"Starting today! Konoha will be governed by me, Lord Jiraiya! Listen up! I—I am the Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village!!"
His booming, heroic voice rang clearly across the entire plaza before the Hokage Building.
"OH—!!!!!!"
The response was deafening cheers and applause from the sea of people below! The waves of sound surged toward the platform like a tide.
On the top-floor terrace of the Hokage Building, Jiraiya stood in formal attire—wearing the Hokage's hat squarely on his head and a white God Robe draped over his shoulders.
Jiraiya laughed heartily and waved his arm vigorously at the crowd below. Behind him stood the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, finally recovered from his injuries, with a relieved smile on his face.
Although Jiraiya usually acted carefree, lecherous, and unserious, his popularity and prestige in Konoha were beyond doubt.
Whether it was his title as one of the Three Ninja, his formidable strength, or his contributions in every major war, all had earned him the respect and trust of many.
Now that he had become Hokage, most villagers and ordinary shinobi saw a reliable, familiar one of their own taking the position. Naturally, the crowd was fired up.
Naruto stood among them as well. He looked up at Jiraiya on the terrace, his face full of shock and confusion as he tried to understand this scene that had completely veered off script.
Where was Tsunade? What had gone wrong? Had this "butterfly" of his flapped its wings again?
What had he done? Naruto quickly retraced his steps. Was it because he had lured away some members of Akatsuki, causing Akatsuki not to operate as frequently as it originally had?
So Jiraiya had not needed to leave Konoha to investigate Akatsuki as he had before, and had stayed in Konoha instead?