Inside the Hokage Office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind his desk, with Fugaku seated before him.
Neither of them spoke.
Knock, knock.
At the sound, Fugaku opened his eyes.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up and said, "Come in."
The door opened, and Jiraiya entered with Hayato and Shisui.
Seeing them, Sarutobi Hiruzen realized Jiraiya had failed to bring Orochimaru back. His feelings were a tangled mess.
"Old man, Orochimaru's gone," Jiraiya said.
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, then turned to Hayato and Shisui. "Shisui, Hayato, tell me what happened when you encountered Orochimaru."
Hayato glanced at Shisui. Shisui took a deep breath, then handed the scroll in his hands to the Third Hokage.
"Third Hokage, we went to the location of an experimental base. When we got there..."
Shisui gave a careful report while Hayato remained calm.
Fugaku watched Shisui and Hayato from the corner of his eye. Seeing that neither of them seemed injured, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This mission had been meant to allay the Third Hokage's suspicions. Though he had made that choice, he had still hoped Shisui and Hayato would return safely.
As Shisui spoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke.
The fact that the two of them had made it back alive told him that Orochimaru had probably taken an interest in the Sharingan and had mostly been toying with them.
Otherwise, a Uchiha with the potential to become a jonin and one who was already a Chunin wouldn't have stood a chance against Orochimaru.
It was only to be expected.
Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression, Hayato remained calm. It seemed the Hokage had believed their story.
Jiraiya, meanwhile, had been sitting on a nearby sofa from the start, sunk in a gloomy mood.
Perhaps it wouldn't be long before he, too, left Konoha.
With the Sannin disbanded, the other great nations would probably make their moves soon as well.
"All right, I understand what happened. Thank you for your hard work on this mission, Shisui, Hayato."
After listening to Shisui's account, Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent for a long while before finally nodding.
"Lord Third, what about the body...?"
Shisui hesitated, then pointed to the scroll. He still felt sorry for the man.
Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled.
Shisui was one of the Uchiha he had the most faith in. More importantly, he was a descendant of Kagami Uchiha.
That gave Shisui a natural advantage in his eyes.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure everything is taken care of."
Sarutobi Hiruzen assured him, and Shisui finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Then, Lord Third, we'll take our leave."
Fugaku spoke for the first time. He had come to make sure Shisui and Hayato wouldn't run into anyone on their way back.
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. He understood Fugaku's concern and didn't take offense.
After all, Danzo had done something like that before.
Hayato followed Fugaku in taking his leave, and the three of them walked out of the Hokage Building.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Jiraiya. After a long pause, he asked, "What's wrong?"
Jiraiya came back to himself and said casually, "Nothing. I was just thinking about a few things."
Sarutobi Hiruzen exhaled a cloud of smoke, got up, and sat down opposite Jiraiya. "Do you need medical treatment?"
He could see that Jiraiya hadn't suffered any serious injuries, but he asked anyway.
"No need. I just couldn't stop Orochimaru. It wasn't a fight to the death." Jiraiya waved a hand, then glanced at the scroll on Sarutobi Hiruzen's desk.
"Those two Uchiha are good kids, and they weren't lying. Shisui even burned both his hands badly trying to save that man's body."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. His former student knew what he was thinking.
There was no need for him to ask.
Then Jiraiya added, "Oh, just before we reached the village, some Root shinobi came and said they were taking the two of them away. They said it was your order."
"Old man, there's something I think I need to say. Danzo's reach has grown too long."
Jiraiya fell silent. Sarutobi Hiruzen furrowed his brow, then nodded after a while. "I know."
Seeing that, Jiraiya said no more. That was all he could do.
"What are you planning to do now?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.
"Me? I'm going to travel around and gather material," Jiraiya replied as if it didn't matter. As the Third Hokage's student, he did have that privilege.
Or rather, he had completed enough missions to earn it.
Besides, he didn't need missions to make a living.
"Have you never thought about staying to help me?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, looking exhausted. He really was tired, and had hoped to hand the position over to Jiraiya.
"Sorry, old man. You know me. I can't stand this kind of work, and I'm no good at it." Jiraiya waved a hand.
If he'd wanted the job, he could have become the Fourth Hokage before Namikaze Minato.
That would have been the proper succession for the Hokage line.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed. Though he had expected this, he still couldn't help feeling disappointed.
"I'm heading out."
With that, Jiraiya stood and left the Hokage Office. Orochimaru had already left, and he wouldn't stay in the village much longer either.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked around the empty office and sighed again.
With his hands tucked into his sleeves, Fugaku led Hayato and Shisui toward the Uchiha clan compound.
None of the three spoke along the way, though they all sensed eyes watching them from the shadows.
Shisui looked troubled, but seeing that Hayato and Fugaku weren't reacting, he could only keep his concerns to himself.
In a corner, the Root shinobi who had just spoken with Jiraiya watched Fugaku and the others walk away. A moment later, he vanished.
They had reached the compound, and the eyes following them had disappeared.
Only then did Fugaku speak. "Go home and get some rest. Come to the compound for training tonight."
With that, Fugaku left on his own.
Shisui turned to Hayato and opened his mouth, but for a moment he couldn't think of what to say.
"Don't ask too much yet. Just be careful. We'll talk later," Hayato said quietly.
Shisui could only nod. After saying goodbye to Hayato, he left by himself.
Once Shisui was gone, Hayato headed home.
At last, he had some time to check out his Bitter Fruit reward for Orochimaru's defection. It wasn't as good as Shisui's, but it wasn't bad either.
Before you continue