Deception

"Haha, this is really making me happy! Raiga, at least you know what's good for you! If you hadn't changed direction, you would've gotten another beating today!" Jin said with a delighted laugh as he watched Raiga turn toward another path.

At that moment, a woman stood before Kakashi—a woman who would have made Jin's jaw drop if he saw her. The repeated face-licking motions were enough to make one's scalp crawl! The four of them watched the newcomer nervously.

"Hatake Kakashi! Not bad! I haven't seen you in years. Is that old man, the Third Hokage, doing well? Hiss—" the woman asked Kakashi.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" Kakashi had already prepared himself for battle.

"She's Orochimaru! Don't worry, she's very weak right now!" White explained, holding the senbon Jin had bought for her.

"Hiss—my prey! You two are both quite good! Hiss—I must have you! That hateful old man isn't here? How boring. Kakashi, do you think you're a match for me?" Orochimaru licked her beautiful face.

Kakashi removed his forehead protector. His three-tomoe Sharingan was revealed!

"Oh? Not bad! The Sharingan... perhaps I'm a little interested in you too!" Orochimaru chuckled softly.

"Orochimaru! It's been a long time!" a voice rang out.

"Hiss—I knew you were here already! But your timing is quite poor!" Orochimaru maintained her smile.

"Lord Jiraiya!" Kakashi said in surprise.

"Don't misunderstand! I'd just returned from gathering material! I was passing by! Purely passing by!" Jiraiya said with a grin.

"It seems I'm at a disadvantage. Fine, I'll withdraw!" Orochimaru smiled, then turned and left.

The rain continued to fall, and the atmosphere was somewhat awkward. Seeing Orochimaru leave, Jiraiya quickly ran off in another direction as well! Kakashi's calls came from behind him.

"That was close! If my clones hadn't raised my level to jonin in time, I might not have been able to intimidate Orochimaru with my presence. She's a Kage-level powerhouse, two ranks above me. If we went by levels, I'm only level 50, while she's a major BOSS above level 90. I never expected Orochimaru to recover eighty percent of her strength so quickly! Good thing I used the Transformation Technique to take on Jiraiya's appearance, or I might not have escaped this ordeal today! I'm still too inexperienced and haven't mastered how to combine ninjutsu effectively yet," Jin panted as he silently analyzed the situation.

The terrifying Orochimaru had actually been tricked away by Jin just like that. Kakashi called out several times toward Jiraiya's retreating back, but received no response. He then looked at the three of them and smiled awkwardly. "That was Lord Jiraiya, one of the legendary Three Ninja!"

"I knew that too. I just wanted to see two great experts fight. But they didn't fight at all! What a disappointment!" Kimimaro said dejectedly.

"Why did that person just now feel so familiar? How strange," White wondered inwardly.

Far away.

"Was that really Jiraiya? Why did it feel like his abilities had declined? I understand now—it was him! I won't let those two children go. It seems they're Konoha ninjas. However, Akatsuki is very interested in the Uchiha Clan. When Akatsuki wipes out the Uchiha Clan, I'll take my prey while I have the chance," Orochimaru plotted to herself.

Elsewhere.

"Konan, you're going to welcome a new member. But this new member doesn't seem very willing to join us! A team we sent some time ago already failed to persuade him! You and Deva Pain will go help this new teammate of ours. Wipe out his entire clan, leaving only a few of his closest relatives alive! I believe he'll cooperate then. Your target this time is Konoha Village's—the Uchiha Clan." In a grand hall, a dark and hollow voice entered the ears of a female ninja named Konan.

Konan felt no fear whatsoever. She was folding a paper crane by herself and replied, "Are you really going to make a move against Konoha? Very well, then we'll go bring back our member!"

"Don't worry! Danzo of Konoha will cooperate with us! He's a somewhat capable man who wants to become Naruto! For now, we'll make use of him first!" The voice rang through the empty hall again.

The rain stopped. Kakashi and the other three continued toward Konoha. Jin followed close behind, thinking about his plans after returning to Konoha. I don't know when Akatsuki will come to wipe out the clan. I hope I'll have enough time to arrange everything once I return to Konoha. I'll do my best! I simply can't bear to stand by and watch the clan be exterminated! Although Akatsuki is strong, I'm not made of paper either! At worst, I'll reveal all my strength and fight them! Otherwise, I'll never be satisfied! I'm a jonin now, at least. I refuse to believe the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan can't defeat them. Let these eyes shine with the glory they deserve!

After a week, Kakashi and the other three finally arrived at Konoha. Jin returned home ahead of them and placed a letter he had prepared long ago on Uchiha Fuchiu's desk.

The Third Hokage's office.

"What do you think about this? That short old man calls himself Uchiha Siwan. Does your clan have such a person?" The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe as he questioned Uchiha Fuchiu before him.

"I remember my father mentioning someone like him before, though I can't recall the details clearly. There's no mistake that he belongs to our clan. Didn't he say he would also come to Konoha? We'll wait until he arrives and ask him then! I think we should first give the three of them identities, then assign people to monitor them. For now, arrange for them to stay beside the Uchiha Clan. After all, they are guests of our Uchiha Clan," Uchiha Fuchiu said to the Third Hokage.

"Very well! We'll do as you say! Keep a close watch on the movements of those three!" said the Third Hokage.

After Uchiha Fuchiu left, the Third Hokage said toward the door, "Send two people to closely monitor the three newcomers."

Jin watched Uchiha Fuchiu return and asked, "Father, how did it go? Did Lord Third Hokage agree? This is the first task Grandpa Short-legged Steelyard Weight gave me! If I mess it up, he won't teach me his secret ninjutsu!" Jin's skill at bluffing was no joke.

Uchiha Fuchiu smiled. "Don't worry! The matter of those three has been handled. They're nearby. You can go play with them in the future. Do you know what method that old man called 'Short-legged Steelyard Weight' used to awaken your Sharingan?"

Jin pretended to be foolish. "It was very simple. I just slept."

Uchiha Fuchiu did not ask further. He gave a bitter smile and thought to himself, If I could obtain such a method, would our Uchiha Clan still have to watch the Third Hokage's expression?

Jin sat alone in his room, considering countermeasures. Who will Akatsuki send? How should I withstand their attack? I remember there seems to be an insider. Right, it's Danzo! It seems my tricks won't be useful this time. I can only rely on strength to deal with this cancer!