I have a bunch of relatives who want to become Hokage.

"Danzo, you're too radical. What's important now is internal stability. There are many places in the village that need money." Hiruzen Sarutobi almost blurted out, "I am the Hokage."

That was close, it was too catchy.

The main reason is that I haven't argued with Danzo in so long that it's become a habit.

“Not radical at all. Although the Hannya Clan is just an insignificant little organization, this is a very bad sign. It proves that the village’s deterrent power abroad is declining,” Shimura Danzo said coldly. “So many people risk their lives for the village abroad, yet the village is unwilling to spend a single penny on funding. This is not what a Hokage should do!”

"Huh?" Minato Namikaze was dumbfounded. "Lord Danzo, are you talking about me?"

"Fourth Hokage, I wasn't talking about you, it just slipped out!"

Minato Namikaze: "..."

"You're being unreasonable!" Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his fist on the table in anger.

"I think you've gone senile!" Shimura Danzo stomped his foot and waved his cane angrily.

Koharu and Homura quietly moved further away from each other.

Minato Namikaze looked out the window.

I think I probably won't have lunch today.

"Give 'Root' another ten million taels of silver, no more!"

"Are you kidding me? The Hannya Clan cost me two million ryo, ten million? That's not even enough for Root's monthly expenses. Let me tell you, Hiruzen, the Iwa and Kumo ninja have been keeping an eye on the village the whole time!"

"How did you manage to spend two million taels of silver from such a small organization as the Prajna Sect? Did you embezzle it again?"

"What do you mean 'again'? Hiruzen, which eye of yours saw me embezzle funds?"

"Does this even need looking? Two million! Do the Prajna disciples even deserve it?"

"Ask the Fourth Hokage; it was him who approved the order!"

Minato Namikaze: "..."

What's going on here? Why is he being brought up so much today?

"Minato, is that really true?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Minato Namikaze with doubt.

That can't be right. What kind of people are the Prajna disciples? Could they be worth two million taels of silver?

“Indeed, we took many factors into consideration.” Minato Namikaze gave a wry smile. “On the one hand, they killed the village’s ninjas, which had a very bad impact. On the other hand, the information that they possessed a secret realm has also been confirmed to be true.”

"That doesn't need to be two million taels, it's too expensive." Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a little pained, but he still agreed with Minato Namikaze's judgment.

Regarding the information about the secret realm, the ninjas who killed the village will definitely be met with a strong counterattack.

Hiruzen Sarutobi is a man who takes military action with caution, but that is on the condition that the opponent is one of the other four major ninja villages.

With such an opponent, if things aren't handled properly, it could result in tens of thousands of lives being lost on both sides.

Prajnaparamita? Sorry, I'm not worthy of his caution.

"By the way, who is the ninja who carried out the mission?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.

“It’s Uchiha Shingen,” Minato Namikaze said. “You know Shingen. Actually, this mission is also to observe him closely.”

“Oh…” Hiruzen Sarutobi’s gaze changed. “That young man whom the Kirigakure ninja are very wary of.”

“Indeed, Root has found out that Uchiha Shingen’s reputation in Kirigakure is even higher than that of Uchiha Shisui,” Shimura Danzo said coldly, still angry. “The bloodline limit ninja clans in Kirigakure are demanding that all their ninjas avoid him.”

"So, his 'Ice Release' is indeed a bloodline limit." Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up his pipe. "The Uchiha clan has so many geniuses..."

"This can't be described as just 'genius' anymore." Shimura Danzo coldly interrupted his friend. "He changed the ironclad rule that the Sharingan cannot copy bloodline limits. Two million ryo, digging out his secrets, is that enough?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi ignored him. He knew this old guy too well; responding now would only embolden him.

Hmph, even if I'm not Hokage anymore, you can't win an argument with me! I'm not going to argue with you at all!

"Minato, what do you want to observe about him?"

"Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I always feel there's something wrong with the description of his teleportation technique in the intelligence."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was puzzled at first, then surprised.

The same applies to Danzo Shimura and others.

They were all seasoned veterans in this ninja world, and in their minds, nothing was impossible.

Even the slightest possibility is possible.

Their teacher used to like to use a certain technique in combination with the Body Flicker Technique. If they didn't know this, many enemies would have thought they died from the Body Flicker Technique.

Even now, many people in the ninja world still believe that the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, is using the Body Flicker Technique, which is considered outrageous.

“Is that possible…” Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and looked at his old friend.

"The Flying Thunder God Technique is a technique that our teacher created during the Warring States period. The Uchiha clan knows this. That man may have copied it with his Sharingan. Although he may not have been able to grasp the essence of the Flying Thunder God Technique, we must be wary!"

“Indeed, there is still such a possibility…” Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a headache coming on.

Silence fell over the Hokage's office.

Meanwhile, in the distant Land of Stone, Uchiha Shingen fell silent as he gazed at the scene before him.

"This is the entrance you were talking about?" He coldly looked at the Jonin of the Hannya Clan beside him. "I told you, this information wasn't my main mission. It's just an extra million taels of silver. Are you trying to make fun of me?"

Chapter Four: Finding the Entrance

Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest are the three most famous secret locations for the transmission of Sage Mode in the Naruto world.

Don't get me wrong, they didn't become famous because of the Three Ninjas; these three secret realms were already well-known long ago.

What appeared before Uchiha Shingen was an extremely deep loess ditch, with countless cave dwellings on both sides.

Isn't this just a bluff? Drilling through every single cave?

If he hadn't habitually verified it with his Sharingan first, he would have really thought they were just messing with him.

Unfortunately, the Sharingan can detect lies but not perform detailed soul searches, otherwise there would be no need to ask.

"It is indeed this place. We found it by following the natural energy overflowing from the earth," said the Jonin of the Hannya Clan.

He was also very frustrated. If it weren't for his family who were still on the run, would he have been so quick to tell them the place the organization had been searching for for so long?

"Your organization actually has someone who can sense natural energy? Even if it's just an overflowing talent, that's still quite remarkable." Uchiha Shingen was skeptical. "If you have that ability, why don't you go in yourself and wait until now?"

“Not only us, but there is also a special race that is born with the ability to sense and absorb the natural energy circulating in the earth. We found them through them.”

"What about that 'special clan'? Don't say I look down on you, your level is no match for a ninja who can use natural energy."

“We followed them secretly and didn’t have any conflicts with them,” the Jonin of the Prajna Sect honestly admitted. “There was one time when we almost got into a fight, but after they learned our purpose, they ignored us.”

Of course they wouldn't pay attention. How could natural energy be so easily controlled? This is something that is granted by innate talent.

However, the clan mentioned by the Hannya clan is very likely the clan that Jugo belongs to. This clan has long lived in a place where natural energy overflows from the land, and passively acquired a portion of the power of Sage Mode. Orochimaru found Ryuchi Cave through this clan.

During the thousand-year Warring States period, ninjas were not only familiar with natural energy, but were extremely familiar with it, and they coveted this power.

The Ten-Tails, which was resurrected in the original timeline, was able to manipulate the natural energy circulating between heaven and earth at will, making its power immeasurable.

But as familiar as she is, she is naturally a lady and wouldn't casually go to a hotel with anyone.

The three secret realms are famous because their immortal techniques correspond to three different circulating mediums of natural energy.

Soil, water, and air.

Yongchi Cave is "earth", Shikkotsu Forest is "water", and Mount Myoboku is "air".

Theoretically speaking, if someone could simultaneously acquire the inheritance of these three secret realms, then he could obtain natural energy from any corner of this world.

Hashirama Senju was such a remarkable person, even though he may not have obtained his secrets from the three great secret realms.

After all, this guy has never found ninjutsu difficult since he was a child, and what he knows is something others can't learn. If you ask him to teach, he'll say, "First do it like this, then like this, and then do it like this... Huh? Why didn't you use it?"

Not only ninjas, but also powerful ordinary people knew about the existence of natural energy.

Of the three great secret realms, Mount Myōboku is the most famous and the most known. Every year, countless people flock to Mount Myōboku in search of the Labyrinth Mountain. But even if you find the Labyrinth Mountain, you can't enter Mount Myōboku without the permission of those toads.

Shikkotsu Forest has virtually no information about itself to the outside world, but it once had close ties with the Uzumaki Clan and the Hozuki Clan.

Yongji Cave has a rather unique reputation; it's relatively easy to enter, but quite difficult to get out.

The toads of Mount Myoboku are very shrewd; they like to cultivate nepotism. Getting in actually requires connections, but once you get in, you can come back. Their safety is top-notch, otherwise so many people wouldn't want to take their test.

The slugs in Shikkotsu Forest are rather sedentary; they find moving too troublesome. Even if you find one, it will probably ignore you, making you think you've come to the wrong place. Your safety level is off the charts, since you can't even get into the exam hall.

In short, there is absolutely no danger in either of these secret realms unless the guest is deliberately courting death.

The giant snakes of Ryūji-dō are the only ones who are very hospitable, but they don't care much about the visitors' experience. In other words, Ryūji-dō doesn't rely on tourism for its livelihood, otherwise it would have gone bankrupt long ago.

No, they rely on tourism for their livelihood, and it's a one-off business.

In the contemporary ninja world, only Orochimaru fought back and forth in that battle.

Even so, Ryuchi-dong is still considered one of the three great sacred sites of sage arts, along with Mount Myoboku and Shikkotsu-rin.

No wonder the Prajna disciples were so excited after finding traces of Ryuchi Cave.

Even if they aren't killed by Konoha, they might be killed by Orochi.

"Have you located all these cave dwellings?" Uchiha Shingen asked.

“No need for location tracking, this is the place. This is the entrance, and you can enter Ryuchi Cave from anywhere,” said the Jonin of the Hannya Clan. “This is a message left by another Jonin in our organization. He can sense the natural energy overflowing from the earth.”

"What about others?"

"He hasn't come back..."

Very good, this is very Ryūji-dō.

“Take me to the place where he left his message.”

The Jonin of the Prajna Sect nodded and jumped down.

Uchiha Shingen followed behind him, all the way down to the bottom of the ditch, where they stopped in front of a cave.

You wouldn't notice it from up there, but this cave dwelling is indeed quite special.

The entrance to the cave dwelling is a fairly regular doorway, with a large cave opening at the center, and six smaller cave openings arranged in a semi-circle from left to right.

On the loess wall on one side of the kiln, there is a mark.

Although the entrance to the secret realm is mysterious, there won't be any situation where you accidentally step into the wrong place and "oops!"