I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

Karin was startled when she saw Naruto's amused smile.

However, the unlucky one was definitely not her, but the Hidden Grass Village that treated her and her mother as medical tools. Thinking of this, she imitated Naruto and showed a faint smile.

……

Outside of Kusahaku Village.

Jiraiya followed behind Tsunade and Shizune with a grin, pondering how to explain to Tsunade their plan to team up against the Third Hokage.

After pretending to bump into Tsunade that day and paying off her gambling debts, he had been thinking about this problem ever since, but he couldn't find a suitable opportunity, so he could only shamelessly follow behind Tsunade.

Shizune looked helpless and said:

"Lord Jiraiya, if you have anything to say, go and talk to Lady Tsunade yourself. Don't ask me about anything related to Lady Tsunade anymore. What else can Lady Tsunade do besides drinking, gambling, and healing the sick?"

Upon hearing Shizune's complaint, Tsunade instantly appeared in front of her, and the latter waved her hand, saying, "Lady Tsunade, I didn't mean to say you were useless, it's just that Lord Jiraiya is too annoying."

Tsunade glared at Shizune, then looked at Jiraiya: "Jiraiya, stop being so coy. Just say what's on your mind. You've followed me all the way from the Land of Rice Fields to the Land of Grass."

"If this is a confession, I will refuse. If the old man sent you, please return home immediately. I have no intention of returning to the village for the time being. The village belongs to the Hokage and has nothing to do with a lowly Jonin like me."

Jiraiya felt a pang of heartache at being rejected before even confessing his feelings.

However, faced with Tsunade's resolute attitude, Jiraiya cleared his throat and said with a serious expression, "Tsunade, the reason I've come to you this time is to invite you to help us deal with the Third Hokage."

Upon hearing this, both Tsunade and Shizune looked surprised.

Jiraiya surprisingly wanted to target the village's higher-ups, and not Danzo, but the Third Hokage. Both of them suspected that Jiraiya was being controlled by genjutsu, or that this Jiraiya was someone else in disguise.

After a moment's thought, Tsunade looked at Jiraiya with a serious expression: "Do you know what you're saying? You want to invite me to fight the Third Hokage? The village's Hokage!"

Chapter 173 The Conspiracy of Kusagakure

Tsunade could understand when others expressed their dissatisfaction with the Third Hokage.

Over the years, due to various reasons, the Third Hokage lost his former ambition and went from being a "hero of the ninja" to a "bear of the ninja." But no matter what changes occurred, Jiraiya always stood firmly on the side of the Hokage, with his heart set on the village.

Faced with Tsunade's doubts, Jiraiya sighed softly and then said, "Tsunade, a lot has happened in the village since you left Konoha."

Then, Jiraiya told Tsunade everything that had happened in the past few years.

After hearing the news, Tsunade's expression changed from solemn to bewildered, and she looked at Jiraiya with a helpless expression.

The Third Hokage's retreat in the face of the Hidden Cloud Village was understandable, but it was for the sake of forbearance and biding his time.

The Uchiha Night also occurred because the presence of the security force threatened the village, posing a risk of internal strife.

But why would the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki lead the Uchiha clan in their defection, establish a ninja village in the Land of Whirlpools, and even recently occupy the Land of Waves, where they fought a battle with Akatsuki mercenaries?

These things are unbelievable just to hear about them, and Tsunade doesn't know how to evaluate the Third Hokage.

Regarding Jiraiya and Kakashi's secret alliance to overthrow Danzo, Tsunade pondered for a long time before saying:

“You did the wrong thing in dealing with Danzo. The Third Hokage would never let you deal with Danzo. Danzo was a tool in his hands. Once he was overthrown, the old man would lose his authority as Hokage.”

Jiraiya sighed and said, "I know, but I still wanted to give the old man some face and let him deal with Danzo himself. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the courage to make a tough decision."

"As people get older, they always start to worry about what will happen to them and what their reputation will be like after they die."

Tsunade smiled, then looked at Jiraiya and said, "However, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki must have had a significant influence on you to make you determined to deal with the old man? What, is he the prophetic child you're looking for?"

Jiraiya nodded helplessly: "Yes, it's a pity that the Child of Prophecy has left the village, and in terms of both strength and temperament, he doesn't need me to take the lead."

"I've seen what's going on inside Uzushio Village. Naruto is able to keep the Uchiha clan under his thumb. The ninjas in the village are united against outsiders, there's no backstabbing or infighting, and they're dedicated to using ninjutsu for the benefit of the people. It reminds me of the First Hokage."

"Grandpa, does he deserve such a high evaluation?"

Tsunade frowned slightly. She didn't think a kid could compare to her great-grandfather, who was the god of the ninja world who ended the chaos and established the one-country-one-village system.

However, these reforms by the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki made her feel a sense of crisis.

If what Jiraiya said is true, then the village does indeed need a reform. If it falls behind the times, Konoha will not even be able to keep its title as the number one ninja village.

Thinking about this, Tsunade also had the idea of ​​returning to the village.

Just then, a group of grass ninjas suddenly appeared in the distance, surrounding Jiraiya and Tsunade menacingly, grabbing kunai and trying to subdue them.

The outcome of a Chunin fighting against the Sannin was predictable; Jiraiya easily defeated the Grass Ninja.

They learned from the Grass Ninja that they were hunting down a rogue ninja from Grass Village named Uzumaki Karin. Upon hearing the name Uzumaki, Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged a glance and continued interrogating the Grass Ninja.

When she heard that Kusagakure was treating Uzumaki ninjas as medical tools, Tsunade's eyes flashed with anger.

Although Uzushio Village was destroyed, it remains an ally of Konoha.

Jiraiya, however, had other ideas. If he could save Karin, it might ease the tension between him and Naruto. He didn't really want to be enemies with Minato's child.

After exchanging a glance and understanding each other's thoughts, the two of them took Shizune and headed towards Kusagakure.

……

Inside the Hidden Grass Village.

After the Jonin meeting concluded, the elder of the pro-war faction approached Wuwei, the Jonin in charge of managing Hozuki Castle, and said in a low voice:

"Jonin of Wuwei, the Akatsuki mercenaries are arriving soon. Is the Box of Ecstasy ready?"

Jonin Mui glanced at the elder wearing the animal mask and said somewhat uncertainly, "The Box of Bliss has been prepared for a long time, but elder, do you really intend to open the Box of Bliss in order to launch a coup?"

"Without the chakra of the tailed beasts, we can only make up for the lack of quality with quantity."

As a confidant of the elders who advocated war, Wuwei knew very well that the so-called Iwagakure army stationed on the border threatening Kusagakure was just a facade; the truth was that the elders had secretly contacted Iwagakure.

They wanted to use the threat of the Iwagakure army to unify the factions within Kusagakure and to legitimately use the Box of Bliss to release the angel who had once helped the Land of Grass rule over most of the ninja world.

The elder who advocated war glanced at Wuwei and said dismissively, "Isn't Hozuki Castle imprisoning those criminals? Rather than letting those ninjas who violated the rules be tortured in Hozuki Castle, it would be better to help Kusagakure achieve its hegemony."

"If that happens, all the major ninja villages will regard us as enemies..."

Wuwei spoke cautiously. As the lord of Hozuki Castle, he understood that many of the ninjas sent to Hozuki Castle prison wielded considerable influence within the ninja village and could not be dealt with casually.

“I know you have concerns, but we didn’t hire Akatsuki mercenaries. If we can sacrifice these mercenaries, we won’t need to use the criminals from Hozuki Castle.”

"But..." Wuwei hesitated, looking worried.

"There are no 'buts'!"

The elder of the pro-war faction waved his hand and said with great momentum, "Kusagakure must be revived in my hands. I will become the leader of Kusagakure in the new era."

Upon hearing this, Wuwei could only nod and agree with a hesitant expression.

However, when he was far away from the pro-war elders, a faint smile appeared on Jonin Wuwei's lips. On the surface, he opposed the blood sacrifice to open the Box of Bliss.

But in reality, he was the ninja who most wanted to open the Box of Elysium.

Several years ago, he lost his young son while conducting research, and since then, his only goal in life has been to revive his son.

Once the Chest of Bliss is opened, it can grant the person who opened it one wish.

As for the cost of opening the Box of Bliss, compared to the fact that his son had come back to life, it didn't matter what the cost was or how many people had to die.

What the Jonin Muwei didn't notice was that the White Zetsu, hiding underground, overheard the conversation between the pro-war elder and Muwei. After picking his nose, he fled deeper into the ground.

Faced with the White Zetsu's espionage abilities, the Grass Village's so-called security measures were utterly insignificant.

Chapter 174 The Box of Bliss

"Can opening the Box of Bliss grant the opener's wish?"

After hearing about the plot of Kusagakure and the information about the Box of Paradise, Obito frowned and fell into deep thought.

For a fleeting moment, he considered using the Box of Bliss to revive the dead, but if the Box of Bliss was truly that powerful, the Hidden Grass Village wouldn't be able to protect such a treasure at all.

However, the schemes devised by Kusagakure surrounding the Box of Bliss did catch his attention.

It's absurd that such a small village as Kusagakure harbors ambitions to conquer the ninja world and even dares to use the Akatsuki organization as a pawn.

Pulling his wandering thoughts back, Obito looked at Black Zetsu beside him: "Black Zetsu, how much do you know about the Box of Bliss? Can this thing really conquer the ninja world?"

Black said dismissively, "The Box of Bliss is a good treasure, but all the ninjas who use it will become part of the Box of Bliss, making it useless to our plan."

"The plan to collect the tailed beasts and revive the Ten-Tails..."

Thinking of this, Obito's face turned ugly. Last time he went to Konoha to look for Naruto's whereabouts, he found nothing. Naruto was not in Konoha at all.

If he hadn't known that Minato was the leader of Uzushio Village, he would have suspected that Naruto was the leader of Uzushio Village.

However, whether the leader of Uzushio Village is Minato or Naruto, they have become a major obstacle to the Eye of the Moon Plan. Without capturing the most crucial Nine-Tails, even if the other eight tailed beasts are captured, the Ten-Tails will only be a fragmented form.

This investigation of Kusagakure was not his own idea, but Nagato's.

After the battle with the leader of Uzushio Village, Nagato became less concerned about information on the Tailed Beasts and instead focused on developing Amegakure. He also set his sights on Kusagakure, sending Akatsuki members to gather intelligence on the village.

At that moment, Black Zetsu seemed to remember something and said to Obito, "Kusagakure is planning to target Kakuzu's team and Itachi's team. Should we notify them in advance?"

"Why should we notify them? We can just sit back and watch the show."

Obito said expressionlessly that although he had personally recruited Itachi Uchiha, Itachi had never been under his control. As for Kakuzu and Hidan, the two immortals, he didn't need to pay any attention to them.

……

On the other side, the elders of the pro-war faction met with Kakuzu, Itachi Uchiha, and others from the Akatsuki organization.

After recognizing the Akatsuki members, the pro-war elder broke out in a cold sweat. Although the Akatsuki was a mercenary organization on the black market, the number of rogue ninja in this organization was far too high.

Kakuzu once attempted to assassinate the First Hokage, Itachi Uchiha was an S-rank rogue ninja of Konoha, and Kisame also committed the crime of assassinating a daimyo. The weakest of these rogue ninjas were elite Jonin.

However, the stronger the power, the better the effect of the blood sacrifice later.

Thinking of this, the pro-war elder put on a smiling face and said, "The Akatsuki members have finally arrived. If you hadn't agreed to accept the commission, Kusagakure wouldn't know how to face the threat from Iwagakure."

Kakuzu said expressionlessly, "Let's talk about the specifics of the mission. Let's make it clear first: in addition to the commission, the bounty for killing the Iwagakure ninja will also belong to Akatsuki."

"That's natural. In addition, Kusagakure will also provide extra money."

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu nodded in satisfaction. The others were already used to Kakuzu's greed, and if it weren't for their leader Pain's insistence, they would never have acted together as a group of four.

After all, most of the Akatsuki members didn't like each other, and the risk of infighting among them was too great.

After exchanging pleasantries, the elder of the pro-war faction led several people to a secret room and then took out a list of personnel: "These are to be given to you to assassinate the Iwagakure ninjas, along with their relevant intelligence."

At this moment, a Grass Ninja walked up to the elder of the pro-war faction and whispered, "Elder, we still haven't found any trace of Karin. Could she have already left Grass Village?"

"You can't even find a little girl who's not even a genin? Are you all useless?"