There are still three days until Gaara and Sage Fukasaku are released.
In the past few days, Orochimaru's disguised Fourth Kazekage went to the Hokage building every day. And whenever he leaves, he will tell the Third Hokage how many days he has left to find Gaara.
This made the Third Hokage extremely stressed and even dark circles had appeared under his eyes. Even the office was full of smoke all day, which made Naruto worry that the Third Hokage might not die in the hands of Orochimaru, but kill himself by smoking.
"Jiraiya, how many days has it been? Why don't you go to Mount Myōboku again and ask the Great Toad Sage about their return? There are only two days left before Kazekage's deadline."
Hiruzen said weakly.
"Uh… the Great Sage falls asleep after prophesying and usually there is no way to wake him up in a short time."
Jiraiya is also very helpless and anxious, but he can't help it. He was fortunate to meet the Great Toad Sage who was awake. But someone wanted to wake him up forcibly? This is impossible.
Although he firmly believed in the Great Sage's prophecy in his heart, the situation at this time could not allow them to wait.
The other thing is that Rasa, a militant, was giving them a headache. He came to find the Third Hokage every day and put pressure on him. And Jiraiya saw it all with his own eyes.
Jiraiya has had an intense disdain for war, which was evident through his deliberate choice to distance himself from Konoha during that time, all to prevent the outbreak of war.
"Did Kakashi find something? Has Kazekage made any moves these days?"
"He could not find anything of importance, except for the presence of the ninjas around Kazekage. They maintained their search for Gaara and essentially remained within the Hokage Building for the duration."
Jiraiya shook his head, expressing that his previous guess might have been wrong, and this is not a play executed by Kazekage.
What made Jiraiya even more helpless was that he had searched Konoha for the past few days, but he couldn't find the slightest trace of Orochimaru. It seems that Orochimaru left Konoha.
This also made Jiraiya lose his chance to ask the truth.
Orochimaru's camouflage is really good. He walked around in front of Third Hokage and Jiraiya every day but couldn't be found.
After all, they never thought that the dignified Fourth Kazekage would be assassinated and replaced.
"What happened to those messengers from Kumogakure?"
Hiruzen suddenly thought of those savages in Kumogakure, guys full of lust for war.
They liked Konoha's chaos at this time and wanted to continue to disturb the situation, so they came to the Hokage Building to inquire about the issue openly.
The Third Hokage is well aware of these individuals' intentions to exploit Konoha. It is not the first time they have displayed their covetousness for Konoha's Kekkei Genkai. Therefore, measures must be implemented to protect against any actual theft of the Hyuga clan's eyes.
Especially if the other party succeeds, Third Hokage doesn't have the energy to fight back now, because Sunagakure is an even bigger problem, which is why Kumogakure is so unscrupulous.
"The ninjas sent by the Ino–Shika–Chō family are taking turns to keep an eye on them and they found out that the secret messenger seems to be secretly contacting the ninjas from Sunagakure."
"Those bloody bastards!"
Hiruzen slammed the table angrily.
"Continue to send more people to keep an eye on them! Don't give them a chance!"
He roared angrily.
Since the disappearance of Sunagakure's Jinchūriki, he has become more and more irritated.
Sunagakure's pressure is one thing, on the other hand, there are more and more rumors in the village.
Every day, new news comes to his ears, and this news was not brought by Anbu, but by Rasa who comes here.
As Rasa smiled and recounted his dark history in front of the Third Hokage, a suffocating sensation enveloped him. But despite the provocation, he had to restrain his anger.
On the other hand, Orochimaru being a dark-hearted guy, was getting happy from observing his teacher's distressed expression.
"I understand. Let's not become overly anxious. While the deadline imposed by the Kazekage approaches, if we can manage to postpone it by a day, then let's do so. Furthermore, when the day arrives to declare the commencement of the war, won't we still have a period of preparation? I have faith that by then, the Kazekage's son will appear safe and sound."
"Having said that, Jiraiya, help me call my two assistants and Danzo as well."
"Although what we can do now is wait, we can't just do nothing. At least, we must prepare for the worst and start preparing strategic materials. Otherwise, it will be too late to prepare when that time comes."
"Alright."
******
At night, in Root base,
"How is it?"
Naruto asked his clone who lifted the Transfiguration of 'Danzo' and asked curiously.
After all, they are in their own base. There is no need to maintain that uncomfortable disguise.
"Well, it's been busy."
"Where's Minato and Kushina?"
After Naruto came, he didn't see them anywhere, so he was quite curious.
"Brother is busy checking the information. For Kushina, it's the same as before, teaching Karin sealing technique. Not to mention, the progress is good."
The clone laughed.
"Brother?" Naruto looked at his clone in confusion, what the hell are you talking about?
After Naruto left last time, to avoid embarrassment, he didn't come to the base again, so he didn't know that the clone started to call Minato brother and shamelessly called Kushina his mother, which made Kushina extremely happy.
"Cough... don't listen to his nonsense, Naruto, why are you here?"
Sensing the movement, Minato came out with a bit of embarrassment on his face.
Here's the corrected version of your text:
If someone's son called his father 'Brother,' he would definitely be unhappy, but Minato decided to ignore it. One reason is that he owes Naruto too much, and the other reason is that this is just a clone, so he doesn't need to be angry about it.
Indeed, my initial plan is nearing its conclusion, and the subsequent step involves engaging in "Public Opinion Warfare." The Third Hokage will likely focus on dispelling the rumors and potentially targeting the clans who are just some remnants left. As a result, our objective now is to ensure their concealment and placement within the Root base for a duration of two days. This measure is crucial in preventing the Third Hokage from taking any lives."
Naruto didn't bother with addressing issues and directly talked about the business.
As for Minato? He has already been aware of a part of the plan before, so there was no need to hide any action from him.
Especially the information about the dark side of the Third Hokage and Danzo, Minato has also seen it, so he is even more dissatisfied with Third Hokage, and very much supports Naruto in driving Third Hokage out of Hokage's seat.
Naruto's exposure of the plan made Minato very satisfied. He also wanted to reveal the truth and let everyone see the true face of the Third Hokage!
This can be said to be revenge for Kushina and him.
"Can I participate?"
Minato said suddenly.
"You...but you are just a soul, what can you do?"
Naruto looked at Minato suspiciously. Why don't you stay in the base and accompany your wife? Why meddle with my affairs? It's not that I can't fight.
"Use Impure World Reincarnation on me."
"What?!"