A quarter of an hour earlier...
Inside the Hokage Building...
In the Hokage's office on the top floor...
Hiruzen Sarutobi was not in the Hokage Office, but it was still bustling.
Jiraiya was there, utterly relaxed and casual as he lay on the sofa, pulling Chakra Paper out of a box to tally the votes.
"One vote for Tsunade."
"One vote for Tsunade."
Every slip Jiraiya pulled out was for Tsunade. He could barely stand to look.
Although he did not want the job, this seemed to prove that he was less popular than Tsunade.
He was a little unhappy, sulking and unable to muster much enthusiasm.
Today was the fifth day, the final day of voting. Once the count was finished, they would announce the new Hokage that evening.
Tsunade was there too.
She was not lounging quite as casually as Jiraiya, but she looked just as bored and indifferent.
Her voluptuous figure pressed against her thighs as she leaned halfway forward, almost as though she were constipated, her head stretched out as she raised a hand to count the votes.
Two people alone hardly qualified as a bustle.
But the two old sidekicks were there as well. Neither wanted these two youngsters taking office, since they would surely lose their chance to reap benefits once either of them did.
Their hostility was useless, however. They had already given their word. If they objected now, the public would drown them in spit. The will of tyranny was not to be trifled with!
They could only try to undermine them in other ways.
Seeing how casually Tsunade was behaving, one of them pushed up his glasses and spoke.
"Little Tsunade, if you become Hokage, you can't be this casual. Outside the village, you represent Konoha."
But his words went in