The procedure for electing a new Hokage was straightforward enough.
If the previous Hokage happened to still be alive, they would nominate their candidate, usually one of their disciples. The Council of Elders could pick anyone they liked, and the Jōnin Council could also put forward a few of their own, which they would narrow down after a few rounds of internal selection.
Then, the candidates would make their case to the Jōnin Council, who would choose their favourite as the next Hokage, and that candidate's nomination would then require approval from the Daimyō of the Land of Fire. Naturally, the Daimyō could also appoint someone of his own choosing, but then that person would still need to survive the Jōnin Council's vote of no confidence.
"Order!" Shikaku called, striding onto the raised stage that Yamato and the First Hokage had built at the front of the meeting hall. "I will have order!"
The hubbub in the hall gradually fell silent as all eyes fell on the Jōnin Commander, turning away from the previous four Hokage standing in a line behind him; apparently, Sakura thought to herself, the Jōnin were trustworthy enough to be let in on the secret of their revival.
Next to Shikaku sat a pedestal bearing a simple wooden box.
"In the event of her death, Lady Tsunade nominated Jiraiya as her replacement," Shikaku proclaimed. "Mitokado Homura of the Konoha Council nominated Orochimaru. They will join us later when we'll vote for our new Hokage."
No surprises there.
"In the meantime, we will now begin the Jōnin Council's internal selection process for our own nominees," Shikaku continued. "Each of you will take a turn on stage to anonymously write the name of whoever you believe would make the best Hokage amongst us on a slip of paper, then drop it into this box—" here, he tapped the box on the pedestal for emphasis, "— you may vote for any Jōnin you like, save for the past Hokage. The least popular nominations will be eliminated, and only the top three will remain. Only then will we move on to the next phase."
Normally, multiple rounds of voting would be held to eliminate the least popular candidates one by one, but seeing as the village was about to face a terrible crisis, the process had been abridged to a single round.
"Why can't we vote for one of the past Hokage?" one of the Jōnin called from the audience. "The Lord Fourth barely had any time to rule! He saved the village too! We should have him be the next Hokage!"
Murmurs of assent spread throughout the crowd.
"Who're you going to nominate, Sasuke?" Sakura whispered. "Kakashi-sensei?"
"No," Sasuke replied coolly. "Kakashi's always late to everything."
They felt a hand settle suddenly on their shoulders, startling them.
"I'd rather you didn't vote for me," Kakashi murmured in Sakura's ear. "Where am I going to find time to read Jiraiya-sama's new book if I become Hokage?"
Back on stage, the Fourth Hokage stepped forwards, his Hokage cloak billowing about his legs.
"We Hokage have unanimously agreed that someone new should take the post," Minato explained. "We may have been restored to life, but we believe the future should belong to those who have lived to up until now."
"…and there you have it," Shikaku said. "Now, please form an orderly line…"
In the entirety of the Hidden Leaf, there were only about fifty Jōnin, not counting the Tokubetsu Jōnin, who weren't allowed to vote. This was an astonishingly low figure, but their strength more than made up for their numbers. Their combined power easily outmatched that of the village's Chūnin and Genin.
The line moved swiftly.
Members of bloodline clans and secret technique clans, civilian shinobi, Tenten and Shikamaru, they all voted before it was finally Sasuke's turn. Sakura guided the blind Sasuke to the voting box, where he dropped in his slip before climbing down from the stage with Kakashi's help.
At last, it was Sakura's turn.
Sakura's mind went blank. She had to pick someone amongst the Jōnin she knew about, but who was worthy of being Hokage? Lady Tsunade had believed in her, so there was always the option of picking herself… and that's what she did. She wrote down her name, Manyū Sakura, and dropped her voting slip into the box…
…only to instantly regret making the decision.
A few more people voted after Sakura, and before long, everyone had had a turn. Shikaku took the box backstage to have the votes tallied up, before returning a few minutes later with the results.
"The third most popular candidate is Hyūga Hiashi," Shikaku announced. "Six nominations, one tenth of the total votes."
Sakura frowned. Such a low number. Had everyone voted for themselves, as she had?
The Hyūga boasted a fair number of Jōnin-level ninja, so they must have agreed beforehand to back their patriarch. Surprisingly, six votes meant even the branch family Jōnin had supported him. They couldn't even have been coerced, since Tenten had freed them all from the Caged Bird Seal!
"The second most popular candidate is… myself, Nara Shikaku," he went on. "With a total of ten votes, for twenty percent of the total… thank you very much for your support."
Shikaku cleared his throat.
"As for the most popular candidate…" Shikaku said slowly. "… that honour goes to Hatake Kakashi, with fifteen votes, a bit under thirty percent of the total vote."
Sakura sighed in relief. She didn't know what she'd have done if she'd actually been selected… but then a masked ANBU operative emerged from the back rooms and whispered something in Shikaku's ear, before flickering away.
"I apologise," Shikaku announced. "There was a problem with the tallying of the votes, a misunderstanding about the candidate's name. The most popular position is actually shared between two candidates: Hatake Kakashi and Manyū Sakura— also known as Uchiha Sakura, also known as Haruno Sakura— each with fifteen votes, thirty percent of the total cast!"
Sakura was speechless. Evidently, the Hidden Leaf Village teemed with gooners, and the silent majority of the closet perverts faction had spoken! They wanted to see a beautiful woman at the mission assignment desk, not some old codger!
"Congratulations, Sakura," Kakashi said mirthfully, patting her on the shoulder. "You're one step closer to fulfilling your dream."
"'Grats," said Sasuke lightly.
Sakura quickly counted the votes. Six, ten, fifteen, fifteen, for a total of forty-six… there were around fifty-five Jōnin in attendance, so about ten votes had ended up going to waste.
"We'll now take a thirty-minute recess for dinner," Shikaku concluded, "to give Lord Jiraiya, Lord Orochimaru, Lord Kakashi, Lady Sakura, and myself time to prepare a speech. Dismissed!"
Sakura screamed internally. What had she done? What was she going to do now? The Jōnin weren't actually going to choose her, a hormonal teenage girl, as their next Hokage… were they?