Jiraiya

"Jiraiya, you're back." Once he saw who had entered, the Third Hokage's face broke into a gratified smile.

That was right. The newcomer was Jiraiya, one of the future legendary Three Ninja. Of course, for now, he was merely a sunny young man who had only recently stepped into the Kage-level, probably.

"Old man, smoke less. It's bad for your health."

Jiraiya could never get used to the Third Hokage constantly puffing out smoke.

If he had to say, he still preferred youthful beauties with curves in all the right places, along with fine wine. Best of all was the perfect combination of wine and women.

His thoughts suddenly going astray, Jiraiya could not help but start drooling from the corner of his mouth.

"Jiraiya, stop thinking about improper things all the time."

The Third Hokage had initially been delighted that Jiraiya, whom he had not seen for some time, had suddenly returned. Yet this unreliable brat had barely been serious for a few minutes before his mind wandered off somewhere again. It could not help but remind him of the reassuring Orochimaru.

Although he educated all three disciples equally, compared to Tsunade, who loved drinking and gambling, and Jiraiya, who loved women and wine, Orochimaru, who devoted himself wholeheartedly to research and never caused him trouble, was naturally much more to his liking.

It seems Orochimaru really is more suited to become the next Hokage. This was the true reflection of the still-prime Third Hokage's heart.

"By the way, old man, I heard your conversation just now. Can I take a look at that child's information?"

Once Jiraiya became serious, a rare solemn expression appeared on his face.

In truth, Jiraiya had reached the Hokage Building office entrance before that teacher. However, the teacher had rushed straight inside in a whirlwind, leaving Jiraiya behind instead.

After studying Jiraiya intently for a moment, the Third Hokage signaled for the teacher to hand over the information on Minato Namikaze.

"Ah, Lord Jiraiya, this is student Minato Namikaze's personal information and the results of this training session. Please review them."

The teacher, who had been trembling at the side and ignored for quite some time, was finally noticed. He promptly handed everything Jiraiya needed to him.

"Teacher Kimura, you have done well. Continue paying attention to outstanding students among the ordinary people at the Academy, and report to me whenever you find any. This will count as an A-rank mission for you. All right, go back and continue teaching the children."

Having found such a promising seedling for him, the Third Hokage had long forgotten that he had just considered making the man retire early from the Academy to go build houses.

"Yes! Then, Third Lord, three Lords of the Council of Elders, Lord Jiraiya, I shall take my leave." Ever since hearing the Third Hokage's words, Teacher Kimura—who finally had a name—had been overjoyed.

Teacher Kimura knew he had won this gamble!

Taking the risk of leaving the Academy during class to report Minato Namikaze's situation to the Third Hokage must have greatly pleased all the lords present.

His risk of being punished had not been in vain. He had discovered and reported Minato Namikaze's talent ahead of his colleagues!

An A-rank mission record!

The teachers at the Academy were generally Chunin, and the highest-ranked missions Chunin could accept were B-rank. Barring extraordinary circumstances, they would never receive an A-rank mission in their entire lives, much less complete one!

For a Chunin from an ordinary family like him, becoming a Jonin was impossible in this lifetime. Even Special Jonin was beyond what he could hope to attain!

Therefore, this might be the only A-rank mission record he would ever have!

For a ninja to learn ninjutsu, one of the most important requirements was possessing mission records of the corresponding rank.

An A-rank mission record might not necessarily be enough to exchange for A-rank ninjutsu, but exchanging it for B-rank ninjutsu—or even several B-rank and C-rank techniques—would certainly not be a problem.

If he did not exchange it for ninjutsu, he could use it for ninja tools, Explosive Tags, and other strategic resources, gaining even more in return.

As for exchanging it for cash, only an idiot would do that... It was not that it could not be done, but high-rank mission records simply could not be measured in money. With ninjutsu and resources, would he have to worry about earning money?

Thus, this trip had made Teacher Kimura a fortune. He left the Hokage Building beaming with joy.

The Council of Elders watched Teacher Kimura's departing back with warm expressions. They looked utterly different from their earlier ferocious faces, as if they had wanted to devour him.

The members of the Council of Elders were all old men prepared to devote their lives to Konoha. Even Danzo thought the same way at this moment. They shared a beautiful wish: to make Konoha as powerful as it had been when the First Hokage was alive.

Before that, their foremost task was to vigorously uncover talented individuals among Civilian Ninja. Only with more civilian ninja could Konoha, this towering tree, grow stronger and more flourishing!

The Hokage's office fell silent again. A few minutes later, Jiraiya had finished reading all of Minato Namikaze's information since his birth.

"Old man, I think this little fellow can perfectly inherit my Will of Fire. No matter what you say, you can't steal him from me!" After reading Minato Namikaze's file for the second time, Jiraiya vaguely felt that this kid was destined to become his disciple, despite them never having met!

"Hehe, if even little Jiraiya wants to fight over this boy, then there should be no problem. Hiruzen, what do you think?" Mitokado Homura spoke.

"Then leave this child to you, Jiraiya. But if you want to take him as your disciple, you cannot remain this unreliable."

After thinking it over, the Third Hokage felt Jiraiya made sense. Naturally, he knew his disciple well. Very few people could catch Jiraiya's eye, and those who did generally had character and temperament that could be trusted.

The Third Hokage only feared that Jiraiya's future disciple would turn out as unreliable as Jiraiya himself. That would truly give him a headache.

Shaking his head to dismiss this still-unfounded concern, the Third Hokage's expression turned solemn. There was still important business to discuss.

"Jiraiya, did you discover anything during this reconnaissance mission near Kumogakure?"

With the Third Hokage's words, the somewhat lighthearted atmosphere caused by competing over talent grew grave again.

"Yes, old man. Just as we expected last year, that old bastard, the Third Raikage, has begun making moves. Within the Land of Hot Water, I discovered a large gathering of Kumogakure elite ninja. It appears they are ready to make a move against our Land of Fire at any time."

Setting down the documents in his hands, Jiraiya suppressed the urge to immediately race off to find his future disciple and began seriously reporting Kumogakure's intelligence to the Third Hokage.

"Just as expected. These ambitious people have always eyed the Land of Fire's territory greedily. Tsunade and Orochimaru have also sent back intelligence. Sunagakure of the Land of Wind and Kirigakure of the Land of Water have likewise begun deploying large numbers of ninja to their borderlines."

A trace of gravity appeared on the Third Hokage's face. Konoha was indeed not afraid of being besieged by the four great nations, but even a fierce tiger could not withstand a pack of wolves.

In a one-against-four situation, even if Konoha repelled the other four great ninja villages' assault, it would still suffer grievous losses that outweighed the gains.

That was not what the Third Hokage wanted to see. If they were to win, he wanted a beautiful victory!

"Hiruzen, all four great ninja villages are making moves. What are you planning to do?" Utatane Koharu's worry was practically written across her face.

The office sank into strange silence again. This time, even Danzo did not know what to do. He too was not afraid of an assault from the four great nations, but he feared Konoha's losses would be so severe that no one could accept them.

The Third Hokage tapped the desk before him with his pipe, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

He raised the pipe and took two deep puffs. Just as everyone else in the room was about to urge the Third Hokage to explain his plan, he finally spoke.

"Since the four great ninja villages want to coordinate their attacks, then we shall defeat them one by one!" The Third Hokage's eyes flashed sharply.

"Hiruzen, how do you intend to defeat them one by one?" Mitokado Homura could not understand what the Third Hokage meant by those vague words.

Utatane Koharu beside him wore the same puzzled expression.

Jiraiya seemed to have thought of something. He looked at the Third Hokage in disbelief, about to ask whether it was the method he had in mind, before closing his mouth again.

Indeed, if it was the method he imagined, it would be the most effective way to deal with encirclement by the four great ninja villages. However, it seemed somewhat contrary to the Will of Fire.

"Hiruzen, are you saying we should take the initiative and start the Second Ninja World War first? Then concentrate our forces and crush one or two ninja villages before the rest?" Other than Jiraiya, only Danzo, who had long lurked in the shadows, could think of and follow the Third Hokage's line of thought.

Hearing Danzo state his intention, the Third Hokage slowly nodded.

"Hiruzen, if we do that, won't it..." Utatane Koharu did not finish her words, but everyone understood what she meant.

"We cannot worry about that now. If we do not act this way, Konoha will lose even more of its living strength." Mitokado Homura was more accepting of it than Utatane Koharu.

"Hiruzen, let us do it! If there are truly any negative consequences afterward, I am willing to bear them all!" Danzo, a war fanatic unafraid of taking the blame, wholeheartedly approved of the Third Hokage's proposal.

At that moment, Danzo truly wanted to say that Hiruzen was indeed his best friend. This method suited him perfectly!

"I proposed this method. How can I let you take the blame, Danzo? Once the war is won, I will naturally bear it all." As a Ninja Hero, the Third Hokage was not so cowardly that he needed his companion to shoulder the blame for him.

"Hiruzen, say no more! The Hokage cannot be stained! I will arrange everything properly myself. You need not worry." At this time, Danzo was still an extremely reassuring teammate.

Danzo did not feel the slightest discomfort at taking the blame. Instead, he wore an expression of delighted enjoyment, making Jiraiya, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura's brows twitch uncontrollably.

What a guy. Everyone else wanted to avoid this blame at all costs, yet Danzo could not wait to heap it all onto his own shoulders. He truly was unfazed no matter how much blame he carried.

"Danzo... Thank you. Then I will leave everything to you." From that moment onward, deep guilt toward Danzo was planted in the Third Hokage's heart. It would lead to his repeated indulgence of Danzo in the future.

Danzo's emotions surged even more at the Third Hokage's words of thanks. He felt that he had accomplished a feat worthy of a Hokage, because he had gained everyone present's acknowledgment.

That was right. Even Jiraiya, who had always despised Danzo's habit of hiding in the shadows and doing unsavory things, now felt respect for his spirit of sacrifice.

Jiraiya admitted that he did not mind bearing a reputation for loving drink and women, but he truly lacked the courage to bear the infamy of starting a Ninja World War—an infamy that would be recorded in history.

At this moment, only Jiraiya still wore a complicated expression, and the Third Hokage saw it all.

"Jiraiya, I know this does not sit well with you. But compared to the sacrifices of other villages, should we not protect our own village first?" The Third Hokage rose from his desk, walked before Jiraiya, and spoke earnestly.

He did not want Jiraiya to develop resentment toward him or the village because of this.

"Whew... Old man, I understand. I can still tell right from wrong. Although I hope everyone can understand one another, if sacrifices are destined to be made, I will choose to protect the people I care about first!" Jiraiya's expression was grave as he looked seriously at the worried Third Hokage.

He understood that the Third Hokage's proposal was undoubtedly the best option at present. He simply could not get over the hurdle in his heart for the moment.

If the ninja of the other villages truly threatened the village and people he loved, then he could only convince them through "physical" means!