Chapter 230: The Reluctant Successor
The final, monstrous silhouette of the Nine-Tails dissolved into the smoke-choked air, but the fires it had ignited continued to cast a hellish glow over Konoha. With the immediate threat gone, a grim and somber practicality took hold. Those shinobi still able to move began the grim task of rescue, their figures moving like ghosts through the swirling dust and ash. The silence that had followed the beast's roar was now filled with a more harrowing sound: the agonized wails of the wounded, and the heart-wrenching sobs of those cradling the lifeless bodies of comrades and family.
The cost of this single night was incalculable. Konoha's military strength had been gutted; the elite ranks of the ANBU and Root were decimated. One of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, was dead, struck down by a subordinate of the very Uchiha he had once sought to guide. The village's leadership lay in ruins—the Hokage was locked in a chakra-exhausted coma, and the founding elders of Konoha, the architects of its modern era, had been extinguished by Uchiha Ren's devastating ocular power.
A miasma of grief and fury clung to the survivors, a palpable weight in the air. For the villagers, this was a trauma that cut deeper than any foreign war. The Nine-Tails' attack years prior had left a scar, but Uchiha Ren's assault had torn that scar open, reached inside, and crushed the very heart of their community. The pain was visceral, a piercing agony that would define a generation.
Yet, life, stubborn and resilient, demanded to continue. The immense institutional machinery of a Great Shinobi Village began to grind into motion. Rebuilding was a physical necessity, but first, the village needed a head. A soul. With Tsunade unconscious and the council of elders annihilated, Konoha was a ship adrift in a storm, desperately in need of a captain.
Thus, the clan heads and ranking jōnin gathered in one of the few council chambers still standing. The air was thick with tension and the faint, ever-present scent of smoke.
Nara Shikaku, his face etched with a fatigue that went far beyond the physical, stood before the assembled shinobi. His voice, though weary, was clear and carried the weight of grim necessity. "We all see what lies before us. Tsunade-sama sacrificed her own well-being to protect as many as she could, and now she pays the price. Uchiha Ren is gone, but the crisis is not. Our village stands on the brink of collapse. At this moment, we cannot be leaderless. We must select someone to take up the mantle of Hokage and steer us through this."
Yamanaka Inoichi, his long hair seeming duller under the dim light, nodded in agreement, his brow furrowed. "Shikaku is right. The need is urgent. But with Jiraiya-sama fallen, and the council... gone, our options are painfully limited. Who among us carries the strength, the wisdom, and the trust to bear this burden now?"
A heavy silence fell over the room. Eyes dropped to the scarred table, minds racing through a roster of names, each seeming insufficient against the monumental task at hand. The silence stretched, punctuated only by the distant sounds of recovery from outside.
Seeing the hesitation, Shikaku spoke again, his voice cutting through the stagnation. "If there are no nominations, then I will put one forward." All eyes turned to him. "I nominate Hatake Kakashi."
A murmur rippled through the crowd. Kakashi?
"Consider his record," Shikaku continued, his tone analytical yet firm. "An elite jōnin of unparalleled experience. A former ANBU captain. The student of the Fourth Hokage and mentor to the Jinchuriki. His strength is unquestionable, his loyalty to the village absolute, and his mind is sharp. In this interim, he possesses the capability to lead."
The room erupted into quiet, intense discussion. Shikaku did not make this proposal lightly. As the leader of the Konoha Military Police Force and the head of the Nara clan, his strategic mind was respected above nearly all others. His influence, while often operating in the background, was immense, a fact proven by his role in the Fourth Great War. When he spoke, people of consequence listened.
Yamanaka Inoichi was the first to break from the huddle. "The Nara clan head's judgment has always been sound. I see the logic. The Yamanaka clan supports the nomination of Kakashi Hatake."
Akimichi Chōza stood beside his lifelong friend, his large frame a pillar of resolve. "The Akimichi clan adds its support."
This show of unity from the Ino-Shika-Cho trio carried significant weight. One by one, the other clan heads added their voices.
"Hatake Kakashi is a shinobi of great renown and character. The Hyūga clan offers its support," Hiashi Hyūga stated, his voice formal and decisive.
"The Aburame clan agrees."
"Inuzuka, same!"
The chorus of assent grew, until no voice of opposition remained. The decision, born from desperation and consensus, was made.
Shikaku looked around the room, meeting the gaze of each leader and jōnin. The gravity of the moment settled upon his shoulders. "Then it is decided. By the will of this council, Hatake Kakashi will assume the role of Hokage, effective immediately. May his leadership guide us from these ashes."
The matter was settled. Yet, as the council began to disperse, a single, unspoken thought lingered in the minds of many, a silent prayer for the man who had never sought power, but upon whom all their hopes now rested. They had found their leader. Now, they could only wait to see if he could bear the weight of a broken village.
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