IV

━━━━━━┓༻❁༺┏━━━━━━

Arc IV Chapter 9

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

Little Asami crossed the labyrinth of dark corridors, making her way back to the arena, which took much longer than expected.

Her failure frustrated, dissatisfied, displeased her. Whether it was due to arrogance or negligence, she had failed to eliminate Orochimaru. How unbecoming of her. Her inattentiveness had cost her victory today and allowed Orochimaru to escape. How annoying. It was a victory that was given away so easily. All because of her negligence, but failure was not acceptable. Failure was not allowed. Failure was not permitted. Failure was a sign of imperfection. Not that it mattered now ... Orochimaru got away.

“...” A heavy sigh escaped Asami. At least, she got a chance to talk with Kakashi, the future Hokage, in person,

What a shame that it wasn't her, but such was fate and village policies, much to her disappointment. She was still far too young and possessed no clan connections. She lacked seniority and the support of the clans. Her accomplishments and exploits were still unknown. Her name didn't carry yet the necessary weight and renown to become reality. It was unfortunate, but such was reality. The odds stacked against her candidature. Thus, only Kakashi remained, for better or for worse. Hiruzen planned to step down again because of his advanced age, designating a new successor who would hopefully survive longer than the Fourth Hokage.  

The regular village council consisted of six members, the Hokage, the three village elders, the jonin and the ANBU commander. They were supplemented by a number of important clan heads. A simple majority was all that as needed to become Hokage.

So far, Hiruzen appeared to remain undecided, still hesitating, still searching for a suitable successor. The ANBU commander obviously favoured Kakashi. Shikaku, the jonin commander, remained neutral. He mostly observed. He rarely acted on his own. 

Homura and Koharu were both an enigma.  They two elders were difficult to read. Danzo, however, was a man of ambition. His lust for power and his dubious methods were well known.  Rumours claimed that he was responsible for a number of mysterious deaths among high ranking Konoha ninja. The rumours were correct. Danzo was behind their deaths, and more. Nobody wanted the old man with his cane to acquire even more power. And yet, the senile old man still wielded much power, maybe far too much. His opinion still carried weight within the village council. 

Danzot loathed Hiruzen and his weakness with every fibre of his being. He would never back Tsunade, nor Jiraiya. They were both Hiruzen’s students. This was the situation. This was how Kakashi would go to become Hokage.

The only question was, did he possess the political acumen, the leadership qualities the village needed? To be honest, she had her doubts.

Because times were changing, and they were changing quickly. Konoha had to move on if it wanted to stand the test of time. The days of the small nations were passing. On the surface, the world of the ninja appeared to be calm, peaceful, but that wasn't the case. The wheels of history never ceased to move. The factors that led to the outbreak of the Third Great War regained momentum now after a decade of peace.

The previous war might have ended, but beneath the surface, old conflicts persisted, conflicts that had never truly ended. The peace among the villages was brittle, nothing more than an illusion, nothing more than a better armistice. The signs were everywhere. The next great war was inevitable. It was only a matter of time until hostilities were about to break out.

Amegakure had grown suspiciously silent in recent years together with the rest of the smaller neighbouring countries, isolating themselves. Kumogakure strengthened their forces. Supported by their strong economy, they proceeded with their unprecedented military expansion. Iwagakure followed suit. Both powers increased their military strength at an alarming rate. Kirigakure represented no major threat, at least for now. They were still weakened by years of the bloody mist, but even Kiri was regaining strength.

Konoha, by contrast, stagnated. Whereas the strength of their enemies increased day by day, Konoha grew weaker. Their sole ally, Sunagakure, suffered from a steady economic and military decline. It was clear that Suna could not be relied on any more. Konoha stood alone these days, surrounded by enemies on all sides. Drastic measures were needed to reverse this situation. Thus, the question, did Kakashi possess the strength to do what was necessary? She didn't know.

Because she certainly did.  She possessed the strength, the determination, the resolution, to lead the village and her fellow villagers, her future underlings ... 

No, pardon, underlings was not the right term. Minions? Nah, not what she wanted. Something more neutral was needed ... Citizens? Nah, too egalitarian. Subjects perhaps? No, too monarchic ... Although the flair of royalty undoubtedly appealed to her.

Because, with all due to respect, the title ‘Hokage’ was definitely lacking. It didn't suit her. Too short. Too simple. It lacked proper decorum. Some refinement was needed. Why not Empress? Why not something like Her Imperial Majesty, Asami I., By the Grace of Heaven Enlightened Empress of the Chrysanthemum Throne, Divine Sovereign of the Land of Fire and of Her other Realms and Territories ... Didn't that sound better? It did.

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━