"Yeah?"

Hiruzen could not empathize with the despair that Jiraiya encountered, but to be able to make his proud disciple feel so fearful and fearful, he could imagine the specific situation of the war in the Kingdom of Wind, which must have given Jiraiya a very heavy psychological state.

blow.

"Sorry, old man, I let you down this time. The mission can be said to be a complete failure. Moreover, it cost the village so much to rescue me..."

Jiraiya came down from the window and looked at Hiruzen's old wrinkled face, not knowing how to explain it.

"It doesn't matter, as long as you can come back alive. For the current village, your and Tsunade's power are indispensable."

Hiruzen didn't blame Jiraiya.

If he made a mistake and caused this to happen, he himself, the Hokage, would not be able to escape the blame.

"Old man, don't you want to..."

"Yes, you guessed it right. Speaking of which, all this is because I was unable to inherit Teacher Tobirama's will perfectly, so I had no choice but to let Danzo bear all the darkness in the village alone... This darkness could have been used as a

It has helped the village grow. However, I am not able to control this darkness, which makes this power go out of control and even creates serious discord within the village. This is probably where I am far inferior to Tobirama-sensei."

Hiruzen's face showed remorse.

Sakumo is like this.

Orochimaru is like this.

The Uchiha clan is like this.

These tragedies can actually be undone.

As a result, it was because of his own indecision and constant indulgence of Danzo that he ended up in this situation today.

Where there is light, there must be shadows. This is the meaning of Naruto.

The light and darkness of the village originally belonged to the power of the Hokage alone.

When you are powerless to control the dark side of the village and give this power to others, the disaster has already been laid.

The backlash of the shadow comes unexpectedly.

All causes and effects are born here.

"I am a failed Hokage."

There is no ability to implement the teacher Senju Tobirama's policy to the end.

He also failed to fulfill his obligations as an elder and caused great inconvenience to Minato when he came to power.

This is Hiruzen's denial of himself.

Jiraiya looked at his teacher in silence, not knowing how to comfort him for a moment.

"Next, I want to leave the future of the village to you and Tsunade. Please."

Hiruzen turned his head and spoke to Jiraiya very solemnly, his eyes filled with infinite expectations and hope.

Jiraiya was a little at a loss, and then said with a wry smile:

"Old man, you should know that a person with a loose personality like me is not suitable to be Hokage. If you don't want Konoha to end in my hands, you'd better find someone else to take over."

This sentence is not a joke.

Jiraiya knew very well what serious consequences his loose personality would have on Konoha after becoming Hokage.

In a sense, the consequences of Danzo being promoted to Hokage are more serious.

Hiruzen and Jiraiya looked at each other. He also knew that Jiraiya's character was not suitable for being Hokage, but now Konoha had no choice.

"Tsunade is more suitable to be Hokage than me. She has the purest blood in Konoha. The medical system she established has benefited many people in the village. She is strong enough and she is cautious in everything she does. No matter where she comes from,

From a perspective, she is the most perfect candidate for the Fifth Hokage."

Jiraiya didn't look away and spoke to Hiruzen seriously.

Hiruzen sighed and said, "Tsunade has left."

"leave?"

Jiraiya was stunned.

Hiruzen nodded, a look of deep tiredness hidden between his brows.

"After Tsunade came back, I did talk to her about this matter, but Tsunade didn't give me an accurate answer and just kept silent. After that, she disappeared from the village."

It would be a lie to say that I have no regrets.

In Hiruzen's mind, he also believed that Tsunade was a more suitable candidate for Hokage than Jiraiya.

However, Tsunade's heart is still escaping from the past. Relatives and lovers have passed away one after another, leaving indelible scars on Tsunade's heart.

"Is that so? Then leave it to me to convince Tsunade."

Jiraiya's face turned serious.

"Are you going to convince Tsunade?"

Hiruzen looked at Jiraiya in surprise.

Jiraiya nodded heavily.

"This is the only way. Tsunade still loves the village in her heart. After all, she has the blood of the first generation of masters flowing in her body. If she can be rational and emotional, she will definitely understand the current difficulties of the village."

Hiruzen felt the firm belief in Jiraiya's eyes, but he was still not very sure whether Jiraiya could convince Tsunade to serve as the fifth Hokage of Konoha.

"Even so, it's not an easy thing to convince Tsunade."

Hiruzen is very aware of Tsunade's inner conflicts. She undoubtedly loves Konoha deeply and loves every inch of Konoha, because this is an important legacy left by her grandfather.

However, Tsunade did not make up her mind to become the leader of the village.

Hiruzen also knew that such a decision was a bit sudden, but the international situation was changing rapidly, and a military power like the Demon Country had emerged in the western part of the continent.

In terms of relationship, the Kingdom of Ghosts and the Kingdom of Fire, Konoha are not the same people.

At least in the short term, Hiruzen cannot see the vision of peaceful coexistence between Konoha and the Kingdom of Demons.

The conflict between the top management of Konoha and the top management of Demon Country is no longer just a simple hatred and confrontation.

"I have already made up my mind about this. Whether it takes one year, two years, or longer, I will convince Tsunade!"

Jiraiya made a firm promise.

"It's up to you. If possible, it's best to convince Tsunade before I retire. I feel like I can't be Hokage for a few more years."

I am already over sixty, and my body's various functions are declining rapidly. It seems that I am unable to handle many things.

He was worried that something similar to the Uchiha clan would happen again in the village. At that time, he would have to make balance and compromise again.

"I will try to persuade Tsunade, but old man Danzo, you also have to put some restrictions. I don't want Tsunade to become a Hokage in name only."

"Don't worry, even though I'm old, I still have some power around me, and Danzo's roots cannot yet pose a substantial threat."

Hiruzen said this.

Although the dark impression has backfired on him as Hokage, as long as he toughens his attitude, he can still use the power in his hands to suppress the growth of his roots.

In any case, he is also the Hokage of Konoha and the most powerful leader in the village.

It's not that simple for Danzo to evade his Hokage's power.

Compared with Danzo, Hiruzen's real concern is the succession of the next Hokage.

"That's good, then, I'll leave first. Not only Tsunade, I also have some things to deal with at Mt. Myoboku. As soon as there is news, I will report it to the village through the ANBU, including that organization's

Same thing."

Jiraiya didn't hesitate, he formed seals with his hands, his body was wrapped in thick white smoke, and he disappeared from the Hokage's office.

◎

The ANBU suffered heavy losses.

Because Sarutobi Takashi and Sarutobi Tsuruko died on the battlefield of the Land of Wind and were killed by Chiba Shiraishi, a former Konoha S-level rebel ninja, the positions of minister and deputy minister of Konoha Anbu were left vacant.

Although there is still the Hokage as his immediate superior, the Third Hokage's physical energy at this time is almost exhausted from dealing with various matters in the village. As a result, he has to command the ANBU, which will inevitably weaken the ANBU's mobility.

With the loss of the Uchiha clan's security force, if the ANBU department does not function, the internal stability of the village cannot be effectively stabilized.

Moreover, the speed of the backlash was faster than Hiruzen imagined.

After the Uchiha Guards disappeared, obvious cracks appeared in Konoha's internal management system.

"Hokage-sama, this is the report letter collected in the past month or so. There are about hundreds of villagers who are dissatisfied with the ANBU's handling of matters. Some of them were suppressed by me and were not reported."

Kakashi placed the hundreds of villagers' reports he had received on Hiruzen's desk and spoke in a serious and business-like manner.

As one of the four ANBU squad captains, when the Uchiha Guard system was paralyzed, Kakashi's squad had another added task.

That is to regulate various civil disputes within the village or serious criminal incidents, punish the offenders, monitor and detain the offenders.

With the current manpower of ANBU, coupled with the loss of the leadership of the minister and deputy minister, not only is there a shortage of manpower, but also a lack of efficient action capabilities. This has led to the recent increase in illegal and discipline incidents within Konoha. There is no way.

Stop losses promptly.
To be continued...