Konoha, Hokage Office.
"As you can see, Konoha suffered heavy losses in this battle, and the Third Hokage-sama has also died."
Satoru returned to Konoha, having just come to report the completion of his mission.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, the two old geezers, summoned him.
And truthfully informed him of the current situation in Konoha Village.
Satoru was not surprised; he had already prepared for this.
The backup plan he left for his family was only that the proxy certificate had been used by Hiroshi.
Meaning his family was safe.
"Then... what about Kakashi and the others?"
Satoru asked.
"Kakashi is now lying in a hospital bed, having fought to repel the Akatsuki's invasion, resisting Uchiha Itachi and the Hidden Mist Village's rogue Ninja Kisame."
Koharu Utatane said.
Satoru heard this: "This... that's really not good news. Do the Elders have any other instructions? If not, I'll go home to see my family."
Although he hadn't been away for long, just about a month.
And wouldn't the two little ones be scared?
Satoru hadn't yet put them through Genjutsu training.
They were too young.
So he didn't know if they would be scared.
"Yes, due to the death of the Third Hokage, the Hokage position is vacant.
Originally, Jiraiya was intended to succeed, but he refused, citing that he was unsuitable.
He has now taken Naruto to find Tsunade, to persuade her to take the Hokage position.
And during this time, the vacancy of Hokage within Konoha
Needs someone to fill it, to handle the reconstruction of Konoha.
We value your ability, and the higher-ups of the Land of Fire also recognize your ability,
To have you temporarily act as Hokage."
Koharu Utatane continued.
The words were like a thunderclap to his ears.
It left Satoru burnt on the outside and tender on the inside.
Since when did he have the qualifications to be Hokage?
What about the 'master trains disciple, disciple trains disciple' tradition?
What was his status? A commoner, at most a bit stronger.
And he hadn't even revealed how strong he was!
"Uh... regarding Hokage's political affairs, the two Elders should be capable of handling them,
An Acting Hokage shouldn't be necessary, right?"
Satoru declined.
There were too many things to handle as Hokage; he didn't want to do it.
He'd rather stay at home and enjoy himself.
Homura Mitokado shouted: "Satoru, making you Acting Hokage is to let you become familiar with the Hokage's position and responsibilities, so that when you have enough experience, you can take over the Hokage position from Tsunade. This is training you."
He was frustrated by his lack of ambition.
Why were they all like Jiraiya?
This wouldn't do.
No, even if he had to be forced, he had to take it.
Koharu Utatane shared the same view: "That's right, Konoha is currently in a difficult time. Do you want to shirk responsibility?
Is that worthy of your Will of Fire?"
"…"
Satoru scratched his head.
It came back to the Will of Fire again; he hadn't even used it in a long time, and he didn't expect the two old geezers to use it first.
"Alright! But I'm only temporarily acting, my personality isn't suited to be Hokage,
And also, let Senior Shikaku help me!"
Satoru could only agree.
He really didn't want to be Hokage, after all, every Hokage's fate was quite bad.
The First's cause of death was unknown, the Second was killed, the Third was assassinated by his disciple, the Fourth died in the Nine-Tailed incident, the Fifth lost her childhood friend Jiraiya, the 5.5th died in revenge, the Sixth never married in his old age, the Seventh was almost as miserable... it was simply a full stack of buffs.
He didn't know if the Eighth, Shikamaru, could handle it; he felt it would be a bit difficult.
"You don't need to say it, we, including Shikaku, will help you.
Do your job well, Konoha needs your strength."
Koharu Utatane said.
"Alright, I just returned from a mission, I'm going home first."
After Satoru finished speaking, he ignored the two old geezers and disappeared directly in front of them.
Now, he was the Hokage.
"Really, another slacker."
Watching Satoru disappear, Koharu Utatane sighed.
Why were all the people capable of succeeding the Hokage position so strange?
Either they had strange tempers, or strange quirks, or simply weren't interested in the Hokage position.
"Yes, after the Fourth's passing, no one suitable for Hokage has truly appeared!"
Homura Mitokado thought the same.
It wasn't their fault that they hadn't chosen a Fifth Generation Hokage for so many years, and now that the Third was dead, they could only choose the older generation of the Sannin.
It was simply because there were no successors!
No one else had reached the Hokage qualifications they recognized in their hearts... Temporarily putting aside the thought of how to be an Acting Hokage.
Satoru first got a haircut, then styled himself, and then bought a bouquet of lilacs.
He returned home with a smile.
However, when he got home, he immediately lost his composure.
Because what appeared before him was a mended, patched-up house, like clothes with patches.
"Daddy's home."
As soon as he reached the door, Tenyu and Maki immediately rushed out and hugged him.
A moment later, Ayame also walked out from inside.
"What happened?"
Satoru handed the flowers to Ayame and asked her.
"Well, when the Ninjas were fighting, they messed up our house."
Ayame, however, had a very good attitude.
Their family had money.
"Those guys were too much! They actually trashed our house!
When I grow up, I'll definitely beat the crap out of them."
Tenyu was very angry when he heard this.
His toys were all destroyed.
Those were his treasured toys, very valuable.
"I see, it's good that everyone is fine, it can be repaired."
Satoru said.
Seeing that his wife and children weren't scared, his mood improved a bit.
And around them, there were also houses similar to theirs that had been destroyed.
They were still being urgently repaired.
Perhaps it was because too many people were needed for the reconstruction of Konoha right now, so they were just patching things up for temporary use.
"Of course, with me here, nothing bad happened."
Just as they were having a tender moment, Hiroshi came out from inside, chest puffed out.
When Konoha was attacked, he had a grand display of his skills; he was very impressive.
"That's right, with Dad around, the family definitely feels completely safe."
Satoru complimented.
"Hmm, since you're back, I'll tell you about my glorious deeds.
But give me two more of those proxy certificates of yours,
That thing is incredibly useful."
Hiroshi listened to his son's praise, his head held high.
"They're over ten million each, do you think they're cabbages?"
Satoru rolled his eyes at this.
Chakra metal fluctuates wildly, sometimes high, sometimes low, but it's never been cheap...
"What, Dad, you're going to be Hokage?"
Tenyu and Maki exclaimed when they heard Satoru say he was going to be Acting Hokage.
"Yes, so until the Fifth Generation returns to take over, I might be a bit busy.
The time I have to teach you Ninjutsu might be greatly reduced.
Plans can't keep up with changes!"
Satoru was also helpless.
Who really wants to be Hokage anyway?
Oh, most Ninjas want to, so why don't you work harder!
Sigh!
"Yay, that's great."
Tenyu and Maki, having received confirmation, were so happy they almost jumped up.
Their dad was going to be Hokage, what could Konohamaru say now?
Hmph, now they were the Hokage's young masters; Konohamaru was just the Hokage's grandson.
But they thought about it, the Third Hokage-sama was dead, so it was better not to provoke Konohamaru.
They'd consider provoking him later, once he'd calmed down.
Tenyu and Maki also had their limits.
But they were already ecstatic inside; Dad was Hokage.
Satoru knew at a glance that the two of them weren't up to anything good; they must be thinking about how to show off...
Konoha Hospital.
Satoru found Kakashi's hospital room and walked in.
He carried a basket of apples.
"Although you can't eat apples yet, I can check your body first."
Satoru formed a hand seal, and nerves emerged from his hand, covering Kakashi.