"Oh-ho-ho! There they are, there they are! Wonderful, wonderful! Konoha really is the best—the average score is so high!"
From the rooftop of the Hokage's Office came a lecherous laugh. A man in a kimono, with long white hair and a Headband bearing the character for "oil" on his forehead, was none other than Jiraiya the Gallant, one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin. At that moment, Jiraiya was crouched on the rooftop railing, holding a pair of binoculars as he spied on the women's bathhouse and let out lecherous chuckles.
"You're at it again, doing something so pointless." A voice came from behind Jiraiya. Interrupted, he lowered his binoculars and glanced back.
"Hmph! This is research. Oh, it's Uncle Homura and Teacher Koharu. What do the two advisors want with me?"
"Do you really need to ask? You should know without us having to tell you!"
Jiraiya stood and turned to look seriously at Konoha's two advisors. Then his expression shifted, and he spoke casually. "Don't look so scary. I heard the negotiations with Sand Village have already concluded!"
"Orochimaru was behind all of this. Sand Village had nothing to do with it, and they've already announced their unconditional surrender to Konoha, so the negotiations no longer matter. From Konoha's perspective, we have no choice but to accept their proposal if we're to restore our strength. But Konoha is very weak right now. Our top priority is to prepare for the possibility of an even greater crisis. Any neighboring country could make a bold move at any moment. So, until the village regains its strength, we've decided to recruit elite shinobi from each unit and form an Emergency Executive Committee to respond to any potential crisis. But first, we need a powerful leader we can trust. Conflict could break out anywhere at any time—not just because of Orochimaru, but also..." Mitokado Homura continued, but Jiraiya cut him off.
"You don't need to go out of your way to explain all that to me. Anyway, I'm going back to my research." Jiraiya turned around, took out his binoculars again, and prepared to resume spying.
"Let me tell you our plan first. We need a Fifth Hokage. At yesterday's emergency meeting with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, we decided that you, Jiraiya, would take the position." Utatane Koharu spoke to him.
"Sorry, but I'm not suited to the job." Without turning around, Jiraiya waved a hand to refuse.
"That's already been decided. If you, one of the Legendary Sannin, aren't suited to be Hokage, who is?"
"There's another one of the Sannin, isn't there? Tsunade!"
"Hmm?" Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged glances.
"That's right. Tsunade certainly has what it takes, but no one knows where she is now."
"Then I'll go find her. Compared to me, who has no enthusiasm for the job, the sharp-witted Tsunade is much better suited to be Hokage. What do you think?"
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged glances, then replied to Jiraiya, "Understood. We'll give it some thought as soon as possible. But we'll be assigning three Anbu to accompany you as part of the Tsunade Search Team."
"Don't worry. I won't run away, so there's no need to send anyone to watch me. But... I'd like to bring someone along. I've found a very interesting newcomer." After speaking, Jiraiya abandoned his plans to keep spying and left the Hokage's Office to find Naruto.
At that moment, two unexpected visitors had arrived on the outer wall of Konoha. They wore Black-Red Cloud Robes and hats, and one of them carried a huge weapon wrapped in bandages on his back. They were Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki of the Akatsuki Organization. Standing atop the wall, they looked down over Konoha.
"Though it avoided destruction, it still suffered heavy damage. I can hardly believe this was once such a prosperous village... What a pity." Uchiha Itachi sighed as he looked at the badly damaged village.
"That's unlike you. Even you must feel attached to your hometown," Kisame remarked.
"No... I don't feel attached to it." Itachi remained expressionless, showing no emotion at having returned to his hometown.
"So, what do we do now?"
"Go into the village. Follow me." Itachi leaped down from the wall, and Kisame followed. After they landed, they headed toward the village. When they reached Konoha Gate, Itachi knocked out the guards with a genjutsu.
Once they entered the village, none of the villagers noticed them.
"Where are we going now? Straight to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"
"No. Come with me somewhere first." Itachi headed off in a particular direction.
"All right, your call." Kisame had no choice but to follow.
Meanwhile, Chen hadn't gone to train at the Laboratory these past two days. Instead, he'd stayed home. Today was no different. When he got up, Sasuke had already left, and Chen went into the courtyard alone to bask in the sun.
"Man, I'm so bored! Sasuke sure is diligent, heading out first thing in the morning. Now I'm stuck here all by myself with nothing to do." With nothing better to do, Chen lay down in the corridor of the courtyard, hoping to sunbathe and nap at the same time.
Just then, Chen sensed someone watching him from somewhere nearby, and the system immediately alerted him: "Reminder: Host is under surveillance. Would you like to receive an image?"
"Could Danzo have sent someone to watch me again?" Unsure who it was, Chen didn't dare make a move. He kept lying there, pretending to sleep. "System, send me an image of the person watching me."
"Ding! Image sent!"
As soon as the system's chime sounded, an image appeared in Chen's mind. Two people were standing in a tree outside Chen and Sasuke's home, watching him.
"Is that him? I see!" Chen realized who the visitors were and thought in surprise.
"Hey, I heard you have two younger brothers. Is this one of them? He looks nothing like you!"
"Tch! A useless failure, not worth using for anything. I should've sent him to reunite with our parents back then. Now, he isn't even worthy of dying by my hand." Itachi stared expressionlessly at Chen, who was sleeping below with drool running from his mouth, and spoke coldly. But that wasn't what he truly thought. I'm sorry, Chen! I never thought you'd end up like this, but maybe this is for the best. Rather than being recruited into Root and turned into a tool who only obeys orders and has no feelings, I'd rather let you live carefree like this. The Third Hokage kept his promise and protected Sasuke, not letting Danzo's men take him away. Otherwise...
Seeing Chen's foolish appearance, Itachi felt deeply guilty. He truly didn't want to stay there any longer.
"Let's go!" With that, he left with Kisame.
"Have they gone?" After Itachi and Kisame left, Chen sat up in the corridor and wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.
"Hmph! Uchiha Itachi. The old Third Hokage had only just been killed by Orochimaru, and he couldn't wait to come back? He must want Konoha's higher-ups to know he's alive, so he can protect Sasuke. He really is a devoted big brother!" Chen sneered inwardly as he watched Itachi leave.
Chen knew Danzo was the true culprit behind the Night of the Massacre, but Itachi had still been the one to carry it out. He didn't hate Itachi the way Sasuke did, but whenever he thought of Itachi killing Mikoto, he couldn't forgive him either.
After leaving Chen and Sasuke's home, Itachi and Kisame entered a Tea House. Kakashi happened to be waiting outside for Sasuke. Seeing Itachi in a Black-Red Cloud Robe, he grew suspicious of his identity, but didn't act immediately.
Just then, Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi, who had just lost his father, came walking toward them. Seeing the two, Kakashi teased them, "Hey, you two seem pretty close!" (I really hate this chain-smoking idiot!)
"Idiot! Anko asked me to come buy her some Dango. We just happened to run into each other!" Kurenai blushed and explained.
"What about you? What are you doing here alone?" Asuma Sarutobi, who had just lost his father, asked Kakashi.
"Oh, nothing much. I came to buy some offerings, and I'm waiting for someone..." Kakashi glanced at Itachi, who was drinking tea inside the Tea House. "I'm waiting for Sasuke."
At the mention of Sasuke's name, Itachi's hand trembled slightly as he held up his cup.
"Oh! It's rare for you to be waiting for someone. Are the offerings for Obito?" Asuma Sarutobi, who had just lost his father, asked.
"Yeah."
Just then, Sasuke arrived at the Tea House. Seeing Kakashi, he said in surprise, "Kakashi, you got here first? That's rare!"
"Just this once!" When Kakashi glanced toward Itachi's seat again, he found that Itachi had disappeared. Then he looked at Kurenai and Asuma Sarutobi, who was mourning his father, and gave them a signal. The two understood, nodded slightly to Kakashi, and darted off in pursuit.
Kurenai and Asuma Sarutobi, who had just lost his father, intercepted Itachi and Kisame on a riverbank.
"You two aren't from Konoha, are you? What are you here for?" Asuma, whose father had died, demanded.
"It's been a long time, Mr. Asuma. Miss Kurenai."
"You know us, so you must have been a shinobi of the village."
Itachi raised a hand and removed his hat, revealing his Sharingan. Kurenai and Asuma, whose father had died, exclaimed in shock, "You're..."
"There's no mistake. You're Uchiha Itachi!"
Before you continue