Sarutobi Hiruzen certainly knew Naruto's purpose.
He just didn't want to accept reality.
Now hearing Naruto take the initiative to say it, he felt extremely uncomfortable.
After a while, Sarutobi Hiruzen asked Naruto: "Little Naruto, I know Konoha has done many wrong things to you."
"But those were actions of only a small number of people."
"How can you continue to stay in Konoha?"
Now Sarutobi Hiruzen no longer knew how to keep Naruto.
By now, he understood he had no right to preach.
And using force was unrealistic.
Because Naruto's strength was obvious to everyone.
He had defeated Shukaku head-on and defeated several Kage-level experts by himself.
Any one of those feats alone would shock the entire ninja world.
This was why Sarutobi Hiruzen regretted Naruto's departure.
Because if Naruto didn't have this strength, Sarutobi Hiruzen wouldn't regret it so much, nor would he need to lower himself like this. He could simply give the order to capture Naruto.
But not now.
Naruto shook his head slightly and said to Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Third Hokage-sama, don't you realize it yet?"
"Decades ago, you were a ninja known as 'The Professor.'"
"But after so many years as a politician, your style is no longer sharp."
"Such a leader may bring stability and peace to the village, but he cannot make the village grow."
Naruto's words made Sarutobi Hiruzen fall into deep thought.
Thinking carefully, Naruto was right.
He knew very well what he had done all these years.
Sarutobi Hiruzen understood that many tragedies had happened because of his hesitation and indecisiveness.
But now that Naruto mentioned this, what did he mean?
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned and asked Naruto: "Naruto, since neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade are willing to be Hokage, I cannot abdicate."
"Is that so~" Naruto looked at the old Third Hokage and said, "To be honest, Third Hokage-sama, although you're not satisfactory in some areas, you still made some contributions to Konoha."
"You're old now. As long as you sincerely want to retire and take care of yourself, Tsunade and Jiraiya probably won't ignore you."
Sarutobi Hiruzen had invited Jiraiya and Tsunade before, but the way he did it was wrong.
Inviting Jiraiya was just lip service.
He never said he was old and unfit to work.
So Jiraiya refused.
The invitation to Tsunade was passed through Jiraiya.
Although Jiraiya was reliable, he probably didn't emphasize Sarutobi Hiruzen's age or declining condition.
So Tsunade refused as well.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt helpless hearing Naruto's words. He asked Naruto: "How about we make a bet?"
Now Naruto was interested: "Oh? Let's hear it."
Naruto still wanted something from Konoha, so this bet was beneficial to him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen said to Naruto: "I can ask Tsunade or Jiraiya to be Hokage as you said."
"We'll bet on whether they agree."
"If they agree, I will abdicate."
"If they refuse, little Naruto will stay in the village."
Naruto shook his head slightly: "I refuse."
"Huh?" Sarutobi Hiruzen was confused.
Naruto clicked his tongue and said, "Win or lose, there's no benefit for me at all."
"Not to mention binding myself."
"Third Hokage-sama, is that reasonable?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen understood and asked Naruto: "Naruto, what do you want?"
Naruto didn't mince words and stated directly: "I'm very interested in Konoha's barrier defense technology."
"If Tsunade agrees to become Hokage, then I want access to that technology."
"If Tsunade refuses, I'll do something for Konoha as punishment for my loss."
After hearing Naruto's words, Sarutobi Hiruzen started weighing the pros and cons.
Although barrier defense technology was important, building a large barrier couldn't be completed overnight.
And if Naruto failed, he would owe Konoha a favor.
What if Sarutobi Hiruzen asked Naruto to return to the village as that "favor"?
No…
Naruto would never agree to that.
No matter the outcome of the bet, Naruto would never return to Konoha.
Could the fate between Naruto and Konoha really have come to an end?
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt helpless.
However, he didn't reject Naruto's conditions and nodded.
Because Konoha currently lacked tailed-beast-level combat power.
If Konoha had Naruto's commitment, its international standing would increase.
Other villages would hesitate to touch Konoha because of Naruto's existence.
This allowed Naruto to play the role of a Jinchūriki in disguise.
After Naruto and Sarutobi Hiruzen reached the agreement, both began thinking about who had the higher chance of becoming Hokage—Tsunade or Jiraiya?
Of course it was Tsunade.
As the granddaughter of the First Hokage, Tsunade wouldn't watch Konoha fall into crisis.
And due to the Child of Prophecy, Jiraiya was unlikely to stay in Konoha long-term.
Although he found Sasuke, Jiraiya never believed Sasuke was the Child of Prophecy.
Therefore, he was unlikely to sit in the Hokage office and work peacefully.
So Naruto focused on Tsunade.
Naruto came up with a plan almost instantly.
Like Sarutobi Hiruzen, he would play the emotional card.
Just explain to Tsunade how fragile Sarutobi Hiruzen's body was, and how dangerous Danzo was.
Tsunade would never allow Danzo to run wild in a village without a Hokage.
Naruto shared his thoughts with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen also thought it made sense.
But he grew anxious.
Not because he feared losing the bet.
Not because he didn't want to give up barrier technology.
But because he knew that if he lost, Naruto would obtain the barrier technology and could create a new village or force.
Then, Naruto and Konoha would drift further apart.
Secondly…
Konoha would also lose the "Naruto card," meaning they could be forced into another war.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath and said: "Very well, I'll do as little Naruto says."
Naruto was full of confidence.
He didn't believe Tsunade would ignore Danzo and let him harm Konoha.
Immediately afterward, Sarutobi Hiruzen called Anbu and told him: "To complete this bet, I need to take certain measures."
"Go inform Tsunade. Tell her my body can't hold on anymore and that something is wrong. Bring her here."
Anbu accepted the order and used the Body Flicker Technique to leave.
Naruto watched and didn't notice anything unusual.
In truth, Sarutobi Hiruzen had already planned how to win the bet.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
There are 90+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.
Check out my new Naruto fanfic!
[Naruto: I Don't Want Recognition]