The news of Jiraiya becoming Acting Hokage did not remain the talk of the village for long. Just two days later, an even more unexpected decision came from the temporary command center.
Jiraiya openly rejected the proposal that he formally become the Fifth Hokage and insisted on recommending Tsunade, one of the Sannin who was far from the village, as the best candidate. His reasons were compelling: Tsunade was the First Hokage's granddaughter, possessed the most legitimate Hokage bloodline, and had medical ninjutsu unrivaled in the shinobi world. She was vital to Konoha as it recovered from the wounds of war.
The senior Advisors hesitated, however. Tsunade had been away from the village for years, and there were rumors that she suffered from a fear of blood.
"If you can't make up your minds, I'll go bring her back myself!" Jiraiya declared firmly at a meeting of the village leadership. "Until then, you two Advisors can continue handling village affairs."
More surprisingly, he announced that he would take Naruto Uzumaki with him.
"The kid is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. The Akatsuki has a clear target. Leaving him in the village would be too dangerous if they took advantage of our weakened state. He'll actually be safer with me." Jiraiya's reasoning was unassailable, and he genuinely had Naruto's safety in mind.
He also specifically requested one other person-Ling Hatake.
That decision surprised many people.
"Ling Hatake demonstrated excellent Water Release abilities and sound judgment in the recent battle," Jiraiya explained to the two Advisors. "It's a long journey to find Tsunade, and we could run into all sorts of situations. Someone needs to keep an eye on Naruto when he gets impulsive. Ling's abilities can handle a variety of environments, so he'll make a good helper. Besides..."
He paused, glancing at Danzo's