Searching for Tsunade

As expected, Danzo was the first to voice his opposition. "Hiruzen, I don't recall Kakashi having made any significant contributions to the village. Aside from being the Fourth Hokage's disciple, what other notable achievements does he have?"

The implication was clear: "I, the elder, have accomplished much. You should let me become the Hokage!"

The Third Hokage patiently explained to him, "Kakashi was promoted to Chunin at the age of 6 and to Jonin at 12. To date, he has completed 414 B-rank missions, 298 A-rank missions, and 42 S-rank missions. Isn't that enough?"

Danzo's single eye gleamed with malice. "No! Far from enough! Which ninja who has reached this level hasn't completed some missions for the village? Can they all become Hokage?"

As if anticipating what the Third Hokage would say, he cut in, "I know you are the Hokage, but regarding Kakashi succeeding as the Fifth Hokage, I firmly state my disagreement! His achievements simply don't qualify him to be Hokage!"

Mitokado Homura and Koharu Utatane did not voice their opposition, but neither did they offer their support.

The Third Hokage's attempt at testing the waters was unsuccessful.

Ultimately, it came down to Kakashi's reputation and achievements falling short. If he had been like Minato Namikaze or one of the Three Legendary Sannin, Danzo would have had no grounds for opposition.

The day after the Jonin meeting concluded, the Third Hokage summoned Kakashi to his office and handed him the Flying Thunder God Technique scroll along with some study notes left by the Fourth Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, what is this?" Kakashi asked hesitantly, looking at the large "Fourth" label on the scroll.

The Third Hokage sighed softly. "You must think this old man is specifically rewarding you? Actually, no. Many years ago, when the Fourth Hokage had just taken office, he prepared this gift for you. He hoped you would go further, even further than he did. He had high expectations for you, Kakashi. Don't let him down. This has been in my safekeeping all along, and I believe you are now ready. Take it."

Inside the scroll were not only the Flying Thunder God Technique but also two sealing techniques from the Uzumaki clan.

With a heart full of remembrance for his mentor, Kakashi began training with the Flying Thunder God Technique scroll.

Difficult! Extremely difficult! Even with mental preparation, the difficulty of the Flying Thunder God Technique exceeded his expectations.

Due to his inability to deactivate the Sharingan, Kakashi had far less Chakra to utilize compared to other Jonin of his level, and the Flying Thunder God Technique consumed more Chakra than anticipated.

Chakra was one issue, but another was that his body's reaction speed couldn't keep up with the technique's speed after teleportation.

Often, his mind knew what to do, but his body didn't, failing to react in time.

He tried using it twice during a spar with Might Guy, but it didn't work.

What was supposed to be a lethal technique ended up being a suicidal one, which was disastrous.

Kakashi didn't want to give up the Sharingan that Obito had given him. With his body's speed and Chakra reserves falling short, what could he do? As an exceptionally skilled ninja, he found his own solution. He picked up the Eight Gates Formation, which he had neglected, and began training his body anew.

By opening the Eight Gates, he could effectively increase his Chakra reserves and significantly enhance his body's reaction speed.

Usually leading Team 7 on D-rank missions, occasionally having meals and going shopping with Hanare, and spending the rest of his time training in Body techniques with Might Guy, his life suddenly became much more colorful.

The Third Hokage had Kakashi in mind as the Fifth Hokage, with his son Asuma and future daughter-in-law Yuhi Kurenai naturally serving as advisors to the Fifth Hokage.

Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi were all classmates, much like he, Mitokado Homura, and Koharu Utatane had been in their youth. As for who would replace Danzo's position, he hadn't decided yet, but he had confidence in Kakashi and Asuma. They weren't children anymore, and with the three of them working together, along with the support of various Ninja Clans, they could definitely suppress Danzo.

Handing over the Flying Thunder God Technique to Kakashi, he naturally wouldn't mistreat his son or his future daughter-in-law.

The two of them also needed some strengthening.

The Third Hokage's own Ninja techniques weren't suitable for them, so he selected techniques from the Scroll of Seals.

In the end, he gave "Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags" to Asuma and the "Bringer-of-Darkness Technique" to Kurenai, letting them train on their own to enhance their personal strength.

Since starting to practice "Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags," Asuma had become increasingly poor. The cigarettes he usually smoked dropped two grades in quality, and when he went to the Yamanaka flower shop to buy flowers, no matter how much Ino tried to persuade him, he didn't dare to buy the most expensive ones anymore.

Poor! He was just too poor!

Kakashi's practice of the Flying Thunder God Technique was life-threatening, but Asuma's practice of Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags was wallet-draining.

Theoretically, Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags was a Ninja technique that allowed for the infinite summoning of Exploding Tags for continuous explosions. However, these Exploding Tags couldn't be summoned from stores. If the Second Hokage had developed such an overpowered technique, the owners of Ninja Tool shops would have been forced to sell at a loss, scraping together everything they had to hire powerful Ninja to take him down. Only Exploding Tags marked with his special technique could be summoned, so Asuma had to buy a large number of Exploding Tags to practice this technique.

His quality of life had severely declined, and not only was Kurenai dissatisfied, but even Team 10, who had been freeloading meals, expressed their displeasure! Asuma borrowed money from his old friend Chiriku, and following Ino's suggestion, he rented out the vacant houses of the Sarutobi Clan. He was doing everything he could to raise funds.

Ino had completed the Hydrification part of her Vapor Explosion technique, but the Oilification part was proving to be very difficult.

In Little Mustache's technique, Oilification only served as a heating mechanism. As for how to turn Chakra into oil, it wasn't explained as thoroughly as the Hydrification part had been. It had been described very simply at the time.

Ino had a plan for this.

In this day and age, apart from the Second Mizukage, who else used oil? Naturally, there was someone—Jiraiya, who wore a forehead protector with the character for "oil" on it!

Jiraiya's Oilification was likely different from the Second Mizukage's, but there was a wealth of knowledge to be learned from it, which could then be applied to Vapor Explosion.

Coincidentally, Kakashi mentioned that he had formally recommended Ino to Jiraiya. Jiraiya had brought it up with Tsunade, but what Tsunade's exact thoughts were would require Ino to discuss it herself.

Ino had completed all eight of her missions for the Chunin Exams, while Shikamaru and the others were still one mission short. Asuma's mind was completely preoccupied with money these days, and all three of them were very busy.

She used the excuse of finding Tsunade and learning Medical Ninja Techniques to leave the Hidden Leaf Village and head to a small town at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Waterfalls to search for Jiraiya.

Jiraiya, that pervert, often followed Tsunade around, so in places where Tsunade was known to appear, Jiraiya could often be found as well.

Ino's reasoning was solid, and there was nothing sneaky or underhanded about it. It was all above board, and no one could find fault with it.