Intel Sent Back, Jiraiya Shocked

"How are you, Kakashi?"

"Can you open your eye now?"

Kakashi clutched the eye streaming tears of blood and wearily steadied himself.

"No. Not yet."

Itachi wiped his eyes dry, and they changed back into the three-tomoe form.

"Kisame, pull out."

Leaf Strong Whirlwind

The two had only just flickered away when a green figure slammed a foot down onto the spot where they had been standing.

His jonin vest sat perfectly straight on him, and his big white teeth gleamed in the sunlight.

It was Konoha's Noble Blue Beast—Might Guy, on the scene.

Kisame glanced from the corner of his eye at the oddly dressed weirdo behind them and curiously asked Itachi who he was.

"The previous generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist was scattered by his father's kicks."

"Right now, he's only stronger than his father, not weaker."

Kisame clicked his tongue, feeling he had underestimated Konoha, the number one village in the Ninja World.

"With the two of us together, the target is too big. Head to the outskirts of Konoha first and get ready to receive me."

"I need to confirm the intel on the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, and pay a visit to my foolish little brother while I'm at it."

Kisame grinned and did not question such a clumsy excuse. Leaving the mission aside, he still admired Itachi greatly.

The two parted ways in the forest.

This time, with no Kisame watching him, Itachi's steps were noticeably lighter.

Because he had always maintained a direct line of contact with Sarutobi Hiruzen before, Itachi had no choice but to first use a crow to test Jiraiya's attitude.

Under the control of the Mangekyo, a secretly hidden Anbu was easily swapped out, and a crow cleverly flew past the window outside the Hokage's office building.

Jiraiya, who was studying the crystal ball, keenly noticed the detail. Without letting anything show, he narrowed his eyes and put the crystal ball away.

He created a Shadow Clone that swaggered out of the office and headed for a secret stronghold.

In the underground room beneath the tree roots, Jiraiya suddenly used the Body Flicker to pin the Anbu behind him against the wall.

The masked Anbu cooperatively raised both hands, indicating he posed no threat.

"Talk. Who are you? Why do you know the old man's private signal?"

Under Jiraiya's gaze, the Anbu slowly removed his mask with his right hand.

"It's me, Lord Jiraiya."

"Uchiha Itachi! Aren't you..."

"I see. So all of you fooled everyone."

Uchiha Itachi relaxed. The situation he had worried about most had not occurred.

If Jiraiya was willing to communicate, that was the best possible outcome.

In the basement, he explained the details of the night of the clan massacre.

"You can also ask Advisor Danzo about the truth of the matter, if he's willing to talk."

Jiraiya nodded slightly. When it came to intelligence, he still had confidence in himself.

"Then did something change to make you come back this time?"

"Yes. After leaving Konoha, I joined an organization called Akatsuki."

"Oh?" Jiraiya's interest was piqued. "That organization made up entirely of high-level rogue ninja?"

"Lord Jiraiya knows about them?"

"Hahaha... Don't underestimate my intelligence network."

Jiraiya composed himself and asked solemnly, "That said, I still need you to explain their specific situation in detail."

Itachi fell silent for a moment, organizing his words.

"The leader of Akatsuki is named Pain. He possesses the legendary Rinnegan. Every member has their own code name and ring, which allow them to contact one another from a distance."

After saying this, he also showed the one on his hand.

"Almost every member is an S-rank rogue ninja from one village or another. Among them are Sasori of the Red Sands from Sunagakure, the Kirigakure freak Kisame... and others."

"From what I've observed, most of the people in the organization each have their own agendas. At present, the organization's target is the Tailed Beasts of the various villages."

Itachi paused for a while, then continued.

"Orochimaru was once a member of Akatsuki as well, but later left. As for Aoike, who previously cooperated with Orochimaru, he is now a reserve member of Akatsuki."

Jiraiya was so shocked by this information that he could not speak.

His thoughts were in complete disarray.

The Rinnegan?

Weren't those Nagato's eyes? Could they have been taken from him? Or perhaps the leader of the Akatsuki was Nagato!

Orochimaru had joined the Akatsuki before too? And Aoike was also there... Was Konoha some kind of training base for the Akatsuki? Were their targets the Tailed Beasts of each village?

Forcibly suppressing the guesses in his heart, he looked at Itachi.

"Describe the Akatsuki leader's appearance to me."

"Of course. Yellow hair, jawline..."

It was Yahiko!

As he listened to Itachi's description, it was as if someone had suddenly clenched his heart, as though an unseen black hand were watching hungrily from the shadows.

"Lord Jiraiya, is something wrong? Please correct me if so."

Itachi looked at Jiraiya's shifting expression and asked with some curiosity.

"It's nothing. It's just that some things may be worse than I imagined."

"Itachi, your information is very valuable."

"With the Rinnegan and designs on the Tailed Beasts, this is no ordinary organization anymore."

"From now on, gather as much intelligence on the Akatsuki as you can. If there's anything you need, just bring it up."

The two chatted about many more things after that, and once everything had been confirmed, Jiraiya's Shadow Clone immediately dispersed.

Sitting in the office, Jiraiya frowned. What he worried about most was something going wrong with the prophesied child of destiny.

But right now, he had to hold the village together and had no way to investigate personally.

He still had to find Tsunade and bring her back to Konoha as soon as possible. Otherwise, the Ninja World was definitely going to face serious trouble.

Originally, he had planned to hand Konoha back to Tsunade in another two years. Now it seemed he had to speed things up.

He took a drag from the cigarettes the old man had left behind and sorted out his thoughts.

Jiraiya turned his attention back to official business.

Time waited for no one. He had to speed up the handling of tumors like Root and the council of elders.

A cold glint flashed through his eyes. It was just right to make the matter bigger; when the time came, he could resign to take responsibility and let power transition smoothly.

But he could not be too extreme either, or it would affect the Hokage's authority.

Then he would strive to clean everything up within a year, and afterward go probe the Akatsuki's true foundation.

As the pen in his hand kept reviewing documents, Jiraiya began dealing with official duties ahead of schedule, and in his shadow, there was already a hint of Sarutobi Hiruzen's seasoned bearing.