"The magical mountain lamb of the Uchiha Race is really hard to buy. Even if you line up early in the morning, it sells out in just half an hour. But this meat is indeed delicious. Ding Zuo thought for a long time and finally, he can enjoy it to his heart's content this time."
Akimichi Chouza also laughed and said, "The texture of this meat is indeed delicious, and it even removes fatigue after eating. It's just too little in quantity and sold in limited amounts. Shikaku, how did you manage to get so much of it?"
"I hired three people to queue with me. After paying, they let me take it... But this method probably won't work again; it causes quite a bit of resentment."
Nara Shikaku scratched his head and said he should have just let the supermarket split the lamb leg; that way, it wouldn't have been exposed.
"Everything's ready, but Jiraiya hasn't returned yet. Let's wait for him."
Upon reaching the main hall, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled and said; there were mini-barbecues on each small table in front of them, apart from the sliced lamb, there was seafood and other grilled items.
Since Jiraiya was returning from a mission today, Sarutobi Hiruzen invited Nara Shikaku and the others.
After a while, Jiraiya completed his mission and hurried over. As soon as he entered the room, he saw everyone sitting at the table, waiting for him.
"Sorry, sorry for the delay during the mission handover, my apologies."
Jiraiya promptly apologized. Actually, after leaving the Hokage Building, he couldn't resist stopping by Kushina's house. He saw Kushina training with a Shadow Clone, felt that she hadn't given up on her thoughts of revenge yet, and only after watching for a while did he come over.
After Jiraiya sat down, Sarutobi Biwako also began serving the grilled items for everyone to enjoy.
After eating for a while, Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly spoke: "Shikaku, I want to recommend Jiraiya for the Fifth Generation Hokage candidacy."
The room fell silent for a moment, with only the sizzling of grilled meat. After two seconds, Nara Shikaku spoke: "Lord Third, are you confident?"
"Jiraiya has been on constant missions recently. His mission record is now the first in Konoha. If he keeps it up for another year or two, no one in Konoha will have anything to say...."
Undertaking high-difficulty missions for one or two years.... Nara Shikaku twitched his mouth upon hearing this. He doubted even he could do it, yet Master Jiraiya is going to attempt this?
Jiraiya, seeing the look in Nara Shikaku's eyes, smiled wryly: "Don't worry, Shikaku. Even if I'm unwilling, I won't shy away from the responsibilities I should bear."
"If Lord Jiraiya has such a resolve, that makes things much easier."
Nara Shikaku said and quickly got into a strategist mode: "Minato... Losing to the Fourth Hokage last time wasn't just because the opponent was too strong to find any faults, but also due to connections within the village and with the upper echelons of the Daimyo Mansion. These are areas where we can gain an edge, for example...."
Listening to Nara Shikaku's ideas, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Jiraiya nodded repeatedly, and Sarutobi Hiruzen greatly trusted Nara Shikaku; the friendship between the four families has a long history and was well maintained during the Warring States Period.
Without the Sarutobi Race, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio might not have joined Konoha.
With Nara Shikaku's advice, Jiraiya seemed to have a clear mind. He quickly knew who his opponents were and what he needed to do next.
After a while, Nara Shikaku rubbed his chin and said: "Lord Third, Lord Jiraiya, if our opponent is just Uchiha Yoichi, that's manageable. We do have an advantage, but the most challenging part now is whether the Fourth Hokage plans to step down?"
"Sakumo often leaves the Hokage Building early now, and many village matters are handled by Uchiha Yoichi...."
Mentioning this, Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart was filled with frustration towards Hatake Sakumo; why not come to him, the Third Hokage, for help? He had rich experience in handling village matters.
Leaving it to a young person does no good; both are rumored to dislike dealing with trivial matters and instead use Clones to handle them, taking everything lightly, much to the village's detriment.
"His desire to be Hokage is diminishing, probably won't hold on for another year or two before needing to elect a new Hokage."
Hearing this, Nara Shikaku couldn't help but click his tongue in surprise. Hatake Sakumo seemingly meets all the requirements to be a Hokage, yet he is not willing.
If unwilling, why run for election initially only to need a new Hokage in a few years.... This left Nara Shikaku at a loss for words.
"Then there's no problem. Lord Third just needs to handle the connections with the Daimyo Mansion's ministers, and the rest requires us four families' ninjas."
"Yes, Shikaku, let's go with your plan."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded and said: "No one can devise a better plan than yours."
-------------------------------------
"Sister Tsunade, please, would you accept me as your disciple?"
Kushina sincerely clasped her hands together, pleading with the Tsunade in front of her; thinking it over, she believed that becoming Tsunade's disciple and learning from her was the best and most suitable choice for her.
Kushina had cultivated alone for some time but with little effect; she looked through the training notes left by Minato. Although she had learned the Rasengan, she failed to progress further.
Minato didn't achieve adding nature transformation to the Rasengan, and after trying for a while, Kushina was also unsuccessful.
However, she didn't want to waste the Nine-tails Chakra Mode, so after some thought, she felt Nin-Taijutsu better suited her, especially since Sister Tsunade had returned.
Yet upon hearing Kushina's request, Tsunade displayed a touch of hesitation.
"Kushina, it's not that I don't want to teach you, it's just that I have other matters at hand... using a Shadow Clone to teach you would be cumbersome for me, can it wait a while?"
Tsunade sighed, understanding why Kushina wanted to become strong. But just because of that, refusing felt somewhat awkward, plus Kushina had lived at her house since childhood.
Now, managing two experiments daily already strained her brain; even though Shadow Clones posed no Chakra burden to Tsunade, the memories brought back affected a person the most.
Previously, Orochimaru managed four experiments daily, having to meditate for an hour or two to sort out memories; after taking Nawaki as a disciple, he paused one experiment.
The same consideration held for Tsunade, intending to counsel Kushina to wait until she was less busy to take her as a disciple.
"Kushina, with Naruto to care for now, there's no rush for training. In a few months, once I'm less occupied, I'll teach you Nin-Taijutsu...."
No sooner did Tsunade finish speaking than there was a knock on the door, and someone entered.
"Tsunade, a breakthrough in the experiment.... Kushina's here too."
It was Uchiha Yoichi who entered, since Tsunade had reached out to him earlier about a minor experimental breakthrough, prompting his visit.
"Kushina, is there something you wanted with Tsunade?"
"I wanted to become Tsunade's disciple, but... maybe later, I'll leave now, Lady Tsunade."
Kushina bowed her head, and before finishing her words, she left voluntarily.
Once she departed, Tsunade bit her finger and clicked her tongue: "It seems Minato's death affected her profoundly...."
Leaving without addressing her as Sister Tsunade, all because she wasn't taken in as a disciple immediately—quite the temper tantrum. But Tsunade wasn't angry at all, having gone through similar experiences, she understood Kushina.
"It's probably not just Minato's death...."
After speaking, Uchiha Yoichi directly activated his partially used Nine-tails Chakra, barely enough to enter the Nine-tails Chakra Mode.
But after entering the mode, feeling around for a bit, Uchiha Yoichi exited: "She's too far to sense any malice now."
"What's up?"
Tsunade curiously inquired, sensing that Uchiha Yoichi mentioned Kushina.
"Kushina once asked me to help her control the Nine-tails Chakra Mode, and during that time, she might have been invaded by negative emotions within it, amplifying her internal darkness."
Uchiha Yoichi pondered, highly suspecting this, especially considering how Kushina's gaze seemed amiss.
"Later on, I'll have Minami keep a close watch. If true, a strategy must be established early, but Kushina must endure it herself.... Tsunade, which experiment saw a breakthrough?"
Tsunade led Uchiha Yoichi inside upon his inquiry about the experiment: "Your desired clone body, an infant is being cultivated now. It would be best to use your Chakra to take control over the clone's body immediately...."