Ninja Pot Shadow

As a woman, Koharu Utatane naturally disliked Jiraiya, who was like a lecherous ghost. That old bastard, the Third Hokage, was always spying on her with his crystal ball. I had to create a barrier even when I took a bath. And now? I have to keep guarding against him?

The old lady shook her head vigorously, "No!"

Tsunade, Kakashi, and even Shikaku were all on their radar, the two of them whispering as they studied the matter.

As it turns out, Naruto truly has the heart of a child. When he saw the Third Hokage lying on the ground like a corpse, he immediately rushed over and cried out.

He hadn't called out twice when he realized that the Third Hokage was still alive, though his breath was extremely weak.

"That??" Seeing everyone in such a chaotic situation, he wanted to call someone to treat the third generation, but for a moment he didn't know who to call.

Kakashi hasn't returned to the village yet. Asuma just led a group to the village entrance. Iruka and the others are busy rescuing people. Ino? He's afraid Ino's healing jutsu will kill his beloved Third Hokage...

He gestured repeatedly, then called Sakura over.

Sakura-chan has strong healing abilities; she graduated from Tsunade's school in just two years. Her talent in medical ninjutsu is indeed high, but she just learned the First Hokage's medical ninjutsu and only bought a fish last night. How could she possibly know any medical ninjutsu now?

"What's wrong? What happened?" Jiraiya saw Naruto's anxious look and immediately came over to help.

Naruto's trust in the "Perverted Sage" is not as high as it would be three years later. If Jiraiya were to take his wallet now and then buy him an ice pop but not give him the whole thing, but only break it in half to fool him, he would definitely get angry.

But since he was an acquaintance, he recounted how three generations of his family were still alive.

Jiraiya glanced at the Third Hokage and also detected an extremely faint aura.

He quickly summoned Ino's shadow clone and the Slug Sage. Ino didn't mention it, but the Slug Sage's healing abilities were trustworthy.

More and more people gathered here, including Konohamaru who was crying and shouting, the Third Hokage's confidants, and Jonin such as Ibiki Morino, Raido Namiashi, Genma Shiranui, and Yugao Uzuki.

The two advisors then realized, "What? The Third Hokage is still alive? He's still alive after using the Reaper Death Seal? This is no ninja!"

The two looked embarrassed, but they still rushed over to see the Slug Sage healing the Third Hokage.

With a large amount of Sage Chakra poured in, the Third Hokage's heartbeat was finally heard by the others.

……

As evening approached, many villagers and ninjas whose homes had been destroyed and who had lost their lives were forced to spend the night in tents.

The 15th generation Ino-Shika-Cho trio and the 16th generation Ino-Shika-Cho trio gathered together to discuss the next three families' countermeasures. In other words, they discussed investing in the new Hokage, deciding who to invest in and how many resources to allocate.

In fact, for the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance, Shikaku taking over would be in the best interests of all three parties. He is definitely one of their own, but he gave it up himself.

“I think Lady Tsunade is more suitable,” Shikaku said.

When Tsunade returned to the village, he took Shikamaru to "report on his work." In addition, the Nara family had been providing deer antlers to Konoha Hospital for a long time, which proved that the two sides had a good personal relationship.

The Akimichi family has connections with everyone.

The Yamanaka family and Tsunade originally had a so-so relationship, but now that Ino is around, their relationship has instantly become closer.

If Ino were to retire now and Ino were to inherit the position of head of the Yamanaka family, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Yamanaka family is a direct descendant of the Hokage.

Seeing that the three of them nodded, Ino said, "I will leave the village tomorrow and persuade the teacher to return to the village."

Shikaku was very good at reading people and had enough information. He noticed something in Ino's expression and couldn't help but frown and ask, "Could it be that Lady Tsunade's illness... hasn't been cured after all these years?"

Shikamaru and Choji didn't know what illness this was referring to, so they remained silent.

Haiyi and Dingzu's expressions changed slightly; this was indeed not good news.

No matter how much criticism Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, these two advisors, are faced, they are still the ones who have to go to the battlefield and kill people when it matters.

How can a ninja who can't even draw blood become Hokage?

Lu Jiu didn't bother to explain to his son and chubby nephew, but pressed on, "How serious is it?"

"It can only be described as very serious."

The three families immediately adjusted their plans. Ino still went to persuade Tsunade, at least showing the attitude that "we thought of you first." If Tsunade disagreed, then they would ask her who she supported.

Chapter 178 Tsunade Returns to the Village

There are only three candidates left.

If ordered by age, then it would be Danzo, Jiraiya, and Kakashi.

Danzo's rise to power aligns with the interests of the Yamanaka clan, but not necessarily with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. As mentioned before, Danzo is unruly and has a strong personality, making the ninja clans unwilling to deal with him.

Kakashi simply lacked experience, and having always been a frontline fighter without proving his leadership abilities, the Third Hokage was consciously trying to elevate him, but the time was too short. Now that Kakashi is not in the village, he has wasted a golden opportunity to prove himself.

The remaining candidate is Jiraiya.

The pig, deer, and butterfly team quickly divided up the tasks.

Ino went to Tsunade to ask for her opinion.

Inoichi continues to support Danzo. Regardless of who becomes Hokage, intelligence work and Root ninjas cannot be ignored. With Ino's presence in the Yamanaka family, they have people both overt and covert, making them virtually invincible.

Shikaku immediately left the village to find Kakashi and probe the Copy Ninja's opinion on the new Hokage. If Kakashi had no interest in becoming Hokage, then he should also encourage Kakashi to support Jiraiya.

The fat guy, Choza, used his good relationships to go find Jiraiya.

In his youth, Choza was Minato Namikaze's teammate for a period of time, and he was also very familiar with Minato's teacher, Jiraiya.

……

A day later, Kakashi first met Shikaku and learned that the village had been attacked by Orochimaru and Sunagakure. He immediately abandoned his mission to find Danzo and traveled through the night to lead the Anbu ninja back to the village.

Without Shikaku needing to say more, Kakashi made it clear that he had no interest in the Hokage position. If no one else could take it, he would have no choice but to bite the bullet and step up. Now that someone had been chosen, he was content to continue being a frontline ninja.

He also joined the Ino-Shika-Cho trio in persuading Jiraiya.

Jiraiya's initial attitude was very firm: No way! I'd rather die than do it! My disciple is the Fourth Hokage, and now I'm going to be the Fifth Hokage? How embarrassing would that be?

Shikaku is very good at understanding people's hearts. He speaks frankly, using himself as an example. He says that he is a person with many methods but few ideas. Jiraiya is the opposite. Jiraiya is also a person with ideas but no methods. Many times he knows what to do, but doesn't know how to do it.

Shikaku, as a strategist, is best suited to assist a Hokage with a personality like Jiraiya.

You're the Hokage. Tell me what you want to do and what you want to achieve. As your advisor, I'll give you three suggestions: top, middle, and bottom. You choose the most suitable one and execute it, and that's it.

You're not tired, and I don't feel guilty. We're a good match.

Shikaku further stated that his ninja skills were insufficient and he wanted to focus on being a strategist. He was willing to step down from his position as the leader of the Jonin class. He said that at that time, you could choose Kakashi or Asuma to be the leader.

Jiraiya's attitude softened slightly, indicating that he would seriously consider the issue.

On the same day, the two advisors, representing the village, assigned Ino a B-rank mission: to find Tsunade and bring her back to the village.

Three days later, upon hearing that Orochimaru was dead, Danzo didn't need anyone to search for him. He simply withdrew the ambush and returned with the Root ninjas.

Danzo was furious!

What happened? Orochimaru is dead, but the Third Hokage is still alive?

Five days after the Konoha Crush plan failed, Ino made a round trip, bringing Tsunade, Shizune, and their pet pig Tonton back to Konoha.

The Third Generation's injuries were too severe. The Slug Sage could only restore his heartbeat, but his body was too weak to stand up and handle official business, let alone stay awake.

The Slug Sage is helpless against the fragile bodies and souls of humans. What the Third Hokage needs now is medical skills, not Sage Chakra.

Asuma is alright, but Konohamaru has fainted from crying several times.

Ino, carrying the hopes of the entire village, came to invite Tsunade back to the village.

It's not like I'm going back to be Hokage; I'm just seeing a patient. It's not a difficult task.

Tsunade had some dissatisfaction with the Third Hokage, but not to the point of watching him die. If she could save him, she would.

On the way, Ino asked Tsunade directly if she had any plans to become Hokage.

Tsunade refused, citing hemophobia as her reason.

The three people and the pig quickly returned to the village. As soon as they arrived, they had no time for sentimentality and rushed to Konoha Hospital.

"Please, please, you must save my grandfather!" Outside the ward, Konohamaru cried his heart out.

Tsunade was extremely impatient with this. Who does he think he is? There are so many wounded people in Konoha who need treatment. How could I possibly save them all?

She grabbed Konohamaru by the collar and, without asking any questions, threw him away in a flash.

Jiraiya, Ino, Shizune, and Tonton all wore stern faces, looking as if they were still shaken.

Naruto then ran out shouting to save Konohamaru.

"Thank you for your hard work." Asuma, the dutiful son, nodded emphatically to Ino.

Without Ino's connections, it wouldn't have been so easy to find Tsunade, nor would it have been so easy to bring her back. Right now, saving lives is urgent; if we delay for even two days, she might be gone.

He was very grateful to Ino.

Ino accepted the thanks without a second thought. "If it weren't for me... hehe, we'd be at the banquet right now!"

She deserves this gratitude.

"Are you all doctors? All irrelevant people, get out! Get out!" Tsunade was furious and kicked Jiraiya, Asuma, and the others out of the ward.

Only her two disciples and her pet pig, Tuntun, remained.

Tsunade's medical skills were indeed very strong. A day later, the Third Hokage finally slowly woke up. In the process, Tsunade also cured Hayate Gekko, who had been unconscious in the next room.

He said that the person who tried to kill him was Maki, a Jonin from Sunagakure, and that Sunagakure was plotting something.

Ino smiled and gestured to her former VIP customer at the flower shop to get some rest, saying that her information was a little late.

When the Third Hokage opened his eyes, he was surprised that he could still survive using the Reaper Death Seal.

Tsunade didn't know what was going on either.

You're asking me? How would I know? It was you who used the Corpse Demon Sealing Technique, not me.

After treating the Third Hokage, Tsunade wanted to leave, but at the urging of many acquaintances, she agreed to stay for two more days, at least until the seriously injured were out of danger.

The Third Hokage's soul was missing too much, and his body was aging. Although he could still move one hand, he would never be able to use ninjutsu again in his lifetime.

A person who cannot use ninjutsu is naturally not a ninja, and therefore cannot serve as the Hokage of Konoha.

The Third Hokage still has a large number of trusted confidants, and with the support of Asuma, Kurenai, Kakashi, and others, his power has not been greatly affected for the time being. However, he knows his own situation: his organs are failing, his lifespan is nearing its end, and he can no longer use ninjutsu. He must arrange for a successor as soon as possible, as the time left for him is very short.

He approached Jiraiya and Tsunade in turn, Jiraiya first and Tsunade later, and earnestly asked them to take over the position of Hokage. Unsurprisingly, both of them refused.

Chapter 179 Reconstruction

In her hospital room, Tsunade confessed that she was still suffering from hemophobia. Could a ninja who couldn't stand the sight of blood become Hokage?