Naruto: As a genin, I just want to live a normal life.

Page 167

"I was locked up for seven days, and I was so bored."

Bai Xing stretched, this was the first time he had experienced what it was like to be in prison: he couldn't eat meat.

"Hmph." x2

Tsunade, with her blonde hair, and Mikoto, with her black hair, crossed their arms and snorted coldly.

Jiraiya: "..."

"What happened to you this week? By the way, where were you being held? Was it also at the Water Gate?"

Jiraiya had been behaving himself very well this week, worried that he might accidentally break the laws of Loulan and end up in jail.

By then, no one will be able to pass on information to the village.

Moreover, he stayed at an inn in the northern part of the outer city of Loulan, which was recommended by Rope Tree.

"Uh... I live here... I live here... more or less." Mikoto blushed and stammered.

Tsunade blushed and remained silent.

Shirahoshi: "Alright, let's hurry up and go find something to eat. I'm getting a little tired of prison food!"

After saying that, Shirahoshi disappeared. Jiraiya stood behind her, his expression turning strange and blank as he stared at Shirahoshi's retreating figure: He had a feeling that something terrible had happened to the three of them...

#

About a week later.

The information delivered by the toad to the border of the Fire River has arrived at the Hokage Building.

Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the intelligence scroll and, after reviewing it, finally understood why Minato and the others had disappeared.

"Is the use of chakra not allowed in the inner city of the ancient Loulan Kingdom?"

“Using chakra is just a fine and a warning.”

"But if ninjutsu is used or there is intrusion, they will be arrested and sent to labor camps."

"For one month."

"And this is without any damage being caused."

"...If you think about it that way, Minato has been doing hard labor for more than half a month now. He's really had a tough time."

Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the scroll, sighing inwardly. At the same time, he wondered what exactly the strict security measures within the ancient city of Loulan were for.

Could it be that the all-powerful minister, whose strength surpassed that of the Five Kage, was severely injured after the battle three months ago? Or is there some important secret hidden within the inner city?

Hiruzen Sarutobi had guessed all of these things, but launching another infiltration plan was almost impossible.

Because even Minato, who had mastered the Second Hokage's space-time ninjutsu—the Flying Thunder God Technique—fell into the hands of the Roran.

In addition, Hiruzen Sarutobi saw the records about Nawaki in the documents.

"The Ninth Seat of the White Cross, the Tree?"

"Nawaki has betrayed Konoha."

The betrayal by Nawaki, the head of the Senju clan, truly caught Hiruzen Sarutobi completely off guard.

Second.

"Sage Mode and Wood Release have also appeared."

"From being no match for Shirahoshi at the beginning, to instantly killing the exhausted Shirahoshi and the fully-powered Tsunade, as well as the support from Uchiha Mikoto... doesn't that mean..."

"Has Nawaki also possessed strength surpassing that of the Five Kage?!"

"But according to Jiraiya's intelligence, he was only ranked fifth."

"But without a doubt, the All-Round Minister is ranked first, so who are the other three in the top four?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed in dismay.

Five ninjas surpassing the Five Kage level have appeared in the neighboring village. It's likely that in the future, the ancient Loulan Kingdom will hold the position of the strongest nation in the ninja world for a long time.

I don’t know how much time has passed.

click-

The door to the Hokage's office was forcefully pushed open and then slammed shut by someone outside. Danzo, who entered, spoke without any politeness:

"Hiruzen. I've heard everything. The ancient kingdom of Loulan captured Minato and the others, and Nawaki betrayed them too, right?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly, wondering how this intelligence ended up in Danzo's hands. A hint of suspicion flashed in his eyes, wondering if there were Danzo's spies among the ninjas stationed at the border: "What do you want to do?"

"Of course, we need to find a way to capture someone from Loulan and gather intelligence on them!"

"Since the labor camp is located in the land of rivers, we can send our secret agents to take the opportunity to capture the Loulan soldiers under their command."

"Let's use the secret techniques of the mountain clan to explore their memories!"

"In this way, we can find out what secret Loulan is hiding about becoming stronger!"

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed in exasperation. The ancient kingdom of Loulan was now so powerful; how could Konoha possibly dare to challenge them?

"That's enough, Danzo!"

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Until we have absolute certainty, let's hold back."

"Besides, our people are still in their hands!!"

"Hmph. Hiruzen, you're getting old. Konoha is the strongest village in the ninja world. Even if Nawaki awakens Wood Release..."

"So, what makes you think our ninjas can defeat Wood Release ninjas?" Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Danzo fell silent. After all, their research on Wood Release had yielded no results, while the Rope Tree had been successfully developed by that surgeon.

—If he had known, he would have captured Rope Tree and used him as a test subject first.

"If you can hand over Shirahoshi to me, the Wood Release plan will progress much faster."

boom!

"Don't even think about it. Shirahoshi is the inheritor of the Will of Fire from the previous generation! She will become an outstanding Jonin of the village in the future! It's not up to you to handle this on your own!!"

"Get out!"

"Once the personnel return, I will send someone to investigate. Don't worry, they are elites from Root," Danzo said coldly.

"up to you."

#

Gradually, after the Shiranui Cloud Squad and others were released from prison and rested for a few days in the outer city of Loulan, they returned to the village with Tsunade, Shirahoshi, and Uchiha Mikoto.

Soon, it was time for Minato's release from prison, and then for Naruto and Sai to follow.

"Finally out of prison."

Sai walked out of the inner city with a pitiful look on his face. The Loulan guards behind him said, "Go out and behave yourself. Don't ever come back."

"I'm talking to you, don't turn around."

"Yes." Sai said with tears in his eyes, thinking to himself that he would never cause trouble in Loulan again.

"Sai! Here he is!"

Naruto was standing on the street ahead, waving. Jiraiya was standing beside him, along with Minato Namikaze and others.

After picking up Sai, the group left the inner city area in an orderly fashion and went to an inn in the outer city to prepare to return to Konoha first and report to the Third Hokage.

"I never imagined that a dragon vein power called Infinite Chakra was hidden beneath Loulan."

Jiraiya frowned, thinking to himself, "No wonder Loulan has been able to develop so quickly; they've been cheating!"

"Moreover, dragon veins can travel through time and space to another world, or even the past timeline."

"However, if we can go to the past, it also means we can go to the future."

Minato Namikaze analyzed:

"Naruto, there's something I've been keeping from you, but now that everyone's here and we're out of the inner city's surveillance area, I'm finally ready to tell you."

"What?" Naruto scratched his head.

“You are very likely my and Kaori’s child.” Minato Namikaze blushed. It was indeed a little awkward to acknowledge a son who was the same age as him.

"Huh? But you look so much like the Fourth Hokage! Could it be... Waaaaah—"

Minato Namikaze covered Naruto's mouth, and Jiraiya's gaze froze slightly: "The Fourth Hokage?"

"It's nothing, Jiraiya-sensei. Naruto is just talking nonsense." Minato didn't want to lose his Hokage status because of Naruto's premature spoilers.

Choza Akimichi and Shimi Aburame smiled slightly. They had already learned of this information while working. However, neither of them was interested in becoming Hokage, and they quite liked Minato's personality, so they wouldn't object even if Minato became Hokage.

Jiraiya nodded thoughtfully. "Then I understand."

"You mentioned a while ago that the minister named An Lushan was actually a rogue ninja from the Sand Village in the future named Centipede, right?"

“Yes, Jiraiya-sensei,” Minato Namikaze said, releasing Naruto.

"Then, could the surgeon be from the future? Otherwise, how would he know about this..." Jiraiya stroked his chin, speculating.

“That’s impossible.” Minato Namikaze shook his head. “Naruto said that in the future, there will never be a person called Omnipotent.”

"Oh, I see."

"Actually, I've never met that ninja named Shirahoshi who's even stronger than Kakashi in the future," Naruto said, raising his hand.

"What?!"

"Even stronger than me in the future. What kind of ninja will I be in the future?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"Copy Ninja, Sharingan Kakashi," Sai explained from the side.

"Sharingan?" xN

Another piece of information startled a group of people from the past.

"How could I possibly have Sharingan? Could it be... I'm not my father's son?" Kakashi Hatake shuddered, his heart clenching. He thought to himself, "Oh no, if Dad finds out, Mom's doomed!"

“Uh. No. It was given to you by your teammate Obito Uchiha before he died. At that time, you were the youngest Jonin in Konoha.” Sai finished speaking and sighed slightly.

"Obito became my teammate?! And he's dead?! The youngest Jonin. Eleven years old?" Kakashi asked.