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

But now the Mist Village is too weak. If it weren't for its extremely scarce resources, it would have long become easy prey for other major powers.

After much hesitation, Yagura Karatachi abandoned all his principles and looked at Naruto with a solemn expression, asking, "I have decided to resign from my position as Mizukage in three months. Mr. Menma, who do you think would be more suitable to take over as Mizukage?"

Naruto was taken aback by Yagura's shameless behavior, then joked, "How about I become the Mizukage? That would fit the Hidden Mist Village's philosophy of respecting the strong, and we wouldn't have to go through all that trouble negotiating later."

“This…” Yagura hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.

"Who becomes the Mizukage is an internal matter of Kirigakure. How can I, an outsider, interfere? As long as the agreement can be successfully implemented, I don't care."

At this point, Naruto looked at Master Genji: "In comparison, I would like to talk to Master Genji about the Land of Whirlpools. There are still many details about what happened to the Land of Whirlpools back then that I do not know, and I need Master Genji to enlighten me."

What's meant to happen will happen eventually...

Master Yuan was already prepared. Leaning on his cane, he arrived at the door, gestured for him to enter, and said, "I wasn't directly involved in the war against the Land of Whirlpools back then, and I don't know much about it, but I still hope I can clear up your doubts..."

"After all, the Land of Whirlpools and the Hidden Mist Village now share a common enemy."

Naruto didn't say anything, and followed Genji into another room in the Mizukage Building.

Chapter 115 Possessing a Treasure is a Crime

After entering the secret room, Naruto learned the truth about the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools from Genji.

The reason for the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools can be summed up in the phrase "possessing a treasure is a crime." Besides the fact that their sealing techniques were coveted, the destruction was also closely related to the Hidden Leaf Village.

The First Hokage's act of distributing the Tailed Beasts back then seemed to be aimed at balancing the power of various countries.

However, being assigned to a Tailed Beast Village is not good news. In addition to worrying about the Jinchuriki being taken away, they also have to be on guard against the destruction caused by the Jinchuriki going out of control.

During the First Shinobi World War, they also realized that Jinchuriki were not very useful.

Uncontrolled Jinchuriki will indiscriminately attack the surrounding ninja villages, making them a force that kills a thousand enemies but also loses eight hundred of their own.

In contrast, Mito Uzumaki, the first Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, performed exceptionally well, enabling Konoha to withstand the siege of the other major powers and directly ending the First Shinobi World War.

After witnessing Mito Uzumaki's performance, the Hidden Cloud Village, Hidden Mist Village, and Hidden Stone Village turned their attention to the Land of Whirlpools.

Taking advantage of the fact that Konoha was preoccupied with its allies, they launched a preemptive attack on the Land of Whirlpools. After paying a heavy price, they obtained the Land of Whirlpools' sealing techniques, which gave the three great nations a stable way to control Jinchuriki.

Hearing this, Naruto asked curiously, "Did Konoha really not send any reinforcements at that time?"

Master Yuan shook his head: "They sent some ninjas, but they arrived when Kirigakure was withdrawing. It seems they wanted to do Uzushiogakure a favor, but they failed in the end."

Naruto stared at Yuan Shi for a long time, then narrowed his eyes and said, "How can you prove that you're not trying to sow discord between the Land of Whirlpools and Konoha? Allies are always more reliable than former enemies."

"I have no reason to lie to you. If you want to expose what Kirigakure did back then, you can kill me to vent your anger."

Master Yuan exuded an aura of nonchalance, as if he had long ago decided to exchange his life for cooperation with the Land of Whirlpools.

Naruto snorted coldly and said, "You're using your life as a bargaining chip, but unfortunately, I won't fall for it, nor will I terminate our cooperation with Kirigakure. You Kirigakure should think about how to deal with the masked man's revenge."

“I can’t stay in Kirigakure forever, and your Fourth Mizukage won’t live much longer either.”

After saying that, Naruto flicked his sleeves and left the secret room, leaving only Genji sighing. He could already foresee the future of Kirigakure.

They either become nominal allies of the Land of Whirlpools, but in reality, subordinates, or they accept the masked man's revenge.

Neither of these two futures was what he hoped for, nor was it what the Mizukage of previous generations wanted to see.

……

After meeting with the Fourth Mizukage and Master, Naruto did not linger in Kirigakure for long.

Having obtained the crucial Three-Tails chakra and secured numerous benefits for the Land of Whirlpools, he saved Juzo Biwa, whom Obito wanted to kill, and acquired the Akatsuki's ring. He no longer needed to remain in Kirigakure.

Before boarding the ship leaving Kirigakure, Naruto noticed two figures behind him: Zabuza and Haku.

Naruto frowned and said jokingly, "Zabuza, what are you doing following me? Did you fail to assassinate the Mizukage, and now you're trying to assassinate me?"

Zabuza shook his head: "I don't have the guts. Besides, the Fourth Mizukage treated me well, letting me wield the Executioner's Blade and become a member of the Ninja Swordsmen."

"A promotion and a raise is a good thing... but you still haven't explained why."

"It was an order from the Mizukage. Didn't the alliance agreement say that we would send Jonin to exchange ninjutsu? I was one of the Jonin sent for that exchange..."

Zabuza looked at Haku behind him: "As for this guy, he won't be well-liked in Kirigakure either, so we might as well let him come along. It's okay if the Land of Whirlpools can accept the Uchiha clan and the remnants of the Yuki clan, right?"

With the awakening of the Fourth Mizukage, the policy against bloodline ninjas was abolished, but discrimination against bloodline ninjas still exists. It may take several more years before bloodline ninjas are fully accepted.

This is somewhat similar to Konoha, except that would the persecuted be willing to accept such charity?

Naruto couldn't help but have some doubts, but this was a problem that Kirigakure needed to face, and it was not his concern for the time being.

At this moment, Haku, hiding behind Zabuza, curiously observed Naruto.

He originally thought that Menma was one of the Jonin of Kirigakure, just like Zabuza, but according to Zabuza, Menma-sama's strength was unparalleled in the entire ninja world, far surpassing that of the Mizukage.

Moreover, it is said that the newly built artificial lake outside Kirigakure is their masterpiece.

Naruto was also looking at the cute boy and said with a smile, "You're so pretty, you must be a boy, right?"

"I am male..." Bai was about to explain his gender, but found that the other person recognized him as a boy at a glance. However, he was handsome and should be a boy. What was going on?

Seeing that Haku was somewhat at a loss, Naruto gave up his idea of ​​teasing him.

Although boys can be cute, their true sexual orientation is towards girls, especially those girls who seem weak but can stand up for them in crucial moments.

I wonder how Hinata is doing in Konoha. Has she become stronger because of my departure?

Pulling his wandering thoughts back, Naruto did not refuse Zabuza and Haku's request to follow him. The three boarded a ship bound for the Land of Fire, intending to arrive there first and then transfer to the Land of Whirlpools.

A week later, Naruto and his companions successfully arrived at the transit port of the Land of Fire.

The ship took a full half-day to dock, and Naruto planned to use this time to purchase educational books from the Land of Fire, so he took Haku off the ship.

Although Haku was reluctant to part with Zabuza, he obediently followed Naruto's orders.

During the procurement process, Naruto was very dissatisfied with the textbooks from the Land of Fire. Even in the era of ninja villages, they still emphasized the concept of respecting nobles and daimyo, and the version was decades outdated.

Even if one were to claim that the aristocratic rule originated from the gods, it wouldn't be the daimyo who ruled, but rather the bloodline ninja clan.

It can only be said that the rule of the five great nations of the ninja world is all strange, and the few reasonable countries are all small countries.

However, apart from the political textbooks, the other textbooks were quite good. Naruto bought a whole bunch of them and had Haku carry them around.

When it was lunchtime, Naruto took Haku to an izakaya (Japanese pub).

Eating was secondary; what Naruto valued was the izakaya's atmosphere, where all sorts of people gathered to share their experiences and conversations over drinks.

After casually ordering some drinks and snacks, Naruto began to gather information.

They quickly focused their attention on the white-haired man in the corner. The white-haired man seemed to be a dissolute man, but in reality he was secretly gathering all kinds of information. If nothing unexpected happened, he should be a ninja companion.

Seemingly noticing Naruto's gaze, the white-haired man looked over.

After a brief eye contact, the two looked away and continued to gather information as if the other did not exist.

Just then, Naruto noticed the white-haired man's wallet, which seemed to be frog-shaped, and immediately frowned.

The white hair, lecherous nature, and frog symbol reminded him of someone: Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha.

Thinking of this, Naruto shifted his focus and asked Minato Namikaze, "Fourth Hokage, if I'm not mistaken, is that Jonin Jiraiya sitting there?"

After sharing his senses, Minato Namikaze nodded: "It's highly likely that it was Jiraiya-sensei. It's quite a coincidence that you were able to meet Jiraiya-sensei on your way back to the Land of Whirlpools."

"It's not necessarily a matter of fate. There's another possibility: he discovered the Uchiha clan active in the Land of Whirlpools..."

Hearing this, Minato Namikaze sighed softly: "If possible, don't get into a conflict with Jiraiya-sensei. Jiraiya-sensei is my teacher, and your name comes from his novel."

Whether a conflict will occur depends not on me, but on him. Unless absolutely necessary, I am unwilling to fight the Sannin.

Chapter 116 A Hot-Blooded Fool and a Middle-Aged Uncle

Until they left the izakaya, Naruto and Jiraiya maintained their tacit understanding and did not interfere with each other's intelligence gathering.

This relieved Minato Namikaze inside the sealed space. He didn't want to see Naruto and Jiraiya fighting, otherwise his chakra clone might collapse due to his emotions.

Naruto also wondered if he was being too paranoid, since Jiraiya had no reason to go to the isolated Land of Whirlpools.

After all, even if the Uchiha clan had the idea of ​​escaping, they would have fled to Iwagakure or Kumogakure, both of which have the strength to directly confront Konoha.

After leaving the izakaya, they returned to the ship bound for the Land of Whirlpools.

Holding the sealing scroll, Haku asked with some doubt, "Lord Menma, the old man we saw at the izakaya earlier is also on the ship. Could he be a ninja who is deliberately following us?"

Naruto glanced at Haku in surprise, then remembered Haku's talent as a ninja and nodded.

Just as Stand users are drawn to each other, the ninjas on the ship naturally noticed their fellow ninjas. After boarding the ship bound for the Land of Whirlpools, Jiraiya also spotted Naruto and Haku.

While at the izakaya, he suspected that the two were Kirigakure ninja from the Land of Water, carrying out a mission in the Land of Fire.

Adhering to the principle of not provoking conflict between ninja villages, he did not pay much attention to the two, nor did he use illusions to extract relevant information from them.

But the fact that these two people also boarded the ship bound for the Land of Whirlpools made him begin to doubt the nature of the Kirigakure's mission.

After all, Uzushio Village had perished decades ago, and the Land of Whirlpools was now a gathering place for criminals and wandering ninjas, with nothing worth Kirigakure's covetousness.

He went to the Land of Whirlpools for two reasons: first, to track down Orochimaru, and second, because news of the Uchiha clan's activities had spread there.

What was the purpose of the Mist Ninja? Could it be that Orochimaru secretly cooperated with the Mist Ninja?

Help the Uchiha clan defect to Kirigakure?

With his doubts in mind, Jiraiya approached the location of Naruto and Haku. Before he got close to the two, Jiraiya suddenly stopped. He saw the 'Kigakure Demon' Momochi Zabuza.

Zabuza is famous among Jonin from various countries, not because of his strength, but because of his act of killing all his classmates during the graduation exam, forcing the Kirigakure leadership to change the exam content.

Zabuza Momochi noticed the furtive Jiraiya and immediately frowned.

Just as he was about to step forward and reprimand him, he looked at Naruto beside him. Naruto did not speak, so he dared not make any rash moves.

After a few awkward seconds of eye contact, Jiraiya scratched his head and said apologetically, "Sorry, I just saw a familiar back view and thought you were acquaintances. I didn't realize I had mistaken you for someone else."

"You've mistaken us for someone else?" After obtaining Naruto's permission, Zabuza said coldly, "I would believe an ordinary person mistaking another, but it's suspicious if a ninja does. Why are you following us?"

Jiraiya was momentarily speechless, and as he was thinking of how to escape, Naruto said, "Zabuza-senpai, relax a bit. We're just going to the Land of Whirlpools for a vacation, not on some special mission..."

Going on a trip to the Land of Whirlpools... Zabuza was speechless, but he could only go along with Naruto's words and start acting out the scenario: "Even when ninjas go on vacation, they can't let their guard down. What if they encounter enemy ninjas on the way?"

After being reprimanded by Zabuza, Naruto became somewhat listless and then asked Jiraiya, "This uncle must also be a ninja, right? Are you a Chunin or a Genin? Are you also planning to travel to the Land of Whirlpools?"

"I guess I'd be considered a Chunin..."

Jiraiya casually made up an identity and excuse, saying, "However, I'm not going to the Land of Whirlpools for tourism, but to see what job opportunities are available there. These days, all the business has been taken over by the big ninja villages, and we small village ninjas don't know how to make a living..."