The Three Sannin Gather

Three days later, two figures appeared outside Konoha Village.

One wore a tea-green long coat, her golden hair soft and flowing. She was a mature, charming woman with a pear-shaped figure that looked incredibly alluring, especially the massive pair on her chest that made it difficult for anyone to look away.

Beside her was a man with wild, flowing white hair and two red oil-paint streaks on his face, wearing a forehead protector engraved with the character for "oil." At this moment, he was staring intently at a certain spot, his expression somewhat... lecherous.

"Jiraiya, you bastard!" Tsunade roared upon noticing his gaze, throwing a punch straight at him.

The force of her fist shattered the air, sending him flying over ten meters away with a loud bang.

Indeed, these two were none other than Senju Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin, and Mad Ghost Jiraiya.

"Ma, ma, ma, Tsunade, you still hit so hard," Jiraiya said, rubbing his backside as he walked over. Despite his complaining tone, his face was full of smiles.

"Hmph, you really are as lecherous as ever," Tsunade snorted coldly.

Looking at the familiar sight of Konoha before her, a trace of reminiscence flashed in Tsunade's eyes, though it was quickly replaced by a touch of sorrow.

Konoha had been founded by her grandfather, and her closest loved ones had all died in the wars protecting this village. This was why she did not want to stay here; while the place brought her joy, it had also cost her too much.

However, Konoha was still her home, and no matter what, she would not allow anyone to harm it. This was why, once Jiraiya found her, she had immediately agreed to his request.

"Uchiha Madara, that guy really isn't dead!"

To avoid alerting the enemy, she and Jiraiya had snuck into Konoha quietly. Only a few high-ranking officials and Minato's family knew of their return.

In a secluded corner within Konoha Village, 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 straight here.

Rumble!

As the sound echoed, a wall of earth slowly rose before him.

"As expected, you found me, Orochimaru," Jiraiya said, a smile appearing on his face as he looked at the figure that had emerged.

With long black hair, a pale complexion, and narrow eyes that radiated a cold, sinister aura, it was the final member of the Sannin, the Cold Lord Orochimaru.

Although he had sensed Jiraiya's presence, Orochimaru was still somewhat surprised to see him in the flesh.

A faint smile touched the corner of his lips. At this time, he had not yet defected from the village, and his bond with Jiraiya remained deep.

"Let's go, Orochimaru. Tsunade is waiting for us," Jiraiya waved at him before turning to leave.

"Tsunade has returned as well?" He flicked his tongue across his lips, took a step forward, and followed behind Jiraiya.

"It seems something very interesting is about to happen in Konoha. Heh."

The former residence of the Senju clan, a place that had stood empty for years, welcomed three familiar faces today.

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru—the three of them were holding a long-overdue reunion here.

At Minato's home, "I didn't expect Brother Minato to actually call Tsunade back as well," Naraku thought, feeling somewhat surprised.

He had originally assumed Minato would only manage to bring back Jiraiya, but Tsunade's return was a good thing.

However, Naraku remembered that during this period, Tsunade still suffered from hemophobia.

He shook his head slightly. Regardless, she was one of the Sannin; even with hemophobia, she possessed formidable combat power, not to mention her medical ninjutsu, which was considered the best in the ninja world.

"With these, we should be able to stop Obito," Naraku mused to himself.

Yet, for some reason, he still felt a sense of panic.

"Could it be that we've already been discovered?" Naraku thought of Zetsu, the member of the Akatsuki organization specialized in intelligence gathering.

Because of his unique stealth abilities and clones, he could easily uncover the classified intelligence of the Five Great Nations.

Although the news of Jiraiya and Tsunade's return to the village hadn't been made public, Naraku felt it shouldn't be enough to hide it from him.

Naraku wondered if it would be for the best if Obito abandoned his plan upon learning this news.

If he gave up on the plan, they would naturally lay low for a long time, at most performing some minor actions in the shadows, but none of that would matter.

Time—what Naraku lacked most right now was time. He was confident that if given enough time to grow, then neither Obito nor the Black Zetsu hidden in the deepest shadows would pose any major trouble.

Of course, he wasn't arrogant enough to face all of this alone. Konoha had plenty of geniuses; to deal with Obito and his space-time ocular jutsu, Kakashi was the best candidate.

And there was our Armor Emperor; both of them were the most formidable teammates.

"Not to mention the geniuses of the Uchiha clan."

In Naraku's view, if it weren't for that series of accidents in Konoha, even relying solely on the strength of this one village would be enough to contend with the entire Akatsuki organization.

"Heh, it's still too early to think about these things," Naraku gave a bitter smile, pushed the thoughts out of his mind, and began to practice again.

His hands moved in a rapid sequence of seals, and blue chakra surged around his body.

"Wind Style: Sword of Wind."

A long sword formed from compressed air appeared in his grip.

In a dense forest within the Land of Fire, Deep within the dense forest lay many natural caves. In the depths of one such cave, a man dressed in a loose black robe and wearing a Tiger-Patterned One-Eyed Mask sat cross-legged atop a giant boulder.

Suddenly, a figure encased in a giant pitcher plant emerged from the wall beside him.

"Just received word: Jiraiya and Tsunade have both suddenly returned to Konoha Village."

Upon hearing this, the scarlet eye hidden beneath the mask trembled slightly.

"That is not good news, Zetsu."

These two were Uchiha Obito and Zetsu.

"Jiraiya only just left Konoha, and Tsunade has been traveling abroad for a long time. How could both of them return to the village so suddenly?"

Obito felt deeply surprised, his only visible eye narrowing slightly.

"Could it be that the Fourth Hokage and the others have sensed our plans?"

"That should be impossible..."

Obito shook his head. In the current ninja world, aside from that one person, no one should even know of his existence, let alone his plans.

"Could it be that you were discovered when you went to Konoha a few days ago?"

On the wall, Zetsu, shrouded by the pitcher plant, possessed a body that was half-black and half-white, appearing quite eerie.

Obito cast a sidelong glance at him and pondered for a moment. That day, he had only gone to Konoha to visit Rin, and he had avoided everyone in the village capable of detecting him.

"Could it be Kakashi?" Obito muttered to himself, thinking of that silver-haired man who stood before Rin's grave, talking to himself.