Jiraiya left the Uchiha Clan Compound, a complicated look on his face.
He was going to investigate whether the Uchiha Clan's claims were true.
He didn't believe his teacher could have become so incompetent.
He would rather believe Danzo had done all this behind his teacher's back.
"Ao-kun, what do you think Lord Jiraiya will do when he learns the truth?"
After watching Jiraiya leave, Uchiha Ao lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment. "If Jiraiya really uncovers the truth, then given his temperament, he'll probably struggle with it for a while before publicly exposing his teacher's actions without hesitation."
"He loves the village and can't tolerate any wrongdoing. The Will of Fire is a light in his heart, something meant to illuminate everything."
"Even if the person responsible is his teacher."
Shisui nodded at that.
That was exactly how he remembered Jiraiya.
It was one of the reasons he admired him.
A few days later.
Following the clues he'd found, Jiraiya arrived at the Root Base.
Ever since the battle, the Root Base had been nothing but a desolate ruin.
The rusted iron gate hung crookedly from its frame. Jiraiya stepped forward and touched it lightly, and it let out a piercing creak before slowly toppling to one side.
"Uh." Jiraiya hadn't expected the old Root Base to have fallen into such a state.
Rust and dust billowed toward him. Jiraiya covered his nose and mouth with one hand and entered the base.
"Summoning Technique!"
At his quiet call, smoke billowed and cleared, revealing several small toads in front of him.
"Go look around and see if you can find any clues."
The little toads immediately hopped off into the shadows scattered throughout the base.
The one at the front rubbed its tiny forelimbs together and puffed out