In the end, Orochimaru had no choice but to accept Jiraiya joining the operation.
The two had always been teammates who worked well together, and their relationship was actually quite good—especially after Jiraiya told Orochimaru about something he had discovered.
"I thought destroying one of Amegakure's supply stations was already impressive enough."
Orochimaru looked at the helpless-looking Jiraiya in mild surprise, apparently quite taken aback that he had uncovered such intelligence.
"With that lazy temperament of yours, you actually noticed something this unusual?"
"Hey, hey... We're Elite Jonin with equal reputations. I'm not the dead last I used to be—no, I was never the dead last!"
Jiraiya had become nearly immune to Orochimaru's usual mockery.
But under the three pairs of curious little eyes belonging to Satoru and the other two, even with his thick skin, he found it hard to keep a straight face.
"Could you leave me a little dignity in front of the juniors?"
"Heh heh, dignity is the sort of thing..."
Though Orochimaru said that, he stopped mocking him and carefully examined the scroll Jiraiya handed over.
"Did you report this to Sensei? You didn't send intelligence like this straight to the outpost, did you?"
"Of course not! They don't have the authority."
Jiraiya shook his head.
"I already had a toad deliver the intelligence... I hope I'm just overthinking it. At such a critical time, war is already unavoidable, but I still hope its scale can be kept under control."
"Heh heh... I think this fits that man's temperament perfectly."
Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and licked his lips. His golden vertical pupils narrowed slightly, betraying his excitement.
"The only known wielder of Kekkei Tōta in the Shinobi World, the terrifying user of Dust Release that surpasses Kekkei Genkai—the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of Both Scales!"