News of the Hokage Spreads

The cheers rose in wave after wave.

Might Guy burst out of some corner, fists clenched and eyes brimming with tears. "This is youth! My best friend's choice is never wrong!"

Kakashi stood by the wall, silver hair hiding half his face. He said nothing.

Shikaku Nara spat out the blade of grass in his mouth, narrowed his eyes, and slowly smiled.

"I figured you had something up your sleeve, but I never expected... you'd bring the Daimyo into it."

He paused, lowering his voice until almost no one but himself could hear. "So that's how it is."

Inoichi Yamanaka and Choza Akimichi exchanged a look. They saw the same thought in each other's eyes: Uchiha En was incredible.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood where he was, watching the room erupt in cheers.

His gaze swept over Uchiha En, Hyuga Hiashi, and the cheering Jonin from civilian families before settling on the white-haired man in the corner.

Jiraiya.

Jiraiya sat there without moving.

He stared at the appointment letter on the floor for a long, long time.

Long enough for the cheers in the meeting room to gradually die down.

He rose, walked to the center of the conference table, bent down, and picked up the letter. He brushed off the dust and set it back on the table.

He lifted his head and looked at Uchiha En.

Jiraiya studied him for a while, then suddenly smiled.

There was resignation in that smile, and relief, and a kind of openness that was hard to put into words.

"I was never suited to be Hokage."

He pushed the stack of "statements of merit" back in front of Mitokado Homura. His voice carried clearly to everyone in the room.

"I've spent my whole life wandering around and writing novels. I can't run a village,