Jiraiya's Return

Konoha, Hokage Building.

The Third quietly studied a file and murmured, "He might represent a change. There may still be a chance to ease the tension between the village and the Uchiha."

The name Uchiha Shiraha was clearly written on the file.

A handsome photo, unretouched, was pasted in the upper-right corner. Below it were records of everything Shiraha had done since enrolling in the Ninja Academy.

Every detail was listed, including the missions he had carried out and the evaluations he had received.

"Report! Lord Hokage, Lord Jiraiya has returned."

An Anbu appeared in the Hokage's office and reported that Jiraiya had returned to the village.

"Jiraiya's back? That's wonderful."

Ever since Orochimaru's defection, the Third had been distracted, and his overall condition had deteriorated considerably.

The repeated blows had left the Third with far less energy, and his control over the village was slipping.

Danzo's movements had grown more frequent. Root, hidden within the Anbu, had begun a series of measures to suppress the Uchiha under false pretenses.

"The village looks peaceful on the surface, but no one knows what's hidden beneath it."

The Third no longer had the energy to tend to Konoha's roots... He could only watch over the towering tree and protect the calm on its surface.

Konoha, Shiraha had just left a weapon shop when he ran into an Anbu.

"Lord Hokage wishes to see you."

Shiraha understood at once.

The Third's invitation had finally arrived.

Without another word, Shiraha followed the Anbu to the Hokage Building.

As he arrived at the entrance, someone familiar was already there.

"Itachi?"

What was he doing here?

This was unexpected.

"Looks like I need to reconsider the Third's intentions. Going by the timeline, Itachi shouldn't be promoted to Jōnin and join the Anbu until this time next year..."

Shiraha carefully recalled his memories of his previous life and pieced them together with recent events.

"After the Fourth Hokage's death, Danzo seized the opportunity to frame and betray Orochimaru, eliminating the greatest rival for the position of Fifth Hokage. Then he put pressure on the Uchiha, trying to provoke infighting and force the Third to step down..."

"Given that sequence of events, Danzo shouldn't be giving the Uchiha a chance to join the Anbu right now... So, was this the Third's doing, or a butterfly effect caused by me?"

The pieces gradually fell into place in Shiraha's mind, and he began to wonder what position the Third planned to assign him.

"Shiraha, were you summoned by Lord Hokage too?"

Itachi had noticed Shiraha and called out to him.

"Yeah. No idea what he wants us for."

Shiraha replied.

For now, he and Itachi were still publicly part of the same team, both serving in a Konoha Military Police Force squad.

Shisui hadn't contacted them lately, and they hadn't been sent on a mission for quite some time.

Escorted by the Anbu, Shiraha and Itachi entered the Third's office.

"Twelve Anbu... Do they really think I'm that dangerous?"

Shiraha silently sized up the Anbu hidden nearby.

Twelve Anbu, most of them elite in white—the Hokage's Shadow Guard, enough to mount a small-scale battle.

They were all concealed around the Third.

The last time Shiraha had met the Hokage, there had only been six.

Now their number had doubled, a clear sign of extreme distrust toward the Uchiha.

If he drew his sword now, he might be able to cut down a few Anbu, but it wouldn't affect the Third in the slightest.

He wondered how many of the Anbu were prepared to take a blade for the Third.

When he saw Shiraha and Itachi arrive, the Third smiled faintly. "You're here. I called you in because I'd like to give you some more responsibility. What do you think?"

"Just tell us what you need, Lord Hokage."

Itachi replied earnestly. Years of instruction at the Ninja Academy and several years under the village's Jōnin had taught him to deeply respect the Hokage.

Shiraha, however, said nothing. He simply waited for his assignment with a cold expression.

"The village plans to promote you to Special Jōnin. After a period of study and evaluation, you can become full Jōnin. What do you think? Are you confident?"

The Third asked with a smile.

"Yes."

Itachi was still caught off guard, but Shiraha answered.

He'd been hoping for a promotion, so of course he'd accept.

Special Jōnin meant being able to lead a team on missions independently.

"I'll do whatever you decide, Lord Hokage!"

Itachi added.

Any Uchiha with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan already had the strength of a Jōnin.

When they had plenty of chakra, ordinary Jōnin were helpless against Uchiha with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

They could see through Taijutsu, copy ninjutsu, and reflect genjutsu.

Bloodlines held a great deal of power in this world.

"I've decided to make Shiraha a Special Jōnin. He'll carry out the various missions assigned by the village."

"As for Itachi, he'll work with Shiraha for now. Once you meet the qualifications for Jōnin, I'll assign you specific positions."

The Third assigned Itachi and Shiraha to the same team.

Itachi was just over ten years old, a year ahead of Shiraha in becoming a Chunin, and had completed more missions. By seniority, he should have been team leader. But he was Uchiha Fugaku's son, and he hadn't made any effort to win the Third's favor.

So the Third made him Shiraha's second-in-command, putting the two of them together in a squad.

If Uchiha Fugaku hadn't insisted, the Third wouldn't have assigned Itachi a position at this point.

Just as he finished making the arrangements, someone suddenly barged in.

"Old man, long time no see!"

A middle-aged man with white hair and an eccentric outfit stood in the doorway. A large "oil" character was written on his forehead protector.

"You haven't changed a bit, have you? Still acting like a fool all the time! What brings you back? Surely you didn't come all this way just to visit an old man like me!"

The Third saw his beloved student Jiraiya, and his smile could no longer be contained.

The tension in his body eased, and he momentarily forgot that Shiraha and Itachi were standing right in front of him.

Shiraha studied one of the Sannin.

In terms of ninjutsu and combat ability, Jiraiya was probably the most versatile. Senjutsu outclassed ordinary ninjutsu in sheer quality.

His Toad summons could even wield swords, something rarely seen in the entire Naruto world.

"Of course I came to see you!"

Jiraiya said with a laugh.

"Now that you're back, I can finally step down, Jiraiya... You should've come back when Minato died..."

The Third spoke in a low voice, showing a weariness in front of others that he had never revealed before.

Jiraiya panicked. "I'm not cut out to be Hokage. I can't shoulder that burden. Go find Tsunade! Besides coming to see you, I came back because I want information on Orochimaru... I'll bring him back and let you deal with him!"

While traveling, Jiraiya had heard that Orochimaru had defected, and he had hurried back to the village at once.

He couldn't accept that Orochimaru, his longtime companion, had betrayed the village. Anyone else could betray it, but not Orochimaru!

Ever since they were children, Orochimaru had been the one he had always strived to catch up with!

This time would be no different.

"Orochimaru... The two standing in front of you know him well too. They're the last people in the village to have seen him." The Third, hearing why Jiraiya had returned, remembered the two young men before him.