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

Koharu Utatane frowned: "Hiruzen Sarutobi, now is not the time to shirk responsibility. Failing to stop the Jinchuriki from defecting and watching Uzushio Village annex the territory are all your faults as Hokage."

Faced with Koharu Utatane's attempt to shift the blame, the Third Hokage readily accepted it, saying softly:

“It’s my fault, but the village simply doesn’t have the strength to deal with Uzushio Village. If you could bring Naruto back, I would be willing to give up the Hokage position to you. But even Jiraiya failed. Naruto’s strength is already enough to deserve the title of Kage.”

Upon hearing this, Komura Utatane and Homura Mitokado exchanged a glance, seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.

They came to confront the Third Hokage with great force, but the Third Hokage simply didn't fight back, making their punches feel like they were hitting cotton.

The village currently lacks the means to deal with Wochao Village.

Mobilizing a large number of ninja troops would only expose Konoha's weakness to other ninja villages, so maintaining the status quo is indeed the best option.

With this in mind, the two advisors looked at Danzo, hoping that this hawkish figure would take action.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed by the stares of the old man and woman, Danzo, who had no one else under his command, cleared his throat and said:

"Uzushio Village is an ally of Konoha and will definitely become part of the village in the future. I think the other side in the war against the Land of Waves deserves our attention more. This Akatsuki organization will be a great enemy of the village in the future."

"The Akatsuki?" Mitokado Homura seemed to have heard the name somewhere before, and frowned.

The Third Hokage explained, "The Akatsuki is a mercenary organization active in the black market. The masked man is a member of this organization. He and Itachi carried out the massacre of the Uchiha. However, this organization was initially active in Amegakure."

"I first heard of this name about ten years ago, when Danzo was in charge of Amegakure."

Danzo hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to reveal the secret from back then: "I did have contact with the Akatsuki organization. Back then, Hanzo and I cooperated to besiege the Akatsuki organization, and we barely succeeded at a great cost. Now it seems that they have risen from the ashes again."

The two advisors were hearing this for the first time, and they frowned as they said, "So, the Nine-Tails Night was Akatsuki's revenge against Konoha? Danzo, didn't you say the Uchiha were the prime suspect?"

Danzo's expression changed slightly: "Only the Sharingan can control the Nine-Tails. Later events proved that the masked man was a member of the Uchiha clan. However, they actually treated the Uchiha as expendable pawns. Tobirama-sensei was right all along. The Uchiha are an evil clan."

After Danzo brought up Tobirama Senju, the two advisors reluctantly ended the conversation.

The Konoha leadership often used the pretext of dealing with the Uchiha clan to unite most of the ninja clans; this had almost become a consensus among the leadership.

Danzo paused briefly, then continued, "Moreover, the Akatsuki organization targeted not only Konoha, but they also secretly manipulated the Fourth Mizukage, creating years of internal strife in Kirigakure."

Mitokado Homura said with a serious expression, "So it seems that the Akatsuki organization intends to create internal strife in various countries. What is their ultimate goal? If it's simply for money, that's too..."

After a long silence, the Third Hokage finally spoke: "Their target is the Tailed Beasts, which is why they clashed with Naruto this time. They want to capture the Tailed Beasts from various countries to create the ultimate weapon to rule the ninja world..."

"To rule the ninja world, huh...?"

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were quite shocked. From this perspective, the Akatsuki organization was indeed a more troublesome enemy than Uzushio Village. Uzushio Village was considered a branch of Konoha, and neither its population nor its army posed a threat to Konoha.

But the Akatsuki organization is different; their act of collecting tailed beasts is practically an enemy of the ninja world.

Chapter 158 The Break Between Master and Disciple

After a moment's thought, Koharu turned to the other high-ranking officials and said seriously, "Since the Akatsuki organization poses such a great threat, should we notify the other four countries to convene the Five Kage Summit and concentrate the power of the five great ninja villages to wipe out the Akatsuki organization?"

Mitokado Homura also said, "Koharu is right, we must wipe out the Akatsuki organization as soon as possible."

The Third Hokage wore a bitter expression. He had already informed Sunagakure of the Akatsuki's threat, but Sunagakure was unwilling to cooperate with Konoha in dealing with the Akatsuki, even though the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure had died at the hands of Sasori of the Akatsuki.

Danzo snorted and said, "It's impossible to hold a Five Kage Summit. Iwagakure and Kumogakure are Konoha's archenemies. They won't believe us. They can't unite until their Jinchuriki are killed."

"With the combined strength of Sunagakure and Kirigakure, it is impossible to wipe out Akatsuki in one fell swoop."

"Moreover, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki doesn't belong to us right now. It's actually a good thing that the Akatsuki are eyeing the Tailed Beasts. We can use that to influence the surrounding small countries. But how exactly to proceed depends on what Hiruzen decides."

The Third Hokage and Danzo worked in unison, leaving the advisory duo with no room for objection.

However, they secretly wondered when Danzo had started to listen to the Third Hokage's advice, which gave them the illusion of going back to decades ago.

At that time, they had no prejudices against each other and worked together to face the crisis after Tobirama's death.

The Third Hokage cleared his throat and said, "Let's maintain the status quo for now. Once the younger generation grows up, the village will eventually be able to overcome the Akatsuki crisis."

With the future direction confirmed, the high-level meeting concluded.

The two advisors and Danzo left the meeting room one after the other. The two advisors were busy outwitting the Daimyo of the Land of Fire to secure more funding for the village, while Danzo was busy conducting various human experiments.

Although these are all projects that Orochimaru has lost interest in, as long as we increase our investment, they will eventually yield results.

After leaving the Hokage Building with his cane, Danzo bumped into Jiraiya. Jiraiya gave Danzo a deep look before walking into the Hokage Building.

After being glared at, Danzo was filled with questions. When did he provoke Jiraiya?

He did not get along well with Jiraiya, who always opposed his use of his subordinate ninjas as tools, but in order to maintain the glory of the Leaf, Root had to be buried deep in darkness.

But there is no doubt that both he and Jiraiya loved Konoha.

However, if I want to become Hokage, Jiraiya will be the biggest obstacle on my path. Jiraiya has made too many contributions over the years and has a considerable advantage in age.

Upon opening the office door, Jiraiya saw the Third Hokage smoking a cigarette as if practicing "health preservation."

Unlike his usual casual demeanor, Jiraiya's attitude was much more serious this time, forcing the Third Hokage to take it seriously.

"Jiraiya, is there any news from Uzushio Village?"

Jiraiya shook his head: "I haven't been in contact with Uzushio Village for a long time. I came here this time because of some internal village issues. It's time to make changes."

The Third Hokage put down his pipe and said thoughtfully, "Tell me, what are the problems?"

Jiraiya didn't mince words, pointing out Konoha's shortcomings compared to Uzushio Village, and said sincerely, "Sensei, Naruto can change these things, so why can't the village change?"

The Third Hokage crossed his fingers, lost in thought amidst the swirling blue mist, and after a long while, said:

“Uzushio Village is a newly established village with only locals and Uchiha outsiders, so many problems can be easily solved. But Konoha is different. Konoha has dozens of large and small clans, and their opinions need to be taken into account in many aspects.”

"If you become Hokage, you must also consider these things, otherwise you will not be able to hold this position."

Jiraiya was certainly aware of all this. He simply couldn't stand the intrigue and backstabbing in the village, which is why he chose to go out on missions, numbing himself with each mission and placing his hopes on the prophesied child.

But the prophesied son refused his help, and without a goal, he had to face the cruel reality.

This is also why he agreed to Kakashi's request to investigate the village's past with him. In the past six months, he has also gathered a lot of relevant evidence.

Taking a deep breath, Jiraiya looked directly into the Third Hokage's eyes and then tossed a stack of documents at him:

"Then what's going on? Teacher, haven't you always forbidden human experimentation? Why is human experimentation still continuing?"

The Third Hokage didn't even glance at the document, casually stating, "The human experimentation I prohibit is directed at the ninjas and civilians in the village. Those are criminals and wandering ninjas; they are not within the scope of my protection."

"If these experiments are completely banned, the village will fall behind the other villages sooner or later."

Jiraiya remained silent, then tossed out another document: "What's with these orders? Danzo has been using your orders to do his thing all along. Why don't you put him in jail?"

The Third Hokage was finally moved and explained, "Danzo's actions were all for the benefit of the village. You have also carried out ANBU missions and know that even under the Will of Fire, Konoha cannot remain forever glamorous."

"So, you left all the darkness to Danzo, making him another Hokage?"

Jiraiya's undisguised questioning nearly led to a complete breakdown in relations between him and the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage nodded silently: "The image of a Hokage must be positive and without any blemishes. This applies to you as well; you cannot expose your dark side."

"I understand, Mr. Third Generation..."

Jiraiya's expression darkened considerably, and he didn't produce any more evidence.

The Third Hokage didn't punish Danzo because Danzo was very useful, and they were worried that Danzo would shift the blame onto them. That's why they secretly protected Danzo and didn't impose any substantial punishment.

However, from beginning to end, he only wanted to bring down Danzo and had no intention of harming the Third Hokage.

But the Third Hokage has completely disappointed him. More than ten years ago, the Third Hokage would have taken responsibility and voluntarily given the Hokage position to Minato. But after Minato's death, the Third Hokage changed.

Even though it was the same human experimentation, Orochimaru would be expelled from the village and become a rogue ninja.

However, Danzo could openly attack his comrades in the village, send orphans and children of the young ninja clans to Root for training, and his graduation test was to personally kill his comrades with whom he had spent every day.

Seeing Jiraiya's dejected look, the Third Hokage patted Jiraiya on the shoulder: "Once the village gets through this most difficult period, I will make you the Fifth Hokage."

Jiraiya gently shook his head: "No, I'm still used to being free and easy. Third Hokage, is there any mission in the village that I need to carry out? I'd like to go out for a while."

Chapter 159 Flying Thunder God Scroll

The Third Hokage stared at Jiraiya for a moment, then withdrew his hand from his shoulder and said cautiously:

"The Dark Division has many important missions, but do you really want to go out on a mission at this time? You could stay in the village a little longer..."

Jiraiya shook his head: "I think the mission of the Anbu is more important, and I can't be a sword used against my own people."

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage returned to his seat expressionlessly, casually pulled a task scroll from his drawer, and tossed it to Jiraiya:

"This is a long-term S-rank mission. You can go wherever you want and come back whenever you want."

Jiraiya took the scroll and left the Hokage's office without looking back.

After the door slammed shut, the Third Hokage pulled out his pipe, gazed at the portraits of past Hokage not far away, and puffed out smoke, trying to numb himself with nicotine.

After Tsunade left and Orochimaru defected, he lost the trust of another disciple.

Even so, he couldn't deal with Danzo. Losing Danzo would inevitably leave a stain on his reputation. The Hokage must be impeccable and spotless, otherwise other ninjas would doubt the Hokage's authority.

Let's delay a little longer. Once the new leaves have grown up successfully, Konoha will regain its former glory.

After leaving the Hokage Building, Jiraiya was not followed by the Anbu. Any tracking tricks were insignificant in front of this legendary Sannin. After a few Body Flicker Techniques, he arrived at a secluded and deserted forest.

Kakashi had been waiting there for a long time. Upon seeing Jiraiya, he smiled and said, "Lord Jiraiya, did you succeed in your advice to the Third Hokage?"

Jiraiya didn't say anything, but his expression said it all.

Kakashi sighed inwardly. Although he outwardly opposed Jiraiya's efforts to bring down Danzo with evidence, he also hoped that the Third Hokage could deal with Danzo, which would reduce the obstacles they encountered.

However, things didn't go as planned; the Third Hokage had no intention of dealing with Danzo.

Besides proving that the Third Hokage was sentimental, it also shows that he was unwilling to give up the past and face the future. As a result, the village had no chance of being reborn.

Perhaps only by changing the Hokage can the current dire situation be resolved.

But could Jiraiya really become the Fifth Hokage? Kakashi used to be very certain, but now he has doubts.

Seemingly guessing Kakashi's thoughts, Jiraiya slowly said, "The old man has no intention of dealing with Danzo, nor does he intend to hand over the Hokage position to me. It seems he is worried that after I take over, I will directly eliminate Danzo."

"Kakashi, should I not have expressed my intention to deal with Danzo?"

Kakashi shook his head and said with a smile, "Lord Jiraiya's advice was effective this time. At least he gave up his unrealistic fantasies and has the goal of becoming the Fifth Hokage. That's enough."

"You are younger than three generations of adults, which is your biggest advantage."

Jiraiya was stunned. Was he really that bad in Kakashi's eyes?

However, Kakashi's malice towards the Third Hokage and Danzo has grown stronger. A few years ago, he would have started to correct Kakashi's thinking, but now his mindset has changed.