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

If it were Naruto, their relationship wouldn't be so friendly.

But as for the others, who exactly attacked Shisui—the masked man or someone else from the village?

At that moment, a name suddenly flashed through Jiraiya's mind: Danzo, the leader of the Root organization. Danzo had always advocated for the elimination of the Uchiha clan and had always appeared with bandages, never revealing his true face.

Could it be that Naruto discovered Danzo's dark deeds, which is why he no longer believes in the Will of Fire?

Seeing Jiraiya deep in thought, Kakashi suddenly smiled and said, "Lord Jiraiya knows more secrets than I do. Have you thought of some crucial information? Could you tell me?"

"It reminded me of some things..."

Jiraiya's expression turned somewhat grim. He hadn't expected that Danzo would become even more outrageous after he left the village, actually coveting the bloodline limits of the village's ninjas. His so-called proposal to restrict the Uchiha clan was probably more for his own benefit.

What he found even more unacceptable was that the Third Hokage tacitly approved of all of this.

It was precisely because of this attitude that Tsunade chose to leave, and Orochimaru eventually defected. While Orochimaru's act of becoming a rogue ninja was certainly wrong, Danzo's mistakes were no less than Orochimaru's.

The two whispered to each other caught Sasuke's attention, and he asked curiously, "Kakashi-senpai, Jiraiya-sama, do you know Itachi's whereabouts?"

Jiraiya looked at Sasuke and nodded: "I know your hatred, but with your current strength, you can't possibly beat Uchiha Itachi. He's incredibly strong."

Just how strong is it?

Jiraiya was somewhat conflicted, but ultimately chose Kakashi as the unit of combat power: "Stronger than Kakashi! You have to defeat Kakashi first before you can consider dealing with Uchiha Itachi."

Sasuke glanced at Kakashi, then nodded slightly.

After giving Sasuke a perfunctory answer, Jiraiya and Kakashi exchanged some information.

Upon hearing that Shisui was not dead but still alive, Kakashi was somewhat surprised, but his surprise did not last long before he began to discuss other matters.

Frankly speaking, whether the Uchiha rebelled voluntarily or was forced into rebellion has little to do with him.

What he was really concerned about was the truth behind the White Fang incident, and the destruction that the Third Hokage and Danzo had caused to the village over the years.

While incidents like the Cloud Village delegation incident and the Uchiha Night incident may have brought stability to the village on the surface, their impact on the surface is enormous. They could cause the Will of Fire to lose its purity and erode trust between the Hokage Building and the ninja clans.

After the discussion, Jiraiya and Kakashi each gave Sasuke some pointers on his training.

For them, Sasuke's identity is crucial; he serves as a channel for communication with Uzushio Village and is also important evidence for attacking Danzo, the Third Hokage, and others.

Suddenly, a puff of white smoke rose up beside Jiraiya, and a toad appeared on the ground carrying a letter.

Jiraiya opened the letter and saw that it was sent by Fukasaku, and the message was very simple: the Great Toad Sage had awakened and he needed to go to Mount Myōboku as soon as possible.

Chapter 132 The Future of Whirlpool Village

The sky over Mount Myoboku was as blue as ever.

This place is far from human settlements and is filled with natural energy that is difficult for ordinary people to withstand.

Fukasaku stared at Jiraiya for a long time before slowly asking, "Little Jiraiya, did you find the whereabouts of the Child of Prophecy during your trip? Otherwise, the Great Sage would not have awakened from his slumber."

Jiraiya paused for a moment, then said with a hint of helplessness, "I have found a person who is suspected to be the Child of Prophecy. He is my grand-disciple, Minato's child, and the former Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

"Minato's child, that's truly a good thing..."

At this moment, Fukasaku seemed to realize something and looked at Jiraiya with a puzzled expression: "Wait, the former Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? He's no longer a Konoha ninja?"

Jiraiya nodded and said with a wry smile, "For various reasons, Naruto left the village, and although I found him, he didn't need this old man's guidance at all."

"Little Jiraiya, if I remember correctly, Naruto should still be a child now."

"He is a child, no doubt, but he surpasses me in both strength and status. I even suspect that he has already gained the Nine-Tails' approval and is the perfect Jinchūriki."

After a pause, Jiraiya continued, "Perhaps this is the child of prophecy, who doesn't need guidance from anyone else at all."

Fukasaku frowned. He thought of the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, which was almost the most unpredictable prophecy he could remember. But he couldn't imagine Jiraiya becoming the village's leader.

After chatting for a while, Fukasaku brought Jiraiya to meet the Great Toad Sage.

The giant toad sage, wearing a doctoral cap and Buddhist prayer beads around his neck, was much more awake this time. After glancing at Jiraiya a few times with his murky eyes, he said with a smile, "Little Jiraiya, have you met the Child of Prophecy?"

Jiraiya was slightly taken aback, then said, "I have met the Child of Prophecy. It was a bit different from what I had imagined. He doesn't seem to need my guidance, and he is excessively strong."

The Great Toad Sage scoffed, "That's what makes the Child of Prophecy special. Without special abilities, how could he change the future of the ninja world?"

After squatting down for a moment, the Great Toad Sage continued, "However, since this Child of Prophecy doesn't need guidance, let's guide another Child of Prophecy. The other Child of Prophecy is still in Konoha Village."

"There's more than one child of prophecy?" Jiraiya asked, puzzled.

The Great Toad Sage nodded: "Of course, there is more than one Child of Prophecy. Every era has ninjas who can guide the trend and change the future; they are all Children of Prophecy."

After pondering for a moment, Jiraiya said, "You mean, Nagato and Minato are also children of prophecy?"

"That's true, but they all failed. They could become big figures who influenced the ninja world for a time, but they couldn't change or save the future of the ninja world."

“You’ve never told me these things before…” Jiraiya frowned for the first time.

“I thought you would understand this on your own, but in the end I still had to remind you. However, it’s not too late to understand now. It’s not too late to go and find another prophetic child.”

The Great Toad Immortal, contrary to his usual behavior, no longer spoke in his mystical manner.

Jiraiya was silent for a few seconds, then slowly said, "Great Sage, I understand. I will immediately go to find the other Child of Prophecy and bring him to Mount Myōboku."

After saying that, Jiraiya left the Toad Temple without saying a word.

Fukasaku looked at the Great Toad Sage and said in a low voice, "Great Sage, weren't you a little too harsh on Jiraiya just now... He's been working diligently for Mount Myōboku."

The giant toad revealed a lingering curiosity, gave Fukasaku a deep look, and said calmly, "Little Fukasaku, I can no longer see the future of the ninja world."

Fukasaku exclaimed in horror, "Is the ninja world going to be destroyed in the future?"

The Great Toad Sage shook his head: "That's not it. It's just that I've lost the ability to predict the future. That's why I'm so eager to send Jiraiya to find a new child of prophecy."

The Great Toad Sage's search for the prophesied child has always been, in fact, a search for the reincarnation of Asura.

Ashura gained the Sage of Six Paths' approval and inherited most of the Sage's power. However, now that Ashura has encountered problems, he has no choice but to settle for second best and seek out the reincarnation of Indra.

……

Inside Wochao Village, a high-level meeting was held.

This meeting is a summary of the development of Uzushio Village over the past six months, and also a plan for the development of the Land of Whirlpools over the next three years.

Although Naruto is generally a hands-off leader, he still participates in these crucial meetings to avoid the awkward situation where the first Hokage of a village is actually in power while his younger brother is in charge.

The current chaotic situation in Konoha Village, with its lack of capable leaders, is the responsibility of the Third Hokage and other high-ranking officials. Even the First Hokage, who was supposed to be a hands-off leader, cannot escape responsibility, as he almost entirely relies on his personal strength to maintain a fragile peace.

The meeting's general direction was simple: first, to develop education within the country; and second, to develop the economy.

As for the most crucial military force, there's no need to rush for now. As long as we have something comparable to the Tailed Beast Ball Rasengan, we don't need to worry about a direct invasion from other major powers.

Regarding education, Naruto suggested nine years of ninja training and prohibiting early graduation.

Shisui frowned slightly at the number nine and said, "Lord Menma, isn't nine years of education a bit too long? Most ninja villages currently implement six years of education, and prohibiting early graduation is not conducive to the development of geniuses..."

Uzumaki Kamon nodded, agreeing with Shisui's point of view.

Nine years is far too long. It only takes about two years to train a child with chakra into a qualified mercenary ninja. This was the common situation in major ninja villages during the war.

Nine years of education consumes far too many resources; the ninja village simply cannot recoup its costs.

Upon hearing this, Naruto said righteously, "Six years is too short. Ninjas are not expendable resources. Moreover, we are establishing the Land of Whirlpools, not just the village of Whirlpool Village. Ninjas will be dispatched to govern other regions in the future."

"As for graduating early, none of the Konoha ninjas who graduated early were normal. Isn't that a lesson enough?"

Fire Gate and Shisui exchanged glances, then said together, "Lord Menma, we agree with your suggestion, but the village's finances simply do not allow it."

"The budget doesn't allow it, that's definitely a problem... We still need to vigorously develop the economy."

At this point, Naruto also fell into deep thought, unable to think of any good way to develop the economy. Given the locational advantages of the Land of Whirlpools, the best choice would be to develop maritime trade and become an offshore financial center for all the ninja countries.

However, the ninja world version is too outdated, and it's hard to say whether the financial industry has actually developed to this point.

Just then, Uchiha Izumi knocked on the conference room door. After receiving permission, she reported to Naruto, "Lord Menma, the Land of Whirlpools was just attacked by wandering ninjas."

Chapter 133 New Project

A rogue ninja attacking the Land of Whirlpools?

Neither Shisui nor Himon cared much about the news, because it was such a common occurrence. Those wandering ninjas were either driven into the sea or recruited by Uzushio Village and became unofficial members.

Zabuza volunteered, saying to Naruto, "Lord Menma, I'm skilled in Water Release. How about I take care of them? I can definitely finish the battle within an hour."

Uchiha Izumi glanced at Zabuza and then reported, "The wandering ninjas have been taken down by the patrol team, but this time the wandering ninja group is a bit strange. They took on a mission and deliberately caused trouble in the Land of Whirlpools."

"Oh, really?" Naruto suddenly became interested and asked, "Which ninja village are they backing?"

Uchiha Izumi shook her head slightly: "The one behind them is not a ninja village, but a wealthy man named Gato. It is said that because we developed maritime trade, we squeezed out Gato's smuggling business, so they set their sights on the Land of Whirlpools."

Upon hearing this, Naruto, Shisui, and the others were all stunned.

They thought it was some powerful enemy, but it turned out to be just a merchant. How dare he provoke the Land of Whirlpools? Even if he's just an ordinary Jonin, he's not someone that ordinary people can mess with.

After learning the details, Naruto glanced out the window, and a smile gradually spread across his face.

Just when they were racking their brains about how to solve their economic problems, the wealthy tycoon Kado came knocking on their door. He was a business giant who had monopolized trade on the east coast of the Land of Fire and controlled an entire country.

Naruto smiled, and Shisui immediately sensed something, speaking up, "Menma-sama, are you planning to take action against Gato? If we can acquire Gato's assets, the village's development for the next few years will be worry-free."

"They provoked us first..."

Naruto corrected Shisui's statement, then said in a low voice, "Moreover, Gato's wealth is built on the exploitation of the people of the Land of Waves. We just went there to help the people drive Gato away."

Shisui paused for a moment, then agreed. Whatever the reason for attacking Gato, as long as it helped the Land of Whirlpools develop, that was enough. He didn't care about such things, just as he didn't care about the Uchiha clan or anyone outside the Land of Whirlpools.

Fire Gate asked with some curiosity, "Lord Menma, will you personally carry out the operation to deal with Kado?"

Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by Himon's words. While searching through his memories about Gato, he discovered several interesting little things.

In the Land of Waves incident, Gato sent people to stop the construction of the bridge in order to monopolize trade, but why didn't he wait until the bridge was built before sending people to destroy it?

Given the poverty of the Land of Waves, there is simply no money to build another bridge.

Another question: after Gato was killed by Zabuza, where did his immense wealth go? Or was the entire plan to take down the Land of Waves a scheme by Konoha?

Without further thought, Naruto tapped the table with his finger: "This time I don't plan to go to the Land of Waves myself. Instead, I'll have Shisui do it for me, and I'll also take Zabuza and Haku with me."

Upon hearing this, Shisui looked surprised.

It's normal to send him to the Land of Waves on a mission. The village can't do without Menma-sama these days. But why bring Zabuza and Haku along? They're both ninja from Kirigakure. Are Kirigakure and the Land of Whirlpools that close?

What Shisui didn't know was that this was simply Naruto's little mischievous quirk.