The Salamander's purest toxins gradually fused with the chakra inside Uchiha Chiba. The agony felt like his blood vessels were bursting, but it was nothing compared to the helplessness of being betrayed.
"Whew!" Uchiha Chiba slowly opened his eyes.
Where was he?
Uchiha Chiba looked around at the unfamiliar tent as memories surfaced in his mind. He remembered: when Hanzo the Salamander attacked him with Salamander Toxin, he had finally made it to Konoha's encampment.
"You're awake?" Jiraiya entered the tent carrying a basin of water. Smiling, he set it on a chair nearby, then sat on the bed opposite Uchiha Chiba.
"Mm..." This was the first time Uchiha Chiba had seen Jiraiya in person.
Wasn't the Jiraiya of now a completely different person from the Perverted Sage he'd become later?!
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Jiraiya," Jiraiya said.
"I'm Uchiha Chiba." Chiba blinked and looked at Jiraiya.
"Mm... Chiba, do you know how long you've been unconscious?" Jiraiya asked, rubbing his chin.
Uchiha Chiba shook his head.
Jiraiya smiled faintly. "A full seven days. Salamander Toxin had already taken over your body. Even Tsunade couldn't purge it. Unfortunately, it seems the chakra in your body will carry the Salamander's toxin for the rest of your life."
For Chiba, this wasn't much of a problem. After all, his dantian had been repaired using Salamander Toxin in the first place. Even if the toxin spread throughout his body, it would only make him stronger.
"It's fine..." Uchiha Chiba replied calmly.
But to Jiraiya, it was just Uchiha Chiba putting on a brave face. What had war brought them to? Even children like Chiba, barely into their teens, had to go to the battlefield. He had even risked his life to assassinate Amegakure's leader in the name of peace.
Just then,
footsteps sounded outside the tent.
A moment later,
Orochimaru and Tsunade pushed their way inside.
"Oh? The little brat finally woke up. If he hadn't, I was about to try my backup plan." Tsunade came over and pinched Chiba's cheek.
"Uchiha Chiba, right? I looked into your background. There's no record of you in Konoha. Are you really a member of the Uchiha Clan from Konoha?" A terrifying glint shone in Orochimaru's cold eyes, as if he might suddenly pounce at any moment.
Uchiha Chiba glanced at Orochimaru,
then slowly replied, "I'm an orphan from the Uchiha Clan. My parents died in the war, and I was left all alone... The people in my clan said that if I wanted to become Hokage and change all this, I had to go to the battlefield and kill. So I lived like that on the battlefield for a long time, until you came along... But... I lost my Forehead Protector during my fight with Hanzo the Salamander..."
Tsunade asked, "Kid, what did you just say your dream was?"
Her golden hair swayed in the breeze blowing into the tent.
"To become Hokage and end the war," Uchiha Chiba said firmly. That wasn't really his true goal, of course, but there was nothing wrong with becoming Hokage. It would also be a way to spite Danzo. Still, his real goal had always been to take down that old dog, Shimura Danzō.
Tsunade said nothing. She rose to her feet and gave Uchiha Chiba a long, deep look before leaving the tent.
"Did I do something?" Uchiha Chiba blinked.
"No. Tsunade's younger brother died in this war. That kid's dream was to become Hokage, too. Maybe she saw a bit of her brother in you," Jiraiya explained.
Then,
Orochimaru spoke again. "So you're an Uchiha the village doesn't recognize, then?"
"By the sound of it, yes," Uchiha Chiba nodded.
"Orochimaru, look at what war has brought us... Losing your home and family is the least of it... I'm getting more and more sick of war." Jiraiya let out a long sigh. After being influenced by Mount Myoboku's teachings, Jiraiya had come to hate war. Of course, he had a strong connection to Mount Myoboku as well.
In the original story, Jiraiya had indeed been something of a dead last as a child.
After completing the bell test, Jiraiya had yet to sign a Summoning Contract. He used the Summoning Jutsu on his own and was transported to Mount Myoboku, where he met the Toad Sage. After the Toad Sage's instruction—along with a heavy dose of value-shaping influence—Jiraiya developed sound values and a proper outlook on life. The Toad Sage was also willing to let him stay at Mount Myoboku and learn all kinds of powerful techniques. That was how Jiraiya stopped being a dead last and became the teacher of the person destined, according to the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, to guide change. Though, at this point in time, he hadn't found that person yet.
Orochimaru shook his head.
"I know the harm war causes. But without our teacher, none of us would be where we are today. Even if it was for his sake, perhaps... No, you'd just call me an idiot for thinking that way. I might as well blame the world." Orochimaru spread his hands. He knew what his old friend was like.
After a long while,
Orochimaru and Jiraiya seemed to remember Uchiha Chiba was still there.
"Oh, right. Uchiha Chiba, we'll send you back to Konoha in a couple of days," Orochimaru said. Now that he'd confirmed Uchiha Chiba wasn't a spy disguised as someone from another village, sending him back to Konoha was only reasonable.
"I don't want to go back."
Uchiha Chiba's voice was quiet, yet carried clearly.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya both turned to look at the teenage boy.
"I don't have a home in Konoha anymore. To my clan, I'm a stranger. All I want now is to stay on the battlefield, kill a few more ninjas, then go back and work hard to become Hokage." Uchiha Chiba lied without batting an eye.
"Do you even know how much hardship and suffering it takes to become Hokage? And that's not to mention the fact that you're an Uchiha," Orochimaru said coldly.
"So what? Life is fragile and fleeting. If I don't fight with everything I have to seize peace, won't peace slip away from me?" Uchiha Chiba raised his head and looked at the roof of the tent.
Those words finally made Orochimaru and Jiraiya consider keeping Uchiha Chiba with them.
First, Orochimaru had just witnessed his student, Nawaki Senju, die. He was desperate to find an answer to one question: What was the meaning of life? He had a feeling that if he kept Uchiha Chiba by his side, the answer might become much clearer to him.
As for Jiraiya, the Great Toad Sage had designated him as the teacher who would guide the prophesied change. Everywhere he went, he saw families destroyed and loved ones lost, so more than anything, he wanted peace. Uchiha Chiba's words made him realize that if peace couldn't be secured by one's own hands, it was no different from war. Could the person who'd said this be the one destined to bring change?
Before you continue