After hearing Kurenai's words, the Konoha Twelve confirmed the seriousness of what Kakashi had just said. There was no turning back.
There were only two options: Not participating or participating with the resolve to kill.
"Why?!" Naruto broke the silence, shouting in frustration. "Why does it have to be like this? Wouldn't it be better if there was peace in the shinobi world?"
Kakashi said calmly: "Peace in the shinobi world would be ideal, but Konoha has no intention of attacking. It is reality that forces us to act. You, as a genin, will not understand this yet."
"Won't I understand because I'm a genin?" Naruto repeated, then gritted his teeth and shouted: "If that's the case, then I will become Hokage, no, I will surpass the Hokage!"
Kakashi looked at him in surprise.
[Clap! Clap! Clap!]
Applause was heard, interrupting the moment.
"Not bad, not bad, really not bad, he is indeed a passionate boy!"
The voice came from Funan, who appeared walking with a smile.
Kakashi approached Funan discreetly and whispered: "What are you planning now?"
"Such a passionate young man made such a surprising statement. If I don't say something, I feel like I will be suffocated."
Funan's eyes flashed with excitement.
Kakashi was very upset. "Watch your words, these are all children."
"Children?" Funan looked at him with disdain. "Didn't you become a jonin at the age of twelve? Sure, compared to me, you were a bit behind. But if they're already shinobi, how can you call them children? Damn Sarutobi Hiruzen!"
Kakashi: "..." For a moment, he even felt some pity for the Third Hokage.
Danzo has been gone for a long time, maybe he has died outside. The damn Danzo has changed and turned into the damn Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Funan turned to Naruto, speaking with a mix of seriousness and mockery: "Naruto, haven't Kakashi and Jiraiya told you about the current situation in the shinobi world?"
Naruto nodded, though his understanding of the matter was not complete. However, he knew that the situation was chaotic, with constant minor conflicts and daily deaths.
"Do you want to change that?"
"Yes!" Naruto shouted with determination. "I already said it: I will surpass the Hokage! And I believe in what Ero-Sennin says: one day the era will come where people understand each other."
"Well said!" Funan clapped his hands. "So tell me, are you ready to kill your enemies?"
"What?" Naruto was stunned and shouted: "I just said that I want to..."
Funan said as a matter of course: "Don't you want to become the Hokage, to surpass the Hokage? Then you must at least become a Chunin first, right?"
"Then the Jonin, and finally the Hokage."
Naruto nodded slowly, though he didn't quite understand where this was going.
"So, if you want to be Hokage, you need to take this exam. And to pass it, you need to kill your enemies. How do you plan to be Hokage if you can't do that?"
"Konoha has now experienced five generations of Hokage. Which one of them jumped directly from Genin to Hokage?"
"The first and second generations created Konoha, let's not talk about them. The third, fourth and I all became Jonin early, didn't we?"
Naruto's brain instantly became a mess.
However, it is Naruto after all! Soon, he found the answer.
"It doesn't matter!" Naruto shouted. "Even if I spend my entire life as a genin, I will never abandon my nindo."
Kakashi and others looked at Naruto in surprise.
Even Sasuke and others were a little surprised.
This idiot, he is really an idiot!
He actually has such persistence.
Funan smiled widely. "Then, keep trying. I do have one more question for you, though…"
"Hokage-sama!" Kakashi's tone became heavier.
He knew that Funan's final blow was coming.
Funan didn't even look at him, but smiled and said: "Naruto, if one day in the future, I, Uchiha Funan, as the Hokage, give an order that goes against your nindo, what will you do?"
"Will you betray the Hokage, Konoha, and the Will of Fire? Or will you abandon your own Nindo?"
Naruto was silent, stunned.
Funan didn't stay any longer, and after saying this, he turned and left.
Seeing the hot-blooded boy's distressed expression, Funan feels inexplicably happy.
After walking to a deserted place, he turned and looked back. "I say, Jiraiya, why are you following me? Do you want to assassinate me? Are you so brave?"
A small frog jumped out and opened its mouth. From inside the frog, a hand emerged, followed by a body.
Jiraiya looked at Funan with a grim expression. "Uchiha Funan, was I not cooperative enough when you became Hokage?"
Funan frowned, annoyed. "You say that as if I couldn't have become Hokage without your cooperation. Believe it or not, I'll be gathering a dozen men tomorrow to go on a blind date with Tsunade."
The momentum that Jiraiya had just gathered dissipated in an instant.
"What did you want to tell Naruto with those words?" Jiraiya growled, gritting his teeth.
Funan rolled his eyes at Jiraiya and said: "You're Naruto's sensei, don't you see? I want to train that boy."
"Hehe!"
"Hehe, your uncle!" Funan scolded. "Jiraiya, you are a ninja with the mindset of a Hokage..."
Jiraiya: "..."
"Do you really think that's what's best for Naruto?" Funan pointed at Jiraiya. "Why have you been so surprisingly kind to him? Is it because of Minato?"
"Don't mention that name!" Jiraiya was a little annoyed.
Minato was his pride.
But he also felt guilty towards him.
When Minato first became Hokage, he was targeted by the Third Hokage.
But on one side was his disciple, and on the other side was his sensei. What could he do?
He chose to escape!
He remembers clearly, when Minato asked him to stay. But he waved his hand in a casual manner.
Who would have imagined that that farewell would be forever?
Jiraiya always regretted that.
Because Jiraiya had a guess in his heart... What role did Sarutobi Hiruzen play in Minato's death?
Also after Minato's death, Jiraiya only returned to Konoha once, and he didn't care about Naruto.
It wasn't until later that he learned what kind of life Naruto had lived, that he realized he had made one mistake after another.
Jiraiya made a self-deprecating expression.
[Click!]
A flash of light shone.
Jiraiya looked at Funan with a grim expression. "Hokage, can you tell me what you're doing?"
"I'm taking a photo." Funan replied bluntly.
"Take a photo?"
"Yes." Funan smiled widely. "Your expression just now was so classic, I think it can be used as a meme in the future, so I saved it."
Jiraiya: "..."
"Fine, let's keep talking." Funan stared at him seriously. "I know you want to make it up to Naruto, but do you really think he needs that?"
Jiraiya ignored Funan's nonsense and replied: "Naruto is only twelve years old!"
"Twelve years old?" Funan gave a cold laugh. "Being the son of Minato and Kushina, at twelve years old, Naruto should already be a Jonin. At twelve years old, who hasn't been a Jonin?"
Funan glanced at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya felt a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. I'm sorry for not being a Jonin when I was twelve. It's my sin to lower Konoha's level.
"I understand that the argument I just gave is not easy to accept, but don't forget something important." Funan continued firmly. "Naruto is the Jinchuriki! He's destined to be no ordinary child, don't you see? If you keep treating him like an ordinary boy, you're hurting him."
Jiraiya couldn't refute this.
"If you hadn't always been by Naruto's side these years, he would have been attacked countless times already." Funan spoke calmly. "Can you continue to protect him forever?"
"It's too soon!"
"Too soon?" Funan looked at him coldly. "Do you really think we're in peacetime? I'm telling you, a great war could break out at any moment. This one won't be like any other before, if it breaks out, it will be a decisive war, and it's very likely that some shinobi villages will disappear."
"As a Jinchuriki, even if I don't send him to the battlefield, do you think other villages will leave him alone?"
"No!"
"They will do everything they can to get rid of Naruto."
"You don't understand such a simple truth?"
Jiraiya lowered his head and said nothing.
"How is Naruto's control over the Nine-Tails going?"
Hearing this, Jiraiya looked at Funan with a strange expression. "Since the last time he went out of control and you beat him until he had to go to the hospital, he has made great progress in controlling the Nine-Tails."
"Oh, yeah?" Funan stroked his chin. "You mean I should hit him a few more times?"
"I'm not saying that!" Jiraiya nearly jumped in fright. "Have mercy! Even though the Nine-Tails' chakra has sped up Naruto's recovery, he still spent over a month in the hospital. If he gets hit a few more times in the same way, Naruto might really die!"
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