Chapter 88: Jiraiya's Overbearing Demeanor
Jiraiya listened, his face darkening, and said, "Are you going to blame Naruto again?"
"I'm just reasonably suspicious!"
"Old Man, you're becoming more and more shameless."
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi's suspicion was not unfounded.
After much thought, Jiraiya looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other three, saying, "Haven't you ever wondered why the seal on Naruto suddenly disappeared? And who put that seal there in the first place?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened sharply as he heard Jiraiya's words, staring at him.
"Are you talking about Minato?"
"Otherwise? Does anyone in Konoha currently know the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style? And Minato's key for the Eight Trigrams Sealing Stylehas always been at Mount Myōboku. Tell me, how did the seal on Naruto disappear? Moreover, if the key were used to open the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, the seal on Naruto would still exist; Narutowould just need to close it himself. But now, the seal on Naruto is completely gone. Don't you ever wonder who could have done this?"
Jiraiya had made it so clear that if the four of them still didn't understand, they would truly be fools.
Minato Namikaze must have left a contingency plan. Seeing Danzo Shimura capture Naruto, and fearing Naruto was in danger, he completely released the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, freeing the Nine-Tailed.
Danzo understood this and angrily slammed the armrest of his chair.
"Damn it! Minato should have been handed over to Root back then, otherwise, there wouldn't be this trouble...!"
Before Danzo Shimura could finish speaking, Jiraiyaused the Body Flicker Technique and punched Danzo, sending him flying and sticking him to the wall.
"Danzo, if you dare to speak nonsense again, I will kill you directly. I don't care if you, Danzo Shimura, spent the money on Root or not; three hundred and fifty million Ryo must be in my hands by tomorrow, otherwise, I will wipe out your Shimura Clan and slaughter your entire Root."
Danzo got up from the ground and looked at Jiraiya, saying, "Jiraiya, you openly attacked Konoha Leadership; are you betraying the Village?"
Jiraiya, emboldened, stared at Danzo Shimura and said, "Alright! I'd like to see how you're going to make me a Rogue Ninja."
Seeing that he couldn't do anything to Jiraiya, Danzo had to turn his anger on Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Hiruzen, look at the good disciple you've taught."
"Enough, Danzo! Minato was the Fourth Hokage, who sacrificed himself to save the Village. You are increasingly disrespecting the Hokage."
"Everything I do is for Konoha!"
"No matter what you do, you cannot disrespect the Hokage."
"Hiruzen! You will regret this!"
"Danzo! I am the Hokage!"
Danzo was about to slam the door and leave, as he usually did.
But Jiraiya looked at Danzo and said, "Don't forget the three hundred and fifty million Ryo. If I don't see the money before dark tomorrow, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Hearing Jiraiya's words, Danzo really didn't dare to gamble. With Jiraiya's prestige in the Village, if he really broke into Root, he would definitely discover many things. If he then gathered the Great Clans of the Village, Danzo Shimura would be finished.
Danzo tremblingly held the doorknob, still not daring to open the door and leave. If there wasn't a proper solution today, then Danzo could forget about becoming Hokage; not dying would be a stroke of luck.
Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu also saw Danzo's predicament, sighed, and said to Danzo, "Danzo, let's discuss the inheritance first! Other matters can wait."
Given an out, Danzo reluctantly sat back down.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe and looked at Jiraiya, saying, "Did Minato leave any other contingency plans?"
Jiraiya frowned slightly at Hiruzen Sarutobi's question, but still answered truthfully, "I don't know! You all know very well how Minato and Kushina sacrificed themselves back then. And Kushina was from the Uzumaki Clan, known for their Sealing Jutsu. If Minato could leave a contingency plan, do you think Kushina wouldn't have left one?"
That's right! There was also Kushina! Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others had indeed forgotten about Kushina. If Minato could leave a contingency plan, how could Kushina not? Minato's Sealing Jutsuwere all taught by Kushina.
If Kushina had left some bizarre Sealing Jutsu that caused the Nine-Tailed to rampage in the Village, then the next person to perform the Reaper Death Seal would be Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Jiraiya shook his head helplessly, seeing the expressions of the four.
"You all should stop thinking about contingency plans and focus on the inheritance! Elder Danzo's three hundred and fifty million Ryo, and the Old Man's four hundred million Ryo, that's already seven hundred and fifty million Ryo. AdvisorHomura, Advisor Mitokado, your three hundred and fifty million Ryo, plus the Old Man's four hundred million Ryo, giving Naruto one billion five hundred and fifty million Ryo, can be considered an explanation. For the remaining five hundred million Ryo, fifty million Ryo will be allocated to Narutoannually from the Daimyo's appropriations for ten years, and then this matter will be concluded. Do you have any other opinions?"
The four remained silent. Although Jiraiya's solution was feasible, the problem was that they couldn't come up with that much money right now!
They had only bled once for the Uchiha Clan's inheritance; this time, the blood they had to shed was even greater than for the Uchiha Clan, so how could they accept it?
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu and said, "Each of you take out four hundred and fifty million Ryo, and Danzo, bring all the funds from Root. Hand it all over to Jiraiya tomorrow, and let him completely resolve the inheritance matter!"
Utatane Koharu immediately erupted upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words.
"Hiruzen, do you know how much four hundred and fifty million Ryo is? I'm already struggling to produce three hundred and fifty million Ryo; you want me to take out another hundred million Ryo? Are you asking me to rob the Daimyo?"
Homura Mitokado also chimed in, "That's right! My Mito Clan is already struggling to produce three hundred and fifty million Ryo, and you want us to take out another hundred million Ryo? Why don't we just have our two clans collectively rob the Daimyo?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that his demands were a bit much for Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado, but this was the only solution available now.
Danzo Shimura sighed and said, "Fine, fine! You don't need to worry about my three hundred and fifty million Ryo; I'll raise it from the Shimura Clan!"
After speaking, Danzo Shimura turned and left the Hokage Office. This was the first time Danzohadn't slammed the door on his way out.
Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu also glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi before leaving the Hokage Office.
Jiraiya looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and said, "Old Man, you've changed! The former Shinobi Hero has become a parasite who only seeks benefits for his relatives and clan."
After Jiraiya finished speaking, he also left through the window.
Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured 'parasite'.
"Have I really changed? But everything this Old Man does is for Konoha!"