"Jiraiya, Konoha and our village are allies. Hiruko is a Missing-nin who came from Konoha. You won't just stand by and do nothing, will you?"
Ebizo pressed him with a stern expression.
There was no helping it. Akatsuki had sent only three people, yet they had already abducted Gaara from their village. And from the intelligence Jiraiya had relayed, it was clear that Uchiha Itachi, Kisame Hoshigaki, and the others—whose fame and strength far surpassed Hiruko and Sasori of the Red Sands—had not even made a move yet!
Jiraiya folded his arms and said righteously, "Don't worry. I'll report this to the Hokage immediately and ask her to send people to help you!"
Ebizo frowned. What he had truly wanted was for Jiraiya to act personally!
But the other man was one of Konoha's Sannin, with a lofty status!
The one who had been taken this time was Gaara, who had once wreaked havoc in Konoha and nearly caused a disaster. Jiraiya's promise to ask the Hokage for help was already more than generous enough.
As for their so-called alliance, Ebizo was not naive enough to bring it up.
"In that case, thank you, Jiraiya."
Ebizo thanked him.
"It's nothing." Jiraiya waved a hand.
After arranging their lodging, Jiraiya immediately wrote a letter and sent word back to Konoha through a secret channel, requesting that Tsunade dispatch reinforcements.
"Pervy Sage, let me take part in this rescue operation too!" Naruto said with a solemn expression.
Jiraiya looked at Naruto and said seriously, "Are you sure? Don't forget, you're one of their targets too!"
"That's exactly why I need to take part!" Naruto shouted. "Pervy Sage, you brought me around the Ninja World to train because you wanted me to have enough strength to face them, right?! Now is the best