Selecting a Hokage has never been about strength alone.
Power is only part of the equation.
There are also family backgrounds, reputation, political standing, and countless other factors.
Right now, compared to Namikaze Minato—who has practically zero governing experience—Kyoichi was the far more reliable choice.
Which meant…
Under a normal election, Kyoichi would absolutely become the Fifth Hokage.
Kyoichi understood this perfectly.
So he shrugged and replied,
"If the Hokage seat simply went to whoever people wanted, your Fourth Hokage wouldn't be Minato—it'd be Jiraiya."
"…Fair point."
Tsunade chuckled softly.
Back then, the Third Hokage hadn't intended to pick her at all.
After all, Tsunade was wandering outside the village, and given her attitude at the time…
Hiruzen probably assumed she wouldn't come back even if he found her.
So—
His first choice had been Jiraiya.
Too bad Jiraiya refused.
So the position sat empty.
If Tsunade hadn't returned, the old man would have prolonged his tenure for a few more years, waiting for a new opportunity.
In that case…
The Fourth Hokage might have ended up being Kyoichi or Minato instead.
Tsunade knew both of them were more than capable.
Their competence and reputation were nearly equal, but Kyoichi tended to have advanced, innovative ideas—Minato was comparatively weaker in that department.
After thinking for a moment, she shook her head.
"Forget it. Doesn't matter. Whether it's you or Minato, both of you have the ability and prestige. As for raw power—well, no one's dumb enough to challenge Konoha anymore, so that's irrelevant."
Indeed.
As long as Kyoichi lived, no one would dare challenge Konoha.
It was just like the era of Hashirama and Madara.
No village could withstand a serious, full-power strike from Kyoichi.
Before striking Konoha, every nation would have to consider—
Kanda Kyoichi's retaliation.
And besides…
Today's shinobi world was nothing like the past.
Before, villages could fight endlessly—at worst, the loser paid compensation.
But now?
Konoha controlled the major supply routes for food and medicine.
If a village picked a fight and Konoha cut those off…
They might not starve immediately, but over time, they'd fall drastically behind other nations.
That was an open and unavoidable strategic trap.
As Kyoichi said:
Starting a large-scale war was practically impossible now.
"Alright, enough massaging—my shoulders are starting to hurt. I get that you want to run off someday, but before that happens, we need to ensure Konoha is stable. Especially Orochimaru—you can't afford to be careless with him."
Tsunade suddenly remembered the biggest problem child.
Orochimaru was not someone who stayed well-behaved on his own.
While they were in the village, Orochimaru still cared about appearances.
But if both she and Kyoichi left?
He'd be completely unrestrained.
Give it a few years and he'd probably go rogue again.
Tsunade knew her teammate too well.
And Kyoichi knew even better—
without the two of them suppressing him, if Orochimaru couldn't find an interesting research project, he would eventually leave to pursue forbidden work.
Although…
Without Danzō stirring up trouble, Orochimaru leaving would be more of a "mutual breakup" than a betrayal.
Kyoichi thought for a while.
"Before we go, we can hand him a few difficult research projects. Those'll keep him busy. Worst case, I'll just leave a shadow clone in Konoha to contact him if needed."
"That works…"
---
The Next Day
Kyoichi headed to the research lab.
The Iburi clan project was nearly complete.
Only one final step remained.
"So? Have you come up with a solution? My best idea is still improving their chakra control. If we could finish research on chakra-based soul anchoring, they could evolve further."
Orochimaru hinted meaningfully.
Kyoichi immediately understood—
He wanted help modifying his forbidden "eightfold soul transfer" technique—the predecessor of the Living Corpse Reincarnation.
Many jutsu shared foundational principles.
If soul anchoring could be perfected, the Iburi clan could anchor their consciousness to chakra itself.
That way, their smoke bodies wouldn't scatter and die the moment wind blew.
So Orochimaru did have a perfect solution—
he just wanted a forbidden one.
But—
Kyoichi produced a scroll.
"I thought about it yesterday. We don't need something that complicated. We just need to reduce the side effects. There's no need for such extreme measures—as long as they form a core while transforming into smoke, it'll work."
He explained the method in detail.
Orochimaru read it quietly.
Then fell silent.
He knew instantly:
this was absolutely the correct solution.
But…
What a waste.
This slippery brat never let himself be baited into revealing anything useful.
Orochimaru sighed internally.
"…How's your research on the Hōki clan?"
"As you said—it's definitely a type of Senjutsu chakra. But it isn't quite the same as the Sage chakra you all use. They have no self-regulation."
With Kyoichi's training method, the clan's berserk episodes had drastically decreased.
They could now control themselves; no more rampaging and killing.
That was the only reason Kyoichi dared bring them into Konoha.
Orochimaru knew this well.
So after a pause, he continued,
"As for the chakra composition—it's close to Ryūchi Cave's serpent Sage chakra, but not identical."
"One is human, one is snake—of course they differ. You've already studied Ryūchi Cave Sage chakra extensively, but you're still missing something. Maybe the Hōki clan can give you new clues."
Kyoichi suggested.
Orochimaru had already tried that—many times.
But even with their chakra, he still couldn't grasp Sage Mode.
He was always missing that one step.
He sighed internally.
"Too difficult?"
"I don't think I'm physically suited for Sage Mode," Orochimaru admitted bluntly.
Kyoichi pondered, then said:
"Try extracting a sample of their Sage chakra, sealing it in a containment formula, then letting it leak into your body slowly to reshape your physique."
"Reshape with a seal?"
Orochimaru froze.
He vaguely recognized the concept.
"It's similar to how a jinchūriki's body adapts through Eight Trigrams seal leaks—the tailed beast's chakra gradually alters their physique. If Sage chakra can transform the body, this method should work."
"…Interesting."
Orochimaru licked his lips.
He knew his body was incompatible with Sage Mode.
This method forcibly remodeled the body—
there would be side effects, sure.
But—
He could accept that.
The only concern was his White Zetsu cells.
Would the sealing method clash with them?
He mentally simulated the process several times.
Then—
Orochimaru suddenly stood up, energized, and rushed straight to the experiment room.
Kyoichi was instantly forgotten.
Once research began, Orochimaru didn't care about anything else.
Kyoichi was used to it.
For someone like Orochimaru, the simplest way to keep him well-behaved…
Was to feed him an endless stream of new, complex research projects.
When he had experiments to do, he could stay indoors for years.
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