"But you won't secretly do anything to the Hyuga Branch Family while I'm away, will you..." Zi Xu wasn't very confident in Orochimaru's promise. To be safe, he sent his Silent Clone to follow Orochimaru.
The Silent Clone still wore an utterly hopeless expression. He was getting numb to it, but he knew what mattered most: protecting the Hyuga Branch Family came first.
Seeing Zi Xu send a clone after him, Orochimaru rolled his tongue around his mouth and set aside his little scheme. There would be plenty of opportunities. He could wait.
After Orochimaru and Zi Xu left, many of Konoha's top fighters hurried onto the rooftops. Not helping while Hiruzen Sarutobi was still alive had been a statement in itself. If they didn't show up after he was dead, it would look a little too deliberate.
The many Konoha Jonin, including Kakashi and Kai, looked at the Third Hokage's body lying peacefully on the rooftop. He looked as though he'd merely fallen asleep and might wake at any moment.
Everyone wore the same solemn, grieving expression. After taking care of the Third Hokage's body, they had to help Konoha recover. Even though they'd lost the Third Hokage, the village still had to keep running. The Summoned Giant Snake and the Sand Ninja had damaged many of the surrounding buildings, and they needed to help with those, too.
Jiraiya had already dismissed the giant toad. He'd been watching from afar in secret, and seeing his former teacher die before his eyes had affected him, though he was good at keeping it under control.
"Uzumaki Zi Xu..." Jiraiya sighed. That boy was no ordinary child. If he went astray, another storm of bloodshed would surely sweep through the shinobi world. Jiraiya was old and didn't have much energy left. All