"Really?"
Homura Mitokado, standing nearby, showed a look of surprise and doubt in his eyes; it was clear that even with Ren saying so, he remained skeptical.
Utatane Koharu's attitude was the same; in their eyes, Ren was just a child not much older than the three of them, and although his strength had surpassed theirs by controlling a Tailed Beast, they were unwilling to believe that his teaching ability was that strong.
"Hahaha, the Fourth Hokage's candidate should be decided, right, old man? Can you give me a hint?"
Ren chuckled, then turned to look at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been silent, and said with a smile.
He didn't need to explain or prove anything to them; there was no need. Believe it or not, it didn't matter.
Looking at Ren's curious expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi only replied with two words.
"Confidential."
"…"
Ren twitched the corner of his mouth, looking at the smiling and silent Hiruzen. Just as he was about to say something, Utatane Koharu suddenly spoke.
"Hoshimi Ren, you were in Hidden Mist a while ago…"
"Koharu!"
Before she could finish, Hiruzen Sarutobi on the side sharply interrupted her.
"Hm?"
Interrupted, she first froze, then her face turned a bit unsightly. She looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and said,
"Hiruzen, you…"
"Enough!"
This time, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't let her say anything more. As he interrupted her, he quickened his pace, putting distance between himself and the two, and his voice came from ahead.
"You two have worked hard these past two days. Koharu, you and Homura go back and rest first. Ren, come with me."
Ren, hearing his name, immediately hurried to follow. Most of the Anbu also moved away with Hiruzen Sarutobi, leaving only four or five Anbu still lurking around, protecting the two's safety.
"Hiruzen, he actually…"
Utatane Koharu looked at Homura Mitokado, who had been silent all along. Just as she was about to say something, she saw him shake his head and look around.
Realizing something, Utatane Koharu's face immediately changed. She turned and headed in another direction, with Homura Mitokado following closely.
This was not the Hokage Office, but Konoha's main street, full of people and gossip. If they, as Advisors, were to accidentally let something slip, it would be a huge problem.
Of course, the two who had already reached the bottom of the Hokage Building at this time didn't know what happened behind them, and even if they did, they wouldn't care.
Because of what Utatane Koharu had said earlier, both remained silent until the appearance of a figure in front broke the stalemate.
"Hokage-sama!"
Minato stood in front of them, first bowing to Hiruzen Sarutobi, then turning his gaze to Ren beside him, raising his hand with a smile and saying,
"Ren."
"Minato-bro."
The two, who had been calm, both smiled upon seeing the newcomer, and the serious atmosphere was swept away.
"Let's talk inside first."
Hiruzen Sarutobi walked forward and pushed open the door. Minato and Ren followed him in.
Once inside, Hiruzen Sarutobi went directly to his chair and sat down, then looked at the two standing before him and nodded.
"Minato, with the Daimyo's approval, the Fourth Hokage will be you!"
"Huh?!"
This news exploded like a bomb in Minato's heart. He, who was usually calm and collected, couldn't remain so now, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi in astonishment.
Although he knew he was on the list of Hokage candidates, he was competing with Orochimaru, who was his elder. While Minato believed his contributions to Konoha were no less than Orochimaru's, he still felt a bit uneasy inside.
Originally, there were quite a few people who could participate in this Hokage election, such as White Fang, who was still guarding the Hidden Mist front line, and Jiraiya and Tsunade, who had already returned to the Village, all of whom were popular candidates for the Hokage position.
But these three had no interest in the Hokage position, so in the end, only the two of them were left to compete.
Hiruzen Sarutobi held his pipe, looking at Minato in front of him, and continued,
"The Hokage robe will take some time to sew, so the inauguration ceremony will be held in a week."
"Yes!"
Minato, realizing this, immediately bowed and said with some excitement.
Even he couldn't remain calm at this moment when his dream came true, his face full of joy.
"Congratulations, Minato-bro."
Ren turned sideways and said with a grin.
Although he had known this outcome for a long time, witnessing it firsthand felt different.
In the years they had known each other, he had seen Minato constantly grow stronger for the Hokage position, and his efforts were clear for everyone to see.
For this successor to the Fourth Hokage, at least eighty percent of the entire Village supported him.
After all, compared to Orochimaru, whose dark aura made them somewhat afraid and wanting to keep their distance.
Minato was like a warm sun, pleasant to everyone, making people instinctively want to get closer.
And without the unexpected intervention of Danzo, no one argued with Hiruzen Sarutobi to the Daimyo, and with the strong backing of the former Hokage, the Daimyo naturally decided on the Hokage candidate.
"Thank you!"
Minato replied with a smile. Hiruzen Sarutobi opposite him exhaled a puff of smoke, and his voice sounded again.
"Even if you become Hokage, you must not slack off, Minato."
"Never!"
Minato straightened his back and replied seriously.
"Good, then you can go back now. Prepare well these next two days."
"Yes!"
After watching Minato leave, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his gaze to Ren, who remained. He wanted to say something but didn't know how to start, so he remained silent for a long time.
"Old man."
Ren understood his meaning, so he didn't beat around the bush or waste time, getting straight to the point.
"I will choose suitable candidates to hand over those Ninja Swords."
Although strictly speaking, these items were entirely Ren's spoils of war, their strategic significance was simply too great, so great that even the two Advisors eagerly wanted to get involved.
"Uh…"
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi was a little tempted by this, but he truly felt awkward asking Ren about it. Now that Ren suddenly brought it up, he couldn't help but feel a bit surprised and also embarrassed.
After all, no matter how you looked at it, this matter was unreasonable, and now to have a junior proactively bring it up, he truly felt his old face was a bit hard to save.
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's embarrassed expression, Ren spread his hands and said with a smile,
"Old man, I can't use that many Ninja Swords anyway. Keeping them would be a waste. It's better to give them to suitable people to enhance the strength of our Konoha. After all…"
Ren paused, then looked at Hiruzen with a sincere expression and said,
"I am also a Konoha Ninja."