I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

Danzo did not think so. The Uchiha clan's inexplicable massacre would inevitably alert the other ninja clans.

After losing the Uchiha Guard as a common enemy, the ninja clans and ordinary ninjas will sooner or later become dissatisfied with the Hokage Building. These are all problems that Hiruzen Sarutobi needs to face.

After thinking about this, a glint flashed in Danzo's eyes, and he nodded before leaving the Hokage's office.

In the time that follows, he will not need to oppose Hiruzen Sarutobi. He only needs to do his job well. Once the Hokage loses the trust of the ninja clan and the Jonin, he can start running for the Fifth Hokage.

At the Cloud Village meeting decades ago, he hesitated for half a second and missed the Hokage position.

Decades later, he will make up for the half-second he missed back then through decades of hard work, and prove with his actions that he is more suitable to be Hokage than Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Danzo's quiet departure surprised the Third Hokage, who was prepared to argue his case.

Could it be that even Danzo was disappointed in him? But wasn't Danzo the most hostile towards the Uchiha?

The Third Hokage was too lazy to try and figure out Danzo's thoughts anymore. The news he received from Jiraiya today alone was enough for him to process for a while.

Orochimaru joined the masked man's organization, and Naruto founded Uzushio Village.

If anyone else had reported this information, he would have suspected it was fabricated, but since it was Jiraiya, he had no choice but to believe it and take corresponding action.

First, he ordered Danzo to investigate the Masked Man organization, and second, he informed Sunagakure about the Kazekage's puppet.

The Fourth Kazekage could not ignore the existence of the Kazekage puppet. With such a common alliance, the alliance between Sunagakure and Konoha would be even stronger, thus restraining the actions of Iwagakure.

As for the Land of Whirlpools established by Naruto, he neither acknowledged it nor openly opposed it.

Since Jiraiya said that Naruto has the strength to stand alone, then Naruto can no longer be treated as a child, but rather as a clan force that is semi-independent of Konoha.

Naruto is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and has countless connections with Konoha.

Even if Uzushio Village were established separately, it would be regarded as an extension of Konoha, restraining Kirigakure on the sea and putting great pressure on the chaotic Kirigakure.

In this way, the pressure on the village will be greatly reduced, and it will only need to face the Cloud Village across the sea.

In this respect, although Jiraiya brought back bad news, it was actually good news in disguise. He could retire early and start seriously raising the next generation.

With that in mind, the Third Hokage took out the class roster of Iruka and began to carefully look through it.

In two years, the heirs of these major ninja clans will graduate. We need to plan their future carefully and select suitable Jonin as their instructors, as this is related to the future of Konoha Village.

In contrast, the selection of the Fifth Hokage is not so important; he can be gradually chosen and trained from among the young Jonin.

Since no one is willing to become the Fifth Hokage, he has no choice but to stay in this position. Konoha cannot lose him as Hokage.

……

After leaving the Hokage Building, Jiraiya wandered around the streets of Konoha.

After losing his purpose in life, Jiraiya felt that everything was meaningless. He didn't want to carry out missions, didn't want to write novels, and even lost interest in his hobby of voyeurism.

During this time, Jiraiya also sought out the two sages, Fukasaku and Shima, wanting to visit the Great Toad Sage.

However, the Great Toad Sage has fallen into a deep sleep and is said to be awakening a month later, during which time he must not be disturbed by anyone.

Jiraiya wasn't stupid; he knew that the Great Toad Sage was deliberately avoiding him.

After finding the prophesied child, his role as a laborer searching for the prophesied child naturally became useless, and he was rightfully discarded.

Feeling depressed, Jiraiya went to an izakaya and decided to follow Tsunade's example and numb himself with alcohol.

After downing several jugs of sake, Jiraiya's face turned bright red. He chuckled foolishly and muttered to himself that alcohol really could make him forget his troubles and those unpleasant things.

But as the effects of the alcohol wear off, what remains is an endless emptiness.

Jiraiya's drunken state attracted the attention of many ninjas. They were curious as to why Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, was drowning his sorrows in alcohol, and worried that he might leave Konoha like the other two.

If all three legendary Sannin leave the village, Konoha will lose its last backbone.

Kakashi noticed Jiraiya's drunken state in the crowd, and when it was closing time, he quietly followed Jiraiya's steps, all the way to the park on the street corner.

Sensing footsteps behind him, Jiraiya stopped and looked at Kakashi.

"This is the eighth time you've followed me in a week. If you have something to say, just say it here. There's no need to keep following me."

After saying that, Jiraiya used his chakra to sober up, sat on a park bench, and patted the spot next to him.

Kakashi didn't dare to be negligent and quickly sat down next to Jiraiya, asking cautiously, "Lord Jiraiya, did you not find Naruto this time you went out? Or did Naruto refuse your invitation?"

Jiraiya glanced at Kakashi, sighed, and said, "I found Naruto, but Naruto doesn't want to come back, nor does he want to travel the ninja world with me..."

At this point, Jiraiya hesitated, considering whether or not to tell Kakashi about the situation in Uzushio Village.

Kakashi is White Fang's son and Minato's apprentice, so he is definitely loyal to Konoha. But there's always a chance of something going wrong. If this information is leaked, it will be detrimental to the village and Naruto.

"Just as I predicted, even if you find Naruto, he won't easily agree to your conditions."

"Why do you say that?"

"If Naruto had been successfully persuaded by you, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to leave the village. In order to leave the village, he almost abandoned all his ties."

After a pause, Kakashi continued:

"Therefore, if we want Naruto to return to Konoha, we should find out why Naruto left the village. This is far more important than finding him."

"During this time, I visited many of Naruto's classmates and uncovered a lot of details."

Chapter 129 has talent, but not much.

Jiraiya frowned, sensing a hidden meaning in Kakashi's words. He asked, "What details? Could these details bring Naruto back to the village? His current situation is somewhat unusual..."

"I can't guarantee it either, but these details involve the Hokage..."

Upon mentioning the Third Hokage, Jiraiya's expression changed slightly, and his voice deepened: "Are you implying that it wasn't the villagers who forced Naruto away, but the Third Hokage?"

"The Hokage is definitely primarily responsible; it was his negligence that led to Naruto's departure."

After a brief pause, Kakashi continued, "However, according to my investigation, Naruto learned to respond to malice with malice at a very young age. If it was simply malicious slander from the villagers, it shouldn't be enough to make him leave the village. There must be a deeper reason."

Kakashi's riddle-like behavior annoyed Jiraiya, who quickly said:

"You mentioned this last time. Naruto knew he was Minato's son from a very young age and was even attacked by Minato's former subordinates, which led to his complete disillusionment with the village and his subsequent actions."

"That was my initial thought, but after investigating the village's past, I have a new guess."

"You also investigated the village's past. What does that have to do with Naruto?"

Jiraiya seemed to remember something, and his gaze toward Kakashi gradually turned dangerous. Kakashi's reason for seeking him out wasn't just about Naruto; there must be other motives.

Kakashi pretended not to notice Jiraiya's change in expression and continued:

“A few months ago, we both made the same mistake: treating Naruto like a child. Naruto is not just a student, but a ninja with the strength of an elite Jonin.”

"With his Jonin-level strength and his status as a child, he can conduct many investigations much more easily than we can, and may therefore know many secrets that we don't."

"For example, why Itachi massacred his clan, why Shisui suddenly returned after being missing, and why Minato and Kushina both sacrificed themselves back then... these are the reasons behind it all."

Kakashi's outrageous remarks made Jiraiya narrow his eyes.

After Naruto left the village, his grand-disciple's mentality seemed to have changed.

Or rather, this is Kakashi's true nature: dark, withdrawn, and disbelieving in the Will of Fire. Such a mindset will inevitably lead to major problems.

Kakashi noticed Jiraiya's change in expression and dropped another bombshell:

"Lord Jiraiya, you must have encountered the remaining Uchiha clan members while you were searching for Naruto. They should be with Naruto."

“Naruto is indeed with the Uchiha... but aren’t you being too suspicious?”

Jiraiya hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to tell Kakashi the truth.

Kakashi sneered, "Perhaps it's suspicion, but my experience in the Anbu over the years has made me less inclined to trust the records in the files. It's normal to be a little cautious."

Jiraiya suddenly remembered something and said with a serious expression, "Kakashi, you're investigating these things not just for Naruto, but more for yourself, like the White Fang suicide incident back then."

Kakashi did not deny that he was investigating these old events mainly to find out the truth about his father's suicide back then. However, as the investigation deepened, he discovered many suspicious points in the events and also saw the decay of Konoha Village today.

Seeing that his grand-disciple was acting strangely, Jiraiya finally couldn't help but ask, "What exactly do you want to do?"

Kakashi said with burning eyes, "Investigate the truth behind these incidents, then bring down Danzo Shimura and the Hokage, and choose a ninja who can inherit the Will of Fire to become the Fifth Hokage."

Jiraiya's expression was extremely solemn. He hadn't expected Kakashi to want to bring down the Third Hokage and Danzo.

After a moment's thought, Jiraiya said, "Kakashi, I can pretend I didn't hear you today, but I advise you to give up this audacious idea. You can't possibly complete this plan by yourself."

"That's why I came here to find Jiraiya-sama..."

Kakashi stared intently at Jiraiya, his heart pounding with anxiety, but remembering Jiraiya's unusual behavior over the years, he continued:

"Furthermore, does Lord Jiraiya intend to see the village perish in decay?"

Jiraiya stopped in his tracks, about to refuse Kakashi, but suddenly hesitated.

As one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, he knew a lot about the village's dark secrets, but he was unwilling to expose them because the ninja village needed many underhanded methods to maintain stability.

But over the years, these underhanded methods have not made the village stronger; on the contrary, it has declined further.

The problems he once tried to escape are now coming knocking on his door one by one, leaving him with nowhere to retreat.

He faced a difficult choice: to watch helplessly as the village fell apart under his teacher's leadership, or to gather evidence and become a student who defied his teacher.

……

While Jiraiya was facing a difficult choice, Naruto was receiving instruction from Minato, learning the Flying Thunder God Technique.

After their trip to the Land of Water, the relationship between Naruto and Minato improved considerably, and Minato even offered to teach Naruto the Flying Thunder God Technique.

With a ready-made Flying Thunder God master to guide him, Naruto certainly wouldn't refuse.

Unlike ordinary ninjutsu training, the Flying Thunder God Technique cannot be mastered quickly through shadow clones. It is a ninjutsu that truly emphasizes talent. If you lack talent, you will gain nothing no matter how much time you spend.

As for Naruto's talent in space-time, one could say he has it, but not much.

After receiving half a month of instruction from Minato, Naruto barely learned the Flying Thunder God Technique, but neither his movement distance nor the speed at which he could start the technique was comparable to Minato's.

Kurama's assessment of this was that it felt inferior to the Body Flicker Technique.

The Nine-Tails' assessment is not without reason. Naruto cannot use the Flying Thunder God Technique instantly, and the maximum teleportation distance is only twenty meters. For a ninja, moving twenty meters doesn't even take half a second.

After Naruto used the Flying Thunder God Technique again, Kurama looked at Minato and said bluntly, "Fourth Hokage, are you holding back? Your Flying Thunder God Technique is not on the same level as Naruto's."

Minato said somewhat awkwardly, "Naruto is probably still a beginner, so..."

Kurama glanced at Minato and said calmly, "How long did it take you to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique? Your Flying Thunder God Technique can even transfer my Tailed Beast Ball, but Naruto obviously doesn't have that ability, unless you're definitely holding back."

Minato was speechless. He thought the Flying Thunder God Technique was so easy to learn, so why couldn't Naruto do it...?