Chapter 161 May Konoha Prosper Forever
Minato then went to Souji's house and informed him that he had submitted his resignation, officially announcing his withdrawal from the competition for Hokage.
Even Souji was quite surprised by this.
Like many others, Minato dreamed of becoming Hokage since childhood.
The five Kage hold unparalleled prestige and authority in their respective ninja villages.
Almost every ten children in a ninja village have aspired to become a Kage, and this aspiration is genuine.
This idea is very strong in the minds of many people.
Minato actually gave up his chance to become Hokage...
However, after Minato's explanation, Souji understood.
This is not simply giving up on dreams, but making a better choice.
Although many battlefields were easily resolved due to Souji's intervention in this major battle, only about three months have passed since the initial outbreak, giving Minato little opportunity to experience much.
However, it was only about ten years since the last Shinobi World War.
Minato was also ten years old at the time and went to the battlefield in the later stages of the war.
However, he was not as unlucky as Tsunade's younger brother, Nawaki.
Minato did not encounter any great danger to his life, but he did witness the deaths and tragedies of many people.
At the age of ten, he was able to understand the sadness and pain of others.
Therefore, for Minato, who is simple and kind-hearted, his proposed ideas and plans could solve the endless war at its root, which was obviously very attractive.
Sure enough, his appeal was so great that Minato turned against the advisors who supported him.
Of course, his personal relationship with Minato also played a role, but this only established the basic level of trust.
Minato had known him since childhood and trusted him enough to immediately accept the ideas he presented.
After all, the things that would change the entire ninja world are far beyond the comprehension of most people; to put it bluntly, they are just empty rhetoric.
Before this, he was able to maintain a roughly 70/30 balance of power with Minato mainly because he had the support of former Hokage Hashirama and Tobirama, and Tsunade was also persuaded by him to return to Konoha.
In the eyes of others, Tsunade was also one of his supporters.
Without the support of these heavyweight figures, let alone a 70/30 split, even a 90/10 split might not be possible.
To ordinary people, he is just a rising star, lacking the trust and prestige accumulated over a long period, and his ideas are far beyond the level of ordinary people.
Without the influence of these influential figures, there wouldn't be many people who would readily accept his ideas.
Konoha, in particular, is the strongest ninja village.
Although it may seem like it has a tough time, compared to other ninja villages, Konoha has always been the winner in the ninja world.
The better off a winner is, the less likely they are to want to change.
Only those who are living a miserable life are the most willing to support change.
Therefore, in Konoha, it was an extremely unfavorable situation for him, and it was very difficult to get support.
But there are no "what ifs" in life.
Being able to meet all sorts of conditions is itself a part of strength.
If his ideas are truly unfounded and impractical, he won't be able to gain the approval and support of these important figures.
First, gain the support of influential figures, and then these people can further influence ordinary people.
This is exactly what it means to gain public support.
According to Minato, after giving up the competition, he would still use his personal identity to persuade the various ninja clans to support the Souji.
With the support of Minato and Jiraiya, the situation was completely reversed.
There are only so many influential people in Konoha.
Although there are certainly more ordinary people who want to maintain the status quo, without a powerful figure to represent them, it's useless if they can't unite.
It's unlikely that they can even get a single person out over there.
However, among those with prestige and qualifications... perhaps only the advisors themselves have taken the stage.
This is clearly a ridiculous thing to do, it's utterly disgraceful.
If we actually did it, it would only make supporters feel very outraged and disappointed, thus undermining their confidence and even changing their minds.
People's thoughts are constantly changing.
Many people hope to maintain the status quo, but in reality, their mindset is just that things are fine as they are now, and they are too lazy to change anything.
Such thoughts are not actually strong.
Originally, Watergate, representing them, defected and even went so far as to lobby them to accept the move, which should have changed many people's minds.
Right now, most people are only supporting him out of respect for those big shots; very few people actually offer him direct assistance.
But that's okay; as time goes by, everyone will eventually accept it.
To be honest, even Souji himself was surprised.
What was initially a rather unfavorable situation has suddenly become so smooth.
It feels almost the same as winning.
Perhaps this is what is meant by "those who are virtuous receive much help."
Just like Hashirama Senju in the past, who gathered together many independent ninja clans and built Konoha Village, bringing the ninja world from the Warring States period into the ninja village era.
The truly right thing may have many twists and turns along the way, but it will always be successfully achieved with the support of many people.
Next, Souji didn't rest either. Like everyone who supported him, he went around lobbying various parties in Konoha for support and explaining his ideas to ordinary Konoha residents.
Although it's called a vote of confidence among Jonin, most Jonin come from various ninja clans.
It's enough to directly persuade the clan leaders and key figures; there's no need to talk to them one by one.
In addition, there are some Jonin from civilian backgrounds.
Many of these people do not belong to any major ninja clans and their daily lives are not much different from those of ordinary residents.
Their orientation is influenced by public opinion in addition to their own thoughts.
Therefore, they try their best to gain more understanding and support from the general public, and the Jonin vote is also crucial.
Although it wasn't all smooth sailing and there were many doubts, the progress was still better than expected.
Konoha may have suffered constant casualties in past wars and in missions and battles that have never stopped.
Just like Tsunade lost her younger brother Nawaki and her lover Dan Kato, there are quite a few people who have had similar experiences.
These people were all tired of the constant fighting; in the words of the original timeline Pain, they were "feeling pain."
There are more such people than expected, which shows that even in Konoha, the strongest ninja village, many people are having a very difficult time due to the constant warfare.
The fact that the conservative faction, after the chaos of Minato's resignation and withdrawal, ultimately nominated a candidate was somewhat unexpected for Souji.
Danzo Shimura.
This major villain of Konoha, for reasons unknown, stepped into the limelight against the norm, attracting support from conservatives and warmongers who believed that fighting was the honor of a ninja, with the slogan "Let Konoha prosper forever".
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End of this chapter...