Could Chapter 44 be Araki?
"You think so too?"
Jiraiya's face lit up with joy. After seeing the Third's attitude, he gradually ruled out the possibility of him being the Third in his mind.
This was actually a very good thing for him. As long as the Third factor was no longer involved, he could relax and only needed to deal with the mole on the other side.
That makes things easier to discuss.
"Um."
The Third Hokage nodded silently, his expression grave and cautious, but he didn't say much more on the topic. Instead, he stared at Jiraiya and asked, "Has anything else happened?"
"No more." Jiraiya shook his head.
"I see."
The Third Hokage's gaze turned grave, then softened as he looked at Kushina. He patted his chest and said, "This happened unexpectedly. My negligence played a part. Thankfully, you're alright, otherwise, I would be overwhelmed with guilt. Don't worry, I will definitely give you an explanation."
"Thank you," Kushina replied immediately, sensing the Third's sincerity.
"You must be exhausted from your journey back, and you've been frightened. There's no need for you to stand here. Go back and rest. Jiraiya, stay here; we have some things to discuss." The Third Hokage spoke in an authoritative tone, seemingly seeking opinions.
"Yes!"
Minato and the other two immediately responded and turned to leave the Hokage's office. When they appeared in the corridor, they did not see the three Anbu Ninja had left earlier.
However, they all knew very well that the three Anbu Ninja were watching them, so none of them spoke until they left the Hokage's office building.
" Araki!"
Just then, Minato suddenly called out to Araki, his expression far more serious than before.
Araki stopped and turned to look at Minato, but didn't speak, waiting for the latter to say something.
Kushina also stopped.
"Do you think it might be the Third Lord Hokage?" Minato said something that even he himself couldn't believe he would say.
"No." Araki shook his head.
"Are you so sure?" Minato immediately pressed, but as he spoke, he visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Clearly, this was the answer he wanted to hear. He simply hadn't been able to see things clearly from the sidelines; he had become too deeply involved in the situation, and thus viewed everyone with suspicion.
"Yes, I'm sure." Araki nodded, adding, " The Third Lord Hokage has no motive; he has no reason to do this. Besides, judging from his reaction just now, he clearly doesn't know anything about this, but..."
"But what?" Minato immediately perked up.
"I think the Third Lord Hokage already has someone he suspects in mind." Araki didn't keep them in suspense and stated his conclusion directly.
"Why do you say that?" Minato had been led by the nose by Araki without even realizing it. The main reason was that he trusted Araki and believed him in this matter. He didn't think Araki would betray Kushina, so on this topic, they were completely on the same side.
" The Third Lord Hokage kicked us out because he wanted to have a private conversation with Jiraiya-sensei. Their discussion must involve a suspicious person," Araki silently analyzed. "If I'm not mistaken, the Third Lord Hokage will instruct Jiraiya-sensei to investigate secretly. Without concrete evidence, the less he knows about the person he suspects, the better, to avoid alerting them."
"I see." Minato suddenly realized. He had really thought the Third was telling them to rest. Although he felt something was off, he didn't suspect anything. After all, he had been taught the Will of Fire at the Ninja Academy since he was a child and wouldn't easily question the decisions of the higher-ups. In addition, he was still young and inexperienced, so he was bound to be a little confused when faced with a situation.
" Araki, what do we do now?" Kushina asked immediately.
"We can leave it to Jiraiya-sensei. This is something we can't get involved in. This may sound unpleasant, but it's the truth. Even if we find the mole, it's not something we can handle. In the end, we'll still have to rely on Jiraiya-sensei and the others," Araki said calmly. He was mainly saying this to Minato.
"Hateful!"
Minato clenched his fists tightly, a sense of powerlessness welling up inside him. He knew that Araki was right; becoming Hokage was his dream, but he wasn't Hokage yet. Even though he longed to improve Konoha, he was currently powerless to do anything about it.
"I will definitely become the Hokage of Konoha in the future, and then change all the chaos here, making the village a truly reliable home!"
"Minato," he swore in a deep voice.
You could sense the urgent determination in his tone.
It is this determination that will motivate him to continuously improve his skills and become stronger in the future.
Snap!
Just then, Minato felt a tap on his shoulder; it was Araki's hand.
"I trust you."
Araki uttered four words calmly, then raised his hand and left, leaving the two with only his back to them. He waved and said, "That's enough for today. I'm going to train."
" Araki..."
Minato stared blankly at Araki in front of him. What had just happened had greatly impacted his heart. He had always had extremely complicated feelings towards Araki, feelings that even he himself couldn't explain.
He knew perfectly well in his heart that he liked Kushina; there was no doubt about that!
Logically speaking, he should hate Araki, since he and Araki like the same person. Or rather, he doesn't know Araki's thoughts, but he knows that Kushina likes Araki.
So, in this sense, their essential relationship is that of rivals for love, yet they are also teammates in the same team.
This complex relationship left Minato unsure how to express his feelings for Araki. He wanted to outdo Araki in his performance, but found that this feeling was very childish, and he didn't actually do it. However, after receiving Araki's approval, he felt a sense of satisfaction, but then wondered if such a feeling should not exist.
In an instant.
Minato was caught in a very complicated mood. He stared silently at Araki's back, unsure of what to say.
" Minato, I'm leaving too. See you on the next mission."
Kushina bid farewell to Minato and turned to leave. At that moment, her relationship with Minato was merely that of a companion, not a particularly close friend. Although they had just gone through the mission together, they were not actually very familiar with each other.
Their relationship is currently limited to carrying out missions together. When there are no missions, they don't have any particularly close topics to discuss or anything to talk about. Under such circumstances, it would be somewhat awkward for them to stay in the same place.
Kushina stayed here because of Araki, and now that Araki has left, she is preparing to leave as well.
"Um!"
Minato nodded silently. He looked in the direction Kushina had left, then in the direction Araki had left. They weren't heading in the same direction, so he could tell they were going to different places.
With this conclusion, Minato felt a little better, since it was certain that the two were not having a secret rendezvous!
Who exactly is it?
Minato clenched his fists tightly. He didn't have a single person he suspected in his mind. If what Araki said was true, then Jiraiya-sensei should know something, but he didn't have a very good reason to ask Jiraiya-sensei.
Of course, he also knew in his heart that even if he found a very reasonable reason, Jiraiya-sensei would not tell him. He had already sensed these things on the way here.
This situation made Minato feel like he was punching cotton; he had boundless energy inside, but nowhere to vent it, unable to contribute to the matter, and even less able to help Kushina find out who was framing her.
"Hateful!"
"Damn it! Damn it!"
"That's outrageous!"
Why am I so weak!
"..."
Minato roared in low voices, then slowly raised his head, a fierce determination flashing in his azure eyes.
Never before had he felt such a strong desire for power. He hoped to gain power, to use it to achieve a higher position, and to have more say in the village, instead of being isolated and helpless like he was now.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office.
After Minato and the other two left, only the Third and Jiraiya remained, and the entire space became much quieter.
" Hiruzen-sensei, is there something you want to tell me?"
Jiraiya's expression became much more serious, because he sensed that the Third wanted to discuss some private matters with him, which was why he had just driven Minato and the others out of the Hokage's office. This meant that what he was about to say was something that couldn't be known by others.
"Do you have someone you suspect?" the Third Hokage asked in a deep voice.
"No."
Jiraiya slowly shook his head. He couldn't say that he had just suspected the Third Hokage himself, but he understood that such things were actually traceable. He continued, "The person who could reveal this information would first know Kushina Jinchūriki. There aren't many people in the village who know this right now, so we can better narrow down the possibilities. Then, among these people, those who can guide us on missions are more likely to be the ones. But I'm not clear about this range, so we still need Hiruzen-sensei to make the final determination."
"You make a good point." The Third Hokage nodded, then said meaningfully, "Could it be Araki?"
"What did you say?"
Jiraiya was stunned Jiraiya heard this. He hadn't expected the Third to bring up such a possibility. To be honest, he hadn't even considered it. When choosing his disciples, he had thoroughly investigated Kushina and Araki's backgrounds and knew that the two had a very good relationship and a deep bond. He didn't believe that Araki was sabotaging him behind his back.
If that were the case, he would think that humanity was far too ugly and dark. Even in Konoha, very few people would do such a thing, let alone do it to their own comrades.
"I'm just suggesting a possibility." The Third Hokage waved his hand, his expression calm and composed, showing no sign of unease despite posing such a seemingly strange question. He continued, "We can't overlook any possibility. Judging from the two ranges you mentioned, Araki should know that Kushina is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and he also knows you're going there. She actually fits the requirements."
"This..." Jiraiya know what to say. He just felt that there was something wrong with this, and a big problem at that. It was as if he directly believed from his senses that the Third was not the mole in this matter, and he also believed that Araki did not do this at all.
"There's a detail you might have overlooked. After the Sunagakure invaders entered Konoha's territory, they chose to use poison, and they didn't harm you after you were poisoned. So, is it possible that this was a cover-up, and that Araki was the one who leaked the information?" The Third raised his doubts again.
" Hiruzen-sensei, I think this was done by a high-ranking member of Konoha who has inside information!" This time, Jiraiya didn't answer the question about Araki's world, but instead firmly stated his own guess. His expression turned quite grim because he felt that these words were not something the Hiruzen-sensei he remembered should have said, which he found unbelievable.
"I understand." The Third nodded, his expression still calm, and even his initial surprise had largely disappeared. "The reason I let them out was to discuss this possibility with you. Since you think it's impossible, then we can proceed to the next step. However, we cannot easily rule out any possibility, because the other party must have already done something very well, and concealed it very well."
"..."
Jiraiya was speechless for a moment. He had a very difficult feeling to describe, because he realized that he and the Third Hokage had not reached a consensus on this matter.
perhaps...
The Third has its own speculations.
But she was unwilling to share it with him.
Or perhaps the Third himself was unwilling to believe the person he had guessed, and thus, in a self-deceptive manner, pointed the finger at Araki.
" Jiraiya, you can go back now. Leave this to me. I'll do my best to find that person." The Third picked up his pipe again, put it in his mouth, and dismissed him.
On the other side.
As Araki was walking towards the grove where he usually practiced, he suddenly sensed a presence not far ahead, seemingly waiting for him.
Um?
Araki felt a strange emotion welling up inside him, but he didn't take it too seriously and continued forward on his own.
It wasn't until he reached his usual training spot and saw the figure facing him that he realized it was a familiar face.
Uchiha Fugaku!
Araki hadn't expected to see this person here, but seeing him again brought him a completely different feeling.
When he used to watch Naruto, he thought Uchiha Fugaku was a simpleton, but now he realized that he must have been very strong to become the head of the scheming and backstabbing Uchiha Clan and the head of the Konoha Military Police Force.
" Araki, you're finally back. I've been waiting for you here for a long time. I'm glad I wasn't wrong; you'll come to the old place to train after returning to Konoha."