On this day, another important figure arrived at the Konoha Gate.
The newcomer was burly, with wild, unruly long white hair and two bright red paint marks on his face.
The two guards standing at the entrance exclaimed with delight upon seeing the newcomer.
"Lord Jiraiya!"
Jiraiya nodded with a smile, but a hint of worry lingered in his eyes.
He went out to investigate Akatsuki, but the information he gathered was still limited. He didn't want to return to Konoha so soon, but he learned outside that Konoha had changed its Hokage, and the new Hokage was actually the "dead" Uchiha Senga!
Jiraiya was no stranger to Senga; he had spent quite a bit of time with Senga because of Minato.
In Jiraiya's memory, Senga was a talented ninja who loved the village and was very strong, but because of his Uchiha, he was always ostracized by some of Konoha High Command.
Jiraiya remembered that back then, Minato's attempt to make Senga the Anbu Commander was met with strong opposition from the higher-ups, yet now she had become Hokage. This was truly bizarre.
Therefore, he had to temporarily stop what he was doing and rush back to Konoha overnight to check on the situation.
Jiraiya briefly greeted the two gatekeepers and then walked straight into Konoha.
On the streets of Konoha, Jiraiya observed his surroundings, wanting to see how life in the village had changed after the Hokage was replaced.
But after observing the village, he concluded that life there was no different than before, and people didn't seem to care about the change of Hokage.
Jiraiya walked all the way to the Hokage Building. Standing in front of the Hokage Building, he turned to look at the Hokage Rock, his gaze lingering on Senga's portrait for a long time.
Until Itachi appeared and respectfully greeted him,
"Lord Jiraiya!"
Jiraiya snapped out of his daze, and when he saw Itachi in front of him, his nerves tensed instantly. He exclaimed in surprise,
"Uchiha Itachi?! What are you doing here?"
Itachi had anticipated Jiraiya's reaction; he kept his head down and replied.
"My mission is complete, so the Hokage-sama has allowed me to return to Konoha and appointed me as the Anbu Commander!"
"What? What mission are you referring to?"
"This is a long story, Lord Jiraiya, you should go see the Hokage-sama first!"
Jiraiya hesitated for a moment before nodding, and then, led by Itachi, arrived at Senga's office.
Upon seeing the people inside, Jiraiya couldn't help but rub his eyes, because he saw not only Senga, but also Minato!
This was utterly unbelievable to him; Minato, on the other hand, was overjoyed to see Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya- sensei, it's been a long time!"
"Hmm, long time no see... wait! You're Minato!?"
Jiraiya's eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't help but wonder if he was dreaming. He already thought it was outrageous enough that Uchiha Itachi had become the Anbu Commander Konoha's Anbu, but now he had seen Minato come back from the dead!
Minato's knowledge of his resurrection was indeed earth-shattering, so Jiraiya's reaction was understandable.
He opened his arms Jiraiya with a smile,
"Jiraiya- sensei, as you can see, I have been resurrected!"
Jiraiya slowly walked up to Minato, reached out and pinched his face. Minato did not resist and let Jiraiya pull his face.
Only when Jiraiya finally confirmed that the person before him was indeed Minato from his memory did he speak, his voice trembling.
"It actually came back to life?! How is this possible?!"
Minato said with a smile,
"This was all done by Senga. Not only me, but Kushina was also resurrected!"
"Even Kushina ..."
Jiraiya abruptly turned to look at Senga, Senga remained calm and spoke.
"Jiraiya, how have you been?"
Jiraiya nodded stiffly and asked a question.
"Senga, you too have come back from the dead?"
"Heh, I never died, so how can I be said to have come back to life?"
With that, Senga snapped his fingers, and Tsunade and Orochimaru were teleported here, looking completely bewildered.
Jiraiya shouted again when he saw Orochimaru.
Orochimaru!?
Orochimaru was also surprised.
"Jiraiya?"
Orochimaru spoke of Jiraiya, but moved to Senga's side.
Tsunade then walked up to Jiraiya and said,
"You're finally back!"
Jiraiya nodded and said,
"I learned that Konoha had Hokage while I was out there, so I rushed back immediately."
A wry smile appeared on Tsunade's face.
"Yeah, they changed the Hokage, but what else could they have done?"
She thought of the overwhelming power Senga had displayed that day; in the face of that power, they were utterly powerless to resist.
Even if Jiraiya were to return, she wouldn't naively believe that adding Jiraiya make them a match for Senga.
She even believed that Senga's power was no less than that of Uchiha Madara back then, when her grandfather, the First Hokage, was still alive. But what about now?
Therefore, Tsunade has completely given up on the idea of opposing Senga and is now dutifully serving as the head of the medical department.
Jiraiya, was still asking...
"Tsunade, did you voluntarily give up the Hokage Position?"
"Yes, Senga is more suitable to be Hokage than I am."
Tsunade spoke these words with utter composure, for they truly reflected her true feelings.
She already has nothing to say about just the fact that she brought Minato back to life.
Jiraiya could only look at Minato.
"Minato, Naruto alright?"
When Naruto was mentioned, a happy smile appeared on Minato's face.
"Jiraiya- sensei, Naruto is doing well, and I want to thank you for taking care of him!"
"No need. Taking care of Naruto is what I should do. Besides... he might very well be the Child of Prophecy spoken of by the Toad Sage!"
"The Child of Prophecy?"
"Yes, that ninja who can change the entire Ninja World."
"Pfft!"
Senga suddenly laughed. "It's that so-called fatalism again. One Joy Boy, the other is the Child of Prophecy. It's never going to end!"
He looked at Jiraiya and said...
"Why should we expect a Child of Prophecy, who is neither here nor there, to change the Ninja World?"
Jiraiya frowned.
What do you mean by that?
Senga got up from her chair and walked over to Jiraiya.
Although his eyes were still black, there was still an inexplicable sense of oppression about him, Jiraiya couldn't help but swallow.
Senga stared into Jiraiya's eyes and slowly began to speak.
"What a ridiculous fatalism! To change the Ninja World, you don't need to go through all this trouble!"
A Domineering Aura erupted from Senga, causing Jiraiya to shudder and break out in a fine layer of cold sweat on his forehead.
Tsunade stood to one side with a grim expression.
"It's this again! What exactly is this aura!?"