After arranging the three's Breathing Technique training, Orochimaru lightly pushed off the ground and leapt up to a treetop.
He glanced at the white-haired, middle-aged man crouching on a tree trunk and asked, "How long have you been here? Did you hear everything I said about the Breathing Technique?"
"No, no, I just got here."
Jiraiya hurriedly shook his head, but when he met Orochimaru's gloomy gaze, he scratched his head sheepishly and let out a laugh like a rattling bell.
"Hahaha... All right, I've been here for a while. So what if I heard you? You wouldn't keep such a great Taijutsu technique from me, would you?"
To Jiraiya's surprise, Orochimaru actually nodded. "You could use some training in it. The Breathing Technique suits you."
In truth, Orochimaru was curious about what would happen if Jiraiya, who could practice Senjutsu, trained the Breathing Technique until he reached Total Concentration Constant.
Would Jiraiya still need to summon the two Toad Elders every time he entered Sage Mode?
Hearing Orochimaru say that, Jiraiya sobered up a little and nodded. "All right."
"You came back quickly this time." Orochimaru looked toward the Hokage Office Building, a trace of mockery on his lips. "Looks like the Old Man was in a hurry to call you back."
"Given what happened, the Old Man has his reasons."
Jiraiya sighed as if he'd thought of something, but quickly composed himself. "Orochimaru, you're acting a little strange today."
Most noticeably, he was talking a lot.
Usually, Jiraiya was the one who started every conversation between them.
"Am I?" Orochimaru tilted his head, thinking it might be because he was missing a certain chatterbox.
"I get it. You still want to become Hokage, and you want me to support you."
Jiraiya shook his head with a Conan-like expression. "I know what you've done for the village, but the Hokage... you'll never get past the Old Man."
"Hehehe..."
Orochimaru chuckled darkly, his laugh so chilling that it made one's hair stand on end and sent a shiver down the spine. Only then did he slowly speak.
"Once Minato became Hokage, I lost interest in the position."
"But you're not wrong about one thing. I do need your help."
Hearing Orochimaru mention his student, Jiraiya's mood sank. "What do you want me to help with?"
"Stay in the village and look after the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
Orochimaru grinned and licked his lips. "He's Minato and Kushina's child. As it happens, you have a connection to him, too."
Jiraiya was tempted, but after thinking it over, he shook his head. "No, I can't agree to that."
Then he asked, puzzled, "That's what you want my help with?"
Orochimaru wore a faint smile. "That's right. You said it yourself: the Old Man has his reasons.
He doesn't trust me, but he trusts you."
That wasn't the real reason—or rather, it was only an insignificant part of it.
Orochimaru hoped to see Naruto, who possessed the Uzumaki Bloodline and the Yang Release half of the Nine-Tails, grow up quickly and help complete his Sage Body.
Now, he had another reason as well: to observe what happened to Jiraiya when he practiced both Senjutsu and the Breathing Technique.
If Jiraiya left the village, neither goal would be possible.
Jiraiya paused, moved by Orochimaru's words. He gave the matter serious thought, then, unusually, spoke with complete earnestness.
"I can't promise to stay in the village. I have to find the Child of Prophecy from the Great Toad Sage's prophecy and guide him to make the right choices about bringing change to the Shinobi World."
"You're serious?"
Orochimaru looked deeply at Jiraiya. His eyes now were much like Orochimaru's had been when he pursued immortality.
In that moment, Orochimaru understood his companion's feelings. Jiraiya had made finding the Child of Prophecy his life's work.
Orochimaru suddenly remembered the judgment Genie had once made about Jiraiya during a casual conversation.
Genie had said that Jiraiya was a capable shinobi who believed in his comrades and friends, but that there was one person he didn't believe in: himself.
Even though the Shinobi World hailed him as one of the Sannin, he had never thought that he, too, possessed the power to change the world.
"Of course." Jiraiya spoke with conviction.
Orochimaru abruptly said, "If you'd been this devoted to Tsunade, Dan wouldn't have beaten you to her back then."
Jiraiya's earnest expression vanished in an instant, and he began to sigh. "Yeah, but what's the point of bringing it up now? You can't beat a dead man."
"True. Anyway, back to business. Given the current situation, stay in the village a while longer."
Orochimaru still hadn't given up. "The Old Man is holding a meeting in the next few days to discuss the village's reconstruction with the various clans. You should attend as well."
Jiraiya furrowed his brows at the request.
The day after tomorrow, at noon.
Outside the Hokage Building, Fugaku Uchiha stopped. His face was taut and expressionless, weighed down by worry.
The Uchiha Clan had fallen on hard times recently.
During the Nine-Tails Incident, the area ravaged by the beast had been close to the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters. The nearby clan compound had also been damaged, and some ordinary clan members had been lost. But afterward, they'd been assigned to evacuate civilians and hadn't joined the fight against the Nine-Tails, so the clan's shinobi had suffered almost no casualties.
Compared with the other clans and civilian shinobi, who had suffered terribly, the Uchiha Clan had emerged unscathed—and that made them stand out far too much.
On top of that, a rumor had begun spreading among the people, no one knew how long ago.
Decades earlier, the village had faced another "Tailed Beast Disaster," when the Nine-Tails had been used as a weapon. Madara Uchiha had controlled the Nine-Tails at the time, and after that battle, the First's injuries had greatly shortened his life, causing him to die young.
Once again, the Nine-Tails had attacked the village, and once again, a Hokage had died.
With certain people fanning the flames, the Uchiha Clan's reputation had become rotten overnight.
Fugaku Uchiha sighed softly.
In theory, as clan head, he should have stepped forward to counter the rumors and sworn to capture the criminal who had controlled the Nine-Tails, clearing his clan's name. But... the one who had controlled the Nine-Tails really was an Uchiha.
And he was still at large, his whereabouts shrouded in mystery.
Fugaku Uchiha had taken people to investigate the site where the Fourth Hokage had fought him. Yet even with the Sharingan's keen vision, they couldn't find a single trace, let alone determine how the man had escaped.
That meant they didn't even have a chance to eliminate a rogue ninja and distance the clan from him.
So Fugaku Uchiha didn't dare say anything. It would only confirm the rumors and make the clan's situation worse.
"Phew..."
Fugaku Uchiha let out a deep breath, suppressing his feelings. He pushed open the meeting room door and swept his gaze around the hall.
At the head of the long table sat the Third Hokage, with the two Hokage Advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, beside him.
The other clan heads already seated were all prominent Konoha families, including the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, who usually stuck together, and the Aburame Clan...
Suddenly, Fugaku Uchiha's gaze paused on a pale-faced man. The man seemed to notice and answered with a sinister smile. Beside him stood a middle-aged man with white hair.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya, two of the Sannin.
Fugaku Uchiha hadn't expected them to attend today.
"This meeting won't be easy to get through."
As if to confirm his suspicions, Danzo emerged from one side of the meeting room and spread a map of Konoha across the long table.
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