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

Although they failed in the Chunin Exams held in Konoha, they successfully gained leverage over Sunagakure, allowing them to obtain more benefits from Sunagakure and ensure that Sunagakure could never leave Konoha again.

In this respect, Orochimaru actually did himself a favor, consolidating his position as Hokage.

What truly troubled Jiraiya was the Sarutobi clan's betrayal. The old man's Sarutobi clan had secretly colluded with Orochimaru and Sunagakure, attempting to overthrow him as Hokage.

Meanwhile, the Daimyo's attitude was very ambiguous, even supporting the old man to become Hokage again.

However, what the Sarutobi clan and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire did not expect was that the old man had no intention of returning to the position of Hokage. Instead, he stood up to deal with Orochimaru and stopped Orochimaru's plan at the cost of his life.

The old man's willingness to stand up and protect Konoha was likely not only due to his love for the village, but also because he wanted to protect the Sarutobi clan from their rebellion and prove that they had only been temporarily confused.

In this respect, it was actually the Sarutobi clan that killed the Third Hokage...

Jiraiya looked at the photo of Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose kind smile reminded him of the days he spent with his teacher, and he sighed softly.

The third-generation teacher died, leaving him a mess and the Sarutobi family, whose fate he didn't know how to deal with.

The Sarutobi clan clearly attacked the Hokage Building and participated in Orochimaru's plan to destroy Konoha. If they were to let it go lightly, it would inevitably diminish the authority of the Hokage Building and encourage other ninja clans to try their luck as well.

If they are dealt with severely, there are quite a few Sarutobi clan ninjas, and it's not impossible that Konoha could become another Village of Blood Mist. Besides, the old man's body is still warm; we can't send the Sarutobi clan to their deaths at this time.

Just then, there was a knock on the office door, and several high-ranking officials from Konoha walked in.

Besides assisting Tsunade, advising Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, there are also the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and the head of the Hyuga clan. They are all representatives of Konoha factions, representing different factions.

After a moment of silence, Tsunade asked first, "Jiraiya, what do you plan to do with the Sarutobi clan?"

"I haven't decided yet. I'll first remove Sarutobi from all his positions and conduct a systematic investigation. I'll deal with it after Sarutobi-sensei's burial."

Jiraiya was somewhat hesitant, unsure of how to deal with the Sarutobi clan.

After a pause, Jiraiya continued, "However, the negotiations with Sunagakure need to be expedited. Although Sunagakure was misled by Orochimaru into attacking Konoha, they must compensate Konoha for the losses suffered."

"My intention is to station troops within Sunagakure Village, but what are your thoughts on having Sunagakure provide the funding for this garrison?"

"Your plan is very good, but you can decide this yourselves. There's no need to ask us."

The two advisors weren't interested in the negotiations. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio and the Hyuga clan leader didn't dare to offer too many opinions. The Sarutobi clan's problem was the conflict between Jiraiya and the Third Hokage, and they didn't want to get too involved.

More than ten years ago, they might have even considered vying for the Hokage position.

But after so many years, the election for Hokage has become increasingly brutal. First, the Uchiha clan was forced to leave, and now the Sarutobi clan has betrayed them. The position of Hokage seems to have become a curse, and once you are involved, you will be unfortunate.

Therefore, instead of running for the position of Hokage, it would be better to firmly grasp an important department and strive to become an advisor.

However, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and Hiashi Hyuga understood that Jiraiya had only summoned them to the meeting as a formality, and did not truly consider them advisors. After all, their seniority was far inferior to that of Jiraiya and Tsunade, let alone the two veteran advisors.

After the two advisors and the ninja clan leader left, only Jiraiya and Tsunade remained in the office.

Jiraiya glanced at Tsunade. After overcoming her hemophobia, Tsunade looked much better and regained her former radiance, which made him want to make a few sarcastic remarks.

After exchanging a glance, Jiraiya asked Tsunade, "How's Naruto doing? What conditions did he propose?"

"Naruto hasn't put forward any specific conditions yet, but when he was fighting Orochimaru, the ninjas next to him were Minato Namikaze and Kushina's reanimated bodies."

"Minato and Kushina... they were resurrected by Naruto using Edo Tensei."

"That's right, they should be shopping with Naruto right now. With them around, we don't have to worry about Naruto attacking Konoha for the time being. Naruto seems to have very little affection for Konoha and the Third Hokage."

Jiraiya nodded: "I know that. It's the old man's fault. I tried to persuade him, but it was no use. Fortunately, Naruto didn't team up with Orochimaru this time, otherwise Konoha would have been in real danger."

After a pause, Jiraiya continued, "However, Naruto's willingness to negotiate with us this time is an opportunity. We must find a way to make him an ally of Konoha and not continue to distance ourselves from him."

Just then, an ANBU member entered the office and handed Jiraiya a report.

Jiraiya glanced at it and immediately frowned, saying, "This is Kakashi's report. It records a major event: when Orochimaru attacked the village, the masked man from Akatsuki also appeared near the village, and the masked man's true identity is Uchiha Obito!"

"The masked man is Uchiha Obito?" Tsunade was extremely shocked.

Jiraiya nodded solemnly, then gave a wry smile: "According to Kakashi, Obito became the Masked Man because of Rin Nohara back then, and launched the Nine-Tails attack against the village."

"Unexpectedly, besides Nagato and the others, the masked man is also a ninja who separated from Konoha."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade's expression turned somewhat strange. In fact, not only Nagato and the masked man, but also the Land of Whirlpools was established by Konoha ninjas and belonged to Naruto and the Uchiha clan.

At the same time, Tsunade secretly thought how powerful Konoha would be if all these people hadn't left.

Chapter 249 Night Talk

After nightfall, Naruto stood by the window, gazing at Konoha in the distance.

During his trip to Konoha, he obtained some of the chakra of the Yin Nine-Tails and Shukaku, which was quite a fruitful trip. His only regret was that he was unable to officially become a Chunin and still held the title of the strongest Genin.

Logically, he could have left Konoha with the other ninja from other villages, but there was still one important matter he needed to participate in.

That was to attend the funeral of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and witness the burial of Hiruzen Sarutobi's coffin, thus bringing a perfect end to this trip to Konoha.

Just then, Naruto sensed Kakashi rapidly approaching his inn, and a smile crept onto his lips.

Soon, Kakashi opened the window and arrived at the third floor of the hotel where Naruto was staying. Seeing Naruto sitting on a stool, busy with something, he hesitated whether to tell Naruto about his meeting with Obito.

Naruto turned around, looked at Kakashi, and chuckled, "Kakashi-senpai, is there something you need from me?"

Kakashi didn't hesitate any longer and said directly, "When Orochimaru attacked the village, Guy and I discovered Obito's whereabouts. He's been staying near Konoha."

Naruto nodded: "I know Obito has been staying near Konoha. How did your reunion go? Did Obito listen to you and voluntarily give up his plan to destabilize other countries?"

Kakashi shook his head with a wry smile: "Obito's obsession is stronger than I imagined. I can't persuade him at all. I can only team up with Guy to deal with him, but in the end he still escaped. However, I made a hole in his body, and he should need to rest for a few months."

"It won't take months, Obito's injuries will heal in a few days. You underestimate his body."

"His half of his body is made up of White Zetsu. White Zetsu have extremely strong vitality and can even rival the First Hokage in terms of self-healing. Your hand is injured, so you should be careful lately and don't let your eyes be stolen."

"If Obito were to collect both Kaleidoscope Sharingan, he would truly become unrestrained."

Naruto looked relaxed as he said these words, but Kakashi was anything but relaxed. If he were to lose to Obito today, the consequences would be unimaginable.

For a moment, he even considered handing the Mangekyou Sharingan over to Naruto.

But in the end, he gave up. Just as Obito had always held back against him, he was also unable to make up his mind to kill Obito.

Naruto saw through Kakashi's thoughts and said calmly, "Kakashi-senpai, after you attend the funeral tomorrow, you can join our Uzushio Village. Uzushio Village will protect your safety."

Kakashi was about to refuse when he seemed to remember something: "Naruto, are you also planning to attend the Third Hokage's funeral tomorrow? Isn't this funeral only for Konoha members?"

"Have you forgotten that I am the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"

After a pause, Naruto continued, "Furthermore, given Konoha's current situation, it is simply unable to resist the attacks from Kumogakure and Iwagakure. Jiraiya has temporarily left Konoha to deter the pressure from Kumogakure and Iwagakure."

Kakashi thought about it carefully and understood.

In the past decade, Konoha has lost the Uchiha clan and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki as key fighting forces. Root has also either disbanded or defected due to Danzo's downfall.

Following the Chunin Exams incident, even the Sarutobi clan and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire became involved in the internal strife.

As a result, Konoha has very little fighting power, and it is extremely difficult to maintain the existing order.

Thinking of this, Kakashi looked at Naruto with suspicion. Could it be that Naruto wanted to cause trouble at the Third Hokage's funeral, or perhaps he was imitating Orochimaru's invasion of Konoha?

Naruto smiled without saying a word, clapped his hands, and Shisui appeared on the third floor.

Looking at Naruto and Shisui, Kakashi asked with some confusion, "What does your attendance at the Third Hokage's funeral have to do with me joining Uzushio Village?"

"Of course it's related. After attending the funeral, Jiraiya could no longer tolerate you."

Naruto gave a meaningful look and then said, "At tomorrow's funeral, I plan to have Shisui reveal some truths and return some of the blame that should have belonged to the Third Hokage to him."

"This also includes the incident of your father, Konoha's White Fang, committing suicide."

Kakashi said with a serious expression, "I have investigated my father's matter. He did indeed die by suicide. Danzo and the others at most spread the news, but did not spread any other excessive rumors."

Naruto glanced at Kakashi and said calmly, "What if it was Asuma who failed the mission? If it had been Konohamaru who was threatened by Kumogakure to hand over, would the Third Hokage have just stood by and done nothing?"

Upon hearing this, Kakashi fell silent, and after thinking it over, his answer was no.

Seeing that his words had an effect, Naruto pressed his advantage, saying, "However, none of these things are important. What's important is that revealing these truths will make me feel better and more satisfied. What do you think, Kakashi-senpai?"

Kakashi nodded subconsciously, but when he looked up and saw Naruto's sly smile, he realized he had been tricked.

Despite being Naruto's senior in terms of age, Naruto always saw through his thoughts and willingly used him. Compared to a monster like Naruto, he is not a genius at all.

At this moment, Shisui, who was standing to the side, said with a smile, "With Kakashi-senpai joining us, our plan for tomorrow will go much more smoothly. Menma-sama and I only have partial knowledge of the truth, and our persuasiveness is not as good as Kakashi-senpai's."

Kakashi felt a chill run down his spine as he watched Shisui. He remembered that Shisui had also awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Furthermore, the Uchiha clan was suppressed and ostracized during the Third Hokage's reign, and ultimately, under Itachi Uchiha's execution, the entire clan left Konoha and went overseas to follow Naruto.

This means that even if Naruto doesn't intervene, Uchiha Shisui won't let this opportunity pass him by.

After careful consideration, Kakashi joined Naruto and Shisui's plan, but he was still hesitant about defecting. He had many colleagues in Konoha with whom he had good relationships, and the students of Team 7 were not yet strong enough to stand on their own.

After discussing for more than ten minutes, the plan for tomorrow was almost finalized, and Kakashi left the inn.

Before leaving, he glanced longingly at the third floor where Naruto was, his face full of worries.

After Kakashi left, Shisui looked at Kakashi's retreating figure and said with concern in his eyes, "Lord Menma, why didn't you attack Kakashi? Why did you repeatedly try to recruit him into the village? What if he leaked our plan?"

Naruto picked up his juice, took a sip, and said, "Kakashi isn't that kind of person. Besides, with him around, we can find Obito more easily and deal with this madman wandering the ninja world."

Chapter 250 The Things the Third Generation Did

The next morning, a heavy rain fell in Konoha.

The cemetery for heroes was still packed with ninjas. Countless ninjas, holding black umbrellas, braved the heavy rain to attend the funeral of the Third Hokage, remaining silent amidst the mournful music.

The Third Hokage was neither the first Hokage who founded the ninja village, nor the second Hokage who laid the foundation for it.

However, he was the Hokage who ruled Konoha for the longest time. To put it bluntly, in a profession where the average lifespan of a ninja is only thirty or forty years, the Third Hokage's rule spanned the life and death of many ninjas.

During his long reign, the Third Hokage led Konoha to its peak, but it also gradually declined.

Therefore, many ninjas were incredulous at the death of the Third Hokage and spontaneously came to the Heroes' Cemetery to attend the funeral of this Hokage who sacrificed himself for the village.

The ninjas attending the funeral included not only high-ranking officials from the Land of Fire and those from Konoha, but also ninjas from other villages.

Even the ninjas from Sunagakure were among them. They looked towards the burial site of the Third Hokage with extremely complicated expressions, unsure of what to say.

After surrendering to Konoha, they gradually realized that Orochimaru was the mastermind behind the Konoha Collapse Plan.

Although their Kazekage also harbored some resentment towards Konoha, he died by Orochimaru's finger before setting off to participate in the Chunin Exams, and even his corpse was used, which made them feel extremely humiliated.

But compared to these humiliations, they should consider reality more.

How to select a new Kazekage after the Kazekage's death, and how to ensure that Sunagakure is not expelled from the Five Great Ninja Villages—these are far more worthy of consideration than humiliation.