The Commander Who Came Knocking

Ren is having a headache over choosing a commander-in-chief for the allied forces.

The four Kage, including Ren, will not personally participate in this operation against the Land of Earth.

During the mobilization period, Ren also held several remote meetings.

Konoha was the initiator and promoter, and undoubtedly qualified as the commander-in-chief of this operation.

Unlike the original story, the current Allied Shinobi Forces will certainly not be divided into five units: mid-range, close-range, support, intelligence, and secret techniques.

It's not that people don't understand; that's the best way for the allied forces to unleash their full strength and to be deployed more effectively.

There's only one reason: the people involved were genuinely unfamiliar with each other, and many smaller ninja villages had been locked in fierce battles before this incident.

If it weren't for the immense benefits to the Land of Earth, which allowed them to temporarily set aside their disputes and secure their gains first, they would probably have started fighting as soon as they met.

Therefore, as everyone can guess, the situation after the allied forces entered the Land of Earth was that they fought their own battles.

Nearly half of the Land of Earth's resources have already been divided among the various ninja villages, and the remaining half will be decided by whoever occupies it first.

This was a compromise that had to be made in order to motivate everyone; otherwise, if everything were already divided up, everyone would just follow along and muddle through.

In other words, in the early stages of the operation, although the ninja villages fought independently, there was still unified command, which required a proper commander-in-chief.

Konoha certainly has many talented people now, but it also has various shortcomings.

Kakashi, Shisui, Fugaku, or even Shikaku could all be in charge of this role, but ultimately they just fall short.

While Ren was wavering between the four, he received a notification.

Jiraiya has returned to the village and requested to see me; he is currently waiting outside the Hokage Building.

This made Ren's eyes light up instantly, even though he was still hesitating among the four.

Jiraiya?

He was practically the perfect candidate to be the commander of the Allied Forces, and his performance in the Third Shinobi World War was known to almost everyone in the Shinobi World.

And her strength and reputation go without saying; apart from Tsunade, who is still out there wandering, almost no one in Konoha can match her.

However, Ren recalled his last encounter with Jiraiya, during which he had acted strangely and offended him terribly.

It's hard to say whether Jiraiya is still willing to take over this position.

Ren immediately gave the order.

"Go, Jonin Jiraiya in!"

Before his subordinates could respond, Ren immediately changed his mind.

"Fine, I'll go myself!"

After saying that, Ren strode out of the office and headed towards the door.

Jiraiya stood obediently outside the Hokage Building.

If the Great Toad Sage's prophecy hadn't been so alarmist, Jiraiya wouldn't have wanted to meet Ren at all.

This return to Konoha brought new changes.

If we're talking about the changes in the Land of Rain, Jiraiya could see huge changes every few years.

Konoha was changing rapidly; many ninjas would return from a week-long mission to find many new things emerging in the Konoha.

Unlike the Land of Rain, everyone in Konoha is full of energy and hope for the future, radiating a vibrant spirit.

Jiraiya had to admit that as Hokage, Ren was impeccable, but he was indeed too ruthless towards outsiders.

As he waited, Jiraiya he looked at the familiar Hokage Building.

Back when Jiraiya was Hokage, he never took the usual route to enter Jiraiya leave the Hokage Building; he almost always climbed in through the windows.

These days, you need to report your presence to enter the Hokage Building, and even then, you're not guaranteed to get in.

Jiraiya could clearly sense that, just as he disliked Ren, Hokage Ren also disliked him.

Jiraiya recalled the past and realized that he had never had much interaction with Ren before.

The only connection I've had is that, starting a few years ago, I've been receiving bankbooks from the Uchiha Clan, ostensibly for copyright fees.

Jiraiya first met Ren during the Hokage election, when he was Ren's rival.

Thinking back to their second meeting, Ren's attitude towards her.

Jiraiya could only guess; was the Hokage position really that alluring?

Whether the Hokage position tempted Ren is another matter, but Ren certainly looked extremely happy.

With a joyful smile on his face, Ren practically ran, appearing in Jiraiya's sight for only two seconds before arriving in front of Jiraiya.

He grasped Jiraiya's hand tightly with both of his Jiraiya, as if seeing a long-lost friend.

"Jiraiya- senpai, you're finally back! That's wonderful!"

Jiraiya, whose right hand was being held tightly by Ren, looked completely bewildered.

Is this a conspiracy?

But looking at Ren's genuine expression, Jiraiya still couldn't quite process it.

It seems your Hokage has been switched!

Jiraiya never doubted that the Ren he had encountered last time was an imposter, since the fact that his Dōjutsu was not a secret indicated that the Ren he had met last time was the real one.

This made Jiraiya wonder if the person in front of him, Ren, was an imposter.

Although Ren's behavior was strange, Jiraiya a seasoned veteran. Sensing something was amiss, he wasn't fooled by Ren's superficial actions.

"Lord Hokage, I have something to report to you concerning the Shinobi World."

After Jiraiya finished speaking, he did not utter the prophecy.

Ren instantly realized that Jiraiya had probably discovered something that wasn't suitable for discussion in public.

He immediately said with a broad smile.

"I see. This is indeed not a good place to discuss matters, senior. Please come inside!"