The two argued in the office for a long time without coming to a conclusion.
The rest of the people in the office were used to their arguing and deliberately moved their desks apart, each handling their own business.
"Why do you simply refuse to let me leave the village to train?"
Jokichi angrily slammed his fist on the desk, looking puzzled.
In reality, he could understand why the Third Hokage wouldn't let him leave the village.
Because of Uchiha Itachi's existence, he knew the approximate strength of the Akatsuki members.
Every single one was an S-rank missing-nin, and their boss even possessed the Rinnegan.
However, behind this organization, there was the true mastermind, Uchiha Madara.
But his understanding of the Akatsuki was too little.
Whether it was Itachi or the Third Hokage, their understanding of the Akatsuki was deduced through the intelligence they already had.
Itachi and the Third Hokage believed that Obito was Madara.
They felt that even if the current Jokichi was very strong, it would be absolutely impossible for him to survive a joint assassination by Pain with the Rinnegan and Madara.
But what they didn't know was that the Rinnegan didn't belong to Pain, so he couldn't unleash the full power of the Rinnegan.
Obito wasn't Madara either. His current strength was far from the real Madara's.
Furthermore, Jokichi understood Pain and Obito's abilities perfectly.
He dared to go out at this time, naturally having the confidence to beat them.
But Jokichi couldn't say these things to anyone else.
Therefore, the two had a huge disagreement and argued endlessly.
Finally, Jiraiya came into the office and put an end to this argument that seemed to never reach a conclusion.
"Why not try trusting him a little?"
Jiraiya laughed heartily.
"You made so many preparations before this incident, yet it still wasn't as effective as this unexpected kid casting a single ninjutsu."
"At the end of the day, he is the strongest in Konoha right now. How could people weaker than him know to what extent he can perform?"
Jiraiya didn't mean to mock the Third Hokage.
After all, the Third Hokage was also incredibly powerful in his youth—at least, stronger than the power Jokichi was currently displaying.
What he meant was that you cannot judge a genius by ordinary standards, and you must give the next generation full trust.
Perhaps, they could do even better than oneself.
Hiruzen recalled his youth. It was during the First Shinobi World War, and they traveled to Kumogakure as the Second Hokage's guards to discuss an alliance treaty.
As a result, they encountered a coup in Kumogakure. The meeting was ambushed by an elite unit led by the Gold and Silver Brothers, and everyone was plunged into a desperate situation.
At that time, no matter how one judged it, the best strategy was for them, the guards, to lay down their lives to cover the Second Hokage's escape.
But the Second Hokage, at the peak of his life, chose to entrust the position of Hokage to him, who was still just a teenager.
This wasn't just the bond between teacher and student, but rather the Second Hokage's trust in him—trusting that he could lead Konoha as Hokage from a situation surrounded by foreign enemies toward prosperity.
And the talent and potential Jokichi displayed were even stronger than his.
Perhaps, he should give him more trust.
Hiruzen remained silent, puffing away at his pipe as thoughts constantly raced through his mind.
After a long time, he raised his head, staring at Jokichi, his cloudy eyes piercing like torches.
"Since even Jiraiya has said so, if I stubbornly stick to my own opinion, I'll appear too rigid. Then, I'll trust you this once."
"Wouldn't it have been better if you did this earlier."
Jokichi breathed a sigh of relief, his expression relaxing considerably.
He hadn't expected the Third Hokage to be so stubborn, practically no different from those two advisors in the elder council.
In the anime, Pain invaded Konoha.
Tsunade prepared to summon Naruto back to fight.
But Danzo and those two advisors resolutely opposed it, believing that the enemy was there specifically for Naruto, so keeping Naruto in Mount Myoboku was the safest option.
Their idea wasn't actually wrong.
But their understanding was too limited; they didn't know Naruto was the protagonist.
Similarly, the Third Hokage's idea wasn't wrong either.
Based on the strength Jokichi had shown so far, he indeed wasn't a match for the combined forces of Pain and Uchiha Madara.
But the Third Hokage didn't know that the enemy wasn't Uchiha Madara, nor could Pain utilize the full power of the Rinnegan.
He knew even less that Jokichi was a cheater holding a system.
Therefore—
"Since I have chosen to trust you, then you must display the strength worthy of my trust!"
Hiruzen bit his pipe, bent down, and pulled out a stack of mission forms from a drawer.
"Here is an A-rank mission. If you can complete it solo, I will approve your application to leave the village for travel."
Saying that, he pulled out a sheet from the mission forms and handed it over.
"Escort the famous actress Fujikaze Yukie to the Land of Snow for a film shoot."
"Hmm?"
Jiraiya, standing nearby, frowned in confusion.
"Old man, did you make a mistake? Escorting an actress is at most a B-rank mission, right!"
Hiruzen replied with a smile.
"There naturally hides a factor within this mission that reaches the difficulty of an A-rank mission. That is for Jokichi to discover on his own."
What the hell do you mean A-rank mission difficulty factor, this is clearly an S-rank difficulty mission, alright.
The world-famous actress Fujikaze Yukie, her other identity was the princess of the Land of Snow, Kazahana Koyuki.
Ten years ago, a coup occurred in the Land of Snow.
Konoha received a commission and sent Kakashi to the Land of Snow to quell the coup.
But Kakashi's strength back then was insufficient, so he could only escort Kazahana Koyuki to escape the Land of Snow.
On the surface, this mission was to protect the actress Fujikaze Yukie as she traveled to the Land of Snow to shoot a movie. In reality, it was to help her restore her nation.
When watching the anime in his past life, Jokichi had thought this was a situation identical to the Land of Waves arc, where the client concealed the mission's inner details.
After all, Team 7, who accepted the mission, and the person involved, Fujikaze Yukie, were unaware of the truth.
But hearing the Third Hokage's words now, he clearly knew the truth.
Changing an S-rank mission to an A-rank mission was perhaps just to avoid attracting too much attention.
"No problem, leave it to me."
Jokichi took the mission form and looked at it. Written on it were the mission details.
A month later, escort Fujikaze Yukie to the Land of Snow for a shoot, until the movie is finished.
"A month later..."
Jokichi looked up at the Third Hokage, the corners of his mouth twitching.
And the other party was wearing a smile as cunning as a fox's.
In the end, it still had to be delayed for a month.
Counting the time to complete the mission, it would probably take two or three months to wrap up.
Truly an old, cunning fox, I am far inferior.
"Phew!"
Jokichi took a deep breath.
"Alright, it's settled then."
Although it would take this much longer, he was quite interested in the Land of Snow's Ice Release and Chakra Armor.
That kind of chakra shield could block a Chidori and Rasengan. If he could forge an even stronger armor through the system, it wouldn't be a bad trump card to have.
Hiruzen nodded with a smile.
"Then go meet your client. He is the mission target's manager, Sandayu. He is currently with the filming crew at the movie theater."
"Understood."