111 Naruto Mobile Game

"What?! Jiraiya was captured?!"

The Third widened his eyes, disbelief filling them.

Minato stood not far away, pressing his forehead and letting out a sigh.

Location: the Hokage's Office.

While the Third and Minato were discussing village affairs, they were caught completely off guard by this piece of intelligence, instantly feeling as if they had been struck by lightning, scorched inside and out.

No matter how they thought about it, they never imagined that Jiraiya would really dare to go alone again and infiltrate Hidden in the Rain.

Well, to be precise, they indeed didn't know—Jiraiya hadn't infiltrated at all. He went openly and aboveboard.

So why did they immediately know that Jiraiya had been captured?

Of course—because Jiraiya himself said so!

Right now the public screen was lively, with everyone reacting differently to Jiraiya's capture.

On Konoha's side, emotions were running high. Many people were shouting to start a war, directly attack Hidden in the Rain, rescue Jiraiya, and wipe out Akatsuki along the way.

Everyone now knew that Akatsuki's old nest was in Hidden in the Rain, and having such determination was also because Konoha now had confidence.

The Fourth Hokage had been perfectly revived, and at his peak. In addition, many ninja felt that they were learning ninjutsu a little faster than before.

It wasn't by much, but the fact that this phenomenon appeared collectively made people unable to help but suspect whether it was the effect of those previously used Resource Cards.

It truly was subtle and gradual, but it was also a fact that the overall national strength of the Land of Fire was steadily increasing.

So on the public screen, the other ninja villages were fanning the flames, hoping Konoha and Hidden in the Rain would fight, suffer mutual destruction, and then they could swoop in to reap the benefits.

Under such circumstances, starting a war seemed somewhat impulsive. Multiple factors made the situation overly complex.

The Third took another glance at the public screen and felt a splitting headache, so he simply turned it off and stopped looking.

Minato was also quite helpless. He could roughly understand Jiraiya, after all, Hidden in the Rain had students whom Jiraiya had once taught.

In a place like the ninja world, someone who teaches you skills, teaches you ninjutsu, and lets you survive—that's practically closer than a biological father.

So the fact that Jiraiya could still speak on the public screen meant that his disciple hadn't made things difficult for Jiraiya-sensei.

Thinking of this, Minato let out a slight sigh of relief.

"Jiraiya-sensei should be fine for the time being. What we need to consider now is how to negotiate."

That said, there was no clear direction.

How to negotiate? What to negotiate with? In the end, given Akatsuki's strength, they simply feared no enemy.

Even for Minato, dealing with that group was very difficult—after all, his own strength had its limits.

"If it were the First-sama, perhaps it would be simple." Minato suddenly thought of that legendary figure who often complained on the public screen about how hard the duel arena was.

"No. If it were Hashirama-sama, he would probably say that he himself has no desire to be revived." After saying this, the Third picked up the Hokage hat on the desk and handed it to Minato.

Seeing this, Minato froze for a moment.

The Third continued, saying: "I was already someone who had stepped down. I only temporarily held the Hokage position. If I keep sitting in this seat, won't the villagers all point fingers at my back?"

"Thinking back, Jiraiya said his life was full of failures—how am I any different?"

"I accepted the position of Hokage from the Second-sama in a moment of crisis. Even though I never dared to relax my vigilance, I was unable to resolve those perilous situations the village faced time and again."

"Fortunately, our village is blessed with outstanding people and land. Every generation has produced exceptional ninja, allowing this Konoha Village to be maintained."

"It was I who sent them all onto the battlefield, until more than half of those ninja were killed or wounded, while this old man of mine was still living quite well."

"Even when we won wars, we still had to sign compensation agreements. Each time we faced external enemies, we could only endure as much as possible..."

"Every Konoha ninja wants to become Hokage. But once they truly sit in this seat, will they regret the dreams of their childhood?"

"I am not a qualified Hokage."

"Sitting here may never have been a seat that belonged to me from the beginning—bearing a responsibility I couldn't shoulder, guaranteeing the safety of everyone in the village, and indulging in unrealistic dreams of Konoha's everlasting prosperity."

"In terms of strength, I am inferior to the First-sama. In governing the village, I am inferior to the Second-sama. In achievements that rewrite wars, I am inferior to you."

"After serving as Hokage for decades, gaps formed between my companions and me. My son developed grievances against me. My grandson never had my time to keep him company."

"He said he went into seclusion, but even now I don't know where he is or what he's doing."

At this point, the Third smiled, carrying a fatigue that was hard to notice, but more than that, a sense of release.

"I never thought I would have this opportunity—to pass on the position of Hokage to you for the second time."

"I really should retire. My disciples retired more than ten years earlier than I did. I envy them—able to go anywhere, and come back whenever they want."

"Of course, I won't leave the village, so rest assured."

"Shikaku once told me that after he retired and had nothing to do, he would pull his son to play shogi every day, or go drink with old friends. As for me, just taking care of my grandchild will be enough..."

"Minato Namikaze!"

The Third's expression suddenly became extremely serious. Minato took a slight breath, and likewise put on a solemn attitude.

"Are you willing to return, to continue—under the name of the Fourth Hokage—standing at this pinnacle, eternally watching over the future of Konoha Hidden Village?"

"I am willing."

He spoke those words simply and lightly, but the responsibility he had to bear would last all the way until the very moment before the next Hokage was born.

The Third looked at Minato's young and handsome face, nodded in satisfaction, and personally placed the Hokage hat upon the head of a new era.

The noon sunlight shifted from the first window to the second. Within the range illuminated by that light, under the gazes of the previous generations of Hokage hanging on the wall—

Konoha Village once again took control under the name of the Fourth!

"Alright, I feel much lighter now." Sarutobi Hiruzen joked half-heartedly. "You must resent me in your heart, right? The moment you return, I put such a heavy burden on you—and there's also Naruto's matter..."

Minato did not respond. From his eyes and expression, no emotional fluctuation could be seen.

This was the second time he had come to the Hokage's Office since his revival. The first time was right after he had been revived, when he came over just to go through the motions.

The second time was because of Jiraiya's matter—coming to see what should be done. He hadn't expected the Hokage position to come so suddenly.

"I originally wanted to spend more time with Naruto. I've already started teaching him the Rasengan," Minato said softly.

"That won't do. How could everyone want to keep seeing an old, faded man huddled in the Hokage's chair?" Sarutobi said with a laugh.

That remark was a bit heavy, and Minato had no way to respond.

But such talk didn't arise from nothing. Within the village, such opinions had indeed been quietly spreading.

The Fourth had been revived. More than ten years ago, hadn't the Third said he was only temporarily holding the Hokage position? So why hadn't he returned it to the Fourth even now? Was he greedy for power?

No one knew who started spreading it...

"Jiraiya-sensei's matter needs to be taken seriously. In addition, in order to respond to the new era, I believe some departments should be reformed."

Minato neither put on airs nor hesitated, directly speaking with the bearing of a Hokage.

"The training of ninja cannot be neglected, but Ninja Mobile Game also needs official, systematic training."

"I propose that the Ninja Academy establish new courses and teachers, and formally begin teaching students content related to Ninja Mobile Game!"

"Additionally, regarding the Nine-Tails..."