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

"Orochimaru, what's going on in the Land of Whirlpools? Why did Shisui join Uzushio Village? And who is Uzumaki Menma? I need the information you have."

Upon receiving Itachi Uchiha's message, Orochimaru smiled and replied:

"Information isn't provided for free. You must also provide information that interests me. If there's an opportunity, we should meet—a meeting between Konoha's rogue ninja—and I'll give you satisfactory information..."

"I don't trust you, but I can meet with you. I'll choose the location."

"That won't do. What if you attack me? You need information about my men, so please adopt the right attitude. I'll also give you some additional information: Jiraiya has also discovered the Uchiha clan in the Land of Whirlpools."

After receiving this message, Itachi Uchiha was unable to contact Orochimaru and had to cut off communication.

Orochimaru's words just now actually revealed a lot of information: Orochimaru and Sasori once attacked the Land of Whirlpools, and the village has also taken notice of the existence of the Land of Whirlpools. Conflict may break out along the coast of the Land of Fire in the future.

He previously chose the village over his family. If conflict breaks out again, which side will he take?

Even Itachi himself didn't have the answer to this question.

At that moment, Itachi noticed the movement behind him. A figure wearing a fiery cloud robe and a whirlpool mask emerged from the ground and walked towards him step by step.

"Ban, why do you want to team up with me this time?"

"I'm not Lord Madara, I'm Tobi! Itachi-senpai, you've mistaken me for someone else!"

Tobi shouted loudly, causing Itachi to frown: "Madara, even I was deceived? Besides you, is there anyone else who possesses space-time ninjutsu?"

"I am Afei!" Afei emphasized again, then took off his mask, revealing a distorted face.

Itachi glanced at Tobi's disfigured face and, not finding the Sharingan, confirmed that the other person was not the masked man. But what about the technique for infiltrating underground?

At that moment, Obito appeared in front of Itachi and said in a low voice, "Tobi is indeed not me, but when necessary, I will contact you as Tobi. If anything important happens, you can also tell him."

Itachi looked at Obito, as if he had guessed something: "Is it because of Juzo Biwa?"

Obito nodded and said, "You can think of it this way: with the identity of Tobi, I can infiltrate the Akatsuki members and prevent them from betraying the organization."

After a pause, Obito continued, "Your team up with Tobi won't last long. Arrangements for new members are already underway. The new members joining the organization will still be Jonin from Kirigakure, but they'll be completely different from that traitor Juzo."

Another new teammate... Itachi remained expressionless, but a sense of anticipation began to creep into his heart.

……

After traveling day and night, Jiraiya returned to Konoha in just two days.

After hurriedly knocking on the office door, Jiraiya saw the Third Hokage smoking and looking at photos. The cigarette was a strong pipe, and the photos were all inappropriate for children.

The Third Hokage originally wanted to maintain a good image in front of outsiders, so he hid the photos.

But since the visit was to his disciple Jiraiya, there was absolutely no need for it, as the master and disciple did share some common interests.

Clearing his throat, the Third Hokage looked at Jiraiya and asked in a serious tone, "How was the trip? Did you find Naruto's whereabouts?"

Jiraiya shook his head slightly and hesitated, saying, "We've found out where Naruto is, but the situation is more complicated than we imagined."

The Third Hokage's expression changed slightly, and he frowned as he asked, "What's going on with this complicated situation? You found Naruto, but he doesn't want to return to the village or go on a trip with you?"

"It's even more complicated than this, and you might find it hard to accept, old man..."

The Third Hokage picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and said, "I have served as Hokage for decades and have seen all kinds of storms. Tell me what you think, I can handle it."

Jiraiya nodded, and then revealed most of the information:

"Here's what happened. While investigating in the Land of Rivers, I unexpectedly discovered Orochimaru's trail. During my pursuit of Orochimaru, I obtained information related to the Uchiha clan, discovering that Orochimaru intended to attack the Uchiha clan. So I followed him all the way to the Land of Whirlpools, and in Whirlpool Village, I assisted Uchiha Shisui in repelling Orochimaru's attack..."

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage's expression turned sour: "These things have nothing to do with Naruto, right? And how did the Uchiha appear in the Land of Whirlpools? Wasn't Uzushio Village destroyed decades ago? How did Orochimaru manage to attack it?"

Jiraiya shrugged and said in a helpless tone, "Because Uzushio Village was founded by Naruto. He led the Uchiha clan and the wandering ninjas from the Land of Whirlpools to rebuild Uzushio Village..."

The Third Hokage put down his tea, his expression shifting between light and dark, and said, "After Naruto left Konoha, he led the Uchiha clan to establish a new ninja village. This is no joke. He didn't know what this meant, and you should know as well."

Jiraiya nodded slightly and said with a wry smile, "Of course I know what that means."

If Naruto's defection could be considered a departure due to his identity, then his association with the Uchiha clan and the establishment of a new ninja village would undoubtedly constitute a defection.

A country can only allow one ninja village to exist; no ninja village would allow a second ninja village to appear on its territory.

Although the Land of Whirlpools is independent overseas, it is too close to the Land of Fire. This is an open provocation against Konoha. If the establishment of the Land of Whirlpools is allowed, Konoha will lose all face.

The Third Hokage glanced at Jiraiya and said, "Jiraiya, I need an explanation."

Chapter 127 Jiraiya's Confusion

"Jiraiya, I need an explanation."

Upon hearing the Third Hokage's words, Jiraiya sighed inwardly, feeling somewhat disappointed in his teacher.

While Naruto's decision to leave the village and establish a ninja village in the Land of Whirlpools was certainly wrong, the root cause was the Third Hokage's indifference and allow the villagers to maliciously slander Naruto, which ultimately led to Naruto's defection.

Naruto's act of establishing the ninja village was more like creating an ideal world in his mind.

Isn't this a sign of extreme disappointment with the Hokage, but the old man doesn't seem to realize it yet?

After sighing, Jiraiya explained, "I tried to persuade Naruto, but he was very adamant. He even threatened me with the village to make me leave. Compared to the Jinchuriki in the village, he seems more willing to be the leader of Uzushio Village..."

After a pause, Jiraiya continued, "Old man, I think it would be better if you went there yourself, since some things can't be done for others."

Leave the village?

The Third Hokage hesitated for a moment, then gently shook his head.

He cannot leave Konoha, at least not until a successor has been chosen. If he dies outside, the village will fall into unprecedented chaos.

Seeing this, Jiraiya gave up trying to persuade them and instead brought up the Uchiha clan in the Land of Whirlpools, requesting that the warrant for their arrest be dropped.

The Third Hokage neither agreed nor disagreed with this.

Jiraiya was somewhat frustrated by the ambiguous attitude. It seemed that he hadn't fulfilled any of the promises he made to Naruto. The old man was always hesitant and unable to make quick decisions on important matters.

Skipping the topic of the Uchiha clan, Jiraiya brought up Orochimaru, as well as the Third Kazekage's puppet and Sasori. Based on his deduction, the puppeteer was likely Sasori, the Sand Village's genius puppeteer who had disappeared along with them.

When the Kazekage puppet and Sasori of the Red Sands were mentioned, the Third Hokage regained his decisiveness and then inquired about the details. After learning that Orochimaru might join a certain faction, he sighed softly.

……

The report lasted a full half hour, and Jiraiya left the Hokage's office with mixed feelings.

On his previous visits back to the village, he felt that the Third Hokage only looked a little tired, but his judgment as a ninja hero was still intact. However, after this return, he truly felt the Third Hokage's old age and decline.

In some ways, it could even be described as utterly foolish.

Can a teacher like this really lead Konoha like this? Shouldn't the village elect a new Hokage?

The Third Hokage's performance was even inferior to Naruto's; Naruto even dared to threaten him in order to establish Uzushio Village.

But the three generations of teachers didn't even dare to leave the village, and kept making excuses.

After leaving the Hokage Building, Jiraiya suddenly felt a little lost, unsure of what to do next. Should he continue carrying out the mission assigned by the Third Hokage, or leave the village to continue searching for the Child of Prophecy?

The tasks of three generations of teachers are endless; no matter how many tasks they perform, they will never regain their youth.

He has already found the Child of Prophecy, and if nothing unexpected happens, it should be Naruto. However, Naruto does not need his guidance, and the Child of Prophecy does not belong to Konoha.

Once Naruto has fully matured, will Konoha become a stumbling block for the Child of Prophecy?

Thinking of this, Jiraiya suddenly felt a sense of fear and wanted to immediately run to Mount Myōboku to find the Great Toad Sage, because only the Great Toad Sage could guide him into the future and tell him what he should do.

Just then, Danzo, whose body was wrapped in bandages, appeared in Jiraiya's field of vision.

Upon seeing Jiraiya, Danzo slowly stopped and looked at the man, saying, "Jiraiya, the mission to bring back the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has failed?"

Jiraiya glanced at Danzo, then nodded slightly.

Danzo had anticipated this, and after a cold snort, he said, "It's not your fault. It's because Sarutobi has been too lenient with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. If the Jinchuriki had been handed over to Root to be nurtured, they would have become a powerful tool to protect the village long ago. Tools should be tools."

Danzo's words made Jiraiya very uncomfortable; he had always disliked the Root leader who was hiding in the shadows.

Many of Root's actions went against the Will of Fire, but the Third Hokage always protected Root. If Root's actions hadn't benefited the village, he would have turned against them long ago.

After passing each other, Danzo went straight to the Hokage's office and pushed open the door.

The strong smell of smoke made Danzo frown, and then he said with a grim expression, "I heard that Jiraiya found the whereabouts of the Uchiha. Those remnants of the Uchiha clan have built a village in the Land of Whirlpools and even have a Uzumaki ninja as their leader?"

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage looked up at Danzo and asked in confusion, "Did you get this information from Jiraiya?"

Danzo shook his head slightly: "Of course not. My subordinates obtained information from the black market. Although the Uchiha are hiding, they still need to purchase supplies. It's not difficult to find their trail."

"However, I just ran into Jiraiya. He seemed to be in a bad mood. Was it because he couldn't find the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"

The Third Hokage stared at Danzo for a moment, then questioned, "Didn't your subordinates find out the identity of the leader of Uzushio Village? Or is it that your information didn't come from the black market, but from someone else?"

"The identity of the leader of Wochao Village? Is his identity special? Who exactly is he?"

Danzo was puzzled. Could it be that Orochimaru hadn't given him complete information?

Seeing that Danzo knew nothing about the identity of the leader of Uzushio Village, the Third Hokage breathed a sigh of relief and then said:

"You don't need to know the identity of the leader of Uzushio Village, and you don't need to pay attention to the Uchiha clan of Uzushio Country for the time being. The Anbu and Root have more important things to do."

"Should we just stand by and do nothing about those Uchiha remnants?"

Danzo's expression was uncertain, but the village truly lacked the resources to pursue the remnants of the Uchiha clan.

The Third Hokage nodded slightly and then handed Danzo the part of Jiraiya's report about Orochimaru and Sasori.

Upon seeing the appearance of the Third Kazekage's puppet, Danzo seemed to remember something, his expression turning grim: "Orochimaru and Sasori of the Red Sand teamed up together. You suspect they've joined the masked man's faction?"

"It's not just a suspicion, it's almost certain that they've joined the masked man's faction."

At this point, the Third Hokage stared intently at Danzo and said, "Therefore, compared to the insignificant remnants of the Uchiha clan, investigating this mysterious organization is more important. Root should be able to handle this task."

Danzo also put forward corresponding conditions: "The Root Department is currently short-handed... and needs more funding."

“I will increase the Root’s budget. If you are short of manpower, you can choose from Chunin. But you can no longer interfere in the village’s affairs. You have gone too far with the Uchiha.”

Chapter 128 The Reason Naruto Left the Village

Danzo frowned, clearly displeased by the Third Hokage's attempt to shift the blame.

Although he single-handedly orchestrated the Uchiha Night, he gained nothing. Not only did he fail to obtain the Sharingan as originally planned, but he also had to take responsibility for the Uchiha Night, resulting in severe cuts to Root's budget and personnel.

However, it was Hiruzen Sarutobi who truly reaped the greatest benefits.

After the Uchiha clan leaves Konoha, there will be no more voices opposing the Hokage in the village, and Hiruzen Sarutobi can influence every aspect of the village with the Hokage's authority.

But is this really a good thing for the Hokage?