The Furious Third Hokage

"Jiraiya, here..."

"What is it?"

Jiraiya, who was cleaning up the mess, asked without looking up.

"Haven't you always wanted to take on a good disciple? I've brought you one," Ye Fan said with a smile.

"Disciple? What kind of trick are you playing now?"

Jiraiya suddenly felt something was off. Ye Fan's tone today was too gentle.

He even wondered if Ye Fan had been possessed by Orochimaru.

"Hello, Pervy Sage!"

Naruto jumped out from behind Ye Fan, greeting him with a loud laugh.

"Hm? It's you! Quick, quick, quick, transform into a beautiful woman for me to see!"

Jiraiya swallowed hard, staring at Naruto lecherously.

"Ew ew ew... Get away from me, I'm a guy, I'm not interested in men!"

Naruto was extremely disgusted by Jiraiya's lecherous gaze.

If he hadn't personally witnessed Jiraiya defeat the One-Tails just now, he would never have believed that this perverted old man was a master.

"Hurry, hurry, I just went through a big battle and I'm extremely weak. I desperately need a beautiful woman to stimulate my flagging nerves!"

Jiraiya, who had been full of energy moments ago, instantly became listless and slumped down beside Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara.

Temari and Kankuro had come to rescue Gaara, but Jiraiya had easily captured them and tied them up.

Seeing Jiraiya like this, Temari and Kankuro felt their worldview shatter.

Was this really the strong man who had defeated Gaara and beaten them with just half a move?

Temari and Kankuro couldn't help but fall into thought. This guy had absolutely no air of a master!

Naruto couldn't stand Jiraiya's pestering and gave in.

"I'm telling you beforehand, just once, the last time!"

As he spoke, Naruto used the Transformation Jutsu and turned into a beautiful woman with a delicate face, wearing very little clothing.

He also winked at Jiraiya and called out to him in a sweet voice, "Lord Jiraiya."

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Seeing this, Jiraiya's blood essence surged, and he spurted out two streams of blood from his nose, falling to the ground with a look of satisfaction, his heart filled with longing.

Ye Fan chuckled as he watched the two of them: "As expected, you two are the most suitable for each other. You're a pair of clowns!"

"Jiraiya, I'll leave him to you. Oh, and his name is Naruto Uzumaki."

Ye Fan waved his hand with his back to them and left.

Jiraiya lay on the ground, looking up at the clear blue sky, lost in thought.

The sunlight shone on his face, and a slight curve formed on Jiraiya's lips, a smile.

How could he not recognize Naruto? He had even given him his name.

Glancing at the smiling Naruto, Jiraiya gave a wry smile:

"It seems my life is destined to be that of a babysitter! Raising one child after another..."

"Pervy Sage, Brother Ye Fan said that I'll be training with you from now on. You won't go back on your word, right?"

"If you want to train, first clean up this mess here. Afterwards, you'll help the Anbu repair the houses in the village."

"If your performance satisfies me, I might consider letting you train. Perhaps I'll even treat you to a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen."

As soon as Naruto heard the word "ramen," he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

"Pervy Sage, you better keep your word!"

Naruto started cleaning up the mess with great enthusiasm.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, enjoyed his leisure, lying comfortably on a tree branch.

Looking in the direction Ye Fan had gone, Jiraiya knew where he was headed.

As for what happened in the past, Jiraiya didn't know too much.

However, Ye Fan had never hidden anything from him. Long ago, Ye Fan had told Jiraiya that if he ever returned to Konoha, the first thing he would do was seek the truth.

"If... if the deaths of your parents are truly related to the Konoha higher-ups, then causing a stir... doesn't seem like it would matter."

"Konohagakure really needs a good shake-up!"

"I hope this matter has nothing to do with the Third Hokage, otherwise, I really don't know what I'll do..."

Jiraiya sighed heavily, leaving a shadow clone behind, and quietly followed.

Although he appeared unconcerned on the surface, he was actually quite worried.

He was worried about Ye Fan's safety, and also about Konoha's safety.

He had heard about the Uchiha clan incident back then, and he suspected that Ye Fan's parents' deaths were definitely closely related to Danzō!

And Danzō, that old guy's methods were so bizarre that even Jiraiya was somewhat wary of him.

The Hokage's office was bustling with activity, with almost all of Konoha's top brass gathered there.

The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, Shimura Danzō, Nara Shikaku, the Anbu representative, and the Land of Fire representative were all present.

The Third Hokage sat in the main seat, with the others seated in order. The Land of Fire representative sat at the end with a stern face, seemingly without much say.

"Lord Third Hokage, several Jonin from my Root division were seemingly killed by your Anbu during their mission. I demand an explanation."

Shimura Danzō spoke first, unaware that those Root Jonin had been killed by Ye Fan.

Upon hearing this, everyone felt very displeased. They all knew the purpose of today's meeting.

Yet Danzō brought up something unrelated to the current incident at such a time.

However, no one spoke, and all eyes turned to the Third Hokage.

"Cough... cough..." The Third Hokage, dragging his heavily injured body, coughed violently, his face turning extremely pale.

He had completely lost faith in Danzō. In the past, no matter what Danzō did, as long as it didn't threaten Konoha's safety, he could pretend not to see it.

Even when Danzō secretly turned Root, which cultivated Anbu talent, into his own private army, the Third Hokage pretended not to know.

But this time, when Konoha was invaded by an outside village, Danzō and his subordinates were nowhere to be seen. This matter had completely crossed his bottom line.

The Third Hokage did not answer Danzō's question but asked sternly:

"Danzō, what did you and Root do during this incident? Report everything, I mean everything!"

As the Third Hokage spoke, everyone's gaze fell on Danzō. This was also a question they wanted to ask.

Danzō glanced at everyone, slowly stood up, and feigned taking out a piece of paper, reading:

"All Root Jonin were dispatched on missions to various countries before this incident. Only some youngsters were left behind."

"This incident was extremely dangerous, and none of those youngsters participated."

As he spoke, Danzō handed everyone present a piece of paper detailing the mission content of the Root Jonin.

The Third Hokage didn't even look at the paper and suppressed his anger, asking, "Is everything on this paper the truth?"

"Yes, absolutely true. The matter is clear. Lord Third Hokage, can you now answer my question?"

"My Root's..."

"And you! Where were you! Were you also out on a mission?!"

Before Danzō could finish, the Third Hokage interrupted him sternly.

The Third Hokage slammed his palm down, shattering the desk in front of him. The atmosphere in the Hokage's office instantly became tense.