Chapter 342 Hokage’s Candidate

Under Konoha's arrangement, the election started soon. The candidates who had been confirmed before were standing on the top of the Konoha Hokage's office, waiting for everyone's election. Below the office, there were Konoha ninjas, Konoha villagers, and ninjas from the allied country Sand Ninja. Everyone was crowded together, and everyone's eyes were on the top of the Hokage's office, and the candidates for the position of Hokage.

Sasuke stood there without saying a word. He was not interested in the Hokage and was just going through the motions. Hinata looked a little nervous. It was the first time she was noticed by so many people. As for Kakashi, he was not very interested in the position of Hokage. It was not known whether it was because he had no idea or because he had read novels for too long at night, but he looked listless. Only Naruto looked at the people of Konoha with a smile and acted particularly friendly.

The election started soon, and everyone was ready to vote. There was not always an election for the succession of the new Hokage. For example, when the Third Hokage passed away, there was no election. This time, it was rare for Konoha to have so many powerful ninjas, so there was more room for selection. For this rare event, the whole of Konoha was enthusiastic and actively participated in the election of Hokage.

Because of the large number of people, this election took several days from voting to counting, and Konoha was very busy. As the daimyo of the Land of Fire, Naruto had to participate in some things. In the process of electing Hokage, the daimyo also has a great say. A few days later, the results of the statistics finally came out, and Konoha held a meeting again, intending to make the final decision on the nomination of the new Hokage.

Because Naruto was also one of the candidates, in order to avoid suspicion, he only gave some instructions and did not participate too much. After the meeting, everyone had arrived in advance, and everyone was waiting for the arrival of the minister and ninja in charge of statistics. Finally, two people walked into the venue slowly. They already knew the result, unlike the rest of the nervous mood.

Under everyone's gaze, they took out a file bag and opened it in an orderly manner. The minister looked around the venue and said, "Next, I am honored to read out the support rate of the candidates for Hokage this time. The ninja with the most votes is..." This person deliberately paused to whet everyone's appetite.

"Hatake Kakashi."

There was a burst of applause from the audience, and most people, regardless of whether they supported Kakashi becoming Hokage or not, expressed their congratulations. In fact, Kakashi's support rate in the Wood Industry was indeed quite high, and it was something worth celebrating for the Wood Industry to have such a Hokage. The applause had just begun to sound, and the minister who announced the result interrupted it repeatedly, and continued: "But! This is when the daimyo is not taken into account."

As soon as these words were spoken, the applause from the audience stopped immediately, and everyone's mind took a 180-degree turn. The next moment, some people couldn't help laughing, and the atmosphere of the originally very serious daimyo election quickly became relaxed.

The minister in charge said, "I'm sorry, because I'm also a supporter of Kakashi." There was another round of laughter from the audience. The ninja in charge of the wood industry said, "Hatake Kakashi's support rate is very high, close to 30%, and the support rate of the daimyo has exceeded 50%. To be honest, it is very rare to get such a high support rate. Even if the candidate for Hokage is not elected, the public's voice is very high. Even I hesitated again and again when voting, the choice was too difficult. However, after a fierce election, the support rate of the daimyo has exceeded more than half. In other words, the daimyo will serve as Hokage!"

As soon as the result was announced, thunderous applause broke out, and the entire venue immediately boiled over. Naruto had no choice but to choose to concurrently serve as Hokage since everyone supported him. The next step was the ceremony of awarding the title of Hokage. Although the procedure was not complicated, it could not be too casual. In fact, the reason why Naruto had such a high support rate was probably mainly due to his reputation and his heroic deeds of saving Konoha many times. For half of the people, they did not understand the management of the Hokage at all, and it was very emotional.

However, even a strategist like Shikaku would not object to Naruto becoming Hokage. Apart from some issues with age, Naruto also possesses other basic qualities. In short, after a busy day, Naruto finally officially became Hokage. After that, all he had to do was complete the handover between the two generations of Hokage.

Unlike before, this time Naruto sat in front of the Hokage's desk, while Tsunade explained everything to Naruto at the other end of the desk. Looking at the documents that were taller than a person's head, Naruto sighed and said, "Grandma Tsunade, it seems that the job of the Hokage is much harder than that of the Daimyo. I really don't know if I can do it." Tsunade said, "Don't worry, I believe you can do it. Not only Shikaku, but also your father's assistance, you don't have to worry at all."

As soon as Tsunade mentioned this, Naruto could not help but nod his head and looked at the Fourth Hokage and Shikaku standing on both sides of the desk. Now they have become Naruto's assistants, helping Naruto handle the official duties of the Hokage. That being said, in fact, in many places, it is more appropriate to say that they are teaching Naruto. Looking at these two people, Naruto suddenly remembered something, looked at Shikaku and said: "By the way, I still need the assistance of one person, Shikamaru should be able to do it."

Naruto said this, and everyone immediately understood what Naruto meant. Shikaku said, "Shikamaru is far from it." Tsunade said, "No, I think he is qualified. After all, we, the older generation, have to give up our positions." Shikaku said, "I see, then we will do as the Hokage wishes." With Shikaku's consent, Shikamaru was finally transferred to the Hokage's office.

For three days in a row, a mountain of documents lay in front of Naruto, as if they would never be finished. If it weren't for the assistance of the Fourth Hokage and Shikaku, Naruto could be sure that his brain would have exploded. Naruto couldn't help but curse Tsunade in his heart. Before this, she had helped Naruto pile up a lot of official business, otherwise he wouldn't be so tired. Now Shikamaru can only be responsible for running errands for the time being, and he is almost exhausted. Naruto suddenly fell on the desk, and shouted with his dying breath: "No, my chakra has begun to become disordered. If it goes on like this..."

Shikaku shook his head and said, "Let's stop here for now. Lord Hokage should go and rest first. Leave this to me." With the help of Minato, Naruto finally lay down on the bed. He couldn't help but think to himself, "It's better to find a way to get rid of this burden of Hokage as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)