After a little thought, Koharu Utatane looked at the other high-level officials and said seriously: "Since the threat of the Akatsuki is so great, should we notify the other four countries to hold a Five Kage Summit and gather the strength of the five ninja villages to destroy the Akatsuki organization?"
Homura Mitokado also said: "Koharu is right, the Akatsuki organization must be wiped out as soon as possible."
The Hiruzen Sarutobi showed a bitter expression. He had already informed Sunagakure about the threat of the Akatsuki organization, but the Sand Village was not willing to cooperate with Konohagakure at all, even though the Third Kazekage had been killed by Sasori of the Akatsuki.
Danzo Shimura snorted coldly and said: "It is impossible to hold a Five Kage Summit. Iwagakure and Kumogakure are Konoha's old enemies. They will never believe our words. Before their Jinchūriki are targeted, they will not unite."
"And relying on the power of Sunagakure and Kirigakure alone, the Akatsuki cannot be wiped out."
"Besides, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki does not belong to us at the moment. It is actually a good thing that the Akatsuki covets the Tailed Beasts. We can simply influence the surrounding small countries, but how to proceed depends on how Hiruzen makes his decision."
The Third Hokage and Danzo echoed each other, leaving the two advisors with no room to object.
However, they secretly wondered when Danzo had started listening to the Third Hokage's opinions. It gave them the strange illusion of going back decades.
Back then, they had no grudges and worked together to face the crisis after the death of Tobirama Senju.
The Third Hokage cleared his throat and said: "For now, we will maintain the status quo. When the younger generation grows up, the village will overcome the crisis of the Akatsuki organization sooner or later."
After confirming the future policy, the high-level meeting came to an end.
The two advisors and Danzo left the meeting room one after another. The advisors were busy negotiating with the Fire Daimyō to secure more funding for the village, while Danzo went off to conduct various human experiments.
Although these were all projects that Orochimaru had already lost interest in, as long as enough resources were invested, results would come sooner or later.
After leaving the Hokage Building with his cane, Danzo bumped straight into Jiraiya. Jiraiya gave him a long, deep look before walking into the Hokage Building without saying a word.
After being stared at like that, Danzo was full of question marks. When the hell had he offended Jiraiya?
The two had never gotten along. Jiraiya had always opposed Danzo's habit of treating ninja like disposable tools, while Danzo believed that if Konoha wanted to shine, its roots had to be buried deep in darkness.
Still, both of them loved Konoha—there was no doubt about that.
However, if Danzo wanted to become Hokage, Jiraiya would be the biggest obstacle on that path. Jiraiya had accumulated far too much merit over the years and also held a significant advantage in reputation.
After pushing open the office door, Jiraiya saw Hiruzen Sarutobi smoking "for health preservation."
Unlike his usual laid-back attitude, Jiraiya looked unusually serious this time, forcing the Third Hokage to take him seriously as well.
"Jiraiya, is there any news from Uzumaki Village?"
Jiraiya shook his head: "I haven't been in contact with Uzumaki Village for a long time. This time I came here for internal village matters. There are some internal problems in the village. It's time for change."
The Third Hokage put down his pipe and said thoughtfully, "Let's hear what the problems are."
Jiraiya didn't hold back. He pointed out the shortcomings of Konohagakure compared to Uzushiogakure and said sincerely: "Teacher, Naruto can change these things—why can't the village do the same?"
The Third Hokage clasped his fingers together, meditating in the smoke-filled room. After a long silence, he said:
"Uzushiogakure is a newly established village. It only has locals and foreign Uchiha clan members. Naturally, many problems can be solved easily. But Konoha is different. There are dozens of clans, and their opinions must be considered in many aspects."
"If you become Hokage, you will also have to consider these things. Otherwise, you will not be able to sit firmly in that position."
Of course, Jiraiya already knew this. He simply couldn't stand the twisted politics within the village, which was why he had chosen to wander outside, drowning himself in missions and placing his hopes on the so-called Child of Prophecy.
But that "Child of Prophecy" had refused his help. Now he had lost his goal and was forced to face reality.
That was also why he had agreed to investigate the village's past alongside Kakashi Hatake. Over the past six months, he had gathered a considerable amount of evidence.
After taking a deep breath, Jiraiya looked straight into the Third Hokage's eyes and threw a stack of documents onto the desk:
"Then what is this, Teacher? Haven't you always banned human experiments? Why are they still happening?"
The Third Hokage didn't even glance at the documents and replied calmly: "The human experiments I banned apply to ninja and civilians within the village. Those subjects are criminals and rogue ninja—they are not under our protection."
"If we completely ban such experiments, the village will fall behind others sooner or later."
Jiraiya fell silent, then threw down another document: "Then what about these orders? Danzo has been acting under your name. Why hasn't he been imprisoned?"
This time, the Third Hokage finally reacted and explained: "Danzo's actions are all for the sake of the village. You have also carried out ANBU missions—you should understand that Konoha cannot always remain in the light under the Will of Fire."
"So you dumped all the darkness onto Danzo and made him another Hokage?"
Jiraiya questioned him bluntly. The atmosphere between him and his teacher was on the verge of breaking.
The Third Hokage nodded silently: "The Hokage must maintain a positive image without any stain. The same will apply to you if you become Hokage. You must not expose your dark side."
"I understand… Third Hokage."
Jiraiya's expression dimmed, and he did not present any further evidence.
The Third Hokage had never dealt with Danzo because Danzo was too useful. At the same time, he feared that Danzo might shift responsibility onto him, so he continued to secretly protect him without imposing real punishment.
But from beginning to end, Jiraiya had only wanted to bring down Danzo—he had never intended to go against his teacher.
Now, however, the Third Hokage had completely disappointed him.
More than ten years ago, Hiruzen would still take responsibility and even step down to pass the position to Minato Namikaze. But after Minato's death, he had changed.
Both cases involved human experimentation—yet Orochimaru was exiled as a traitor, while Danzo was allowed to continue operating in the shadows.
Danzo could even attack his own comrades, send orphans and children of ninja clans into Root, and force them to kill their own companions as a graduation test.
Seeing Jiraiya's dejected expression, the Third Hokage placed a hand on his shoulder and said: "Once the village gets through this difficult period, I will appoint you as the Fifth Hokage."
Jiraiya shook his head slightly: "No… I'm more suited to a free and undisciplined life. Teacher, are there any missions I can take? I want to leave for a while."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
I upload 2 chapters daily on Patreon!
There are 150+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.
📢 Check out my new Naruto fanfic!
[One Piece: Pirate Chat Group]