"Master Jiraiya..."
Josuke felt incomparably awkward right now.
Whatever else Jiraiya was, he was still his mentor.
For defecting, he should at least have his chakra sealed and be thrown into prison.
Jiraiya looked at Josuke with a smile. To be honest, he had initially hated Josuke's actions with a passion.
Whenever he thought of Josuke's defection, he recalled the Second Hokage's famous words.
And regretted his own actions deeply.
Sure enough, the Uchiha Clan were all wolves that could never be tamed. But after spending three years together day and night—
Did Jiraiya not understand what kind of person Josuke was?
Beneath that handsome exterior lay a sincere heart, one that would not hesitate to sacrifice itself for its companions.
If Josuke truly were one of those evil Uchiha, Jiraiya would have used Sage Mode without hesitation.
And taught Josuke a lesson with an Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan.
But he was not.
Besides, Josuke had saved Asuma, and Josuke had eliminated Kakuzu.
That only strengthened Jiraiya's suspicions. This kid definitely had his reasons.
The things Josuke had done—
Aside from the twelve rookies and a few people like Tsunade, no one knew about them.
Those had been Tsunade's orders. Even Danzo had not known.
If Jiraiya's guess was correct, then the mastermind behind Josuke's tragic defection was undoubtedly Danzo.
Hidden Leaf Village's Root...
"You had your reasons, didn't you?"
Before Josuke could explain anything, Jiraiya answered for him.
Just as I thought.
Jiraiya thought to himself.
"It was Danzo's Root, wasn't it?"
?
Josuke froze. Was this guy's imagination really that wild?
Worthy of the Pot Kage. Jiraiya would rather believe that some Uchiha brat was not evil than believe Danzo was innocent.
Since Jiraiya had said it himself—
Josuke silently nodded.
So that was it?
Jiraiya slammed a fist