Konoha ANBU Headquarters.
Sitting in his office, ShihōinNaraku was deep in thought.
He leaned back in his chair, put both feet up on the corner of the desk, and gently rocked back and forth.
“Mito Kadoen and Homura Mitokado are worried about losing their authority, so they oppose me becoming a candidate and support Hatake Kakashi.”
“The Third Hokage should favor me more.
Otherwise, Nara Shikaku wouldn’t have supported me.
He must have seen what Hiruzen Sarutobi was implying before speaking up.
Shikaku is a smart man.”
“Danzō didn’t say it, but he definitely doesn’t support either of us.
He still wants to become Hokage himself.”
The information Shimura Danzō had given ShihōinNaraku wasn’t particularly detailed, but Naraku was still able to deduce the general situation.
“If that’s the case, does that mean my chances of becoming Hokage are actually greater than Hatake Kakashi’s?”
“Wait…”
“Does that mean I have to become Uzumaki Naruto’s instructor?”
Naraku scratched his head, looking somewhat troubled.
This news had completely disrupted his plans.
“No, that’s not right.
The Konoha Crush is going to happen soon.
No matter who gets selected, Tsunade will still become the Fifth Hokage in the end.”
“Not necessarily…”
After the Konoha Crush, Konoha would suffer enormous losses.
According to the original story, it would lose a large number of outstanding shinobi, including the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Konoha’s overall combat strength would be reduced by more than half.
With such devastating losses, it was genuinely difficult for Hatake Kakashi to shoulder the burden.
Moreover, Kakashi hadn’t been Naruto’s instructor for very long at that point.
In every respect, Tsunade was indeed a better choice for Hokage.
But things were different now that ShihōinNaraku existed.
With him in Konoha, the village’s losses would definitely not be as severe as they had been originally.
If that happened, then with Naraku’s strength and seniority, he really could bypass Tsunade and become Hokage himself.
After all, by then the Third Hokage would already be dead, and Konoha’s dire circumstances wouldn’t allow them to waste time.
In that case, there was a genuine possibility that Naraku would become the Fifth Hokage!
After all, there was still a difference between ShihōinNaraku and Hatake Kakashi.
“How did this happen?
The more I think about it, the more likely it seems that I’m going to become Hokage…”
Various thoughts raced through Naraku’s mind as he tried his best to predict how the future might change.
With him added to this world, everything could potentially turn out differently.
“Actually, becoming Hokage would be fine too.
I don’t really have anything against it.
It’s just…”
Naraku’s view of the Hokage position was primarily connected to his system’s lottery opportunities.
There were benefits to becoming Hokage, after all.
It would allow him to become stronger.
Of course, if he really became Hokage, he would properly fulfill his duties.
“System, if I directly rise from my current position to Hokage, how many lottery opportunities will I receive?”
[The host can obtain up to five lottery opportunities!]
The minimum was three, while the maximum was five.
Becoming Hokage would directly grant him the maximum.
But for Naraku, that was actually a poor deal.
His position could still be upgraded from ANBU Deputy Commander to Commander, and from Deputy Head of the Medical Department to Head of the Medical Department.
Even if each promotion only gave him the minimum reward, that would still accumulate six lottery opportunities.
That was the promotion plan Naraku had originally designed for himself.
If he directly became Hokage, however, all of that would be unnecessary.
“More importantly, after becoming Hokage, I’d have to stay in Konoha for a long time.”
“There would be eyes watching me everywhere, and doing anything else would become troublesome.”
Thinking about this, Naraku felt a headache coming on.
Becoming Hokage right now would have too great an impact on him.
There were many disadvantages and not enough benefits.
“No, no.
I still have to stick to the original plan!”
“Hatake Kakashi leaves the ANBU and becomes an instructor.
I take over as ANBU Commander.
Then, after Tsunade returns and becomes Fifth Hokage, I become Head of the Medical Department.
Add in future positions such as Hokage’s Advisor, and that maximizes my benefits.”
After thinking for a long time, Naraku finally made up his mind.
He decided to stick to his original plan.
Directly becoming Hokage would be a huge loss.
It would create a major problem for his strength progression.
Naraku had never forgotten how dangerous the later stages of the Naruto world would become.
Kage-level enemies would emerge one after another, not to mention the mysterious Ōtsutsuki clan.
Therefore, increasing his strength was the most important thing to him!
“Then the most important thing right now is to make sure Hatake Kakashi becomes the instructor of Naruto’s team!”
Naraku now had to make sure he was eliminated from consideration by the Third Hokage!
“Let me think…”
…
Before ShihōinNaraku could figure out how to make himself lose the selection, an order from Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived.
“What?
You want me to be Uzumaki Naruto’s bodyguard?”
Naraku was completely dumbfounded when he received the mission.
Wait.
Could the old man actually have already decided to make him a Hokage candidate?
This could become a big problem!
Naraku hurried out of the ANBU Headquarters and prepared to find the Third Hokage.
Directly declining the position of Hokage was also a good idea.
“Wait…”
Because he was thinking about the matter, Naraku didn’t hear someone calling out to him.
He hurried toward the Hokage Tower until Hatake Kakashi suddenly appeared beside him.
Only then did Naraku react.
“What?
I have something to do today!”
“…You’re going to watch over Uzumaki Naruto, right?”
A hint of helplessness flashed through Kakashi’s dead-fish eyes.
He had also received an order from Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen.
“Huh?
How did you kno—”
“Oh.
So we both got the same mission!”
Naraku immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
So the matter hadn’t been decided yet.
There was still time.
Got it.
The old man was planning to use this mission to observe which of him and Kakashi was more suitable to become an instructor!
Okay.
That settled it!
Naraku was relieved and followed Kakashi to find Uzumaki Naruto.
…
Ninja Academy.
“Ha…”
ShihōinNaraku nearly burst out laughing.
He had just witnessed an extremely amusing scene.
Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chōji had been caught sleeping in class by Iruka Umino.
In his fury, Iruka had kicked them out of the classroom and made them stand in the hallway as punishment.
Yet the three had clearly learned nothing from their punishment.
They chatted in the hallway, ate snacks, and before long, they were even standing there nodding off again.
Standing beside Naraku, Hatake Kakashi didn’t look amused in the slightest.
Instead, he was staring at Uzumaki Naruto with a complicated expression.
“Swish!”
“Kakashi-sama!
Naraku-sama!”
Tenzō appeared on the lush tree where Naraku and Kakashi were standing.
Since they were on a mission, he respectfully greeted them.
“You two carry on.
Don’t worry about us.”
“Yes!”
Tenzō glanced at the silent Kakashi.
At this moment, Hatake Kakashi was surrounded by a gloomy aura and seemed completely uninterested in responding to him.
Naraku waved his hand, and Tenzō could only leave.
When Tenzō returned to the shinobi squad under his command, he immediately attracted everyone’s attention.
“The two lords probably have another mission.
Let’s continue!”
“Yes!”
Naraku glanced at where Tenzō and his squad were hiding.
He had no intention of interfering with them.
Whether they were protecting or monitoring Naruto, these people had their own rules to follow.
“Shinobi from the Yamanaka clan and members of the Hyūga branch family really are suitable choices…”
Shinobi from those two clans were indeed well suited for surveillance or protection.
There was basically no way for Uzumaki Naruto to escape their field of vision.
“Speaking of which…”
Naraku rubbed his chin curiously as he suddenly remembered something.
“Hyūga clan shinobi, with their Byakugan, are practically the perfect candidates for monitoring and protecting Naruto.”
“Have they discovered that their own heiress, Hinata Hyūga, likes Naruto?”
At this point, Hinata Hyūga was the heir to the Hyūga clan’s main family.
Her status was anything but low.
“Could it be that Hyūga Hiashi has already been planning to make Uzumaki Naruto his son-in-law?”
“Then Naruto could enjoy a married life under constant Byakugan surveillance?”
Interesting.
◇ THE STORY DOESN’T END HERE…
◇
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