Jiraiya's ultimate move was, naturally, the Summoning Jutsu.
It was neither particularly strong nor particularly weak; the key depended on the strength of the Summoning Beast.
As one of the Three Great Sage Regions of the shinobi world, Mount Myōboku naturally had countless powerful toads, so Jiraiya had not lied to Naruto.
While Naruto followed Jiraiya in training the Summoning Jutsu, intelligence arrived from the border of the Land of Fire.
Hayate Gekko, one of the Chunin Exams examiners, had been killed near Kikyō Castle!
Knowing the news of Hayate Gekko's death could not be kept secret, Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned the Council of Elders, along with the Jonin instructors and Chunin Examiners involved with the Chunin Exams, to the Hokage Building to discuss the matter.
Upon learning of Hayate Gekko's death, quite a few ninja close to him were filled with righteous indignation, wishing they could fly straight to Kikyō Castle, find the murderer, and avenge him!
"Was it Orochimaru?" Anko Mitarashi asked through gritted teeth.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Kakashi.
Kakashi nodded. "In fact, on the day the Chunin preliminary matches ended, someone tried to harm Sasuke. I suspected he was an Otogakure spy planted in the village by Orochimaru, so I had Hayate follow him. I never expected..."
"Can we suspend the Chunin Exams and capture Orochimaru first?" someone suggested.
"Orochimaru is in the shadows while we are in the open. If we suspend the Chunin Exams, we'll have even less chance of catching him," Kakashi said.
Mitokado Homura, seated beside Hiruzen Sarutobi, suddenly spoke. "Since that person was an Otogakure spy, could Orochimaru also be connected to Otogakure?"
"Otogakure is a small ninja village established only in recent years," Hiruzen Sarutobi said. "They previously sought to form an alliance with us, so I sent Anbu to investigate,