Serious matters like the Hokage election naturally could not be conducted through anonymous voting.
According to Konoha's past rules, each Jonin would write his name and the name of his supported candidate on a ballot.
After all the Jonin's ballots were collected, the host would read them aloud publicly and complete the tally on the spot.
In tense silence, ballots were distributed to each Jonin.
The choice had been made long before today; almost no one hesitated at this point, all unhesitatingly writing down the name in his heart.
Senju Mori, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Uchiha Isshin were no exception.
The three of them were Jonin of the Village and possessed their own valuable vote.
At the front of the conference room, beneath the presiding seats, there was a ballot box sealed with a Chakra Sealing Jutsu.
After filling out the ballot, each Jonin himself or a representative he approved would stand up and personally cast the completed ballot into it.
Later, when the votes were read aloud, in addition to announcing who each ballot was cast for, the name of the ballot's owner would also be read out, allowing the Jonin present to reconfirm that his ballot had not been tampered with.
All of this was to eliminate the possibility of cheating to the greatest extent possible.
The Jonin spontaneously maintained good order, and the entire process of filling out ballots and voting did not take much time.
As the last Jonin cast his ballot into the box and returned to his seat, there was no sound left in the entire venue, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Sarutobi Sasuke took a deep breath, just about to announce the next step, when a growing sound of footsteps suddenly rang out from outside the door.
The next moment, the tightly closed conference room door was suddenly pulled open from the outside.
Everyone turned their heads in unison, wanting to see which audacious fellow dared to interrupt the Jonin's trust vote, but the next moment, they all showed expressions of shock.
It was actually First Hokage-sama's widow, Uzumaki Mito-sama!
Uzumaki Mito, wearing a plain kimono emblazoned with the Uzumaki Clan emblem, slowly walked into the venue with a composed gait, flanked by two female attendants.
Her gaze was calm as she passed by each Jonin, finally stopping beside the presiding seats.
A Ninja standing nearby hastily brought her a seat, but Uzumaki Mito did not sit down.
She first nodded to Sarutobi Sasuke and Senju Touka, then turned back to the gathered Jonin, her peaceful voice carrying an undeniable power:
"If you don't mind, I shall bear witness to today's results."
Sarutobi Sasuke and Senju Touka then recovered, quickly stood up, and bowed to Uzumaki Mito in greeting:
"It is our honor to have Mito-sama as a witness."
After Uzumaki Mito sat down in a nearby seat, the two of them spoke again:
"Now, let the vote-reading begin!"
"Yes!"
The ones responsible for reading the votes were several Chunin who served as teachers at the Ninja Academy; it was their first time participating in such a significant event involving the future Hokage, making them so excited that their voices trembled.
Under the watchful eyes of all the Village's Jonin, three Chunin wearing Konoha Chunin vests and armbands with "Ninja Academy" on their right arms parted the crowd and slowly walked to the very front.
The leader was named "Umino Ikkaku," the father of the future famous "Iruka Umino," but at this time, he was still a somewhat shy young man.
Because he had no Ninja Clans background and his profession had the fewest ties to various factions, he was entrusted with the important task of reading the votes.
He took a deep breath, nodded to his two companions beside him, and in front of everyone, personally opened the sealed ballot box.
His movements were a bit stiff, but his expression was extremely serious, as if he were performing the most sacred ritual of his life.
"Vo... vote-reading begins!"
Umino Ikkaku's voice was slightly dry due to nervousness, but he immediately cleared his throat and successfully steadied his tone.
He extended his slightly trembling hand, took out the first ballot, carefully unfolded it, and read it out clearly, word for word:
"Jonin Sarutobi Sasuke, vote for — Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"Jonin Senju Touka, vote for — Senju Mori."
"Jonin Hatake Shuuichi, vote for — Senju Mori."
"Jonin Homura Mitokado, vote for — Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"Jonin Uchiha Hokaku, vote for — Uchiha Isshin."
"Jonin Akimichi Hiroshi, vote for..."
"..."
Although many people had already anticipated it, upon hearing the name "Uchiha Isshin" called out, quite a few still cast strange glances in the direction of the Uchiha Clan.
The members of the Uchiha Clan, however, paid no heed.
As Umino Ikkaku's vote-reading continued, the other two Chunin took turns recording on a wooden board at the very front.
Whenever a corresponding candidate's name was called, they would use a Kunai to leave a deep mark on the board; in the silent conference room, the sound of the Kunai scraping against the wood was exceptionally clear.
The vote-reading proceeded at a slow and solemn pace; the three Chunin were fully focused, not daring to show any distraction or error, and the more than one hundred Jonin below also watched their actions in unison.
The vote counts alternately rose on the wooden board, and feeling the increasingly fervent gazes from behind him, Umino Ikkaku's Chunin vest was already soaked with sweat.
Whenever he read the names of the "big figures" in the Village, Umino Ikkaku would unconsciously pause slightly to ensure that he would absolutely not make any verbal mistakes.
Umino Ikkaku knew that every word he uttered could affect the future of the Village.
After reading a series of Uchiha Clan ballots, Umino Ikkaku reached for the next one, but when he unfolded it as usual, the handwriting on it made his pupils instantly dilate, and his breathing even hitched.
He almost used all his strength to barely calm himself down, and he loudly read:
"Jonin Nara Shikaku, vote for — Senju Mori!"
This sound exploded in the venue like a cannonball.
"What?!"
Among the Jonin below, some could not help but exclaim in surprise.
Umino Ikkaku was already at his wit's end with nervousness; startled by the sudden surge of sound, the ballot in his hand almost slipped.
He looked somewhat helplessly in the direction of the presiding seats, only to see Senju Touka giving him an encouraging look, while Sarutobi Sasuke immediately shouted:
"Silence! No shouting!"
Umino Ikkaku immediately realized his lapse in composure; he quickly adjusted his breathing, forcing himself to return to his previous state, but the contents of the next few ballots made him gasp again.
"Jonin Nara Tsukasa, vote for — Senju Mori!"
"Jonin Nara Iwago, vote for — Senju Mori!"
"Jonin Nara..."
"..."
"Jonin Nara Shikatsune, vote for — Senju Mori!"
All the Nara Clan's ballots were together, as if they had placed all their clan's votes into the ballot box at once, and they were all uniformly cast for Senju Mori alone.
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