In the process of waiting for rescue, Aoba did not do anything unnecessary.
It was not until they were successfully rescued that Aoba bid farewell to Gekkou Hayate and left.
Although they had once again lost track of Orochimaru, Kakashi and the others did not give up just like that. Instead, they prepared to clean up the collapsed base and bring back the things they could take with them.
By the way, they went along the blown up tunnel to see if they could find any clues and continued to search for Orochimaru.
While leaving, Gekkou Hayate whispered a few words in Aoba's ear, letting Aoba know the real reason why Sarutobi was eager to find Orochimaru.
It was actually to let Jiraiya return to the village
Aoba instantly thought of many things, but Sarutobi's plan was destined to be a bamboo basket hitting water.
Let Orochimaru have a headache...
A few days later, Aoba returned to Konoha and reported the entire mission process in detail.
After learning that Orochimaru had successfully escaped in advance and cut off the clues, Sarutobi directly sighed.
Of course, this was not Aoba's fault.
In Sarutobi's opinion, Aoba had already done very well. Not only had he found Orochimaru's real secret base through the clues in the information, but he had also taken very precious photos.
What was even more valuable was that Aoba was worthy of his trust, and Kurosuki Raiga's ninja sword had indeed been taken away by Akatsuki's people.
However, Orochimaru and Akatsuki were involved, which made things even more troublesome.
As for Aoba not taking his move, causing Orochimaru to escape again was something that could not be helped.
Immediately seeking reinforcements from the village was undoubtedly the right thing to do, and not acting rashly against Orochimaru was a more mature performance.
It was a pity that this operation lacked a bit of luck.
"You did very well in this mission. It also allowed me to see your increasingly mature performance." Sarutobi said with some gratification.
As for Aoba, he was thinking about how much money he could give him after completing another S-Rank mission.
After all, from the [Seven Warlords of the Ninjas] degree of devouring money, even if he got 50 million from Sasori, it seemed not quite enough.
However, Sarutobi immediately changed the topic, "I heard from Shikaku that Tsunade taught you your Taijutsu?"
In an instant, Aoba, who was possessed by an awarded-winning Oscar actor, nodded with a conflicted expression.
Then, he saw Sarutobi comfort him. "Don't worry. Tsunade won't blame you for this. After all, the village has let her down. It's understandable that she doesn't want anyone to disturb her."
"But did Tsunade tell you how to contact her? Don't think too much about it. Even if we really finds Tsunade, Tsunade won't do anything to you, so don't have any psychological burden."
Seeing Sarutobi's kind smile, Aoba immediately understood what this old man was thinking.
It was nothing more than a suspicion that he still hadn't told the truth, hiding the method to find Tsunade.
"I really believe in your evil, you rotten old man!"
Aoba cursed in his heart.
Not to mention that he didn't know at all, even if he really knew, and then betrayed Tsunade, wouldn't he pick up a stone and smash his own foot?
How brainless was he to help find Tsunade and cause trouble for himself?
Moreover, if he really betrayed Tsunade, with Tsunade's character, the next time they met, she would send him flying with a punch.
At that time, Sarutobi would have already achieved his goal and would definitely not care about his life.
Therefore, Aoba directly said, "I really didn't. Before we parted ways, Tsunade-sama had already repeatedly told me not to reveal any information about her. How could she still tell me how to contact Tsunade-sama?"
"Moreover, you might really have misunderstood something. Tsunade-sama might feel a little upset, which is why she used the Spirit Communication Technique to repay the debt and did not look highly upon me."
"If Tsunade-sama knew that I was forced to say all these things, she would definitely not let me go."
Looking at Aoba's extremely resentful expression, Sarutobi coughed a little awkwardly. "It's fine if you don't know. I can promise you that the only people who know about it are me and Shikaku. They will not mention it to others, nor will they make things difficult for you."
"I hope so."
Aoba curled his lips, obviously not believing it.
This made Sarutobi even more embarrassed. He quickly ended the topic and said, "By the way, while you were away, Naruto got into trouble at the Ninja Academy again. I'll give you a few days off first. You go to the Ninja Academy to deal with this matter."
Did Naruto get into trouble again?
Aoba was stunned for a moment before nodding his head.
He was already used to Sarutobi's actions of throwing the blame.
Moreover, what could happen if he got into trouble in the academy?
Naruto couldn't possibly beat up the teacher, right?
After Aoba left the Hokage Building, Sarutobi, who was standing in front of the window, sighed again.
If Aoba had been born ten years earlier, maybe he would really be willing to give this brat a chance.
However, a ten-year-old Hokage was really too ridiculous. In addition, Aoba, Uchiha, and Hyuga, who were born as war orphans, were a little too close, which made him very worried.
Therefore, from the beginning, Sarutobi had never considered letting Aoba be the 5th Hokage.
Perhaps after a few years, Aoba would have a chance to compete for the position of the 6th Hokage, but at that time, Sarutobi would probably not be able to see that day.
But what Sarutobi did not know was that according to normal development, there would be a young man named Gaara who would inherit the title of Kazekage at the age of 15.
So, was age really that important?...
On the other side, after walking out of the building, Aoba's eyes immediately became extremely deep.
Sarutobi would rather do everything he could to find Jiraiya and Tsunade, not considering waiting for a few more years and making him the Hokage.
This made him realize that his current fame and strength could not completely reverse his age and disadvantage.
If he did nothing, even if Jiraiya and Tsunade were not willing to take on the responsibility of the Hokage.
The next target that Sarutobi would consider would not be him!
It could be Kakashi, it could be his son.
Unless these people were all dead, Sarutobi would definitely not break the rules and risk handing Konoha over to a young boy who was still underage.
Aoba could not help but think of another idea. If he created an opportunity, would it be better for Orochimaru to carry out Konoha's destroying plan?
After all, once Sarutobi died, even if Jiraiya and Tsunade came back, they might not compete with him.
Even if there was a real competition, he might not lose at that time.
He was very curious, if he became a Hokage, what kind of evaluation would appear in the undercover mission that had been quiet all the time, and what kind of reward would be given to him.
Presumably, it would be the same as a golden suicide mission at the very least