Konoha, Chunin Exams Arena.
"Old man... can you still hold on?"
Standing atop the roof of the Chunin Exams arena, Jiraiya was in a complete mess. With a bitter smile on his face, he looked at the equally battered Third Hokage beside him.
What differed about this Konoha Crush Plan from the original storyline was that, because Jiraiya had returned to Konoha, the Third Hokage had not sacrificed his life to use the sealing technique, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Instead, he and Jiraiya had joined forces to defeat Orochimaru, forcing him to retreat with the Sound Ninja.
"I'm fine. This old life of mine has been spared..."
"It's just that I never imagined Orochimaru would become like this... If only I'd hardened my heart and killed him back then..."
Hearing Jiraiya's concern, the Third Hokage panted softly. Already old and frail, the intense battle just now and the massive chakra expenditure had left him looking as though he could collapse at any moment.
Looking down to see Konoha's ninja had already finished fighting and were cleaning up the destruction caused by Orochimaru and the Sand Ninja's joint invasion, a pained expression surfaced on the Third Hokage's face.
"Orochimaru..."
Murmuring the name under his breath, Jiraiya beside him also fell silent. Failing to stop Orochimaru in time when he betrayed Konoha had been the greatest regret of his life.
"After this incident, perhaps it's time for me to retire as well..."
Looking at the village that had once again been damaged after this Konoha Crush Plan, the Third Hokage gathered himself, dusted off his clothes, and sighed. Next, he still had to lead Konoha's reconstruction and handle the aftermath of Sunagakure's ninja surrender.
"Jiraiya, if you truly refuse to become the Fifth Hokage, then go and bring Tsunade back for