From publicizing Ino's achievements in saving the world among the populace and ninja, to recounting the historically 'good roots and upright shoots' of the Ino-Shika-Cho formation, the Konoha higher-ups fired on all cylinders with their propaganda. The entire process lasted for about a month.
The ninja villages didn't have Weibo or headlines. Information that was easily accessible to the higher-ups was often unknown to the lower-level ninja and commoners. Back in the day, Minato Namikaze had spent a large amount of time on pre-election publicity. In contrast, during the terms of Jiraiya and Tsunade, such things weren't necessary; their prestige was high enough that anyone who didn't know their names was basically a fool.
For Ino, however, propaganda was still needed. Even the fragrance of good wine fears a deep alley.
After knowing she would become the wife of the Seventh Hokage, Hinata had been feeling awkward and uneasy. She didn't quite like the state of being placed under everyone's scrutiny, but the importance of the Hokage position outweighed the timidity in her heart. She forced herself to perk up and adjusted her mindset.
She took care of everything personally, arranging Ino's food, clothing, shelter, and transportation during this period in perfect order. The glass was wiped three times, the cupboards at home were wiped twice, and the clothes Ino would wear for the inauguration were frequently taken out for inspection, just for fear of any mishaps appearing during the ceremony.
The number of times the two engaged in 'beam struggles' dropped significantly, the reason being to maintain a certain someone's Hokage pressure.
Time passed quickly, and the day of the inauguration ceremony arrived.
Hinata twitched her nose, leaning onto Ino's shoulder and sniffing vigorously.
This wasn't to smell if there was the scent of wild women, but rather because she felt that today's Ino should appear before the entire village with a perfect posture.
"Oh my, Wifey, I'm becoming Hokage, not entering a beauty pageant. This is good enough."
Hinata was very resolute: "No, your hair is still a bit messy. Let me comb it for you again..."
Ino held her hand: "Alright, it's a deal, just one last comb."
The importance of the title of Hokage to Konoha far exceeded Ino's imagination. Hinata was incredibly nervous; those who didn't know better would think it was Hinata who was going to be the Hokage.
Because of her nervousness, Hinata, who had always been a good mother, extremely rarely scolded Little Himawari and Tonton for three minutes. The two fellows were running around the house and had spilled peanut butter all over the floor. After spilling it, you should at least wipe it clean! instead, the two fellows frantically shifted the blame.
Little Himawari was a bit unhappy, her small mouth muttering, "It was clearly Dad who spilled it, why scold me?"
She covered her mouth with her hand and said to Tonton, "Mom must be crazy..."
Tonton nodded in deep agreement. Hinata used to be so good to it, but now, as a pet pig, it had to wipe the floor while walking, just out of fear of leaving hoof prints on the floorboards. Wasn't this pig abuse?
Ino smoothed things over and pulled Hinata away: "Hahahaha, alright, alright, the child didn't do it on purpose. Come look, which pair of earrings is more suitable for me to wear?"
Little Himawari and Tonton sighed in unison. The head of the household was just this unreliable. Would the village really be okay with her as the leader? The future of the village was worrying.
The Underworld Martial Arts Tournament was always held in the early hours of the morning.
Konoha Village certainly couldn't use that method.
At twelve o'clock noon, Ino stood draped in the Hokage robe, wearing a brand-new Jonin vest underneath, with a waist pouch, leg wrappings, and sandals—completely dressed as a ninja. She nodded to her relatives—Hinata, Inoichi, and Rino—and then walked steadily to the front of the Hokage Administration Building.
According to previous conventions, a procedure of nomination by the masses followed by certification by the Daimyo was required.
When it came to her, these bad habits and customs were waived directly. Who was appointing whom?! How many divisions did the Daimyo have? The Yamanaka clan were the Bandit Kings of generations past, intelligence heads, and now she had become the boss of all ninja. You want to appoint me? Do you have a death wish?
Minato and Jiraiya, the two retired Hokage, stood on her left. Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, Shikaku, and Danzo stood on the right.
"I leave this heavy responsibility to you from now on. I'm counting on you!" Under everyone's gaze, Tsunade restrained her old gambler's vibe a bit. She held the Hokage hat with both hands and solemnly handed it to Ino.
"Yes, I will definitely fulfill my duties and not bring shame to my predecessors." Ino took the hat and put it on her head. Tsunade walked towards the ranks of retired Hokage on the left. Jiraiya winked at her; she remained calm on the surface, but in reality, her wrist shook, making a dice-rolling gesture.
Ino didn't see their little movements. She took several steps forward.
She stood before the railing. Below, one could say the essence of the Five Great Shinobi Villages was gathered together.
She used a small amount of divine power so that everyone could hear clearly.
Facing the crowd, she spoke in a rousing tone: "Starting today, I will serve as Hokage. Everyone, please lend me your strength! Let me continue in the footsteps of our predecessors and lead Konoha Village towards new glory!"
"Seventh Hokage!"
"Go Ino!"
"Go Sensei!"
Amidst the cheers of "Seventh Hokage," the shouts of Naruto and Konohamaru were particularly loud.
Naruto and Shion's son, Boruto, had just been born. It could be seen that after having offspring, the confusion in Naruto's eyes, caused by severing the fetters of fate, had lessened significantly.
He didn't become the Seventh, so what about the Eighth? Or the Ninth? He felt that if he continued to struggle, there was still a chance.
Konohamaru was simply happy. He secretly vowed that he would continue to work hard, ten times harder than now.
With Ino as the Seventh, as her disciple, Konohamaru was just like Kakashi back in the day. As long as he didn't make major mistakes or die halfway, the Eighth generation was basically in the bag for him.
For the Sarutobi clan to still obtain the position of Eighth Hokage after the Third Hokage—looking at it from any angle, they had made a huge profit.
Sasuke, Sakura, Kiba, and the others had their own thoughts, but everyone was basically happy for Ino. This was a form of affirmation from peers.
Ino originally thought she would be very calm, but seeing so many acquaintances cheering for her, she also felt a burst of shared pride.
Having lived here for so many years, Konoha had her friends, her teachers, and her family. This was where her roots were.
The inauguration ceremony was held at noon. Hearing the cheers of the whole village, Ino's emotions were quite agitated. The last time she was this excited was when Little Himawari was born; she had wished she could resurrect Obito and the like just to beat them up again. But by the afternoon, she couldn't quite handle it anymore.
A full person's height of documents, a total of seven large stacks, densely packed, filled the Hokage's office.
She looked at Tsunade with an unkind expression. The other party whistled, avoiding her gaze with a guilty conscience.
"Sensei, how long have you been accumulating this unprocessed official business?"
Tsunade held up one finger, then hesitated and extended another finger.
"Two weeks?"
Shizune sold Tsunade out: "Lady Tsunade sleeps during the day and drinks at night. She hasn't processed official business for two months! More than half of the business was handled by the Advisors; these are what's left."
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