Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 120 What about Naruto's parents' inheritance?

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened, and he exclaimed in surprise, "I remember now!"

"You caused quite a commotion back then and injured many villagers."

Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed sheepishly, "Haha, back then I had just listened to my mother and thought it was incredibly cool and awesome, even the mask couldn't suppress my impulse."

"I'm so sorry, Jonin Sarutobi, I caused you a lot of trouble back then."

Jiraiya thought of Kushina and was speechless.

After being taught a lesson by Scarlet Pepper, Naruto only caused trouble for a few days. Naruto's true nature is so kind.

But this kind-hearted child harbored deep resentment towards Hiruzen Sarutobi, and was even unwilling to call him "Third Hokage," which shows how badly he was bullied.

Even if it's just one piece of evidence, it's enough to show just how badly Hiruzen Sarutobi performed as Hokage.

Suddenly, Jiraiya lost confidence in persuading Tsunade to return.

Jiraiya, fulfilling the prophecy of the Toad Sage, voluntarily left Konoha Village to travel the world in search of the Chosen One.

However, Tsunade was heartbroken and completely disappointed with the Third Hokage and Konoha Village, which is why she left the village and numbed herself with gambling and alcohol.

Jiraiya secretly glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi and thought: Sarutobi-sensei is not dead yet, he has only stepped down. Will Tsunade really come back?

That seems difficult.

"Naruto, who's your older brother?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was concerned with something different from Jiraiya. He wanted to know who Naruto's older brother and sister were, as well as who his adoptive parents were. He couldn't tolerate that Naruto, who wasn't Hokage, was so close to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Naruto Uzumaki revealed a dangerous smile: "Jonin Sarutobi, you want to deal with my older brother?"

"Okay, go ahead and give it a try."

"But you definitely can't beat Brother Xia Zuo on your own."

"Or you could try to see how many Konoha ninjas you can command to attack Brother Xia Zuo?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed drastically: "Xia Sa, the Wood Release ninja Xia Sa?"

"So your older sister is Uchiha Izumi, the head of the Uchiha clan?"

Naruto Uzumaki proudly raised his head: "Of course, Izumi-neechan is both gentle and powerful."

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a wave of weakness wash over him. It turned out that Natsume had been planning the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki all along, and had even taken Naruto away to live with him two years ago, without him knowing anything about it.

That's absolutely terrifying.

Moreover, the combination of Natsumi Sasuke from the Senju clan, Izumi Uchiha from the Uchiha clan, and Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, is just too powerful.

Judging from the current situation, as long as Xia Zuo becomes Hokage, he can secure his position as the Fifth Hokage, and there will be no challengers in Konoha Village.

Even if another Konoha ninja became the Fifth Hokage, they would not be able to suppress this trio and would easily be sidelined by Natsume and Sasuke, becoming a Hokage in name only.

This is very likely to happen, just like how Hiruzen Sarutobi is a fictional character based on the Fourth Hokage, and how Sasuke Natsumi is a fictional character based on Hiruzen Sarutobi.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi could never convince himself to let Natsume become the Fifth Hokage.

Xia Zuo is too young, much younger than Sarutobi Asuma, and he clearly has a prejudice against the Sarutobi clan, his attitude comparable to that of Sarutobi Hiruzen towards the Uchiha clan.

After he takes power, the Sarutobi clan will have no chance at all.

The more this was the case, the more Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that Tsunade was the most suitable Fifth Hokage.

Tsunade was the last known member of the Senju clan and a disciple of the Third Hokage. Even though she had been living outside of Konoha for a long time, she was still the most qualified ninja to become the Fifth Hokage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi believes that the most ingenious thing is Tsunade's identity, which should be able to suppress the combination of Natsume and Izumi Uchiha.

Jiraiya, who has no interest in the Hokage position, has a deep bond with Tsunade. He can use this teacher-student relationship to win over Naruto and pull the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki away from Sasuke.

Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi cried out, "It was my fault in the past. My poor arrangements delayed Naruto. I'm sorry to Minato Namikaze and I'm sorry to Naruto."

"Jiraiya, you will stay in Konoha and become Naruto's teacher, making up for all the mistakes I've made over the years—"

Naruto Uzumaki laughed and gestured to stop Hiruzen Sarutobi's request: "Jonin Sarutobi, stop!"

"This isn't about making amends; your goal is to have Jiraiya-sama steal my approval and make me stop listening to Natsume-sama."

"If you really want to make amends, then return my father and mother's inheritance to me."

"Sarutobi Jonin, you can't possibly be unaware of where my father's money went, can you? And the Uzumaki Sealing Technique that my mother inherited from Lady Uzumaki Mito—you were the one who handled all of that personally."

"Where did you put them all?"

Jiraiya, who was genuinely interested in taking on Hiruzen Sarutobi as a disciple after hearing his words, realized his mistake after hearing Naruto Uzumaki's words.

His eyes widened in anger, and he couldn't help but shout, "Teacher! What about Minato's legacy? What about Kushina's legacy?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi never expected that Naruto would not only let go of so many grievances but also directly inquire about his parents' inheritance. He hesitated for a long time but could not utter a single word.

Jiraiya and the ninjas watching from the next building were completely baffled by Hiruzen Sarutobi's embarrassment and hesitation.

The Fourth Hokage entrusted his affairs to the Third Hokage. When the Third Hokage grew up and reunited with his parents, he came to ask for the inheritance. Just give it to him.

How can it be so slow?

Because he can't afford it.

Minato Namikaze had already spent all his money.

Konoha suffered heavy losses during the Nine-Tails' Nightfall and needed to provide relief and rebuild. It also faced the threat of war from Kumogakure, requiring money everywhere.

In a desperate situation, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but borrow money from the "dead."

The so-called "dead" are those unfortunate ninjas who died in battle and left no descendants or were just an orphan.

Hiruzen Sarutobi not only used their pensions, but also their inheritance.

At first, he thought he could pay it back when he had the money, but things just didn't go as planned. One crisis after another occurred, and the hole in his finances grew bigger and bigger.

Before they knew it, all the money from the "dead" had been spent. It wasn't just Minato Namikaze's money, but also the money of many, many Konoha ninja who had sacrificed their lives.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was preoccupied with trivial matters every day, so he had no spare energy to make money.

The hole gradually grew bigger and bigger, and he couldn't pay it back at all, so he simply pretended it never happened.

Even when he sees the orphans of heroes suffering because of lack of money, he can habitually ignore it.

Kushina Uzumaki's legacy mainly consists of the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques. These techniques still exist, but they have long been dispersed among the sealing teams in Konoha Village and various clans.

Ironically, the most essential part of the Whirlpool Sealing Technique is held by the Sarutobi family.

So many years have passed, and Hiruzen Sarutobi has gotten used to taking these things for granted, never imagining that he would have to return them to someone else.

So he made no preparations whatsoever, and didn't even arrange for anyone to make a copy.

If we were to return it to Naruto now, the Sarutobi clan would be gone. How could that be?