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"The Hyuga clan has no intention of causing any conflict with the village," he stated earnestly.
"If the village's higher-ups believe that the system of the Hyuga clan poses a danger to the village, the Hyuga clan is open to reform. However, the reform proposals suggested by Lord Kagura are too radical for the Hyuga clan at this time."
Hyuga Hiashi earnestly articulated his point of view.
Akihara Kagura has been continuously trying to impose labels on them, seemingly hoping that this nominal pressure would induce changes within the Hyuga clan, but Hyuga Hiashi could not agree with his premature ideas.
"I will go and visit Lord Hokage," Hyuga Hiashi bowed respectfully as he parted ways with Akihara Kagura, maintaining his polite demeanor. The head of the Hyuga clan realized that he could no longer converse effectively with Kagura.
Nevertheless, Hyuga Hiashi still believed that through the influence of the Third Hokage, he could persuade Kagura to abandon his push for reforms within the Hyuga clan.
Hyuga Hiashi's thoughts were akin to those of a desperate man, clamoring to meet with the highest authority, hoping that such an interaction could change his unfavorable circumstances.
"Please, feel free," Kagura bid farewell to Hyuga Hiashi, spreading his palms in a very negotiable manner: "I hope the next time, it won't be you who wants to meet me."
Hyuga Hiashi turned and left without looking back.
"Lord Kagura."
Karin looked at the retreating figure of Hyuga Hiashi, furrowing her brow: "This clan head possesses the Byakugan, which can see through all enemies within a kilometer. Why can't he foresee the future of this world?"
"Perhaps the beauty of the future is too far away!" Kagura sighed, clasping his hands under his chin: "To embrace a better future, one must endure hardships to reach it... But don't worry, a month from now he will understand which direction to take."
"Wouldn't Lord Hokage hold you responsible?" Karin expressed her concern about the Third Hokage's potential reprimand.
"You…" Kagura shook his head, patting Karin's head lightly: "Have you forgotten the very purpose of our foundation? The Third Hokage is a good person."
"A good person..."
"Exactly, and it becomes more apparent when contrasted with the wicked."
"Regardless of whatever promises the Third Hokage makes to him, in a month, they will vanish like the wind that turns a windmill."
"Alright."
Kagura thought for a moment, then spoke: "Spend this month training well, and make sure there are no issues during the third part of the Chunin Exams."
There was only one month left until the third round of the Chunin Exam.
With the exam approaching, all the candidates for the third round were feeling the pressure and were training vigorously.
Team Guy continued training with the only candidate for the third round, Hyuga Neji, with his teammates Rock Lee and Tenten.
Team Kakashi's Hatake Kakashi was rigorously training Uchiha Sasuke, having entrusted Uzumaki Naruto to Ebisu, hoping Ebisu could teach him to control his chakra better.
Team 8's Aburame Shino had his unique training methods, his teammate Kiba Inuzuka could only help him find bugs or something, while Hinata Hyuga needed to go home to recover from injuries.
Team 10's Nara Shikamaru, from the Nara clan, naturally had someone to teach him how to use their family's secret technique, the Shadow Mimicry Technique.
All these young ones were working hard.
Even Karin was earnestly trying to figure out the tricks to training in Sage Mode, with a group of Root ninjas accompanying her in training, and the surviving Uchihas thought Karin wasn't likely to make much progress and considered trying human transplantation techniques instead.
As for the sole hopes of their respective villages, Sand Village's Gaara and Mist Village's Chojuro, knowing just how troublesome their opponents from Konoha could be, naturally couldn't give up on putting in effort.
Meanwhile, at the Hokage Tower, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, cheerfully shared an afternoon tea with Hyuga Hiashi.
Thanks to the past sacrifices of the Hyuga clan, the village's higher-ups had promised not to pressure the Hyuga clan into reforming and also not to doubt their loyalty to the village, which greatly eased Hyuga Hiashi's mind.
After seeing Hyuga Hiashi off, Hiruzen then sternly instructed the Anbu: "Go tell Kagura to stop making reckless statements that threaten our comrades in the village and to avoid causing internal conflicts at this critical juncture."
"Yes."
"And what about Jiraiya's whereabouts?"
Hiruzen remembered another matter of concern: "Has the Anbu delivered the message? When did Jiraiya last say he would return?"
"Lord Jiraiya originally did not want to return, but we informed him about Orochimaru appearing in the Chunin Exam, and he did not express his stance…"
In fact, Jiraiya had already returned.
Over the years, Jiraiya had been searching for traces of Nagato and the Akatsuki organization. He realized he might have been deceived by Nagato.
The Akatsuki does not seem like an organization dedicated to the peace of the ninja world, as it constantly gathers S-rank rogue ninjas and even accepts S-rank war mercenary missions.
However...
Upon careful consideration...
It appears that Nagato never actually deceived him.
This is because when Jiraiya first met Nagato, Akihara Kagura's extreme behavior nearby caused Jiraiya to fail to thoroughly inquire about Nagato's and Akatsuki's objectives, even leading Jiraiya to think that whatever Nagato wanted to do was somewhat normal.
Now that I think about it...
It still seems somewhat abnormal.
However, Jiraiya could no longer find Akatsuki's whereabouts because Akatsuki had supplemented its intelligence and, with the ability to communicate over long distances through the Magic Lantern Body Technique, they did not have to worry about Jiraiya's interference.
Moreover...
Nagato and Akatsuki were unable to deal with Jiraiya, as he bore the responsibility of recommending Akihara Kagura to become the Hokage of Konoha Village.
If Jiraiya were dealt with...
What if Akihara Kagura truly couldn't become Hokage and went mad, backstabbing Akatsuki? After all, most members of Akatsuki were former subordinates defeated by Kagura...
As long as Kagura does not become Hokage, how to deal with Jiraiya could only be put on hold. In any case, Akatsuki could just avoid Jiraiya.
Moreover...
Without Kagura's help, Jiraiya truly could not find Akatsuki's whereabouts and could only wander through the ninja world, indulging in a decadent life.
Just at this time, Konoha sent him the news of Orochimaru's appearance. Remembering that Orochimaru had once joined Akatsuki, Jiraiya decided to return to Konoha to stake out Orochimaru and see if he could get information from him.
As a result, the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku sent him on a trip, informing Jiraiya that perhaps the child of destiny in this world was not Nagato, but that a new hope was born.
This is truly disheartening...
Jiraiya felt he was about to embark on a new journey, simply returning to Konoha first to see if he could get information on Akatsuki by staking out Orochimaru. If he got information on Akatsuki, he would go and see Nagato again to confirm whether Nagato was indeed the child of destiny.
As a result.
He hadn't even staked out Orochimaru.
Instead, Jiraiya was staked out by another brat.
On Jiraiya's first day back in Konoha, he encountered Uzumaki Naruto, who attracted him with the newly invented Sexy Technique.
While assisting Uzumaki Naruto in training, Jiraiya discovered the Five Elements Seal placed by Orochimaru on Naruto's body and casually helped the little guy remove it.
During this period...
Jiraiya realized the preciousness in Uzumaki Naruto, a stubborn child who never knew how to give up, and considering that Naruto's father, Minato, had left some things on Mount Myoboku, he tried to teach him a Summoning Jutsu.
Unfortunately, Uzumaki Naruto's performance was disappointing.
The brat ended up summoning a tadpole!
"Completely untalented."
Jiraiya looked down at the tadpole summoned by Uzumaki Naruto, deeply feeling the gap between genius and poor student: "The last person who trained in the Summoning Jutsu directly summoned the highest-ranking Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku..."
"Hey? Is it Kagura?"
Uzumaki Naruto remembered seeing the name in the Summoning Contract scroll, holding his head without any surprise: "That guy Kagura is indeed super strong!"
"..."
Jiraiya thought for a moment and found that he couldn't deny it; his disciple was indeed very powerful, although also very capable of causing him trouble, but worth any teacher's pride.
"You better keep training!"
Thinking this, Jiraiya knocked on Uzumaki Naruto's head: "Until you summon a frog! Don't embarrass me!"
"The Pervy Sage still has this thing..."
Uzumaki Naruto frowned, completely baffled.
Inside the Hokage Building.
The person Jiraiya and Uzumaki Naruto mentioned, Akihara Kagura, was in a meeting.
Because Orochimaru appeared in the second round of the Chunin Exams in the Forest of Death, this matter was too significant, and the Konoha higher-ups had to take this S-rank rogue ninja seriously.
After all...
Orochimaru and Shimura Danzo are known allies throughout the ninja world.
Orochimaru's presence in Konoha might also mean another S-rank rogue ninja, Shimura Danzo, might suddenly appear.
Hatake Kakashi personally witnessed Orochimaru's Edo Tensei technique in the Land of Waves, and also saw some of the dual Kekkei Genkai ninjas created by Shimura Danzo.
Kakashi glanced at Akihara Kagura and took the initiative to say: "Although Kagura's strength is formidable, we still cannot overlook the trouble posed by two S-rank rogue ninjas..."
"Orochimaru can summon the first and second Hokages through the Edo Tensei, and Shimura Danzo has over fifty dual Kekkei Genkai ninjas under his command..."
"That's right."
Sarutobi Hiruzen furrowed his brows, well aware of the trouble these two posed: "Either of them alone is capable of effortlessly destroying a small village, and even poses a revolutionary threat to a major village like our ninja village…"
To be honest, fortunately, Konoha has Akihara Kagura as its pillar.
Otherwise, Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō leading their forces to infiltrate Konoha could likely cause a cataclysmic disaster.
"The most pressing issue now is whether we should check if these allies participating in the Chunin Exams are colluding with them…"
"There's no need to worry, right?"
"They all have treaties with Konoha…"
"Treaties are just ineffective verbal agreements…"
Hatake Kakashi distrusts these allied nations because he has personally experienced the Great Ninja War: "It was the same during the Great Ninja War; these allies could betray us at any moment, they're not as loyal as you might think…"
"Then let's proceed as if they have already betrayed the treaty."
Kagura looked at Kakashi and said decisively, "Immediately halt the Chunin Exams, presume that everyone is colluding with Orochimaru, deal with all these ninjas in Konoha, charge them with the crime of conspiring with Orochimaru to attack Konoha, and send inquiries to their kages about the crime of colluding with Orochimaru…"
"…"
Everyone present fell silent.
Even Kakashi, who mistrusts the allies, felt it was a bit too much and scratched his head, saying, "Isn't this method a bit too extreme?"
"Yes…"
"It's not possible that all our allies will betray us, right?"
"Moreover, with Sand Village and Mist Village being major ninja villages, any conflict could likely escalate into a Great Ninja War…"
"This is too extreme!"
"We can't just kill them all and start a Great Ninja War just because we suspect these allies might be colluding with Orochimaru, can we?"
"Lord Kagura, should we be a bit more moderate?"
All the Konoha ninjas present opted for a more dovish approach.
Even those hawks who originally thought that Konoha's allies might betray them, hearing Kagura's extreme proposal, couldn't help but immediately turn dovish.
"…"
Kagura frowned slightly, seemingly not quite understanding: "This way, Konoha can avoid falling into a crisis to the greatest extent, and we don't have to worry about whether these allies are colluding with Orochimaru…"
"…"
It's one thing to say this…
But that's not how things should be done!
A group of Konoha ninjas couldn't help but look at each other.
This way, there's no need to worry about Orochimaru and these allies endangering Konoha because Konoha itself would be triggering the greatest danger by sparking a Great Ninja War!
"Kagura, we can't only consider one side."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed and puffed on his pipe, saying, "We also can't halt the Chunin Exams; it's about Konoha's influence in the ninja world. We can't leave the ninja world with the impression that Konoha can't handle the crisis with Orochimaru. I believe those present can handle any potential crises."
"Of course."
"Some necessary actions must not be abandoned. I've already sent the Anbu to investigate these allies participating in the Chunin Exams to gather intelligence on whether they are colluding with Orochimaru…"
"It's too troublesome."
Kagura frowned again, still unwilling to change his suggestion: "As long as Konoha can subdue these ninja villages with a thunderous force, there's no need to worry about people thinking Konoha is a weak village that can't solve the problem with Orochimaru, nor can it solve them?"
"Violent methods won't make everyone submit…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed deeply, obviously aware that his approach might cause some hidden crises to erupt, but one simply couldn't trigger a Great Ninja War, right?
Kagura shook his head, voicing a counterargument: "Why care whether their souls submit, as long as their bodies no longer resist…"
"Alright, let's do as I say!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at everyone present and then at Kagura, who seemed still somewhat unconvinced, and continued, "Kagura, execute the Hokage's orders. The Root members will also participate in the investigation!"
Kagura directly presented the Root's findings: "The investigation results from the Root indicate that Sand Village, Mist Village, Sound Village, and Grass Village are all colluding with Orochimaru and must be resolutely eliminated…"
"Get serious about it!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen did not believe Kagura's blunt truth.
"Alright."
Akihara Kagura reluctantly shook his head and left using the Flying Thunder God Technique, leaving behind only a phrase often said by the previous leader of the Root.
"Third Hokage, sir, you will regret this."
"Kagura, I am still the Hokage now…"
(TL: Deja Vu?)