Jiraiya, From Now On, You Are Konoha's Enemy

The good news is that Uchiha Madara has not been resurrected.

The bad news is that Uchiha Madara's ancestor has returned.

However, upon hearing the words of Uchiha Yoru, the Nine-Tails, despite its inner terror, flew into a towering rage on the surface.

Ever since that giant Susanoo appeared, it had not stepped a single foot outside, and it had even stopped releasing chakra to harass Naruto, yet someone had still come knocking at its door.

This was beyond what any beast could endure!

"You damn human brat, I'll kill you with my own hands right now!"

The Nine-Tails struck a pose, preparing to launch an attack, only to suddenly remember the reality that it was currently sealed.

Its fury surged even higher, and its resentment toward humans deepened.

Especially... the blond-haired man who had suddenly appeared before its eyes.

"Namikaze Minato!!!!"

The Nine-Tails roared, its eyes fixed on Namikaze Minato, who wore the Hokage Cloak, with burning hatred. Its two front paws gripped the cage bars tightly, wishing it could tear Namikaze Minato to shreds this instant!

In the heart of the Nine-Tails, there wasn't a single good human, especially those surnamed Uchiha and those with yellow hair; they were all prime examples of people who didn't act like humans!!

Uchiha Yoru frowned, then cast a cold glance at Namikaze Minato.

His Sharingan rotated slightly, and a terrifying ocular power erupted in an instant.

"Oh no!"

Namikaze Minato felt a jolt of alarm. Just as he tried to react, he felt the world spin around him.

The scene before him twisted rapidly, and immediately after, an endless darkness swallowed his consciousness.

This chakra consciousness residing within Naruto could not, after all, withstand ocular power on the level of Indra, and it was suppressed in an instant.

Uchiha Yoru withdrew his gaze coldly.

"Next, it's your turn, Nine-Tails."

The Nine-Tails bared its fangs, its gaze filled with resentment, yet it faintly betrayed a trace of unease.

"Hmph, don't get cocky, brat."

Though it refused to admit defeat, it already understood that the Uchiha Yoru before it was by no means a being it could provoke at will.

Golden chains suddenly emerged from thin air, darting toward Uchiha Yoru like slithering snakes.

"Sealing Technique: Adamantine Sealing Chains!"

The chains tore through the air, attempting to bind Uchiha Yoru.

Uchiha Yoru sneered, the skeletal frame of his Susanoo manifesting instantly, and with a wave of his hand, he shattered all the chains with a thunderous crash.

"Trifling tricks."

His gaze instantly locked onto the source, and the figure of Uzumaki Kushina emerged.

However, before she could even react, her pupils constricted sharply.

Uchiha Yoru's powerful mental energy crushed down directly; Uzumaki Kushina didn't even have time to let out a cry before she lost consciousness instantly.

The Nine-Tails stared at this scene, dumbfounded, the spark of resistance that had just ignited extinguished in an instant.

"Don't come over here!!!"

It screamed frantically in its heart, but its body remained frozen, as if shackled by fear.

Uchiha Yoru walked slowly toward the Nine-Tails, his gaze icy.

"A beast should have the self-awareness of a beast."

The Nine-Tails' form trembled slightly, its red pupils filled with terror.

Yet, its struggle was ultimately in vain.

Under the ocular power of the Sharingan, the Nine-Tails fell once more into a boundless world of genjutsu.

Outside.

Uchiha Yoru withdrew his consciousness to find the gargantuan beast before him, its presence having already crushed the surrounding buildings.

Uchiha Yoru frowned, thinking to himself: It is not yet time to make use of the Nine-Tails...

He calmly instructed the Nine-Tails to shrink its size using the Transformation Technique, then ordered it to assist his shadow clone in delivering meals to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire!

As for the collapsed buildings, Yamato would just have to endure a little grievance.

No, how could he call his leader's actions a "grievance"? That should be a value consistent with the Will of Fire!

After giving his orders, Uchiha Yoru strode toward the Uchiha compound.

Along the way, he encountered many Konoha villagers, all of whom looked at him with fearful eyes, addressing him in tones of awe: "Lord Fifth Hokage."

Uchiha Yoru nodded, but he cared nothing for it in his heart.

He knew that in the eyes of these villagers, there was more fear than true respect.

But he did not care.

Uchiha Yoru was not soft-hearted like the former Konoha F4.

In his view, that kind of benevolent policy toward commoners was simply anti-human.

The strong naturally possess certain privileges; of course, there must still be rules.

To him, any existence that deviates from the Will of Fire is destined to be eradicated.

One only needs to look at the past of Konoha to know that many outstanding ninjas were slandered by commoners.

The inherently evil Konoha F4 were truly guilty of heinous crimes!

Just as Uchiha Yoru fell into deep thought, a tall, white-haired man suddenly appeared before him.

"You must be the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Yoru, right?" The man's words carried an air of unbridled freedom.

Uchiha Yoru stopped in his tracks, his gaze fixed steadily on this person who had appeared so suddenly, a flash of profound contemplation crossing his eyes.

Jiraiya, meanwhile, scrutinized Uchiha Yoru without any attempt at concealment, his eyes holding a complex expression.

No one could have imagined that this youth with outstanding looks and an extraordinary bearing was actually the true culprit behind the "Night of Clan Extermination"!

That is correct; the Night of Clan Extermination referred to the clans of the Konoha F4.

Recalling the intelligence he had received earlier, Jiraiya could not help but feel a chill; according to the reports, over several thousand people had died that night!

He had only chosen to return to the village to investigate the situation after learning of the drastic changes in Konoha.

During this period, he had originally wanted to call for Princess Tsunade to return to the village with him, but she had her own intelligence channels. Although she felt a touch of emotion regarding the death of Sarutobi Hiruzen, she had no interest in Konoha's political power.

As long as the village of Konoha wasn't destroyed, whatever happened had absolutely nothing to do with Princess Tsunade!

"Speak!"

Uchiha Yoru's tone was calm, yet it carried a trace of unquestionable pressure.

Jiraiya stared at him, his eyes deep: "That behemoth from just a moment ago, if I am not mistaken, it was the Nine-Tails, right?"

He paused, his brows furrowed, his voice sounding slightly low: "The seal was clearly very stable before; it was you who released the Nine-Tails, wasn't it? Then, as for Naruto..."

Jiraiya did not care about the life or death of the so-called high-ranking officials, and Sarutobi Hiruzen's passing only left a faint sense of melancholy in his heart.

Even if he held respect, it was merely out of deference to his former teacher's status.

But this time, his purpose in returning to the village went far beyond mourning the old.

Through his observations over the past few days, he discovered that the maintenance of order in Konoha was very stable, even more so than when the Third Hokage was in office.

Moreover, apart from those whose clans were exterminated, this rumored cold-blooded Fifth Hokage did not seem to be targeting anyone else.

However, what Jiraiya cared about most at this moment was the child left behind by his disciple—Uzumaki Naruto.

But before he could finish his sentence, he was coldly interrupted by Uchiha Yoru: "How Naruto is doing? What does that have to do with you?"

"Do you have the qualifications to point fingers here?"

Uchiha Yoru's gaze was icy, and his tone was filled with pressure: "Did you take care of him? Or have you even visited him personally?"

"As the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, I naturally have the right to control the Tailed Beast within the village!"

"As a ninja of Konoha, it was one thing for you to use your flimsy excuses to wander the ninja world and never return."

"Now that I have assumed the position of Fifth Hokage, you have returned."

"But what I see in your eyes is not loyalty, but suspicion!"

"Jiraiya, from this moment on, you are an enemy of Konoha!!!"