Jiraiya brought Naruto and Sasuke back. He was quite curious about Yoruha, the person Naruto often mentioned. He knew that Naruto had learned the Rasengan from him.
In Naruto's eyes, it seemed like Yoruha could do anything. Jiraiya had examined the additional Eight Trigrams Seal within Naruto. It was much stronger than Minato Namikaze's and worked exceptionally well.
It even helped Naruto control the Nine-Tails' chakra. For Naruto to possess so many incredible jutsu at such a young age, what kind of person was Yoruha? Just now, Naruto had fully transformed into a tailed beast, and Jiraiya knew it was due to the Eight Trigrams Seal left by Yoruha.
With that seal, as long as Naruto didn't recklessly break it, the Nine-Tails couldn't escape, nor could it easily make Naruto lose control. What was even more surprising was that the Nine-Tails was willing to protect the Hidden Leaf Village. During the battle between the Nine-Tails and the One-Tail, it was clear that the Nine-Tails was preventing the One-Tail from attacking the village. Jiraiya understood that Naruto couldn't possibly achieve a full tailed beast transformation on his own.
The only explanation was that Naruto had let the Nine-Tails take over his body. But in such a situation, the Nine-Tails was free, yet it didn't attack the village and even protected it. This was bizarre and certainly not something Naruto could have done.
After all, Naruto hadn't mastered the Nine-Tails' power yet. Even a little extra chakra from the Nine-Tails would make him lose control, indicating that the Nine-Tails hadn't acknowledged Naruto. But after fully controlling Naruto's body, not only did it not destroy the village, it protected it and willingly returned to Naruto afterward.
All of this was related to Yoruha. What kind of extraordinary person could achieve so many incredible things at Naruto's age? Meanwhile, within the Hidden Leaf Village.
The battle between Orochimaru and the Third Hokage was nearing its end. As in the original story, the Third chose to use the Reaper Death Seal to seal Orochimaru. After sealing Orochimaru's arms, he gave one last order to the Anbu and Jonin outside the Four Violet Flames Formation.
"Kakashi, I leave Yoruha to you." "All Jonin, listen up. I hereby promote Natsuki Yoruha to Jonin and appoint him as the bodyguard for the next Hokage." With that, the Third's soul was sealed by the Reaper.
The battle ended, and Orochimaru was taken away by the Sound Four. The gathered ninjas surrounded the Third. They were all deeply saddened, as the Third had sacrificed his life to save the village.
What shocked them even more was the Third's final order. It was like a dying wish. But instead of entrusting his grandson Konohamaru, he entrusted Yoruha.
Yoruha had only been promoted to Chunin a few months ago, and now the Third's final order was to promote him to Jonin and make him the bodyguard for the next Hokage. It was hard to comprehend. However, Kakashi understood completely.
He knew how high the Third's expectations for Yoruha had been recently. Even if Orochimaru hadn't attacked the village, it wouldn't have been long before Yoruha was promoted to Jonin. The Third's greatest regret before dying was not being able to personally hand the Hokage's cloak to Yoruha.
He couldn't personally pass on the title of Hokage to him. Since the Third was gone, Yoruha wouldn't be the next Hokage.
He had arrived, but his prestige and experience were far from sufficient. That's why the Third Hokage promoted Yeyu to Jonin and even appointed him as the bodyguard for the next Hokage. This was one of the Third's final orders, and regardless of who the next Hokage would be, they would likely adhere to this command.
Of course, if it were Danzo, he certainly wouldn't comply. However, the Third knew very well that Danzo could never become Hokage, not with the two Hokage advisors around.
Although the two advisors were indeed somewhat conservative in their thinking, there was no doubt they were loyal to the Hokage's lineage. If there were a dispute between the Third and Danzo, the two advisors would undoubtedly side with the Third. With them present, Danzo becoming the next Hokage was out of the question.
Unless Konoha truly had no one left. But the fact is, there are candidates like Jiraiya, Tsunade, and at the very least, Kakashi. From the subsequent storyline, it's clear that the two advisors would rather push Kakashi to the Hokage position than allow Danzo to ascend.
It's evident that while the two are stubborn in their ways, they are well aware of Danzo's true nature. The Third was confident that Danzo wouldn't be the next Hokage precisely because of the two advisors. Although they usually stayed out of affairs, their power in Konoha was unmatched by Danzo.
With the Third gone, most of the Hokage's authority would fall into their hands. It was impossible for Danzo to run rampant after the Third's demise. Jiraiya arrived with Sasuke and Naruto at the Third's side.
Seeing the Third already lying on the ground, Jiraiya frowned. "Still too late, huh? Didn't expect him to use that jutsu, just like the Fourth. In the end, just like the Fourth." Jiraiya felt a deep sorrow.
The Third was his teacher. Despite the Third becoming indecisive in his later years, Jiraiya still held great respect for him.
Kakashi looked at Sasuke and Naruto, whom Jiraiya had placed on the ground. "Lord Jiraiya, they~" Jiraiya explained, "They've overexerted their chakra, but they're not in any life-threatening danger."
Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief. He wanted to ask more, but it wasn't the right time. With the Third fallen in battle, many ninjas in the village were dead or injured, significantly weakening Konoha's strength.
For a time, the surrounding ninja villages were eager to make a move.
However, since the Sand Village learned that their Kazekage had been killed by Orochimaru, and they also suffered significant losses during the attack on Konoha, they proactively sought peace.
The two Hokage advisors, considering Konoha's substantial losses, had no choice but to accept their peace proposal.
This was the best solution at the moment. If they didn't accept the Sand Village's peace offer and continued fighting, even if Konoha won in the end, the losses would be immeasurable.
Not to mention, there were many other ninja villages nearby eager to take advantage of Konoha's weakened state.
At this time, the Sand Village's request for peace and alliance with Konoha made the situation less precarious. Both ninja villages had suffered great losses, and an alliance could counteract the surrounding villages looking to exploit the situation.
A few days later, after Konoha held a funeral for the ninjas who died in the attack plan, the two Hokage advisors sought out Jiraiya.
On the Hokage's rooftop, the two advisors approached Jiraiya from behind.
"You're still the same as ever, even at your age, still so carefree." Hearing this voice, Jiraiya put down the telescope he used for peeping. "Do the two advisors have something to discuss with me?"
The two advisors wore serious expressions. "This incident has caused great losses to Konoha Village." Jiraiya nodded. He was well aware of the significant damage Konoha had suffered.
"Now, Konoha needs to quickly elect a Hokage to take charge of affairs, or else other ninja villages might take the risk to attack."
Jiraiya looked at the two of them. "Do you have someone in mind?"
They exchanged glances and then looked at Jiraiya. "We hope you can take on the role of Hokage and become the Fifth Hokage."