In the Name of the Hokage, Everyone, Left Turn!

Tsunade looked up at the tall figure standing atop the platform and stared in a daze, her lips slightly parted as she wore the expression of a lovestruck girl.

Orochimaru stared at the Third Hokage's robes on Toji, then at the frenzied villagers around him. A sudden palpitation seized his heart. It felt as though the heart inside his chest had resonated with something, while an itchy prickling spread across his wrist.

Looking down, he saw black fuzz actually pushing out from beneath the skin of his wrist.

What was this?

Staring at the abnormality in his body, Orochimaru sank into thought.

Senju Kenyu, Hatake Sakumo, Jiraiya—the Silver Little Powerhouses of Konoha. Every one of them was looking up at Toji.

In an unnoticed corner, Mitokado Homura, whose injuries had healed, walked up to Hiruzen Sarutobi. Looking guilty and avoiding his gaze, he said, "Sorry, Hiruzen. I didn't vote for you in this confidence vote."

There was no farce of one ballot being claimed by four or five people.

As friends, Mitokado Homura did not want this to create a rift between him and his closest friend, so he simply laid everything out in the open.

"It's fine."

Despite his complicated feelings, Hiruzen Sarutobi still comforted his friend. "As your friend, I'd rather you cast your confidence vote as an ordinary Konoha Jōnin, following your own heart."

"Thank you—"

Though he was still in his prime, Mitokado Homura's figure seemed somewhat stooped.

Among the F3, he had probably been the first to have his backbone broken and surrender.

Any fantasies of wielding great power as the Hokage's advisor had already shattered on the day he was bullied into attempting to hang himself.

After the Third Hokage's election ceremony, Konoha was swept up in an atmosphere of collective fervor.

After enduring