Naruto: Help Madara rejuvenate and launch a counterattack on Konoha

After the three annoying old guys left, the Third Hokage sat in his seat and looked at the portraits of the First Hokage and the Second Hokage on the wall.

Minato knocked on the door when he heard the Third Hokage begin processing documents, and the Third Hokage let them in.

"It's a water gate!"

The Third Hokage smiled and smoked a cigarette. Seeing Minato's sunny face, full of vitality and the state of all things, the Third Hokage knew that his persistence was meaningful.

People grow old and die. If he and Danzo and the others never grow old or die, then Minato and the younger generation will never be able to be given important positions.

When you get old, you should make room for others!

Minato did not mention the previous incident with Liaowu again, as his teacher Jiraiya had already explained the details.

Even if Liao Wu explodes into fragments, his forbidden technique will not be leaked in the slightest.

Minato came to the Hokage's office to request to go to the front lines, as the Hidden Mist Village was now the only remaining opponent for Konoha in the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Kirigakure consistently avoided a decisive battle with Konoha, instead harassing the Land of Fire along the coastline, which undoubtedly annoyed Konoha's leadership.

Minato's high mobility is undoubtedly the key to dealing with Kirigakure's harassment. With Minato not stationed at the front line, Kirigakure's morale has been rekindled in the past few days.

The Third Hokage tapped the table and nodded: "Alright, Minato, thank you for your trouble. Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru are all troublesome, and Konoha still needs a young man like you to carry the load."

Minato scratched his head and smiled somewhat awkwardly.

The Third Hokage looked at Kakashi behind Minato, whose face was expressionless, as if he were a recluse lost in his own world.

The Third Hokage comforted him, saying, "Kakashi, your left eye holds the bond with Obito. You can't remain forever immersed in the memory of his passing."

"I understand, Hokage-sama!"

Kakashi nodded.

Seeing that Rin wanted to say something but hesitated due to her status, the Third Hokage asked, "Rin, just ask whatever you want to ask. I'll answer you."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

Lin asked the question that had been bothering her: "Did Lord Liaowu really kill his fellow villagers to research forbidden techniques? Lord Liaowu is such a good person. I used to see him feeding stray cats all the time."

The Third Hokage sighed and said that the official explanation for Liao Wu's death was that he knew he was guilty of serious sins and committed suicide at the Kannabi Bridge.

This is considered as saving face for Liao Wu and the Uchiha clan.

The Third Hokage stood up, looked out the window in the direction of the Uchiha clan, and said, "Rin, if you want to truly understand a person, it's not enough to just look at them. People are three-dimensional, living beings; how can you claim to understand someone based on just one angle or one perspective?"

"Liao Wu may be kind, but he can also become cruel for the sake of his ambitions."

The Third Hokage thought of Orochimaru, and a shadow crossed his brow. After Tsunade and Jiraiya returned, they both suggested that the Anbu investigate Orochimaru.

The report from the Anbu mentioned that Orochimaru really wanted to obtain Liaowu's forbidden technique.

For years, Orochimaru has been secretly researching something on his own, including human experimentation and the study of forbidden techniques. Orochimaru has probably been doing it too!

However, one cannot speculate without evidence. At this critical juncture, the war is not over yet, so Orochimaru can only appease him and not push him too far.

After Minato left with Kakashi and Rin, the Third Hokage called out to the Anbu inside the Hokage Building:

"Renkawa, go and fetch Jiraiya."

"yes!"

After Jiraiya entered the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage said with some helplessness, "Jiraiya, next time don't try to seduce young girls by transforming into Ryougo. It'll only make the Anbu misunderstand."

Jiraiya reverted to his original form and laughed awkwardly, "Isn't it because that kid is handsome? When we were kids, he loved to transform into me and steal girls' underwear from the women's bathhouse."

The Third Hokage smoked a cigarette, feeling a slight tightness in his chest. Jiraiya was probably the most heartbroken by the death of Ryougo.

They were such good friends when they were in school.

Jiraiya had considered having the summoning scroll from Mount Myōboku signed by Ryōe, but he thwarted the idea by citing the political threat posed by the Uchiha clan.

"Jiraiya, Ryougo is dead. It's time for you to mature."

"Yes, Liao Wu is dead."

Jiraiya was momentarily stunned and dazed, then slowly straightened up and asked, "Old man, what do you want with me?"

"Only Kirigakure is causing trouble at the front lines; Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure clearly don't want to fight anymore. Does it matter whether I go or not?"

The Third Hokage tapped the table with his pipe and said, "I didn't call you here to go to the front lines. I want you to secretly investigate Orochimaru."

"..."

Jiraiya was taken aback, his expression unusually serious: "You've also noticed Orochimaru's strange behavior?"

The Third Hokage nodded: "After Orochimaru returned, I ordered him to rest at home, but he actually attacked and injured an Anbu member. I don't know where he went."

"We can't afford to confront Orochimaru head-on at this crucial moment. We're counting on you, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya nodded: "Okay, I will investigate Orochimaru. But teacher, if Orochimaru really develops a forbidden technique like Liao Wu's, will you treat him the same way you treated Liao Wu?"

"..."

The Third Hokage was speechless, suddenly realizing that he wasn't so fair after all.

His own disciples were different from the Uchiha.

Jiraiya stopped pressuring the Third Hokage and asked, "Where's Tsunade? Where did Tsunade go?"

The Third Hokage followed up on Jiraiya's topic, saying, "Tsunade, you gave this old man a hard time the other day, I guess you're gambling somewhere?"

"You three are all so irresponsible. Even someone like you makes things easy for me. In that respect, I'm really not as good as the Second Hokage!"

Konoha Izakaya.

Kushina accompanied Mikoto and Itachi to find Tsunade, who was completely drunk.

Shizune stayed by Tsunade's side as her personal servant.

Because Tsunade and Dan couldn't fall in love, there was no need for Tsunade to adopt Shizune. Shizune was bought by the Senju family to be Tsunade's personal maid.

Shizune bowed very politely to Kushina and Mikoto: "Lady Kushina, Lady Mikoto."

Kushina gently patted Shizune's head: "Shizune, we're here to see Lady Tsunade."

Shizune looked at Tsunade, who was slumped over the table, somewhat embarrassed: "I'm sorry, Lady Tsunade—"

The three of them, seeing Tsunade like this, didn't know what to say.

To everyone's surprise, Tsunade wasn't drunk at all. She got up and glanced at Kushina and the others, focusing particularly on Mikoto and Itachi.

Mikoto's eyes were a little red, as if she had been crying, while the young Itachi remained calm. It could be said that his ninja skills were much higher than those of the two Jonin, Kushina and Mikoto.

This made Tsunade glance at Itachi again.

Mikoto spoke up: "Lady Tsunade..."

Tsunade waved her hand, interrupting Mikoto: "I know what you want to ask. Come with me!"

As Tsunade walked along Konoha's commercial street, she recounted the details of Ryoubu's death to Mikoto.

She didn't hide anything at all, and didn't care that Kushina and Mikoto were best friends.

Kushina felt a little embarrassed. The matter of Ryougo was a secret, and Minato hadn't told her about it either.

Her husband killed her best friend's brother—can they still get along in the future?

Kushina secretly glanced at Mikoto, who lowered her head, and when she looked up again, her blood-red three-tomoe jade seemed to devour hearts.

Kushina was startled.

"Mikoto—"

Mikoto quickly deactivated her Sharingan and apologized to Kushina, "I'm sorry, Kushina, I just... I just..."

Mikoto couldn't quite put her finger on it; she seemed to be trying to express the sadness deep within her, and the power in her eyes was almost impossible to suppress.

Love grants the Uchiha clan power, but it also causes them to lose their beloved.

Itachi grabbed Mikoto's hand and said firmly, "Mom, Jonin Minato is right!"

"Itachi—"

Mikoto stared in shock at the single-tomoe Sharingan in Itachi's pupil.

Awakening the Sharingan at such a young age is a source of pride for the Uchiha clan, but it is also a kind of original sin!

Mikoto turned her head and looked at Tsunade with some wariness.

Tsunade crossed her arms and sneered, "No need to be wary of me. What kind of genius haven't I seen?"

Tsunade stared at Itachi and said, "Kid, tell me, why is it that Jonin Minato wasn't wrong? He killed your family!"