Uchiha: Starting as Tobirama's Jinchuriki

"They would feel anxious and guilty, just like their evasive responses!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly said:

"Compared to his previous arrogance, when he called himself a demigod of the ninja world, Hanzo now lacks the sharpness he displayed during the Second Shinobi World War. Aozumi has practically trampled his pride into the ground, yet he's instead offering explanations..."

"This shows that Hanzo has no confidence in the war, and the economy of the Land of Wind is worse than imagined."

"And then there are Kirigakure and Iwagakure, two villages that have always been fanatical about war, but now they are in a hurry to announce their internal peace to the ninja world. This can only mean that the conflicts within their villages have also intensified."

"The internal turmoil in Kirigakure may have really reached the point of a ninja clan rebellion, and Iwagakure's population has reached the limit of its economic burden. However, these are things that cannot be said openly, but Aoshui said them. Before there is a suitable excuse to start a war, they need to appease the voices of their own people."

"Only the Cloud Village maintained a relatively firm stance, but Qing Shui bluntly told them that even if they had the technology to master the power of the Tailed Beasts, Konoha was not afraid and ignored their reliance."

"If you were the Hidden Cloud Village, would you rashly start a war against such a confident enemy?"

As Hiruzen Sarutobi explained the situation to Jiraiya, he was somewhat shocked.

The negotiations between the Daimyo of the Land of Wind and Sunagakure, Hanzo's current strength, the status quo of the purge in Kirigakure, and the population burden of Iwagakure—these are all top-secret intelligence in the ninja world. There is only fragmented information, like catching the wind, and no one knows the specific truth.

But judging from their reactions, they seemed guilty as if their weaknesses had been exposed, while Konoha appeared confident and well-informed about the various hidden villages, as if they couldn't wait to start a war.

"If what Qingshui said is true, then their reaction is not surprising..."

Jiraiya muttered to himself, "But how did Aoshui know their information and thoughts?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was unaware of this either.

No matter how advanced Konoha's ANBU intelligence capabilities are, they cannot sneak into the Kazekage's office to peek at the correspondence between the Kazekage and the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, nor can they infiltrate Kirigakure, a secluded village geographically isolated, and they certainly cannot get information about sending spies to Hanzo's side, who has not made a move for a long time.

"Seisui, what a remarkable ninja..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed in a low voice, "He has only just taken over Root and has already obtained this top-secret information."

Jiraiya pursed his lips, wanting to refute the argument, but logic and facts told him that Hiruzen Sarutobi's guess was most likely correct.

But how did the roots suddenly become so powerful?

In Jiraiya's mind, the Root members were okay for carrying out small sabotage missions, but when it came to actual combat, they were not as good as the Anbu...

Could it be that Uchiha Aokiji had only been gone for two days, yet all those Root agents brainwashed by Shimura Danzo had pledged allegiance to him and managed to dig up information about various hidden villages so quickly?

Jiraiya really didn't understand!

"Did you see that? Jiraiya..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi adopted a mysterious demeanor and slowly said, "This is why Aoisui was put in charge of Root!"

"In such a short time, all the intelligence and secrets of the five hidden villages were obtained. Do you think Minato could have done that?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared sharply at Jiraiya, his gaze seeming to say—

This is my perspective as the Third Hokage. You, my student, are still too green!

Jiraiya opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Could Minato Namikaze do that?

Even though he believed his disciple possessed the qualities of a prophet, he could no longer argue with him at this moment.

He repelled the pressure from the five hidden villages and the demigods of the ninja world with a rebuke. This terrifying ability to dig up and control information far surpasses that of Shimura Danzo, who was known as the Dark Lord of the Ninja World…

Minato Namikaze really doesn't have the same abilities as Aozumi.

"Old man, this is different, this is different..."

Jiraiya shook his head and sighed, "I admit that Qingshui is somewhat different from ordinary people. Everyone knows about his rampage that day. He has a secret within him."

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's increasingly dangerous and serious gaze, Jiraiya quickly waved his hand:

"Of course, old man, you told me this is a forbidden area, and I have no intention of exploring Qing Shui."

"But I still have to say, war will still come. Although Qingshui can help the village delay for a while, given their nature, they will ultimately decide on the battlefield..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded: "So, go prepare for battle, Jiraiya."

At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's confidence returned.

Just like Jiraiya, he didn't think that Aozumi could take control of Root so quickly. The ninjas in Root didn't even listen to him, the Hokage, and were only loyal to Shimura Danzo.

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, even he would need to expend considerable effort to control the Root.

But seeing how much success Aoshui had achieved with the Root, Hiruzen Sarutobi realized that Tobirama-sensei must have exerted his influence once again, subtly manipulating Aoshui.

If it were Tobirama-sensei, who had the Root organization under his complete control and obtained hidden information about the various hidden villages, then everything seems to make sense...

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi felt somewhat disappointed about Tobirama's possession of Aoshui's body.

However, thinking about the return of Tobirama Senju, who is even more terrifying than the Nine-Tails, in the future war, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt much less pressure and even felt a little anticipation.

"Jiraiya, your plan to find the Child of Prophecy must be put on hold for now."

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly said, "Didn't you tell me that you were going to take Minato to Mount Myōboku to train and master Sage Mode?"

"If you are still dissatisfied with Aokiji becoming the leader of Root, then in the future war, I will make sure that you and Minato achieve even more brilliant feats than Aokiji and Tsunade."

"As Hokage, I will treat everyone equally. As long as the merit is great enough, Minato Namikaze can be promoted even if it is not in accordance with the usual standards!"

"But from the current perspective, Qingshui has already obtained a lot of extremely valuable intelligence for the village, delaying the outbreak of war. You have no objection to that, do you?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was making empty promises to Jiraiya.

Didn't you say you were dissatisfied with Qingshui becoming the leader of the root tribe?

Then let's compete fairly!

They've already made a good start and contributed; you can't just shut your mouth and expect to become Hokage, can you?

In any case, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't believe that the combination of Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya could compete with the combination of Aosui and Tobirama Senju...

Jiraiya's face flushed red: "What are you saying, old man? As long as it's fair, I'll naturally agree!"

Although Jiraiya had no desire for the Hokage position, he really wanted Minato Namikaze to become Hokage.

Jiraiya was very fond of his student, Minato Namikaze, and Minato also possessed the potential to become the child of prophecy. If he could become the Hokage of Konoha, it would definitely be of great benefit to the future peace of the ninja world…

"I'm going to find Minato right now, old man!"

Jiraiya huffed, "As long as Minato and I master Sage Mode, I'm confident we can deal with those Jinchuriki!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed.

It seems that if his teacher hadn't actively provoked Jiraiya, this kid would still be thinking about finding the Child of Prophecy...

It's time to let the forces of Mount Myōboku do something for Konoha.

"Oh, right, old man, there's something else I need to tell you..."

Jiraiya's eyes flashed, and he said softly, "Minato told me that Kushina's condition hasn't been good lately. She seems to have angered Kurama, and Kurama has been trying to break the seal."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded noncommittally: "That's normal, Jiraiya. Jinchuriki are meant to fight tailed beasts. It would be strange if Kurama remained silent."

He also witnessed Kushina's behavior at Mito Uzumaki's funeral.

If it weren't for Aokiji, Kushina might have been controlled by Kurama and made an irreparable mistake.

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't have any expectations for Kushina; he just wanted her to be the vessel for the Nine-Tails.

As for how to utilize the power of the Nine-Tails, Hiruzen Sarutobi would probably wait until Konoha's second Nine-Tails, Aoshui, had grown up before making a further decision.

Once Tobirama has completed his possession, Kurama's chakra will no longer be a hindrance. At that point, Aokiji might be able to become Kurama's jinchūriki, should the situation become urgent enough...

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't say these words to Jiraiya, as they were too cold.

"Old man, Kurama keeps emphasizing to Kushina that Aozuki's eye power is like Madara Uchiha's, and that there might be a blood relationship between them..."

Jiraiya said hesitantly, "Qingshui's tone seems somewhat similar to that of Uchiha Madara in historical records?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression twisted; he inexplicably felt like laughing.

If Jiraiya were to guess the connection between Tobirama Senju and Aosui, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have to find a way to deflect the question, leaving Jiraiya to keep it to himself.

But if it's related to Madara Uchiha...

It really made him lose his composure.

Tobirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were quite different from each other in many ways, except for their hawkish attitudes towards others…

"Jiraiya, if you take Kurama's words seriously, your brain is about the size of a toad..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, "Get lost. Take Minato to Mount Myōboku for training!"

Jiraiya chuckled awkwardly, nodded, and turned to leave.

He knew that Kurama's words couldn't be taken seriously, but the identity of the Aoshui Uchiha and the hawkish attitude still made him somewhat suspicious.

However, it was only mentioned briefly to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Jiraiya's departing figure, shaking his head and chuckling.

"Tobirama-sensei and Madara Uchiha can be connected? Well, that makes sense. If he were inside an Uchiha's body, he might have become the next Asura of the Shinobi World..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi casually made his comments, since Aoshui couldn't hear him anyway.

"Wait... I remember now, Tobirama-sensei said he wanted to study Madara Uchiha's corpse, but the First Hokage stopped him..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, and his face suddenly turned pale.

Could it be that, besides Uzumaki, Izuna Uchiha, and Tobirama Senju, the forbidden jutsu test subject Aozumi also contained cells from Madara Uchiha?

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a long breath, muttering to himself with a wry smile, "Teacher, your imagination is truly terrifying..."

"If you were to do this, it wouldn't be surprising at all."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head. If Aokiji were to one day reveal Wood Release, seemingly possessing cells from the First Hokage, he wouldn't be too surprised; in fact, he would find it quite reasonable.

After all, the power of Uchiha Izuna and Uchiha Madara was injected into Aomizu's body, so how could the powerful Hashirama-sama be missing?

Now, even if Aozumi possesses the bloodline limit of the Hyuga clan or even an outside village, Hiruzen Sarutobi can accept it.

For Tobirama Senju, if he wanted to obtain these precious bloodline limits, he would always find a way…

Hiruzen Sarutobi realized that Aoshui was his teacher's most insane and perfect creation. No matter how powerful the element was, Tobirama Senju seemed to have added it into Aoshui's body, making it the most terrifying forbidden technique ever created!

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi understood Mito Uzumaki's words even more deeply—

Aoshui is the second Nine-Tails created by Tobirama Senju for Konoha.

Since it is the second Nine-Tailed Fox, the ingredients used by Qing Shui must be extremely abundant, to an extent that no one can imagine.