Jiraiya's Shock

"As for a giant summoning beast like Naruto's, there's nothing I can do. If you really can't wait, then you can only go to Orochimaru—the guy who left that Cursed Seal mark on you," Uchiha Shunichi said.

He had no intention of stopping Sasuke from defecting. Whether Sasuke chose to follow Orochimaru was entirely up to him; Uchiha Shunichi would not interfere.

Of course, once he made that choice, he alone would have to bear whatever price came with it.

"Orochimaru?" Uchiha Sasuke involuntarily reached for his neck, the image of that man who seemed almost fused with snakes surfacing in his mind.

"Yes. He wants your body. That's why he placed the Cursed Seal on you, but before taking your body, he'll still let your strength grow normally. You have a little over two years," Uchiha Shunichi explained.

The current Uchiha Sasuke had not yet realized that Orochimaru could make him stronger. Moreover, because of Shukaku, he was beginning to look down on Orochimaru's power.

"Between you and Orochimaru, who's stronger?" Uchiha Sasuke asked, still unsatisfied.

"He's stronger. If we fought to the death, I could seriously injure him, but I couldn't kill him alone," Uchiha Shunichi answered directly, not indulging Uchiha Sasuke's greed.

What he did not say was that he could fight to the death more than once, and would not suffer much damage.

As for killing Orochimaru, that really was troublesome. Uchiha Shunichi only knew of three, meaning he could kill Orochimaru three times.

As for whether Orochimaru had other hidden clones within other Cursed Seals after those three deaths, Uchiha Shunichi was not entirely sure.

But there probably were. At the very least, there had to be one in the laboratory where Orochimaru kept Shin, the one who could perfectly transplant Bloodline Limits.

Hearing Uchiha Shunichi's words, Uchiha Sasuke did not answer. He still could not make a decision.

The next day, everyone in the village dressed in black and came to mourn before the Third Hokage's grave. Uchiha Shunichi and Uchiha Sasuke were no exception.

As for Danzo's funeral, it was handled perfunctorily. He became nothing more than an inconspicuous name on a memorial inscription.

Konoha's higher-ups probably wanted to conceal news of Danzo's death. After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen had already died, so it was better to handle the matter quietly at a time like this.

At the funeral, Uchiha Shunichi saw tears welling up in many people's eyes. Sarutobi Hiruzen clearly still held great prestige within the village.

Uchiha Shunichi felt somewhat reflective. With Sarutobi Hiruzen dead, one great mountain had been lifted from his shoulders. He could not call himself happy, but neither could he possibly feel sorrow.

After all, even if Sarutobi Hiruzen had not been the mastermind behind the Uchiha Clan Massacre, he had at least been guilty of negligence.

Under the heavy atmosphere and gloomy sky, the funeral came to an end. Although Konoha had not suffered many casualties in this incident, people had still died.

"Shunichi, Sasuke, come with me for a moment." Just as Uchiha Shunichi thought everything was over, Jiraiya suddenly approached and spoke.

Konoha was now practically leaderless. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu alone had no way to preside over the overall situation.

Therefore, although Jiraiya was unwilling to accept the position of Hokage, he temporarily took on the responsibility.

Jiraiya led Uchiha Shunichi and Uchiha Sasuke to Root. The moment Uchiha Shunichi realized their destination was Root, he understood what was going on.

What surprised him was that Jiraiya had not chosen to conceal it, but had brought the two of them here directly. Uchiha Shunichi found that way of handling things rather agreeable.

"Jiraiya, you'll become the next Hokage, won't you?" Uchiha Shunichi suddenly said as he walked behind Jiraiya.

Uchiha Sasuke froze upon hearing that. He had never imagined that this somewhat sleazy-looking middle-aged man possessed the qualifications to become Hokage.

"Hm? Where did you hear something like that?" Jiraiya asked warily. He knew very well that his personality was not suited to becoming Hokage.

However, if he could not persuade Tsunade, Jiraiya could not simply leave the village unattended.

After all, aside from the two of them, there were very few people in Konoha who could become Hokage.

Even if there were one or two qualified candidates, it would be hard to ensure the other ninja villages would accept them. They might even start a war to test Konoha.

"I didn't see anything. It was only a guess. Right now, the only people in Konoha with enough prestige to become Hokage are you and Lady Tsunade." A thought flashed through Uchiha Shunichi's mind, but he ultimately chose to abandon it.

For one who foresaw the future, the greatest taboo was speaking carelessly. Though Uchiha Shunichi's precognition was fake, the things mixed into it were even truer than the truth.

"My personality isn't suited to being Hokage. In the end, Tsunade will probably return. Her prestige is enough to make everyone..." Jiraiya hesitated before finally speaking.

"I think Lord Jiraiya is quite suited to becoming Hokage," Uchiha Shunichi said meaningfully.

Jiraiya's expression shifted slightly at those words. "Have you seen what happened here?"

Uchiha Shunichi did not conceal it.

"Yes. I saw the scene of Uchiha Shisui's death. You brought us here because of Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, didn't you?" Uchiha Shunichi's tone was calm, as though that was truly all he knew.

Jiraiya's steps paused slightly. He quickly returned to normal, then said in a somewhat heavy tone:

"Danzo... is already dead. As for the Sharingan on his body, they have also disappeared. I'm sorry... I don't know whether he destroyed those Sharingan himself or whether someone took them," Jiraiya said apologetically.

"It's nothing. I know a little about that... Although I didn't see it myself, I suspect it was the mysterious person from the Nine-Tails' Attack," Uchiha Shunichi said.

The truest lie was nine parts truth and one part falsehood. Especially with intelligence no one knew, people were more likely to believe it once it was spoken.

"Wait, Shunichi... you know that mysterious person?" Jiraiya immediately asked in agitation.

After all, that person was one of the true culprits behind his disciple's death!

"I suspect it was Uchiha Madara, because I saw that the mysterious person possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan. He also had a summoning contract with the Nine-Tails."