Jiraiya's Return

Konoha's clamor outside the window barely filtered in, unable to dispel the heavy atmosphere within the Hokage Office.

Several days later, at dusk, Jiraiya—one of Konoha's Sannin, a tall man dressed somewhat unruly with his signature spiky white hair—sat casually on the windowsill. Between his brows lingered the fatigue and doubts accumulated from days of rushing about.

"Minato," Jiraiya broke the silence, his tone lacking its usual frivolity, "what exactly happened on the night the Nine-Tails appeared? The village was attacked, yet your letter said Kushina was unharmed. And..."

He paused before voicing the name that had haunted him. "Orochimaru... how did he become a rogue ninja?"

When news of the Nine-Tails Incident spread, Jiraiya had been frantic with worry.

Fortunately, he soon received a letter from his prized student, Minato Namikaze, learning that both he and Kushina Uzumaki were safe. Only then had he relaxed slightly, and at Minato's urging, he had not immediately rushed back.

Yet before one wave had settled, another rose. News that his close friend Orochimaru had defected from Konoha struck like another heavy hammer, catching him completely off guard and leaving him desperate for answers.

Behind the desk, the golden tips of Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze's hair looked somewhat dim beneath the evening sun.

He let out a deep sigh and slowly began to explain everything in detail—from the mysterious Black-Clad Man's attack on the night of the Nine-Tails sealing ritual, to how Minamoto Takuya had used astonishing Sealing Jutsu to split the Nine-Tails in two and miraculously snatch Kushina's life back from the hands of death.

The account did not stop there. Minato continued in a low voice, describing how the inhumane human experiments conducted by Shimura Danzō and Orochimaru in the shadows had been ruthlessly exposed...

"Human... experiments..." Jiraiya's voice was dry,