Chapter 553

It also brought hope to the entire ninja world!!

Jiraiya believed,

Minato Namikaze could accomplish what he himself could not!!!

Minato Namikaze could also accomplish what the predecessors of Konoha had failed to do,

He might become the greatest Hokage in Konoha's history, and the final savior of the ninja world!!!

But the events of that night during the Nine-Tails' rampage left Jiraiya utterly bewildered,

The prophesied child had appeared,

He had finally managed to make Minato Namikaze the Hokage of Konoha,

Yet the prophesied child had left this world?!?!

"Minato… it's been a long time…"

"You still look exactly the same as before, unchanged…"

Jiraiya stared at his familiar disciple, his expression deeply complex!!!

"Teacher Jiraiya… it truly has been a long time…"

"But many things have changed—nothing is the same…"

Minato Namikaze smiled at Jiraiya.

From Minato Namikaze's smile,

Jiraiya felt a profound, polite distance.

Although Minato Namikaze showed no hostility toward him,

Jiraiya sensed not a trace of warmth in that smile,

Between him and his most familiar disciple,

An inexplicable rift had somehow formed!!!

"Minato… all these years… you've suffered…"

After a moment of silence, Jiraiya could only slowly utter these half-hearted words.

Upon hearing Jiraiya say this, Minato Namikaze's smile gradually faded.

"Teacher Jiraiya… it's nothing…"

"You don't owe me any guilt."

"I used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal back then because I was the Hokage of Konoha—I willingly sacrificed myself for this village."

"Now I am no longer the Fourth Hokage of Konoha. I am Minato Namikaze, merely a father to a child."

"How Konoha has treated my child these years—I will repay them myself…"

Although Minato Namikaze still wore that gentle smile,

Jiraiya heard in his words the echoes of bloodshed and violence,

and immediately said anxiously to Minato Namikaze,

"Minato!!! You are the Fourth Hokage of Konoha—don't act rashly!!!"

"Many things can still be negotiated…"

"Don't you remember what you said when you became Hokage? …"

323. Teacher Jiraiya, are you going to stop me?

Upon hearing that familiar yet alien title—"Fourth Hokage"—

Minato Namikaze's smile slowly vanished.

He looked at Jiraiya with solemn seriousness,

"Teacher Jiraiya… you've spoken so much about Konoha."

"You personally taught me how to be a person, gave me countless ninjutsu knowledge."

"That's why the Fourth Hokage—who shook the entire ninja world—came to be…"

"In short… without you, there would be no Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze…"

"But have you forgotten what Konoha has done these past years?"

"As Fourth Hokage, how many contributions did I make to this village? When the Nine-Tails appeared in Konoha, I unhesitatingly gave my life to seal it inside my own child…"

"Yet how did Konoha treat my child? …"

"Teacher Jiraiya… you keep speaking of lofty principles, but where were you when Naruto suffered, when everyone in Konoha turned against him?"

Hearing Minato Namikaze's words, Jiraiya could only show a look of helpless pain,

He knew full well what Naruto Uzumaki had endured in Konoha,

but he had been unable to change any of it,

or rather, Jiraiya had had the power to change it—but chose to flee,

because faced with Konoha's complex political environment,

he was deeply troubled: on one side was his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage,

and on the other, the threat of Danzo Shimura,

Jiraiya had always urged Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura not to grow too close, for Danzo Shimura's methods were far too dark,

these dark methods might not greatly affect Konoha in the short term, but no one knew what consequences they might bring.

He had always feared such consequences—once unleashed, they would leave irreversible damage,

perhaps Orochimaru had seen this clearly, which was why he left Konoha,

Jiraiya knew that Orochimaru had never become Hokage because Hiruzen Sarutobi himself refused to relinquish power,

Orochimaru already held considerable prestige in Konoha—if he had become the Fourth Hokage,

He would certainly be very forceful, and would no longer allow the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, to pull the strings from behind the scenes,

But the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was different — he was merely a commoner, and his prestige was far inferior to Orochimaru's,

Once the Fourth Hokage ascended to power,

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, could still manipulate everything from behind the scenes!!!

"Minato... I... I..."

Jiraiya's face contorted in agony as he opened his mouth, wanting to say something,

But he found that he had no words with which to refute Minato Namikaze's argument,

Because everything Minato Namikaze said was true!!!

It could be said that if Jiraiya had been willing to step forward and speak up for Naruto Uzumaki back then,

Naruto Uzumaki's situation would not be what it was now; he surely could have had a childhood far better than this,

But Jiraiya himself had chosen to leave in order to escape Konoha's political environment!!!

"Teacher Jiraiya... given how things turned out, I don't blame you."

"What happened to Naruto has nothing to do with you..."

"But if you intend to help the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, deal with me together, then I'm afraid I won't be so polite."

"I cannot possibly continue giving you chances like this..."

"If you choose to stand on the Third Hokage's side, then you are my enemy, and when dealing with enemies I will not show the slightest mercy..."

When he uttered that final sentence, a deep trace of killing intent even flickered across Minato Namikaze's face!!!

This was his final warning to Jiraiya — if Jiraiya insisted on standing on the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi's, side,

Then Minato Namikaze could only treat Jiraiya as his own enemy, and when dealing with enemies Minato Namikaze would not show the slightest mercy,

He would certainly let Jiraiya know what the word "price" meant!!!

And seeing that hesitant and cowardly expression on Jiraiya's face,

A deep shade of disappointment appeared on Minato Namikaze's face,

As Jiraiya's disciple,

He had always known,

That on the surface Jiraiya appeared extremely open-minded.

But in reality Jiraiya had no firm opinion on many matters,

He had always been superstitious about that thing called the Child of Prophecy,

Even though he himself had always been regarded by Jiraiya as the legendary Child of Prophecy,

Minato Namikaze had never once taken that thing seriously,