Hatake Kakashi Absolutely Will Not Be a Chakra Unit!

Chapter 81: Taking Office

In the early morning, the moonlight had not yet faded as a magnificent rosy dawn appeared in the east. Wisps of smoke from cooking fires drifted from the village rooftops. Dewdrops fell from the leaves, landing on the heads of those who had risen early for work.

Wiping away the dew, Minato Namikaze, holding the battle report from his fight with A and the Eight-Tails jinchuriki, Killer B, knocked on the door of the Hokage's office.

"Lord Third Hokage, this is my report."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, hailed as the "Professor," had mastered over a thousand ninjutsu. As a ninja who had lived through the Second Great Ninja War, he was well aware of how domineering the Land of Lightning's ninjutsu and taijutsu were on the battlefield.

As one of Konoha's outstanding elite jōnin, Minato Namikaze's achievements had already far surpassed many senior ninja of the previous generation, rivaling even the Sannin.

Wherever the "Yellow Flash" went, enemies fled in terror. He was quietly becoming the number one figure in Konoha. His performance this time, defeating the Eight-Tails jinchuriki and the Fourth Raikage candidate, A, son of the Third Raikage, had drawn the attention of the entire ninja world.

The Third Hokage even felt that if he had led the operation himself, the outcome would not have been any better than Minato's.

Matching Minato's superb strength were his intellect and connections—Jiraiya's support, the praise of the villagers, and his overwhelming prestige.

There was no one more suitable for the position of Hokage than this young man.

Taking the battle report, Hiruzen Sarutobi flipped through it casually and set it aside. He gave the young man the standard amiable smile of a middle-aged man.

"Minato, at last month's Daimyo meeting, my proposal for you as the candidate for Fourth Hokage was approved. The Daimyo is very pleased with you."

The surprise came so suddenly that even with Minato's composure, he couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the dream job being placed right before him.

The promise he had made to Kushina since childhood, to become Hokage, was finally about to become a reality.

Bowing deeply, Minato Namikaze paid his respects to the Third Hokage, whom he revered.

"Thank you for your trust, Lord Hokage and Lord Daimyo. I will not fail to live up to your expectations."

"The inauguration ceremony will be held the day after tomorrow. I know it's rushed, but this is a time of war. You can understand, right?"

"The day after tomorrow?"

"Yes. Your Hokage robe has already been made by an old woman. I'll go with you to pick it up later. I wanted to tell you earlier, but you've been fighting in the war zone these past few days, so the news was delayed until now."

"Lord Hokage... this is too..."

"Not at all."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and picked up the pipe on his desk. Whenever something happy happened, he would take a couple of puffs to soothe his craving.

"You don't have any missions today or tomorrow. Take the time to prepare for the Hokage inauguration procedures. The notice will be issued today. Starting the day after tomorrow, these old bones of mine will no longer have to sit in this hot seat."

"Lord Third, you are too kind."

"There's something else you should be aware of. Your disciple, Rin Nohara, was poisoned by Hanzo of the Salamander. She has just been cured by your other disciple."

"Obito?"

"Some time ago, Obito Uchiha withdrew from the Land of Water war zone without reason and disappeared. He returned to Konoha three days later with the antidote for Hanzo's poison. Then, the Land of Rain issued a statement on Hanzo of the Salamander's death."

Minato Namikaze couldn't connect the two events until the Third Hokage exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

"Danzo also went to the Land of Water during that time. It was his own decision."

"Lord Third, I still don't understand what you mean."

"Danzo has not yet returned to the village. I've investigated Root's combat data. Among their opponents was a member of the Uchiha clan wearing a spiral mask. It should be the boy, Obito Uchiha. They participated in the siege against Hanzo of the Salamander, and they succeeded."

"Obito... killed Hanzo of the Salamander?"

"He should get some of the credit, but that doesn't excuse his mistake of deserting the Land of Water war zone without authorization. He is now under strict guard by the ANBU in the Uchiha compound."

Pausing out of habit, the silence after this sentence implied that the Third Hokage didn't want to speak definitively. He looked meaningfully at Minato Namikaze, wanting to resolve the mistake of his own disciple's leadership before he took office as Hokage.

"Konoha will absolutely not tolerate internal strife."

"Lord Danzo's failure to return is not necessarily Obito's fault. I will investigate thoroughly."

Leaving the Hokage's building, Minato Namikaze was half-elated and half-troubled. He increasingly failed to understand his three disciples. One ran off to the Land of Lightning, another deserted the war zone and clashed with Root, and the third had just been pulled back from the brink of death and was still recovering. What on earth had caused Obito to go down a path that led him away from Konoha?

The connection between Hanzo of the Salamander's death and Obito was even more incredible. No one knew Obito's strength better than him. The demigod of the ninja world had been famous for a long time. If he could be so easily killed by a ninja who had just become a jōnin, he would have been killed countless times by various countries long ago.

This news should have been like a bombshell, yet he was only learning of it today. That wasn't normal either.

Before questioning Obito, he decided to first tell Kushina the good news that he was about to become Hokage.

Hiding his unease and doubts in his heart, Minato Namikaze used his key to open the cozy house allocated to Konoha ninja based on merit. The house was filled with steam; one sniff of the aroma and he knew his girlfriend was cooking.

"Minato, you're back?"

Before Minato could even take off his shoes, a pattering sound accompanied by a fragrant breeze and the aroma of food made the "Yellow Flash" drop all his guards, a doting smile on his face.

"Kushina, I'm home."

"You're back just in time."

She wanted to hug Minato but realized she was wearing a cooking apron and still holding a ladle dripping with curry. She shyly hid the ladle behind her back. After Minato had changed his shoes and taken off his flak jacket, she gave his chest a light punch, then pattered back to the kitchen to continue her cooking.

"Why are you making dinner so early today?"

"I don't have a mission today. I wanted to make some extra curry to bring to Obito and Rin later."

"You already know about Obito's situation."

"Yeah."

Kushina chopped carrots with a thwack, thwack, thwack and put them in the pot.

"That kid was just trying to save Rin. I've already talked to him."

"Is that so."

Understanding Obito's feelings for Rin, Minato Namikaze sighed.

"That was too reckless. He didn't report to Lord Hokage before leaving. Even the area commander didn't know he was gone."

"As long as he came back safely."

Completing the final step, Kushina, who had made curry countless times, used her dazzling, flame-like hair to put the lid on the pot. Just then, she heard her outstanding boyfriend say in a calm tone, "I'm going to be Hokage."

________________________________________

If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 50 advanced chapters available on Patreon

patreon.com/Leanzin