Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

Nobody knows exactly what it is.

But from the clamor of the wind, the perceptive ninjas had already sensed something amiss.

Before taking action, they decided to scout out the situation first.

The sun is shining brightly today.

The Third Hokage sat by the lake, quietly fishing.

Wisps of smoke slowly rose from his pipe, and he would occasionally take a puff, feeling incredibly comfortable all over.

As a highly skilled ninja, the Third Hokage had nine ways to catch a fish right now.

But he didn't do that because he was enjoying the harmonious and peaceful time he was in.

Even if there are two flies buzzing around.

"Third Hokage! Control Tsunade! If she continues like this, Konoha will be doomed!"

"Yes, yes, the Fifth Hokage is too young. He doesn't know his place and doesn't respect his seniors. He's bound to get into trouble sooner or later!" The two Konoha elders kept nagging beside the Third Hokage, needlessly ruining the peaceful atmosphere.

However, the third generation ultimately did not reprimand them.

After all, to be honest, they are from the same generation as him.

The older people get, the more nostalgic they become.

By the third generation, you really lose one friend for every one that dies.

This is perhaps the saddest thing in the world.

Those who love you and those who hate you have all left you, leaving you all alone, living a lonely life in this world.

Therefore, no matter how much they talked, the three generations did not scold them.

Of course, I wouldn't agree with their views either.

From the moment they arrived until now, they have been trying to persuade the Third Hokage to reduce the expenditures of the Ninja Academy and to recruit fewer students.

This is a high-sounding statement, but what it actually means is to reduce the influence of the Fifth Hokage.

Tsunade had only been in power for a year, yet she had already subdued everyone.

Any order she issues will be carried out 100%.

It's important to know that Tsunade had never even led a Jonin class before. When she first took office, she didn't even have a single trusted student.

But within just one year, everything changed.

From the perspective of three generations, this is certainly a good thing, showing that his vision is not bad.

However, the elders felt that Danzo's death was mysterious. Although it was certainly not Hirukogan's doing, they all felt that it was related to him.

Most importantly, Tsunade, who only trusted the new-style ninjas, kicked all the elders out without any mercy or hesitation. There was no room for compromise, no face-saving whatsoever, and no one could plead for them.

In other words, if the Third Hokage hadn't stepped forward, Konoha would have really had to go through another high-level war.

Although the result might be that all the major and minor clans of Konoha gang up on them.

Seeing Konoha flourish while having nothing to do with themselves, the elders felt both regret and deep dissatisfaction.

They're all this age; they don't need to be in charge, they just need to have some recognition, right? Why won't they agree? Isn't Tsunade quite resourceful in other areas?

Because of various grievances, the elders never stopped trying to sabotage the three generations.

The three generations were well aware of this, but in order to protect these old friends, he usually just let it go in one ear and out the other.

But today, these two old friends hit the nail on the head while they were rambling on.

They brought up the matter of the trainee ninjas at the ninja academy.

There are just too many trainee ninjas now.

As of now, the number of prospective ninjas has exceeded 1200, and this is only at the beginning of the year! The Third Hokage is aware of the Ninja Academy's recruitment plan, and this year's number will most likely exceed 2000.

In the past, this was a number that people wouldn't have dared to even imagine.

The school incurs some cost for training each ninja.

Moreover, Tsunade didn't just take on students; she also took care of their meals.

"A half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home"—this is no joke.

Not to mention that due to the nature of chakra, a ninja's actual energy consumption is far greater than that of an ordinary person.

Chakra is a mixture of physical and mental energy. If you don't eat, where will you get chakra? The daily energy consumption of two thousand students is terrifying.

Moreover, based on the Third Hokage's own experience and the current performance of the Ninja Academy, if the enrollment were expanded to 2000, the top 100 students could indeed be considered excellent, the top 500 would be acceptable, the quality of students around 1000 would be very poor, and those after 1500 would probably struggle to become cannon fodder.

There's a reason why the Ninja Academy has always only admitted a small number of students.

Funding is one thing, but Konoha really doesn't have that many suitable students.

Everyone has mental and physical energy, but not everyone can condense chakra.

Even if one can condense chakra, not everyone is suitable to be a professional warrior like a ninja. There will always be some who are timid, cowardly, and have poor endurance.

The fact that they were able to gather so many people can only be described as squeezing the children of Konoha and Kusagakure dry.

Everyone knows that a major war is inevitable nine years from now, so increasing the number of cannon fodder has its significance.

Adding so many cannon fodder... these last few hundred ninja trainees can indeed train their chakra, but no matter what they are asked to do, the Third Hokage is always on edge.

These hundreds of trainee ninjas could easily be cut.

But since it was Tsunade's idea, the Third Hokage couldn't directly refute it.

After all, Tsunade is known for her stubbornness, but she always manages to achieve her goals in all sorts of bizarre ways and never suffers a loss.

Moreover, in public, the third generation did not want to give the impression that the third and fifth generations were at odds.

So after a moment of silence, he laughed heartily, picked up the fish basket, and left.

Seeing that the three generations had come to this, the two elders had no choice but to give up.

However, their words still stirred up some ripples in the heart of the third generation.

Konoha has been spending far too much money lately, especially on education. Can Konoha's finances really support it? The Third Hokage, of course, knows that Konoha has been making money all along.

But he couldn't touch the ledgers after all; he always felt uneasy if he didn't see the actual data in his mind.

The third generation leader retired very cleanly, without demanding any special privileges, including financial control.

He decided to have a serious talk with Tsunade.

If this is truly just part of her plan, then he supports it.

If she made a mistake this time, there's still time to correct it.

The Third Hokage did not consider it shameful for young people to make mistakes. The ninja world had become completely unfamiliar, and none of them had ever encountered anything like it before.

Even an old man like him was completely baffled. It's normal for Tsunade to occasionally lose her bearings and make mistakes.

With this thought in mind, the Third Hokage walked toward the Hokage Building.

But halfway there, he encountered the princess's maid from the Snow Kingdom.

She was, after all, a princess; she should have a few maids by her side to make her look proper.

The maid looked very flustered.

"What happened?"

"Sandaime-sama!"

Chapter 307 Happy Little Sea Tiger

Upon seeing that it was the third generation, the maid managed to calm down a bit. "Have you seen Her Highness the Princess?"

I just went to the restroom, and she disappeared…

"Gone? How could that be... Did it see a cat or some other small animal and run off with it?" Although they hadn't known each other for long, Princess Xiaoxue was generally a very obedient and well-behaved child.

During her time in Konoha, she had always been very gentle and polite to everyone, without the arrogance commonly seen in nobles.

The third generation didn't think she would run away.

"A cat...maybe...but I..." "Alright, alright, I understand." This is Konoha after all, with the Barrier Team monitoring us at all times, so it can't be stolen by someone else.

The Third Hokage summoned one of his ANBU operatives and instructed him to help with the search.

The ANBU, accompanied by the profusely grateful maid, left the Third Hokage's sight.

The Third Hokage didn't take the matter too seriously and went to the Hokage Building, walking up to the Hokage's office.

He looked into the office and saw that the Fifth Hokage was not there. Inside, only the Hokage's assistant, Hiruko, who looked so worried that he was about to lose his hair, was pacing back and forth.

"Hmm? Aren't you here?" The third generation knocked on the office door.

"Hiruko, can we talk now?" This was a very ordinary question.

However, it was visibly obvious that Hiruko flinched.

But it was clear that he dared not refuse the third generation.

So, reluctantly, Hiruko said from inside, "Is this Lord Third Hokage? Please come in." The Third Hokage, still puzzled, pushed open the door and went in.

"Hiruko, have you seen Tsunade?"

“Um…that…” Hiruko looked away, not answering directly, but stammering.

This small detail immediately caught the attention of the third generation.

Hiruko's reaction was very strange.

Hiruko has become increasingly "despicable" because of her long-term association with Tsunade.

However, the Third Hokage himself had served as Hokage and knew all too well the difficulties of being Hokage.

He knew very well that sometimes, being a little "shameless" was actually a good thing.

A guy as "despicable" as him should be very composed when faced with his questions.

This is not a big deal.

Unless... given the elders' suggestion, coupled with his unease and Hiruko's current reaction, the Third Hokage's tone finally carried a hint of impatience.