Time passed quietly. A month had gone by since Tsunade returned to Konoha, yet Jiraiya still had not returned. With each passing day, Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart grew heavier. There was no news from the Anbu. The only intelligence worth noting was that at the border of the Land of Grass, some ninja had reported receiving a distress signal over a month ago. But when they arrived, they found nothing but the corpses of Iwagakure ninja.
In response, Hiruzen Sarutobi dispatched many Anbu to search the surrounding area, but they found no useful intelligence. This left him even more despairing. Deep down, he believed that Jiraiya might truly be dead—otherwise, why had he not returned to the village after so long? Moreover, keeping the Anbu searching for a single ninja over an extended period consumed enormous resources. Even as Hokage, he could not continue indefinitely. Under pressure from all sides, he recalled most of the Anbu ninja.
However, he had not completely given up. He ordered every Konoha outpost abroad to report immediately at the slightest sign of anything unusual.
Yet the repercussions of this incident were far from over.
The Second Mizukage had secretly infiltrated Iwagakure and caused tremendous chaos within the village, ultimately dragging the Second Tsuchikage and Iwagakure's most elite Shadow Kill Unit down with him.
While such a record demonstrated the Second Mizukage's formidable strength, it also indirectly exposed Iwagakure's current lack of power.
Thus, Kumogakure and Sunagakure sensed a possible opportunity. They frequently sent intelligence ninja to gather all kinds of information, attempting to infiltrate Iwagakure and obtain more detailed intelligence. Unfortunately, although Ōnoki had only just succeeded to the position of Third Tsuchikage, his control over the village was no weaker than his teacher's. Combined with the recent incident, the entire village was undergoing a