Three days later, two figures appeared outside Konoha.
She wore a tea-green robe and had a head of silky blond hair. Mature and alluring, with a pear-shaped figure, she looked incredibly tempting. Most striking of all was the massive pair on her chest, impossible to look away from.
Beside her stood a man with flowing white hair, two streaks of red face paint, and a Forehead Protector engraved with the character for "oil." He was staring intently at something, his expression rather lecherous.
"Jiraiya, you bastard!" Tsunade roared when she noticed where Jiraiya was looking, then punched him straight away.
The force of her punch sent a shockwave through the air. With a bang, it sent him flying more than ten meters.
That's right: the two of them were Tsunade Senju, one of the Sannin, and Mad Ghost Jiraiya.
"Now, now, Tsunade, you're still as rough as ever," Jiraiya said, rubbing his backside as he walked over. Though he sounded like he was complaining, his face was full of smiles.
"Hmph. You're just as lecherous as ever," Tsunade snorted.
Looking at the familiar Konoha before her, a hint of nostalgia flickered in Tsunade's eyes, but it was soon replaced by sadness.
Konoha had been founded by her grandfather. The people dearest to her had all died in wars protecting it. That was why she no longer wanted to stay in Konoha. It had brought her joy, but it had also taken too much from her.
But Konoha was still her home. No matter what, she wouldn't let anyone harm it. That was why she had agreed to Jiraiya's request as soon as he found her.
"Madara Uchiha—is that guy really still alive?"
To avoid alerting anyone, she and Jiraiya had slipped into Konoha in secret. Only a few of Konoha's higher-ups and Minato's family knew that the two of them had returned.
In a secluded corner of Konoha, a tall figure appeared. With flowing white hair and a resolute face, it was none other than Jiraiya.
After leaving Minato's home, he had come here.
Rumble!
As the sound rang out, a wall of earth slowly rose before him.
"Just as I thought. You found me anyway, Orochimaru." A smile appeared on Jiraiya's face as he looked at the figure before him.
With long black hair, a pale face, and narrow eyes that radiated a chilling aura, he was the last of the Sannin: Cold Lord Orochimaru.
Though he had already sensed Jiraiya's presence, Orochimaru was still a little surprised to see him in person.
A faint smile curved his lips. At this point, he hadn't yet defected from the village, and his bond with Jiraiya was still strong.
"Come on, Orochimaru. Tsunade's waiting for us." Jiraiya waved at him, then turned and left.
"Has Tsunade come back too?" Orochimaru licked his lips and stepped forward, following Jiraiya.
"Looks like something very interesting is about to happen in Konoha. Heh."
The Senju Clan's old residence had stood empty for years, but today, three familiar faces had gathered there.
Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had reunited there today after a long time apart.
At Minato's home,
"I can't believe Big Brother Minato even got Tsunade to come back," Naraku thought, a little surprised.
He had assumed Minato would only bring Jiraiya back at most, but Tsunade's return was a good thing.
Still, Naraku remembered that Tsunade had Hemophobia at this point in time.
He shook his head slightly. She was one of the Sannin, after all. Even with Hemophobia, she was still a formidable fighter—not to mention her Medical Ninjutsu, said to be the best in the Shinobi World.
"With them, we should be able to stop Obito, right?" Naraku wondered to himself.
For some reason, though, he still felt uneasy.
"Have they already noticed?" Naraku thought of Zetsu, the Akatsuki's dedicated intelligence gatherer.
With his special ability to conceal himself and create clones, he could easily uncover the Five Great Nations' most closely guarded secrets.
Although the news of Jiraiya and Tsunade's return hadn't been made public, Naraku felt sure it wouldn't escape him.
Naraku wondered if Obito would abandon his plan once he learned the news. That would be for the best.
If they gave up on this plan, they would naturally lie low for a long time. At most, they would make a few moves in secret, but none of that would matter.
Time—what Naraku lacked most right now was time. He was confident that if he had enough time to grow stronger, neither Obito nor Black Zetsu, hidden in the deepest shadows, would pose much of a threat.
Of course, he wasn't arrogant enough to face all of this alone. Konoha had plenty of talented people. Against Obito and his space-time dojutsu, Kakashi was the best choice.
And then there was their Armor Emperor. The two of them would make the strongest teammates.
"Not to mention the Uchiha Clan's prodigies."
In Naraku's view, as long as those unexpected incidents didn't happen, Konoha alone would have no trouble standing against the entire Akatsuki.
"Heh, it's too early to be thinking about all this." A bitter smile touched Naraku's lips. He put those thoughts out of his mind and resumed his training.
His hands formed Hand Seals rapidly, and blue chakra appeared around him.
"Wind Release: Wind Sword!"
A long sword made of air appeared in his hand.
In a dense forest somewhere in the Land of Fire,
Deep in the forest were many natural caves. In one of them, a man in a loose black cloak and a Tiger-Patterned One-Eyed Mask sat on a boulder.
Suddenly, a figure encased in a giant pitcher plant emerged from the wall beside him.
"I just got word that Jiraiya and Tsunade have both suddenly returned to Konoha."
At those words, the crimson eye hidden behind the mask twitched slightly.
"That's not good news, Zetsu."
The two of them were Uchiha Obito and Zetsu.
"Jiraiya only left Konoha recently, and Tsunade's been wandering the world for a long time. Why would they suddenly return to the village?"
Obito was baffled. His one visible eye narrowed slightly.
"Could the Fourth Hokage and the others have discovered our plan?"
"That shouldn't be possible..."
Obito shook his head. In the Shinobi World today, no one besides that person should know he existed, let alone know about his plan.
"Could someone have spotted you when you went to Konoha a few days ago?"
On the wall, the Zetsu encased in the pitcher plant had a body split in half, one side black and the other white. He looked downright bizarre.
Obito shot him a sideways glance and thought for a moment. He had only gone to Konoha that day to visit "Rin." He hadn't approached anyone in the village who could have detected him.
"Could it have been Kakashi?" Obito murmured, thinking of the silver-haired man who had talked to himself in front of Rin's grave.