At the mention of Orochimaru's name from Anko, Jiraiya's smile faded somewhat.
Orochimaru?
Why had they suddenly brought up that name?
His surprise lasted only a moment before it was replaced by vigilance.
Jiraiya had indeed been in the Land of Fire a few days ago, and he had indeed planned to return to Konoha in secret.
That was because he had received intelligence that Orochimaru might have appeared in the village.
Afterward, the Third Hokage had specifically sent someone to deliver a message saying that Orochimaru had not only shown himself, but seemed to have set his sights on an Uchiha descendant and had even clashed with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. That was why he had urged Jiraiya to return as soon as possible.
But Jiraiya had never revealed his itinerary to anyone, much less stated outright that he was returning specifically because of Orochimaru.
Then how had they guessed?
Could Orochimaru have already caused quite a commotion in the village?
"How did you come to ask that?" Jiraiya's tone carried a hint of interrogation.
Seeing that something was amiss, Ibiki immediately took over, his voice low. "Lord Jiraiya, you may not know this yet, but a great many things happened during these Chunin Exams. Orochimaru did indeed appear, but he was defeated by a genin. Of course, only a few of us examiners and Lord Hokage know about this."
"What? Who was it?" Jiraiya was genuinely shocked now.
Defeated Orochimaru?
What kind of joke was that?!
As one of the Legendary Three Ninja who had once stood alongside Orochimaru, even Jiraiya would not dare claim he could defeat him.
A genin... it was hard to imagine.
Anko took a deep breath. "His name is Naruto Uzumaki. He's a genin participating in this year's Chunin Exams."
"These exams produced two