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

"Minato, I truly never imagined that Danzo had done so many things behind my back!"

Minato Namikaze glanced at the Third Hokage and then said:

"The Third Hokage has been the Hokage for so many years, and some oversights are being addressed. The main problem is that Danzo was too well hidden. He even secretly collaborated with Orochimaru to conduct Wood Release experiments. If he hadn't attacked Kakashi, I wouldn't have discovered it..."

"However, although Danzo has been brought to justice, Orochimaru took the opportunity to escape from the village. The fact that Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, is a rogue ninja is not good news for the village."

Hearing this, the Third Hokage sighed, "Orochimaru is too good at escaping. When I went to capture him, only a clone of Orochimaru remained in the base. If it were you, Orochimaru probably wouldn't have been able to escape."

At this point, the Third Hokage revealed a complicated expression, then turned and left.

Minato Namikaze stared at the Third Hokage's back for a long time, his brows furrowed.

The Third Hokage probably let Orochimaru go on purpose. However, the fact that he failed to capture Orochimaru undoubtedly proves that the Third Hokage is old and frail. This is actually a good thing for him to consolidate his power as Hokage.

Having eliminated the unstable elements within the Hokage faction, the next step is to target other forces.

Only by solving these deep-seated problems that hinder the village's progress can the great ship of Konoha sail further; otherwise, by the time his son Naruto rises to power, the village will be beyond saving.

Naruto shouldn't have to bear so much pressure at such a young age; it's all his responsibility.

After he learned what would happen in the future, the once gentle and kind Minato had already died, leaving only the cold and ruthless Fourth Hokage who was only concerned about his family and the village.

However, dealing with Danzo relied on the dissatisfaction of various forces with him. Dealing with other ninja clans would not be so easy. If they were not careful, they would be attacked by various forces and would not even be able to keep their position as Hokage.

According to what he said when he met Naruto, he should win over some people and suppress others.

It is essential to maintain majority control; one must never act unilaterally without absolute strength.

……

A few days later, under the orders of the Fourth Hokage, Jiraiya, who was guarding the front line, received intelligence from the village.

After hearing about Danzo's downfall and Orochimaru's defection, Jiraiya was extremely anxious. Once he received permission, he rushed back to the village.

Upon arriving at the Hokage Building, Jiraiya encountered Minato Namikaze, who was working in his office while drinking tea.

Upon seeing Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze immediately stood up and said with a smile, "Jiraiya-sensei, you're finally back. Without you here, I always feel a little uneasy."

Jiraiya scratched his head and asked anxiously, "Minato, did Orochimaru really defect?"

Minato Namikaze nodded: "After Orochimaru's secret Wood Release experiments were exposed, he fled to avoid punishment. He is currently a dangerous S-rank rogue ninja, enough to threaten the safety of the ninja village."

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya took a deep breath and said, "I'll go capture Orochimaru right now and bring him back to the village. Do you have any information about Orochimaru?"

“I don’t have any information…” Minato Namikaze shook his head, then stood in front of Jiraiya: “And I intend to stop Jiraiya-sensei from hunting down Orochimaru.”

"Why?" Jiraiya asked, puzzled.

"Then you'll have to ask Jiraiya-sensei. If you capture Orochimaru, what do you plan to do with him?"

"This..." Jiraiya paused for a moment, then hesitated before saying, "Of course, we need to persuade Orochimaru to return to the village..."

Minato Namikaze sighed, then sat down and said, "Putting aside the fact that Orochimaru's mistakes are enough to warrant serving his life in Konoha Prison, do you think you won't have a soft spot for Orochimaru, teacher? Do you think he'll behave himself in Konoha Prison?"

"Minato, are you really planning to ignore Orochimaru?"

Minato Namikaze nodded slightly: "I don't plan to send the Anbu to hunt down Orochimaru for the time being. Unless my teacher and I personally lead the team, the probability of capturing a rogue ninja like him is extremely slim."

"The main reason for bringing the teachers back to the village this time is to leverage their prestige to assist me in carrying out the reforms."

Chapter 332 When the Dragon Vein Returns, Minato's Memories Were Not Sealed (6)

"reform?"

Jiraiya was somewhat puzzled and didn't understand why Minato Namikaze wanted to reform.

The village has just ended its war with Iwagakure and is in a time to recuperate. Such a sweeping reform plan will inevitably allow other ninja villages to take advantage of the situation.

Keep in mind that Konoha hasn't signed a peace treaty with Kumogakure yet.

Minato Namikaze gestured for Jiraiya to sit down, then said, "The village's motto is 'The Will of Fire never dies,' but the village's fire can only illuminate the corners of the common ninjas, not the ninja clans and the higher-ups."

"But attempting to modify these ninja clans with the Will of Fire will inevitably provoke their backlash."

"Kushina and I alone cannot handle these backlashes. We can only rely on Master's prestige. This is a small request from your disciple. If it is difficult for Master..."

Before Minato could continue, Jiraiya said solemnly, "Minato, what you said makes a lot of sense. I fully support your decision. Just go ahead and do it."

"Then thank you very much, Jiraiya-sensei..." Minato Namikaze expressed his heartfelt gratitude.

However, what prompted Jiraiya to fully support Minato was not only Minato's status as a disciple, but also the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage.

The prophecy foretold that someone would bring peace to the ninja world, and it now appears that person to be Minato.

Minato is incredibly powerful and embodies the Will of Fire. He is currently the last person who might become the Child of Prophecy, and he desperately wants to see a peaceful ninja world.

……

With Jiraiya's support, Minato Namikaze became increasingly radical in his reforms.

Initially, they targeted ordinary Jonin and small clans, but gradually they shifted their focus to smaller clans, resolving many minor conflicts within Konoha.

However, during the reform process, there were three powerful families that were impossible to overcome.

The Uchiha, Hyuga, and Sarutobi clans.

Both the Uchiha and Hyuga clans are powerful clans with a history of thousands of years. Each clan has more than a dozen Jonin, and their overall combat strength is comparable to that of a small ninja clan. Although the Sarutobi clan only has the Third Hokage as its high-level combatant, its number of members is extremely large.

If these three ninja clans cannot be dealt with, the reform will only fail halfway through.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to attend Hyuga Hizashi's son's one-month celebration, Minato Namikaze met with the Hyuga ninja who had failed in his election for clan head and expressed his desire to meet him.

A few days later, Hyuga Hizashi came to the Hokage's office under the pretext of reporting official business.

Looking at the Fourth Hokage dressed in the divine robes, Hyuga Hizashi was somewhat reserved and uneasy, and cautiously asked, "Fourth Hokage, what brings you here?"

"Your son is very cute; he might become an excellent Jonin someday..."

Minato Namikaze's words made Hizashi Hyuga's heart skip a beat, and he immediately said, "Hokage-sama, do you have some grievances against the Hyuga clan? You can talk to Hiashi-sama, he is the head of the clan."

Minato Namikaze said calmly, "I am very dissatisfied with the Caged Bird Sequence!"

Hyuga Hizashi hesitated for a moment before saying, "The Caged Bird Seal is a tradition of the Hyuga clan. I'm afraid the Hokage shouldn't interfere. Besides, the Byakugan also needs the protection of the Caged Bird Seal."

"Of course I know about the caged bird's protection of Hyuga..."

Minato Namikaze walked up to Hizashi Hyuga and said slowly, "The Caged Bird Seal is necessary, but the Caged Bird Seal system cannot exist. At the very least, the Hyuga clan cannot have a distinction between the main family and the branch family."

"Whether it's the main family or the branch family, they are all part of the village. However, the main family openly discriminates against the branch family. This goes against the First Hokage's Will of Fire and also goes against the wishes of the branch family ninjas."

"What does the Fourth Generation Lord intend to do?"

Hyuga Hizashi felt somewhat uneasy, but also excited.

As the younger brother, he genuinely wanted to protect his older brother, who was the head of the family. However, after Neji Hyuga was born, his thoughts began to waver. He could become a member of the branch family, but Neji could not.

Moreover, it's fine if the older brother's offspring is capable, but what if it's useless?

Minato Namikaze said calmly, "Go and secretly unite the branch families who are willing to resist the Caged Bird system. When the time is right, I will personally go and have a talk with Hiashi Hyuga."

Hyuga Hizashi was still somewhat hesitant: "But the Caged Bird Seal can control the fate of the branch family. What if they strongly resist?"

Minato Namikaze dismissively said, "The Caged Bird Clan can control the life and death of the branch families. As the Hokage, can't I control their lives and deaths? I will definitely change the Caged Bird Clan system of the Hyuga clan."

"Under the light of the Will of Fire, the abnormal existence of the main family and branch families is absolutely not allowed."

Hyuga Hitsuji nodded, though he had many concerns, he believed the Fourth Hokage's words to some extent.

The fourth generation is different from the third generation; most of the promises made by the third generation are not kept.

However, the Fourth Hokage did indeed target Danzo. Danzo's status was much higher than that of the head of the Hyuga clan, and his Root faction was not to be trifled with.

After leaving the office, Hyuga Hizashi ran into a young Uchiha.

After exchanging a glance, the Uchiha boy entered the Hokage's office and said with a smile to the Fourth Hokage, "Fourth Hokage, Shisui has come to report."

The Fourth Hokage looked at the bewildered Uchiha Shisui and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

He naturally knew that Shisui's ancestor was Uchiha Kagami, one of the members of the Second Hokage's Guardian Corps, but how did such a gentle person as Shisui awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan?

Moreover, despite possessing the Mangekyou Sharingan, he chose to trust Danzo, which led to the Mangekyou Sharingan being stolen.

However, none of that matters. What matters is that Shisui is a loyal supporter of the Will of Fire, making him a suitable candidate to become a squad leader in his ANBU unit, as well as a ninja he can plant within the Uchiha clan.

After a moment's thought, the Fourth Hokage slowly said, "Shisui, I intend to appoint you as a member of the Anbu. Are you willing to serve me? I can help you resolve the village's discrimination against the Uchiha and help the Uchiha break free from the restrictions of the police force and become a normal family in the village."

Shisui looked up at the Fourth Hokage, his eyes filled with shock.

He had long realized that the security force was the root of the conflict between the Uchiha and the villagers, but the clansmen were so engrossed in the power of the security force that they gradually distanced themselves from the villagers.

Surprisingly, even the Fourth Hokage realized this.

At this moment, the Fourth Hokage continued, "I have done a lot of research during this time. I know that as power increases, the Sharingan will gradually affect the mind, which is also the reason why strong Uchiha are unstable."

"But this understanding is not enough. I need you to tell me about the Uchiha clan in detail. Shisui-kun, would you be willing to tell me in detail?"

“Yes, Fourth Hokage!” Shisui nodded.

Chapter 333 When the Dragon Vein Returns, Minato's Memories Were Not Sealed (7)

With the assistance of two traitors, Hyuga Hizashi and Uchiha Shisui, Minato Namikaze could confidently and boldly carry out reforms on the Hyuga and Uchiha clans.

The Hyuga clan's problem lies in being like a caged bird, while the Uchiha clan's problem lies in the chakra imbalance brought about by awakening the Sharingan.

Between the two clans, apart from a small number of ninjas, most of the genin and clan members without ninja abilities are willing to support the Will of Fire, and only the village can protect these ordinary people with low combat power.

They wanted to change the mindset of the Hyuga main family and branch families, and to improve the Uchiha bloodline psychological disorders.

These problems all stem from the education provided by ninja academies. Only by creating a peaceful environment and raising the age at which ninja academy students become ninjas can we avoid these awkward situations.

The Third Hokage's idea was to restore the six-year education system from the Tobirama era.

According to the alternate dimension Naruto, at least nine years of ninja training is required, and the classification of ninjas needs to be refined. In addition to becoming medical ninjas and mercenaries, ninjas need to have more development paths.

Minato Namikaze strongly agreed with the idea of ​​Naruto from another dimension.

However, unlike Naruto, who became a rogue ninja, Konoha is the largest and most complex ninja village in the ninja world. The difficulty and risk of reform are multiplied. But if it succeeds, Konoha will be reborn.

Several months later, Minato Namikaze, having made all the necessary preparations, convened a meeting of Jonin.

In the conference room, Minato Namikaze looked at the dozens of powerful Jonin gathered there and outlined the reform projects that needed to be implemented next.

First, all children of the appropriate age from all ninja clans must attend ninja academies, including the Hyuga and Uchiha clans.