Haseo was a rather "mild-mannered" person. After all, he'd lived two lifetimes, and even in this current life, he was the more mature one. Naturally, he was quite different from some hot-headed hothead.
Yet in this world, there are always occasional moments—unexpected events and random experiences—that result in unexpected behaviors.
The faint chirping of birds and insects entered his ears, warm breezes unlike those of winter brushed against her cheeks, and intense, nearly blinding sunlight streamed through the window when Tsunade wrinkled her brows and slowly opened her eyes from a profound slumber.
Instinctively, she raised one hand to shield her forehead, then habitually glanced toward the window. That's when she realized the outside view was completely wide open.
In the distance were lush, green mountains.
Her mind momentarily blanked before realization dawned—this wasn't Konoha, it was Shikkotsu Forest.
So why was she in Shikkotsu Forest?
That was complicated.
As if recalling something, Tsunade's face slightly flushed.
She used her right hand to press down on the bedsheet across her chest, then hurriedly sat upright… concealing her delicate yet full body curves completely.
Haseo was no longer beside her. Tsunade confirmed this after checking for a moment, then suddenly realized the time seemed far too late...
Summing up the first day after marriage, everything seemed pretty much the same as always—but somehow, something also felt different. However, this feeling was too vague to put into words with just one or two sentences.
Tsunade glanced at the floor beside the bed, then immediately shifted her gaze away… One thing was for sure—what she had hoped to keep as a keepsake didn't survive the night.
That was just how this world worked—what was worth cherishing was always fragile.
But it didn't matter anyway. Tsunade wasn't upset about it… In fact, she might've come out ahead in some way.
After tidying up the room briefly and adjusting her condition, Tsunade quickly returned to Konoha. Normally speaking, if she hadn't shown up the next day, people would easily get the wrong idea.
Well, now it seemed like she already had been misunderstood.
Actually, this wasn't even a misunderstanding—it was a reasonable inference leading directly to "the truth."
...
Back in Konoha, Haseo had already begun his busy work, fully immersed in preparations for the Hokage succession ceremony.
These events were tightly packed together. Right after Haseo's wedding, three days later came his coronation ceremony as the Village Headman.
Therefore, all kinds of arrangements needed to be finalized quickly.
At this moment, Haseo was seated around a table with the two Elders and Uzumaki Shikou, discussing these very matters.
"The village's official appointment has already been issued today. And due to prior publicity, most of the ninja have already heard the news that you will succeed The Fourth… Up until now, all the feedback we've received has been extremely positive.
Haseo, you've already built up tremendous support."
Somehow, whether intentionally or not, Haseo sensed something slightly sour behind Homura Mitokado's words when he said this.
What's the point of being resentful about it? To reach this point, just look at what Lord Haseo has done—he might not have "competed" before, but to put it bluntly, many things were simply his due.
Hard work deserves reward, and the Hokage position is already the most appropriate one Konoha could offer under the circumstances.
"I don't think this is a good thing. In fact, I feel pressured precisely by all this support… Why don't we make an effort to calm these voices down? What do you think? If it can be done, there will definitely be more options."
Lord Haseo fired back without hesitation.
Resentful about it? Who told you to be so bitter?
Lord Haseo's counter-question was unanswerable. If someone could suppress Lord Haseo's achievements and unify the will of Konoha's ninja, then the Hokage would certainly be one of the Sannin… Including Lord Haseo himself, they actually hoped the Fourth would be one of the Sannin—preferably Tsunade. But this had already been explained in detail; ultimately, it could only be Lord Haseo stepping forward.
Homura Mitokado…chose not to respond directly to Lord Haseo and instead continued speaking, "Actually, there are only three main steps in the succession ceremony. First, officially announcing your position as the Fourth, demonstrating the collective will of Konoha...
Second, receiving the appointment from the Daimyo, which establishes the fundamental legitimacy of your position as Hokage."
"Wait a second, if that's the case, where's my official appointment letter? The ceremony is about to start soon. What about the Daimyo…"
"The Daimyo has already been informed, and he has sent his full representative here. The appointment letter has long been brought back to the village… Yesterday, that same envoy even attended Lord Haseo's wedding and personally handed you a private letter from the Daimyo.
Don't tell me you've already forgotten, Lord Haseo?"
Uzumaki Shikou spoke up with a slightly complaining tone. It wasn't so much scolding him for being forgetful or suffering early dementia, but rather suspecting whether he had become too caught up in marital bliss to focus on his duties as Hokage.
"Ahem, of course I remember. Didn't I have a warm and friendly conversation with the envoy at the time?" Lord Haseo replied with smooth sophistry. Of course, he did talk to the Daimyo's envoy alright—but he'd also talked to half the village yesterday. How the hell was he supposed to remember who was who?
"So where's the private letter from the Daimyo then?"
Uzumaki Shikou silently sighed, then reached into the pile of documents on the table and pulled out the letter, handing it to Lord Haseo.
"Ah, here it is! You organize things this way, no wonder I couldn't locate it." As he said this, Lord Haseo casually unfolded the letter.
"The Daimyo is very polite. He originally wanted to attend my succession ritual in person, but realizing that his presence might draw too much attention, he sent a full representative instead."
Lord Haseo scanned the letter and summarized its contents… Though it was the Daimyo's personal handwriting, eighty percent of it was nothing more than polite formalities.
From either a personal or official standpoint, it wasn't inappropriate for the Fire Daimyo to personally visit Konoha. However, considering that Konoha was in the middle of transitioning to a new Hokage, the timing of his appearance might not send the best signal… It would be unfortunate if he were misunderstood as attempting to interfere in Village affairs.
Therefore, the Daimyo simply sent an envoy, which was both respectful and helped avoid misunderstandings.
"The Daimyo is truly too courteous. Normally, I should have gone to the Daimyo's Castle to receive my appointment… but given the current wartime situation, we'll just take this flexible approach."
Haseo said with polite words, then casually set the letter aside.
"This makes two matters. What about the third one?"
"The third matter is that you need to deliver a public speech to the ninja who are staying in the Village. This marks your formal assumption of the Hokage's authority."
"A speech? That I'm actually pretty good at. Leave it to me; it'll be absolutely no problem…"
"The speech has already been prepared for you, Lord Haseo. All you have to do is read it aloud… word for word. No need for improvisation at all."
Before Haseo could express his opinion, his words were once again ruthlessly cut off by Uzumaki Shikou.
What did that mean? Were they only allowing him to read from a prepared script?
That must've been exactly what they were doing.
Haseo sucked in a breath, stunned. Were these people worried he might say something inappropriate during the succession ceremony?
Impossible. Even Haseo knew how to behave appropriately according to the occasion.
Topics like "I have a dream" or some dramatic "I'm the ruler of Konoha" declaration hadn't even crossed his mind, not even slightly.
Where was the basic trust between people? How could they make groundless accusations like this?
Could this even be called a Hokage speech?
It was utterly inexplicable.
He could only sigh bitterly, feeling a pang of disappointment.
Clearly, the thought Haseo had always held was correct—"Hokage" was indeed a position full of constraints and no real freedom at all. Before even officially starting, Haseo had already begun regretting accepting the appointment.
I really am stupid. Truly stupid. Why did I have to insist on becoming Hokage in the first place?
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