akimichi Clan, one of Hiruzen's old comrades. For certain reasons, Torifu had left Konoha High Command and was now responsible only for overseeing the Jonin Squad elections.
"We will now begin voting for Jonin Squad Leader. You may put the ballot with your chosen candidate's name into the ballot box."
At Torifu's announcement, everyone began lining up in front of the ballot boxes.
The vote was anonymous, so everyone could express their true opinions.
Half an hour later, the ballot boxes were empty. Torifu immediately announced, "Voting is closed. We will now begin counting the votes."
"Masaki Uchiha, one vote."
"Masaki Uchiha, one vote."
"Kojiro Sarutobi, one vote."
"Masaki Uchiha, one vote."
Anonymous ballot
"Masaki Uchiha, one vote."
The vote counters carefully felt around inside the ballot boxes. After confirming that they were empty, they announced that the count was over.
The tally board now clearly showed:
Masaki Uchiha: 234 votes
Kojiro Sarutobi: 115 votes
Shikaku Nara: 51 votes
Hyuga Hiashi: 21 votes
"Except for the jonin away on missions or stationed elsewhere, the number of votes recorded here matches the number of ballots cast. I declare the election valid!" Torifu announced, his voice brimming with excitement.
The votes were ranked from highest to lowest. The result was obvious: Masaki Uchiha had been elected Jonin Squad Leader.
As soon as the Uchiha heard that the results were valid, they could no longer contain their excitement. They leaped up and cheered, happier than they were at New Year's.
Only Sarutobi Hiruzen stood there with a dark expression, smoking.
Minato applauded Masaki's victory as well. Seeing Hiruzen beside him remain silent, he tried to console him. "There's no need to take it so hard, Lord Third. It's only right to let other people have a turn in the position."
Hiruzen forced himself to perk up. "Minato, I'm just a little unwilling to accept it. My teacher's wariness of the Uchiha Clan was undone on my watch. You'll understand someday." With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Minato alone.
Lord Third, what good does it do to refuse to accept it? Konoha doesn't belong to one person. The village needs balance. You must have considered that when you chose me as Hokage last time.
Once you've stepped down, you should do so with dignity. People will still respect you in your old age. If you do things you can't let others see, the only road left is disgrace.
Watching Hiruzen walk away alone, Minato felt a pang of sadness. He couldn't understand why the Lord Third was so determined to target the Uchiha Clan. Even the Second hadn't treated the Uchiha as enemies.
"Fourth Hokage, I have to thank you for your help today," Masaki said as he came over.
"You earned this, Masaki," Minato replied with a smile. "I was worried the Hyuga Clan had switched sides."
"Hahaha, I was the one who asked Hiashi to do that. I wanted to surprise the Lord Third."
"You still need to show the Lord Third some respect. But congratulations on becoming Jonin Squad Leader," Minato said with a helpless smile.
"It's all for Konoha!"
Masaki smiled faintly.