Chapter 238 Third-rate Ninja

If what Jiraiya said is true, and the Hidden Rain Village really promotes ninja education in an all-round way, then the overall strength of the Hidden Rain Village will definitely surge in the future, and it may even be able to reach the same level as the five major ninja villages.

This is not good news for Konoha, as there will be a powerful enemy to the northwest of the village.

However, if the Hidden Rain Village truly rises, the first to feel a headache should be the Hidden Iwagakure, after all, the Hidden Rain Village is stuck on the expansion path of the Hidden Iwagakure.

If you think about it this way, the rise of the Hidden Rain Village is not difficult to accept.

In any case, Konoha has long been accustomed to being besieged. No matter where the Ninja World War started, the surrounding ninja villages would choose to drag Konoha into the water.

As the Third Hokage frowned and thought, Jiraiya couldn't help but ask, "Old man, do you think that the Hidden Rain Village's method can be promoted in the village?"

“If we can promote these in the village, it will definitely make the village stronger.”

"Is it possible to carry out reforms like Yahiko's?"

The Third Hokage fell into deep thought, and began to imagine the era when everyone in Konoha would be a ninja, but he quickly shook his head and rejected the proposal.

The population in Konoha city and territory is as high as over 100,000.

If Konoha can really train hundreds of thousands of ninjas, I'm afraid that all the other ninja villages in the ninja world combined will not be a match for Konoha.

But training a ninja is not that simple.

Training a qualified Genin requires a lot of time and resources.

The nearly ten thousand ninjas in Konohagakure are already the limit of what the Fire Nation can bear. If the Fire Nation really wants to train tens of thousands of ninjas at the same time, the Fire Nation's finances will probably go bankrupt.

Moreover, if Konohagakure expands its military too much, it will inevitably arouse the suspicion of the daimyo.

Thinking of this, the Third Hokage sighed and said to Jiraiya: "The conditions of the Hidden Rain Village are different from those of Konoha. We in Konoha cannot easily carry out reforms."

Hearing this, Jiraiya's expression suddenly dimmed. He thought he had found another good idea.

But I didn't expect that the old man rejected the idea just after it was proposed and before it was discussed. I don't know whether the old man felt that it was too difficult to do so or he didn't want any changes at all.

After all, no matter how difficult it is to carry out reforms in the village, can it be better than starting a business from scratch like Bai Ye and Yahiko?
The fact that he hasn't seen Hanzo in the Hidden Rain Village is very telling. Hanzo definitely did not hand over power voluntarily, and his disciples must have secretly planned to seize power.

If similar reforms really need to be carried out, do I have to take this path?

After looking at the portraits of successive Hokage and then at the Third Hokage, Jiraiya dispelled this ridiculous thought.

Even if he wanted to become Hokage, he could have done so through normal elections. There was no need to take such an unconventional approach.

No longer dwelling on the details of these reforms, Jiraiya thought of Minato's child Naruto, so he asked, "By the way, how is Naruto doing now?"

"Naruto?"

The Third Hokage thought for a moment, then said: "Naruto is a good boy, who inherited Minato's sunny and cheerful personality. Now he should do good things in the village."

Hearing this, Jiraiya nodded slightly.

He has always been very confident in the old man's care for Naruto. Even if we put aside Naruto's identity as the son of a hero, Naruto's identity as a jinchūriki is enough to make the old man pay attention to him.

Only by letting the Jinchūriki feel love can we better utilize the power of the Jinchūriki.

At this time, Jiraiya suddenly remembered something, and then said: "Old man, do you think Naruto can become Hokage in the future? He should inherit Minato's talent, and he is also the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in the village."

The Third Hokage was slightly stunned, then smiled and said: "Maybe, but when he grows up, my old bones will really be useless." "Don't say that, old man, I think you can still do it for at least 20 years."

"Twenty years later, you will all be old men. Haven't you ever thought about taking over?"

"I have something else to do, so I'll leave first. You continue to think about the candidate for the Fifth Hokage, old man. Anyway, I have no idea about the position of Hokage."

After saying that, Jiraiya left the Hokage's office and disappeared into the street.

Looking at Jiraiya's departing back, the Third Hokage extinguished the pipe in his hand and then sighed softly, his eyes full of loss and complexity.

It seemed like he and Jiraiya no longer had anything in common.

……

Root tissue base.

Although the Root was restricted by the Third Hokage, as long as the Hokage still needs the Root as the black glove, the Root will still enjoy great power in Konoha.

Not long after Jiraiya returned to the village, Danzo received a report about the Hokage Building.

The report clearly stated the time when Jiraiya entered the Hokage's office, the time when Jiraiya left the Hokage's office, and even part of the content of their conversation.

Due to the good soundproofing in the Hokage's office, the Anbu spy could only hear a limited number of words.

However, for Danzo, just a few words were enough for him to make inferences and figure out the Third Hokage's intentions.

The report mentioned that Jiraiya's conversation with the Third Hokage included the Hidden Rain Village and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is understandable, as he is Minato's son. As Minato's master, there is nothing wrong with Jiraiya expressing his concern for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

But why did Jiraiya and the Third Hokage talk about the Hidden Rain Village?

The Hidden Rain Village is a ninja village controlled by the little brat Byakuya. Could it be that while Jiraiya was out this time, he was attacked by Byakuya and was then mentally controlled.

But judging from Jiraiya's mental state, he should be out of control.

At this time, Danzo suddenly thought of another possibility. Could it be that Jiraiya's going out this time to look for Orochimaru was fake, and his real intention was to seek help from the Hidden Rain Village to run for the position of the Fifth Hokage.

Thinking of this, Danzo's eyes suddenly became sharp and his expression became even more gloomy.

It’s true that Jiraiya is a popular candidate for Hokage, but the people in the Hidden Rain Village are used to playing tricks and schemes, and maybe Jiraiya has also picked up this habit.

He even thought of a reason for Jiraiya to launch a coup.

Jiraiya had long been fed up with these advisory elders. If he relied on normal means to gain power, he would certainly not be able to escape the influence of the advisory elders.

Only by launching a coup and catching all the high-level officials in one fell swoop can he exercise the power of Hokage as he pleases and lead Konoha into an abyss of no return.

Yes, Danzo never thought that Jiraiya had the talent to become Hokage.

The Hokage is the most powerful ninja in Konoha, and his work style must be swift and decisive without any procrastination.

Jiraiya is also a third-rate ninja who is indecisive and places his hopes on others.

(End of this chapter)