The Third Hokage's Fury

"Jiraiya, here..."

"What is it?"

Jiraiya was cleaning up the aftermath and asked without looking up.

"You've always wanted a good student, right? I brought you one." Ye Fan grinned.

"A student? What kind of trouble are you up to now?"

Jiraiya suddenly felt that something was off. Ye Fan was being far too gentle today.

He even wondered if Orochimaru had possessed Ye Fan.

"Hello, Pervy Sage!"

Naruto jumped out from behind Ye Fan and greeted him with a laugh.

"Hm? It's you! Quick, quick, turn into a beautiful woman for me!"

Jiraiya swallowed quietly, leering at Naruto.

"Eww, stay away from me! I'm a guy! I'm not interested in men!"

Naruto looked thoroughly disgusted by Jiraiya's lecherous stare.

If he hadn't just seen Jiraiya defeat the One-Tail with his own eyes, he never would have believed that this lecherous old man was a powerful fighter.

"Come on, transform already! I just got through a huge battle, and I'm completely exhausted. I desperately need a beautiful woman to stimulate my flagging nerves!"

Jiraiya, who'd been full of energy moments ago, suddenly became listless and slumped down beside Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara.

Temari and Kankuro had come to rescue Gaara, but Jiraiya had easily captured them and tied them up.

Seeing Jiraiya like this left Temari and Kankuro questioning everything they knew.

Was this really the man who'd defeated Gaara and beaten them with barely half a move?

Temari and Kankuro couldn't help wondering. This was nothing like the bearing of a powerful fighter!

Naruto couldn't take Jiraiya's pestering anymore and gave in.

"Let me make this clear first: just once, okay? This is the last time!"

As he spoke, Naruto used the Transformation Jutsu and became a stunning beauty, wearing barely any clothes.

He even gave Jiraiya a flirtatious wink and called out sweetly, "Lord Jiraiya."

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Watching this, Jiraiya's blood surged and two streams of blood spurted from his nose. With a look of utter satisfaction, he collapsed to the ground, his heart aflutter.

Watching the two of them, Ye Fan chuckled. "You really are made for each other. What a pair of jokers!"

"Jiraiya, I'm leaving him in your hands. By the way, his name is Naruto Uzumaki."

Ye Fan waved over his shoulder and walked away.

Jiraiya lay on the ground, gazing at the azure sky, lost in thought.

The sunlight fell across his face, and the corners of Jiraiya's mouth curled into a faint smile.

How could he not recognize Naruto? He was the one who'd given him that name.

Glancing at Naruto, who was beaming, Jiraiya gave a bitter laugh.

"Looks like I was born to be a babysitter. I've raised one kid after another..."

"Pervy Sage, Big Brother Ye Fan said I'd be training with you from now on. You're not going to back out, are you?"

"If you want to train, start by helping clean up here. After that, go with the Anbu and help repair the village houses."

"If I'm satisfied with your work, I might consider training you. I might even treat you to a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen."

At the mention of ramen, Naruto swallowed involuntarily.

"Pervy Sage, you'd better keep your word!"

Full of energy, Naruto began cleaning up the aftermath.

Jiraiya, meanwhile, had it easy. He lounged comfortably on a tree branch.

Jiraiya knew where Ye Fan was headed.

He didn't know much about what had happened in the past.

But Ye Fan had never hidden anything from him. A long time ago, Ye Fan had told Jiraiya that if he ever returned to Konoha, the first thing he'd do was ask for the truth.

"If... if your parents' deaths really had something to do with Konoha's higher-ups, then making a scene... might not be such a bad thing."

"Konoha really does need a thorough shake-up!"

"I hope the Third Hokage had nothing to do with this. Otherwise, I honestly don't know what I'll do..."

Jiraiya sighed deeply, left a shadow clone behind, and quietly followed after him.

He might have acted unconcerned, but deep down he was still quite worried.

He was worried about Ye Fan's safety, and he was worried about Konoha's safety, too.

He'd heard about what happened to the Uchiha Clan, and he suspected that Danzo had a great deal to do with Ye Fan's parents' deaths!

Even Jiraiya was wary of that old man Danzo's devious methods.

The Hokage's Office was bustling. Nearly all of Konoha's higher-ups had gathered there.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi; Mitokado Homura; Utatane Koharu; Shimura Danzō; Nara Shikaku; the Anbu representative; and the Land of Fire representative were all present.

The Third Hokage sat at the head of the table, with the others seated in order. The Land of Fire representative sat at the far end, wearing a stern expression and seeming to have little say.

"Third Hokage, several Jonin from my Root were apparently killed by your Anbu while carrying out a mission. Explain yourself."

Shimura Danzō spoke first. He didn't know that Ye Fan had killed those Root Jonin.

Everyone was displeased when they heard this. They all knew the purpose of today's meeting.

Yet at a time like this, Danzō was bringing up matters unrelated to the incident.

Still, no one spoke. They all turned their attention to the Third Hokage.

"Cough, cough..." The Third Hokage, still suffering from serious injuries, coughed violently, his face turning deathly pale.

He had completely lost faith in Danzō. In the past, no matter what Danzō did, as long as it didn't threaten Konoha's safety, he could pretend not to see it.

Even when Danzō had secretly turned Root, which was meant to train Anbu talent, into his own private force, the Third Hokage had pretended not to know.

But this time, Konoha had been invaded by another village, and neither Danzō nor his subordinates had shown so much as a shadow. That had finally crossed his bottom line.

The Third Hokage didn't answer Danzō's question. Instead, he asked sternly:

"Danzō, tell me everything you and Root did during this incident. I mean everything."

At the Third Hokage's words, everyone turned their eyes to Danzō. It was the very question they wanted to ask.

Danzō glanced at the others, slowly rose to his feet, and ostentatiously took out a piece of paper before reading from it:

"All of Root's Jonin were sent to various countries on missions before this incident. Only young members were left behind."

"This incident was extremely dangerous. None of those young members took part."

As he spoke, Danzō handed everyone present a sheet of paper listing the missions undertaken by Root's Jonin.

The Third Hokage didn't even glance at the paper. Suppressing his anger, he asked, "Is everything written on this sheet true?"

"Yes, every word. The matter is settled. Third Hokage, can you answer my earlier question now?"

"My Root's—"

"And what about you?! Where were you?! Were you out on a mission, too?!"

Before Danzō could finish speaking, the Third Hokage cut him off with a furious shout.

The Third Hokage slammed his palm down and shattered the desk in front of him. In an instant, the atmosphere in the Hokage's Office turned hostile.