Revitalizing the Uchiha clan starts with becoming a Kage.

Putting aside those who weren't as strong as the First Hokage, you have to admit that it was the Third Hokage who created the most prosperous and powerful era for Konoha. This prosperity and power refers not only to the Kage-level ninjas, but also to the quantity and quality of the middle and lower-level ninjas, as well as the economic prosperity of Konoha!

However, Konoha's decline was also due to this Third Hokage. This is similar to the evaluation that many people in the Celestial Empire gave to certain ancient emperors in Jiang Si's previous life: they were good in every way, but they died a little too late.

Jiraiya wasn't ignorant of certain things, but because of the deep bond between him and Hiruzen Sarutobi, this hero subconsciously overlooked some things. For example, at this moment, he originally intended to make a big fuss about his mentor, but after Hiruzen Sarutobi's explanation, Jiraiya softened once again.

Instead, we should put ourselves in our teachers' shoes and consider their circumstances. Over the past three years, it has indeed been very difficult.

You could say this is Jiraiya's flaw, but it's also where his personal charm shines through. That's why it's said that Jiraiya is the one in Konoha whose temperament is closest to that of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.

To put it bluntly, if Jiraiya had lived in the same era as Hiruzen Sarutobi, there's a high probability he would have been valued by the First Hokage and taken on as his personal disciple!

At this moment, it was also clear that Jiraiya's expression had softened considerably.

"I understand, I understand all of that, but Naruto is Minato and Kushina's only child. They died fighting for the village, and I hope Naruto can receive better care, old man!"

"Believe me, Jiraiya, I promise this problem will never happen again. I will take good care of Naruto from now on, otherwise I will never be able to face Minato and Kushina again!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said softly.

"I believe you, old man!"

After all, he was his mentor and the Hokage who had led Konoha for over thirty years. Jiraiya ultimately chose to believe Hiruzen Sarutobi. Of course, he could have chosen not to believe him, but then he would have had to stay and take care of Naruto. It wasn't that Jiraiya was unwilling, but for him, the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku was the most important thing in his heart!

It's no wonder that some people in his past life felt that Jiraiya was quite pitiful, as he lived almost his entire life within that prophecy, like a puppet controlled by Mount Myōboku.

But this was the path of destiny that Jiraiya himself chose, and others cannot easily interfere.

"Yes, don't worry about Naruto. The focus now is on Kumogakure and Iwagakure. Things are complicated in the village right now, especially with that Uchiha Shoji. Although I've already increased security, we can't let our guard down against Sharingan. If there's anything unusual, Jiraiya, I hope you can follow up immediately!"

Jiraiya never returned.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was considering completely restricting Naruto's movements during this period, just like last time. The Sharingan has a restraining effect on tailed beasts, and the Mangekyou Sharingan is even more so. He was really worried that something unexpected would happen if Naruto encountered Shoji.

Jiraiya is back now.

There's no need to be so nervous. Just have Jiraiya keep an eye on Naruto, and focus on keeping a close eye on everything else as well.

"Yes, I know. Leave Naruto to me. It's a good opportunity, and I'm planning to get to know this modern-day Asura of the Uchiha clan better!"

As if he had just thought of something, Jiraiya smiled faintly and said softly, "Ever since that encounter more than twenty days ago, Jiraiya has really taken Shoji seriously. He is an important person who deserves my attention."

Meanwhile, on the other side, Shoji, unaware that he had been thoroughly targeted by Jiraiya, left Tsuchida after discussing with Yotsuchi the next steps and attitudes of his delegation before returning to his room.

The situation at this trilateral meeting is far more complex than the last one.

We also need to be more cautious and careful in our actions.

It's best not to act rashly for the first few days. Gathering as much information as possible is the most important priority, especially since Jiraiya, a legendary Sannin, is still in Konoha. If we accidentally run into him...

That's where problems can easily arise.

Be cautious, then look for the best opportunity, and at least make more profit than last time!

As Jiang Si watched the setting sun gradually sink in the west, a faint glimmer of light appeared in his pupils, and he murmured to himself in the depths of his heart.

369. Target: Hyuga Neji

The two delegations arrived.

What follows is a long and drawn-out negotiation. It can be said that after his unsuccessful visit to the Iwagakure delegation, Tsuchita did not truly give up his intentions. After all, the three-party talks have only just begun. Even if Konoha wants to completely separate the two sides for negotiations at different levels, Tsuchita has his own ways to use their strengths against them. The specific results will depend on what happens next. On the Iwagakure side, the division of labor among the three—Kiwa, Shoji, and Akatsuchi—is also very clear: Kiwa is responsible for the main negotiations, while Akatsuchi serves as a supplementary member.

The most important person, Jiang Si, appears to be the deputy leader on the surface, but he basically doesn't participate in the negotiations. In the first few days, Jiang Si will make a show of it to make the Konoha side think that he is also a key negotiator. In the later days, the focus shifts entirely to information gathering and reconnaissance.

No matter how difficult or protracted the negotiations are, they can't really last for a month or two. Ten days to half a month is within the normal range of time for negotiations, and the company's own actions will definitely need to be determined within this period.

Fortunately, the information needed to be collected was not that difficult. Furthermore, there were still high-level spies who had previously infiltrated Konoha Village. Although these people could not uncover deeper classified information, they could still accurately track the movements of some individuals.

Including the whereabouts of Hyuga Hiashi, whom Shoji cares about most, and Hyuga Neji, Hyuga Hizashi's only son!

After the Cloud Ninja incident, the former almost completely stayed in his main house for a long time without ever leaving. The latter, on the other hand, frequently entered and exited the clan's territory, and the location was very clear: a flat training ground on the west side of the Hyuga clan's territory.

In addition, some information on the daily patrols and defenses of Konoha ninjas was also collected. Some of this information was obtained through high-ranking spies infiltrating Konoha, while the rest was collected by Shoji himself.

It must be said that during this delegation's negotiations, the level of security in Konoha Village was at least two or three levels higher than the last time. This was only what Jiang Si could detect and sense. There were also things like the deployment of some secret units and the establishment of barriers, which were beyond Jiang Si's precise grasp. But those were not things that Jiang Si needed to care about right now, and he had no intention of infiltrating Konoha's highly classified areas!

Only after confirming the aforementioned intelligence.

Then, on the evening of the fourth day after arriving at Konoha Village.

At this crucial moment in the negotiations between the three major ninja villages, Si Piaoran sneaked out of his hotel without attracting the attention of any Konoha ninjas, including the Hyuga clan Jonin who were monitoring him. After all, they were still some distance away, and it wasn't a complete encirclement or surveillance.

After spending three days, repeatedly entering and exiting during the day to confirm the location, Jiang Si found a clear gap, evaded the detection of that pair of white eyes, left the hotel area, then detoured for a distance before speeding towards his target area.

In the third training ground on the west side of Konoha Village, there is an ordinary training ground established by Konoha Village without any dangerous factors. It is characterized by its flatness and spaciousness, with some forests and rivers, and mostly plains, in order to facilitate the various training of the ninjas of Konoha Village.

Some have said that Konoha Village isn't very large, with at most a few hundred thousand people. That's not true. Konoha Village typically maintains a ninja population of over twenty thousand, and most of these ninja have families. With years of development, the total population of Konoha Village, and arguably the five great hidden villages, is easily in the hundreds of thousands. That's roughly the size of a slightly densely populated county in my previous life in China. Even so, Konoha doesn't seem very large. However, if you include its numerous training grounds, Konoha Village's size is absolutely comparable to a bustling second-tier, or even first-tier, metropolis in my previous life!

Of course, this only refers to the area occupied.

The Death Forest training ground, which is familiar to many fans in the original work, already occupies a very large area, but Konoha has at least seven or eight similar training grounds, plus some special grounds and the like.

Konoha Village is really big!

The same principle applies to the other four major ninja villages.

However, in such a world, an area inhabited by hundreds of thousands of people is already considered quite large. Given the need to deliberately conceal their whereabouts and presence, Si's speed of movement is not particularly fast.

Furthermore, they would have to take a slightly longer route to avoid the area with the largest number of Konoha ninja. Although there was a high probability that they would not be discovered, it was better to be safe than sorry. Besides, there was plenty of time, so Shoji had nothing to worry about.

After spending the better part of half an hour, Shoji finally arrived at his destination. Almost effortlessly, he easily located his target—Hyuga Neji—within Konoha's spacious third training grounds!

This genius boy, the only one among the twelve Konoha 12 in the original work whose tragic fate is no less than that of the two true protagonists, Naruto and Sasuke, is only a four-year-old child at the moment. Just as Shoji quietly approached the child's side.

Neji was pounding the wooden stake in front of him with a stubborn expression, and from his young body, one could clearly see the endless resentment and sorrow emanating from this little boy.

"Peng!"

"Peng!"

Even if the world of ninjas is a world of precocious maturity.

Many children begin ninja training as early as three or four years old, and Neji, being a member of the Hyuga clan, is no exception. However, the training intensity of this little boy is clearly far beyond the limits of his age. His small fists are covered with scars, yet he seems oblivious to the pain and continues his training relentlessly. This undoubtedly indicates that Neji is training beyond the limits and is also damaging his young body.

But all of this is perfectly reasonable.

Neji Hyuga had just lost his father a month ago.

In the world of ninjas, children are very precocious. Unlike the previous generation of the world where a four-year-old child might not have much of a direct understanding, Neji in this world clearly understands that his father has left him forever!

His father, who had always loved him dearly, died because of the ridiculous rules of the clan. This was a great tragedy for Hyuga Neji, but he was powerless to do anything about it. He couldn't even see his father one last time, and he had to personally deliver his father's body to the enemy!

if you can.

Neji now even wants to kill all the members of the Cloud Ninja delegation who have come to Konoha Village again. However, not only is it impossible for him to do so, but more importantly, Neji himself simply does not have the ability to do so!

Weakness is the greatest original sin!

This is especially true in the world of ninjas!

After his father died, Neji, who had been carefree, also died. In his opinion, it was because his father was not a member of the main family and was the weaker party that he was sacrificed!

strength!

The most powerful force!

It can be said that at this moment, Neji was undoubtedly in the same state of mind as Sasuke in the original work. To be fair, in the original work, Neji was indeed an existence that was infinitely similar to Sasuke!

Without Naruto, Neji might have ended up on the same path as Sasuke. But it's hard to say which choice was right, because after becoming Hokage, Naruto failed to keep the promise he made to Neji!

The Hyuga clan remains the same Hyuga clan.

This is the tragedy of reality.

'Father! Father! Father!'

That contained an endless sorrow.

The sadness and resentment that flowed deep into Neji's eyes!

"what!!!!!"

The fist that slammed down on the wooden stake with all its might, the faint trace of blood seeping out, and the little boy's shrill cry.

"What should I do, Father...?"

The small figure then collapsed helplessly to the ground, tears already streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks.

Confusion, pain, anger, and helplessness.

At this moment, almost all the negative emotions can be seen in this four-year-old child; they are so real, so tragic.

And at that moment, it came into the sight of the commander in the shadowy corner.

A faint look of pity appeared on Shoji's face. Even though he did have the intention of using Neji, it was still due to the influence of another memory. Shoji still held a rather appreciative and fond attitude towards Neji.

That is precisely why.

The general will only be here today.

"Then of course, you should use your own strength to do what you want to do!"

The steps that were taken, the words that were spoken in a slightly low voice.

"Who goes there!?"

At the attention drawn in that instant, Neji suddenly flipped himself up from the ground. This was a world where four or five-year-old children could go to the battlefield to kill, and Hyuga Neji, who had been exposed to elite ninja education since childhood, naturally maintained the highest level of vigilance at all times!

This is not their clan's residence, but a somewhat remote training ground in the western suburbs.

Neji immediately adopted a defensive posture, then turned around, his small face full of vigilance, but the moment he saw Shoji's face...

Neji was taken aback at first, then a look of disbelief crossed his face.

"Uchiha Shoji!"

These were the words that came out of his mouth.

This time, it was Jiang Si who was taken aback.

Although he was indeed one of the most famous people in the ninja world, the fact that four-year-old Neji could recognize him immediately surprised Shoji.

However, upon reflection on Neji's overly mature and rational demeanor in the original work, Shoji felt relieved and said with a smile, "I didn't expect that even a four-year-old child in the Hyuga clan could recognize my identity. It seems that I underestimated my current fame."

"Hmph! How could I not know the infamous Shura of the Uchiha clan? But you, an Iwa ninja, have come to find a child like me? Do you have some special purpose? And what did you mean by what you just said?"

The words were very serious, and the expression was also clearly very earnest.