Ao, having received instructions from his Mizukage, quickly left the residence.
The Kirigakure Exchange Delegation's movements caught the attention of many parties at once.
"Could the Uchiha Clan really be connected to them?"
By then, Konoha's ANBU had already reported the Kirigakure Exchange Delegation's activities to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Jiraiya, what do you think about this?"
Jiraiya looked over the documents provided by Konoha's ANBU and shook his head helplessly.
"You don't even trust the people in our village. You think they might break away from Konoha, so why ask me?"
"You just want to assign me a mission. So go on, what do you want me to do?"
Ever since returning to Konoha, Jiraiya had been gripped by an indescribable feeling.
He had originally been full of expectations for Konoha, thinking it would still be a place filled with warmth and hope, just as it had been before.
Yet reality had sorely disappointed him...
The person he most wanted to see was Naruto, the child of the disciple in whom he had once placed such high hopes.
But when he learned that Naruto was under the ANBU's close surveillance, his heart sank.
He understood what that meant: Naruto's circumstances were far from optimistic. All the pressure on him came from the people of Konoha.
Jiraiya wanted to visit Naruto and offer him some comfort and support.
But he also knew that doing so might cause unnecessary trouble, perhaps even bring Naruto more problems.
So he could only silently keep an eye on Naruto's situation, hoping his teacher and the others would not do something he could not accept.
Aside from Naruto, there was someone else Jiraiya worried about—Tsunade.
He knew Tsunade had always been laboring over Konoha's affairs, but her hemophobia had become a major obstacle.
Jiraiya dearly wished to