"What!? Jiraiya-sensei, you invited Lady Tsunade back!?"
At noon, inside the Hokage's office where only the master and disciple eating lunch together were present, a startled cry rang out before quickly lowering.
Jiraiya looked at Minato Namikaze, whose eyes were wide with delight, and shook his head helplessly.
"Do not get too happy too soon, Minato. Although I did manage to persuade Tsunade to come back after all kinds of coaxing, I cannot do anything about her hemophobia… If you expect her to participate in a possible battle, or to serve as Kushina's doctor when she gives birth, then you are being a little too optimistic."
"That is not the case. The fact that Lady Tsunade is willing to return to Konoha and take a look is already enough to encourage and inspire many people."
Minato Namikaze shook his head and said with some emotion, "Still, you really worked hard, Jiraiya-sensei. It was clearly only a guess without enough supporting intelligence, yet you were willing to spend so much energy running around and making preparations to resolve it…"
"It is better to be prepared. In any case, all I spent was my own favors and energy. That is better than pushing the matter to the old man and the others, then watching them spend several days in meetings just to discuss whether early precautions are necessary."
Jiraiya took a bite of tonkotsu ramen he had brought from Ichiraku Ramen. Meeting Minato Namikaze's eyes, he said vaguely, "What about your side, Minato? I will not expect large-scale personnel mobilization, but at the very least, you yourself cannot be completely unprepared, right?"
"I have already temporarily delayed some less important missions, ensuring that most of the village's jonin remain inside the village recently on leave."
Minato Namikaze nodded slightly. His eyes were serious and carried a faint chill.
"As for the Anbu directly under me, I have also had most of those without important missions temporarily return to the village and stand by. Although this temporary situation cannot be maintained for too long, if the enemy truly targets Kushina's delivery to launch an attack on Konoha, the amount of fighting strength left in the village will definitely surprise them."
"Using temporary mission delays to quietly ensure the village's high-end combat strength does not leave? You have learned quite a bit from sitting in the Hokage's seat, Minato."
Jiraiya swallowed the ramen in his mouth and nodded with satisfaction.
"Although this means you cannot directly command the village's jonin immediately, for the enemy, this hidden combat strength will also be harder to predict… But in that case, it looks like you have not explained my guess to the old man and the others."
"The thoughts of those three are slightly… extreme. If I used such a highly uncertain guess to disturb them, it would be difficult to obtain the result I want."
Minato Namikaze shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Besides, they also know that Kushina is about to give birth. Raising the village's defensive level at a time like this is only natural. Even if I gather a few more people than usual, they will only think that I am a little too worried because of personal concern… Since the objective can be achieved without saying anything, there is no need to create extra complications."
"Sigh. With a Hokage like you ruling this village, I can travel the shinobi world and broaden my knowledge without worry."
Jiraiya looked at Minato Namikaze's heroic face, which could give people a sense of reassurance at a glance, and spoke from the heart.
"If Kirigakure did not have that fellow filled with uncertainty, you could absolutely be called the most outstanding Kage of this era."
"That person…"
Hearing Jiraiya mention Rei Kaguya, Minato Namikaze could not help showing a helpless expression as well.
"To be honest with you, Jiraiya-sensei, if I did not have too many matters to handle, I actually would very much like to find an opportunity to visit Kirigakure and take a look around."
"Hah?"
Jiraiya, who had been drinking soup, trembled with both hands and nearly dropped the ramen in his hands to the floor. He hurriedly steadied his hands, placed the ramen bowl on the desk, then looked at Minato Namikaze in shock and asked, "Why would you have such a dangerous thought, Minato?"
"Because judging by the limited intelligence that has leaked out, Kirigakure is rapidly carrying out detailed educational reforms under Lord Mizukage's will. And reform in education usually means the other side needs a group of brand-new talents capable of achieving specific objectives."
Minato Namikaze tapped the desk in front of him with his finger, his expression serious.
"During the time of the First and Second Hokage, Konoha established the Ninja Academy system. To a large extent, that changed the way shinobi were trained, improved the efficiency of shinobi growth, and allowed Konoha to rapidly develop comprehensive strength that other villages could not match for a time. It promoted the prosperity of Konoha in that era.
"But after that, the education systems of the major shinobi villages have not truly improved much. No one knows how to take the Ninja Academy one step further without provoking internal backlash… Only Kirigakure, after the Fourth Mizukage took office, immediately began reforming the Ninja Academy system. And judging by how difficult it is for us to collect intelligence, their reforms can be called quite successful. There are not even many shinobi clans expressing dissatisfaction."
"I am very curious about how he did it. Even if Kirigakure has always respected strength above all, Ninja Academy reform is the kind of major move that easily touches the core interests of every major clan. It should not be something that can be settled by relying entirely on strength to make everyone shut up, right?"
"That is indeed true."
Jiraiya nodded slowly.
"When I was traveling through the shinobi world some time ago, I also met quite a few merchants who had been to the Land of Water or had just returned from there. Their evaluations of Kirigakure and the Land of Water were unexpectedly not bad. Some even greatly praised Kirigakure's latest reform direction and believed Kirigakure would be the best place to do business for some time to come… That is not something that can be achieved through violent suppression."
"That is why I want to visit Kirigakure and see how they are carrying out the Ninja Academy reforms, and how they are assigning newly trained shinobi to the various positions created after those reforms."
Minato Namikaze leaned back in his chair and sighed sincerely.
"Whenever I think about matters related to Kirigakure's reforms, my heart becomes unbearably curious. I wish I could receive intelligence about Kirigakure every day, then properly study what new policies they have thought of… I suppose this can also be considered one part of that person's charisma?"
"Do not end up unconsciously falling like Shisui Uchiha."
Jiraiya made a wary gesture at Minato Namikaze.
"If even you, the Hokage, are won over by that guy, then would Konoha not be left with nothing but the fate of slowly being eroded by his ideas?"
"That is why I am only talking about it."
Minato Namikaze smiled and shrugged. His gaze turned gently toward the photo of himself and Kushina Uzumaki on his desk.
"However, if the meaning that person released to the outside world through the Akatsuki organization is true, then perhaps after Naruto grows a little older, we will have an opportunity to deeply understand the various changes Kirigakure is carrying out."
"You care that much about Kirigakure's affairs, Minato?" Jiraiya was silent for a while before asking.
"It would be impossible not to care. After all, they are one of the most dangerous opponents of this era."
"Then, after this incident ends safely, I will travel to Kirigakure and take a look for you."
"Is that really all right!?" Minato Namikaze's face was full of surprise.
"Satisfying an excellent student's reasonable request is also one of a teacher's responsibilities."
Jiraiya sighed. Then he took paper and pen from his pocket and waved them at Minato Namikaze.
"Besides, I can more or less be considered a novelist who travels the shinobi world to gather material. What kind of writer would leave the hottest land of this era untouched and not go there for research?"
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