Jiraiya's Generosity

The day after Lin Mu continued his dedicated training.

In the middle of a desolate desert wasteland, several figures quickly gathered together.

Judging by their attire and the symbols on their Forehead Protectors,

they were ninjas from Sunagakure!

A moment later, they stopped atop a massive boulder. Beside it lay a huge crater.

The crater was surrounded on all sides by enormous rocks.

Such a place was common in this desolate wasteland, yet also extremely well concealed.

Once nearly all his teammates had arrived, the ninja who had been waiting on the boulder gestured with his hand and said,

"It's here..."

The other ninjas followed his gesture and looked down into the crater.

But when they saw what lay at the bottom...

The ninjas trembled all over in unison and clenched their fists tightly. Their faces all showed uncontrollable fury.

At the bottom of the crater lay three corpses, with countless mosquitoes and flies swarming over them.

One of the corpses wore a white robe and a blue conical hat, with the character for "wind" written on it.

This corpse was none other than the Kazekage of Sunagakure, in the Land of Wind!

"He's been dead for quite some time. I'd guess he died before the Chunin Ninja Exams began!"

The ninja who had been waiting there from the start was also furious, but he forced himself to stay calm and analyze the situation.

"Is that so? So that's what happened..."

The ninja who was clearly the squad leader twisted his face and ground his teeth.

"Damn it, Orochimaru... After killing Lord Kazekage, Orochimaru or Kabuto must have impersonated him... I was too careless!"

Meanwhile, inside a dim and secluded building,

"Ah... ah..."

A low growl kept coming from within, like the hiss of a wounded snake.

Inside, Orochimaru's arms were tightly wrapped in white bandages. With Kabuto's help, he sat down in a chair, cursing incessantly.

"Damn it! Wretched Sarutobi!"

Standing respectfully before Orochimaru, Kabuto had silver hair all over his head, and the glasses on his face glinted.

His voice was calm, and a faint smile played on his face.

"It wasn't going to be that easy... After all, your opponent was the Hokage, called the strongest in the Five Great Nations. But you did a great job. You even took out two of the Five Kage..."

He was about to continue, but Orochimaru cut him off.

"Please don't... Don't say things that sound like you're comforting me. Be careful, or I'll kill you!"

Orochimaru's narrow, cold eyes, like a snake's, flashed with a sharp, chilling light.

Cold sweat instantly trickled down Kabuto's forehead, but his voice remained calm.

"Of course, that wasn't my intention... Although we didn't manage to conquer the village, you did achieve the other goal of the plan—Sasuke Uchiha. You've already put a collar around his neck!"

"Heh heh heh heh..."

At the mention of Sasuke Uchiha, Orochimaru seemed to grow excited, letting out a sinister chuckle.

"I traded my arms and all my ninjutsu for him... Come to think of it, if I could get my hands on that Itachi Uchiha, I'd have nothing to worry about... But that dream is impossible to realize, because he's even stronger than I am! That's why... I left that organization!"

At the mention of Itachi Uchiha, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, and the light in his pupils grew even more chilling.

In his mind appeared the image of a stern-faced man, the eerie red light of the Sharingan shining in his eyes.

That man even made him feel somewhat afraid!

On top of a mostly intact building in Konoha,

a tall man with spiky white hair on his head held a pair of binoculars, peering down at a place no man should have been watching.

"Ohhhhhh, heh heh heh heh heh heh heh..."

"Have they arrived? Hahahahahaha... Wonderful, wonderful!"

"As expected, the average level in Konoha Ninja Village is really high! Heh heh heh..."

Just as Jiraiya was getting absorbed in what he was watching, a slightly cold voice spoke up.

"Are you still doing something so ridiculous?"

Jiraiya shuddered, looking a little sheepish.

"It counts as research, at least... Oh, it's Uncle Homura and Teacher Koharu. What do the advisors want with me?"

Mitokado Homura remained expressionless and said flatly,

"What do you think? You already know, don't you?"

"..."

Jiraiya slowly stood up and turned to face the two senior advisors, folding his arms and putting on a serious expression.

But a few seconds later, he couldn't help smiling.

He said with a grin, "You don't have to look so scary. The negotiations with Sunagakure went smoothly, didn't they?"

But the two advisors weren't swayed by Jiraiya's smile.

Mitokado Homura spoke calmly.

"Sunagakure has announced publicly that everything was Orochimaru's doing. Besides, by the time Sunagakure declared its unconditional surrender to Konoha, negotiations had already become much less important."

Advisor Utatane Koharu glanced at Jiraiya, then picked up where Mitokado Homura had left off.

"As far as Konoha is concerned, in order to rebuild our national strength, we can only accept the offer."

The two elders had worked together for many years and were in perfect sync. As soon as Utatane Koharu finished speaking, Mitokado Homura continued.

"But... Konoha's strength has already fallen to a frighteningly low level. In this situation, our top priority must be to prepare for the possibility of an even greater crisis!"

Utatane Koharu fixed her gaze on Jiraiya.

"Therefore, before the village's strength recovers, we've decided to gather several leaders from the various divisions and establish an Emergency Executive Committee to deal with any eventuality. But first, we need a powerful leader we can trust..."

"I believe I've already told you that I have no interest in the position... And I've already nominated Tsunade as the Fifth Hokage..."

Jiraiya now understood what the two elders meant, but he had no interest whatsoever in becoming the Fifth Hokage, so he refused at once.

"Jiraiya!"

The two elders' expressions grew even more serious, and their voices took on a sterner tone.

"But Tsunade is nowhere to be found. If you won't take on the role of Hokage, then who else..."

Jiraiya had a fiery temper, and this conversation had already worn away his patience.

He raised a hand to cut the two elders off.

"All right, all right! I have a general idea where Tsunade is. I'll set out to find her in a couple of days!"

Then he left without looking back.

"You..."

The two elders were furious too, but there was nothing they could do.

Jiraiya had both the strength and the prestige for the job, but he was simply too free-spirited.

Perhaps he really wasn't suited to take on the heavy responsibility of becoming the Fifth Hokage...

Besides, if he didn't want the job, no one could force him!