Revitalizing the Uchiha clan starts with becoming a Kage.

In negotiations between nations, national strength is the most important foundation and source of confidence. In addition, whoever loses their composure first is very likely to lose the initiative.

"Then let me see if your Hidden Stone Village truly has ulterior motives, or if you're just playing games!"

Tu Tai took a deep breath, and his many thoughts flashed through his mind in just a few seconds. He quickly adjusted his mindset.

However, Darui, who is in the later position, is not so calm. Compared with his appearance in the original work, Darui, who is still very young now, is just as talented as he is now, and has the pride that the five great ninja villages should have.

"You jerk! How rude of you! The man in front of you is Lord Tsuchidai, whose status in Kumogakure is second only to the Raikage. Watch your tone and attitude!"

At this moment, Darui revealed an angry expression that was completely different from his lazy demeanor in the original work. He looked at the general opposite him and shouted sharply.

If those words had been spoken by someone of the same status as the Third Tsuchikage, Darui would have kept quiet no matter how unhappy he was. But it was Shoji, a young man who was only a few years older than him, who was strong. So what?

Their Hidden Cloud Village is not the Hidden Sand Village.

Tsuchida is the highest-ranking strategist in his own village, second only to the Raikage, and has been assisting the Third Raikage for a long time!

Shoji is, after all, a junior in the ninja world. Darui could not tolerate Tsuchida being treated with such tone and attitude time and time again.

And those words had barely left his lips.

Tu Tai's expression immediately changed.

"Da..."

Before Tu Tai could say anything...

"Insolence? Kid, are you talking about me? Then what gives you the right to boss me around?!"

In the opposite seat.

"Buzz!"

Simultaneously, the commander's deep and chilling voice rang out.

Between his pupils, the black and white were no longer visible; instead, a crimson hue appeared, radiating an eerie and dangerous glow.

"!?"

Absolutely breathtaking!

Even at the moment our eyes met.

Darui's pupils suddenly contracted as he felt the immense and terrifying aura emanating from Jiang Si. At that moment, Darui felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow, his heart stopped abruptly, and he experienced an indescribable feeling of suffocation.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, and a sense of fear spread through his heart. Instinctively, Darui was about to draw the blade from behind him.

"Alright! Darui, you've been rude. Apologize right now!"

The timely, deep shout from Tu Tai was like a thunderclap, instantly waking Darui, the super genius of the younger generation of Kumogakure, who suddenly became awake and felt his whole body stiffen.

"I am so sorry, it was my rudeness!"

Darui, instinctively obeying Tutai's words, bowed and apologized.

"Jiang Si-kun, please don't do this. Our Hidden Cloud Village truly has no ill intentions. Whether you accept it or not is your village's free choice. Our Hidden Cloud Village has absolutely no intention of imposing anything on you. Please believe this, Jiang Si-kun and Huang Tu-kun!"

Although at that moment, Tsuchida felt an indescribable sense of unease at the sight of Shoji's astonishing aura, much like when he first faced the fully-formed Eight-Tails of his own village in his youth, and a look of shock involuntarily appeared on his face, Tsuchida was Tsuchida after all. His magnanimity, mental fortitude, and rich experience far surpassed those of ordinary ninjas, and he quickly suppressed his emotions and returned to a calm state.

All of this made Jiang Si raise an eyebrow, a faint look of surprise appearing in his pupils.

Is he truly worthy of having served the Third Raikage? Such a scene certainly doesn't frighten this top strategist of Kumogakure!

"No, it was our fault, Mr. Jiang Si, why don't you apologize to Mr. Tu Tai right away!"

Huang Tu deliberately put on a stern face and spoke to Jiang Si in a slightly harsh tone.

"Yes, it was my rudeness. Please forgive me, Tutaisang."

Shoji also descended the steps provided by the yellow earth, bowing slightly in acknowledgment. His crimson Sharingan eyes vanished, and Shoji's pupils returned to their previous clear black and white state.

However, this scene has already deeply penetrated the hearts of Tsuchida and Darui, especially the young Darui. To say that it has caused psychological trauma would be an exaggeration. As someone who will become the Fifth Raikage in the future, his will is not that weak. But it will definitely leave an indelible mark on the depths of Darui's heart.

368. Jiraiya's Question

"Then, please excuse us for being rude today!"

Since the talks couldn't continue, there was no need to waste any more time. After a few polite words, Tsuchikage stood up and calmly took his leave. Today wasn't entirely fruitless, but it was quite different from what he had initially expected. Tsuchikage needed to return to his delegation's inn to carefully consider his next move. Should he stick to the plan he had discussed with his Raikage before setting off, or should he scrap it and start over? These were questions that Tsuchikage needed to decide for himself.

There was no need to consult with his own Raikage again. Before setting off, the Fourth Raikage had already granted Tsuchida full authority. Reporting and requesting instructions back and forth would be too much of a waste of time. The technology tree of this world had gone completely astray. They had invented radios and even had trains, but there were no telephones. Communication between ninjas still had to be done through the conventional means of ninjas!

Those who can communicate with spirits are a little better off, as they can deliver messages promptly; otherwise, there will always be some delay in communication.

Huang Tu and Jiang Si also got up together and escorted Tu Tai and Da Rui to the main entrance of the hotel. No matter what the conflict was, some basic etiquette issues could not be ignored. This is also a quality and magnanimity that an adult should have.

After leaving the inn where the Iwa ninja were staying with Darui, Tsuchitai went straight back to his own inn. He needed to be alone and think quietly about which step Kumogakure should take during this trip to Konoha.

Because a single wrong step could lead to drastically different consequences. It would be one thing to fail to gain more benefits, but if one were to have to give back the benefits that had already been swallowed, that would be an outcome that the Hidden Cloud Village absolutely could not accept.

In particular, there's the issue of Iwagakure's attitude.

This is something that Tu Tai must deeply fear and be wary of.

'Uchiha Shoji? It seems we need to re-evaluate this guy and his clan. The Mangekyou Sharingan might really be much stronger than we realize!'

After all, they hadn't witnessed Madara Uchiha's terror firsthand. Almost all of those who were intimidated by Madara's strength back then were wiped out, with only a handful of people left, led by the Third Tsuchikage. In the current generation of Kumogakure, there were zero survivors. Moreover, they hadn't personally witnessed the performance of Uchiha Shoji and others on the battlefield. In many cases, no matter how detailed the intelligence was, it couldn't compare to the directness and effectiveness of personal experience.

Before this, Tsuchikage believed that no matter how strong the Uchiha clan was, there was a limit. In the last two or three decades, the strongest person in the ninja world was the Third Raikage of their Hidden Cloud Village. Even so, their own Third Raikage still died under the human wave tactics of the Hidden Stone Village. As someone who had personally experienced this, Tsuchikage had a clear understanding of this.

Therefore, his attitude was actually the same as that of the Fourth Raikage, A. He did not think that the Uchiha clan was beyond their control. After all, Kumogakure was not the weak Sunagakure. However, after personally experiencing just a fraction of Shoji's strength today, Tsuchida changed his opinion somewhat. He no longer thought that Shoji was really that terrifyingly strong.

Instead, he realized that he and his companions had underestimated the Uchiha clan. This powerful clan, which could be called the strongest in the ninja world, truly lived up to its name. Even in Tsuchida's opinion, Shoji was definitely far inferior to his own Third Raikage.

However, if they were to truly deal with a powerhouse of that level, their own ninja village would have to pay a very heavy price. Even the Fourth Raikage might not have been able to truly suppress Uchiha Shoji. In battles at the same level, who is stronger or weaker will not really be the key factor in determining the outcome. Moreover, the Uchiha clan has three pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan!

'If Iwagakure truly has ulterior motives, then Kumogakure really needs to be extra careful!'

Tsuchitai took one last deep look at the inn where the Iwa ninja delegation was staying, and then, with Darui, whose pupils also flashed with an unusual light, he strode back to the location of his own ninja village's inn.

At the same time, in the Hokage Building, in Hiruzen Sarutobi's private office.

"Did the leader of Kumogakure, Tsuchida, only stay inside for less than half an hour?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly as he looked at the middle-aged man in Konoha uniform sitting in front of him. It was almost as soon as Tsuchidae left his delegation's inn and arrived at Iwagakure's inn, the Third Hokage received the information. At such a sensitive time, for the two great ninja villages to be so openly exchanging information made Hiruzen Sarutobi have to think twice. But if the two villages truly had an agreement, it must have been agreed upon beforehand, or it required further close negotiations. The past half hour seemed rather delicate.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. We just received news that Tsuchidae-san from Kumogakure has returned to the inn and has not gone to any other areas!"

The middle-aged man in front of him replied in a deep voice.

"Cloud Ninja, Rock Ninja!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned slightly serious. He slightly bent the fingers of his right hand and gently tapped the table, his pupils revealing an extremely deep look of contemplation.

"Strengthen vigilance and pay close attention to the movements of anyone in the Cloud Ninja and Iwa Ninja delegations!"

"Yes, Lord Hokage!"

After giving a deep reply, the middle-aged man vanished from the spot in a flash.

And it was right after this middle-aged man left.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes flickered slightly, and as he turned his head to the side, a burly figure came into the Third Hokage's view. The familiar long white hair and clothing indicated that the person was none other than Jiraiya, one of Hiruzen Sarutobi's most outstanding disciples. However, the expression of this hero of Konoha Village was clearly not so pleasant at the moment, and a faint trace of anger was revealed beneath his solemn face.

"Jiraiya? Is there something you need?"

Upon seeing Jiraiya, one of their most prized disciples.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was taken aback at first, seemingly not having reacted immediately.

"What's going on? Old man, don't you need to give me an explanation?"

"explain?"

Jiraiya's deep voice, his slowly approaching figure, and the increasingly clear expression of anger on his face—while Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose brain function had become somewhat sluggish with age, still looked bewildered.

But he was, after all, the Hokage, and Jiraiya's teacher.

Just a few seconds later, a possibility came to mind, and the Third Hokage's expression changed slightly.

"Of course it's about Naruto! Old man, you promised me you'd take good care of Naruto! After Minato and Kushina died, I originally planned to stay in the village to take care of Naruto. You promised you'd definitely take good care of him, so I left the village. But now, old man, can you tell me why no one knows Naruto is the Hokage's son? And why is the whole village spreading rumors that Naruto is the Demon Fox? Naruto is only three years old, living a lonely life!"

At this moment, Jiraiya's hair and beard were already bristling with anger.

As Minato Namikaze's mentor, just as Minato was very close to and trusted Jiraiya, Jiraiya truly regarded Minato as his own son. Naruto's name was taken from the protagonist's name in his first book. In other words, Naruto could almost be regarded as Jiraiya's grandson. Three years ago, when he heard that Minato and Kushina had died on the spot due to the Nine-Tails' attack, Jiraiya immediately returned to the village.

The initial plan was to take care of Naruto himself. Of course, this was also due to the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku. Jiraiya certainly couldn't stay in the village forever. As someone who firmly believed in the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku, Jiraiya would definitely travel the ninja world most of the time. However, he would definitely return to the village at fixed intervals to spend some time with Naruto. At other times, he would have his trusted subordinates and close friends take care of him.

This was Jiraiya's initial idea.

This way, she can both find the prophesied child who can change the world without delaying her own search and take good care of Naruto to the greatest extent possible.

He fulfilled his parental duties in place of Minato and Kushina.

However, before he could put this idea into practice, he was persuaded by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. His mentor had said that he would take good care of Naruto, and Jiraiya, trusting his mentor, left without worry. In the past three years, he only returned to the village once because of Orochimaru. Because he was too concerned about Orochimaru, Jiraiya did not pay attention to Naruto's living conditions that time.

Until this time, when Jiraiya returned to the village, after the incidents in Iwagakure and Kumogakure had temporarily eased, Jiraiya planned to check on Naruto's living conditions. But what he saw made this great hero furious!

The 'fox spirit' ostracized by the entire village!

This is the living environment Naruto is in.

If the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, was the first ray of light shining brightly in Konoha, then Jiraiya was the true inheritor of Hashirama's ideals and beliefs. It wasn't that he didn't understand the darkness of the ninja world; it was precisely because he was so good at expressing it that he worked even harder to step towards the light!

This is also why Jiraiya was unwilling to become Hokage. He knew very well that with his own personality, he could not bear the darkness that a Hokage had to shoulder. He only intended to protect Konoha and the people he cherished in his own way.

Naruto is the most important one here!

"Jiraiya, calm down. It's true that I didn't handle Naruto's situation well, but please believe me. Naruto's current situation is not what I initially expected. As you know, Naruto is the village's new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and his identity needs to be kept strictly confidential. I have already issued a strict gag order in the village. I will definitely improve Naruto's life from now on!"

Having been master and disciple for over thirty years, Hiruzen Sarutobi was well aware that his disciple's personality, though seemingly easygoing and lazy, possessed a fierceness deep within that far surpassed that of ordinary people. Even his childhood mischief and absurdity were merely a shell covering his true nature.

However, just as well, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew very well that Jiraiya was very soft-hearted when it came to his own people. Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, spoken with a wry smile and earnestness, did indeed make Jiraiya, who was sitting opposite him, pause slightly.

"As you know, after Minato's death, the village faced numerous crises. First, the Hidden Cloud Village provoked us on the border, leading to a local war that lasted for three years. Then, Orochimaru defected, and the entire Uchiha clan deserted. I did neglect Naruto, which is my responsibility. And then there's Danzo... Sigh..."

Part of it was acting, and part of it was genuine emotion.

Unlike Danzo, who was utterly evil to the extreme, Hiruzen Sarutobi, after entering his old age, was actually a very subtle existence. You can't simply say that he was a treacherous politician, but you also can't say that he was a kind and gentle Hokage.

This is a two-sided entity.

Sometimes, it was even his indecisiveness that caused the situation to deteriorate. This is not to whitewash Hiruzen Sarutobi, but simply to point out that this Third Hokage was the most eccentric in terms of personality among all the Hokage of the various villages.

His mistakes cannot be ignored, but his achievements are equally undeniable.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi's personal disciple, Jiraiya had gained a deep and thorough understanding of his mentor's temperament and philosophy over the past thirty-odd years. He also knew how dangerous Konoha was when the Second Hokage had just died in battle, and how his teacher had turned the tide and led Konoha step by step to its strongest and most prosperous period!