--- Haori's "merciless" interruption forced Jiraiya's enjoyable research trip to a halt. The naked women of Konoha's hot spring district, sa
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Haori's "merciless" interruption forced Jiraiya's enjoyable research trip to a halt. The naked women of Konoha's hot spring district, sayonara…
"So, Orochimaru really did return to Konoha?"
It was nearing dusk, and Konoha was gradually sinking into the night and scattered lights. In a noisy izakaya, Jiraiya was already slightly drunk.
Of course, this didn't affect his thinking. His pursuit was in the right direction.
But what did he think of the three forbidden acts of ninjas…? Oh well, Jiraiya's current identity was a novelist, and a best-selling one at that.
Seeing that his sake cup was empty, Haori refilled it for him, then answered, "Because of the Uchiha incident, he did return to Konoha. In fact… I had contact with him."
Hearing Haori say this, Jiraiya paused slightly with his chopsticks halfway to his food. Then, he calmly asked, "The Uchiha… did Orochimaru have his eyes on the Sharingan? Did the Third Hokage know about this?"
Haori shook his head. "Orochimaru has contact with someone in the village. And his return to Konoha this time was objectively harmless."
Jiraiya could guess who Haori was referring to by "someone."
But he ultimately didn't treat Orochimaru as an ordinary missing-nin. So, he didn't question why Haori hadn't killed Orochimaru after contacting him, or why he hadn't attacked Orochimaru… because Jiraiya himself didn't want Orochimaru to die.
Another problem was that during the Uchiha incident, if they had fought Orochimaru in the village, the resulting destruction and potential harm would have been immeasurable… The Uchiha might have "coincidentally" joined forces with Orochimaru.
And,
"The Third Hokage is old…" Jiraiya pointed out the key problem. After turning sixty, the Third Hokage's chakra had indeed begun to weaken.
"No matter what, Orochimaru is acting on his own accord. Trying to persuade him to return… I think it's impossible. Changing a person's mind is difficult, let alone someone like Orochimaru… Instead of stubbornly trying to bring him back, it would be more meaningful to bring Tsunade-sama back." Haori said.
"Tsunade?" Jiraiya didn't immediately understand why Haori would mention Tsunade at this time.
"Yes, Tsunade. Bringing her back would be more meaningful… as the next Hokage candidate."
"The next Hokage…" Hearing this, Jiraiya understood. To be honest, Jiraiya wanted to pursue Tsunade in another sense, but that was an incredibly difficult task.
But Haori was right. Maybe it was time for Tsunade to return to the village. After so many years, she should have had enough fun outside.
"What about you? Aren't you interested in the Hokage position? Haori, with your strength, you'll also be eligible to become a Hokage candidate in a few years." Jiraiya had a "sudden idea."
"Me?" Haori was stunned, then chuckled. "I'm not interested in the Hokage's 'throne,' nor do I have the ability. And to be honest, there's no one more suitable to be Hokage than Tsunade."
Consciousness is one thing, logic is another. Haori didn't think it was appropriate to put someone who didn't love the village in the Hokage's position. So, he rejected himself… To say that Haori didn't care about Konoha at all wasn't correct. After all, he was also a member of this village. He couldn't be indifferent to the village. But the problem was that in Haori's view, the village wasn't something that couldn't be abandoned at times. That's bad.
No one would want someone with that kind of thinking to become Hokage.
"Jiraiya-sensei, you're the one who's in danger. I think that after you return to Konoha this time, the Third Hokage won't let you leave…"
"If Tsunade wasn't around, the Third Hokage would definitely forcibly correct your personality and treat you as the next successor, ultimately making you the Fifth Hokage."
It has to be admitted that Haori was quite right. In fact, Jiraiya did receive an order that he was temporarily not allowed to leave the village… But the disciple is the Fourth Hokage, and the teacher is going to be the Fifth Hokage? That's a bit strange.
The matter of the successor was extremely important to the Third Hokage, even urgent. And who else in Konoha could inherit the Third Hokage's will besides Jiraiya?
"Indeed, no one is more suitable than Tsunade…" Jiraiya didn't admit or deny his own qualifications. But he really didn't want to become Hokage. So, he brought the topic back to Tsunade.
When he mentioned Haori's qualifications just now, there was a joking tone. After all, even if Haori was stronger, he couldn't be more suitable for the Hokage position than Tsunade.
This is a problem in a village with an extremely high mortality rate for its main profession. Putting a support character in the highest management position is a problem. Putting Tsunade, a super support character, in the Hokage's position is undoubtedly more pleasing to the eye than other ninjas who are full of killing intent… Cough, wrong. It's more about having a more approachable and softer… softer ruling power.
Tsunade's identity as the granddaughter of the First Hokage gave her the legitimate legal right to inherit the Hokage position. But what truly made her more qualified than anyone else to sit in this position was her identity as the "Slug Princess."
Tsunade-sama is magnanimous. One support character surpasses countless others.
Let's take a simple and extreme example. If someone quietly sneaked into Konoha and released his ultimate move, Vacuum Implosion Bomb: Super-Scale Shinra Tensei, the only person who could guarantee that the people of Konoha wouldn't be blown to pieces would probably be Tsunade's "Medical Ninjutsu + Strength of a Hundred Sealings + Summoning" system.
Combat power is one thing, but Tsunade's value isn't in combat. To exaggerate a bit, in times of war, Tsunade's healing ability could double Konoha's combat power.
Someone like Haori, besides just fighting, what else is he good for?
It can be said that once she returned to the village, as long as the Third Hokage announced that "Tsunade will be the Fifth Hokage," it would undoubtedly recreate the scene of Minato becoming the Fourth Hokage, when everyone supported him. In a sense, it might even be more so.
Someone is suitable for a position, or they're not. Shimura Danzō worked his whole life and never got this kind of treatment. In fact, his struggles when Tsunade became Hokage were far less than during Minato's time. Because all the high-ranking officials would stand on Tsunade's side.
Danzō's tragedy lies in the things he could only yearn for. Others could easily obtain them, yet they didn't even bother. How many people know the heartache of an old man?
Although the Third Hokage hadn't explicitly mentioned the matter of a successor, after hearing Haori's words, Jiraiya really started to consider Tsunade's situation.
But he still had concerns about Orochimaru. "The problem is that Orochimaru's current state is a bit dangerous. He seems to have made contact with a mysterious organization, and I suspect…"
Jiraiya didn't finish his sentence. He suspected that this organization was related to the Nine-Tails incident. But this was just his intuition. He didn't have any actual evidence.
"Akatsuki" wasn't an organization that was impossible to find. On the contrary, they would openly accept employment from certain villages to do tasks that the villages couldn't handle conveniently. Their purpose might be to obtain funds, or it might be to use these activities to conceal themselves.
But Haori immediately confirmed Jiraiya's suspicions.
"It's a matter of timing. If you really still want to pursue Orochimaru, there's no rush. And… I think Orochimaru will soon leave that organization." Haori said, knowing that it was unrealistic to expect Jiraiya to give up his target immediately.
"..." From Haori's tone, Jiraiya suddenly felt that he seemed to know more about that mysterious organization.
Haori extended two fingers and pointed at his own eyes. "Some things you think are in a fog, but I've already seen them. That organization is indeed dangerous. Jiraiya-sensei, don't try to get involved with them. Because even you, with insufficient information, could die…"
"Even more so because it's an organization that possesses the Rinnegan…"
Even though they were just casually chatting, Haori suddenly revealed a bombshell.
Jiraiya instantly stood up from his seat, knocking over the bowl and plates beside him without noticing.
However, Haori obviously wouldn't say any more about this. Because it wasn't time yet.
"Now that we're done with idle chatter, let's talk about business… Jiraiya-sensei, I'm going to Mount Myōboku."
"Mount Myōboku?" Jiraiya's brain was still rapidly processing Haori's previous sentence. So, he only mechanically asked the question.
"Yes… I have something to ask the Great Toad Sage."
Haori stated his true purpose.
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P@TREON
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60+ ADVANCE CHAPTERS PER FIC
We are in Chapter 326 in P@treon