Shikaku's Judgment

The Hokage Building stood out starkly amidst the ruins, yet also appeared exceptionally fragile. Jiraiya sat behind his desk, a mountain of documents piled before him, each silently testifying to the devastation Konoha was in. His gaze drifted unfocused to a casualty statistics report—or rather, a "zero casualty statistics report"—but the numbers failed to register in his mind.

It's been two days.

Two days have passed since he was forced to sit in this chair, but it feels longer than the past two years.

Those two old guys, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, have come three times already. Each time it's the same old rhetoric: "Jiraiya, Konoha needs a true Hokage to step up and take charge." "Tsunade is in a coma and we don't know when she'll wake up; you can't keep 'acting' like this."

He always brushed it off with a laugh.

Are you kidding me? Let whoever wants to take this mess take it. We finally managed to trick Tsunade into coming back to take the blame, and now Tsunade's just unconscious, not dead. Even if she really... ugh, Tsunade will wake up eventually. And even if Tsunade doesn't wake up, Kakashi should be the one to take over—although those two old fogies always say Kakashi "too inexperienced," Jiraiya knows in his heart that Kakashi is more suitable for the position than any of them.

So he forcibly dragged Kakashi over.

Nominally, he was the "Hokage's assistant," but in reality, Kakashi handled most of the documents and made most of the decisions. Jiraiya Kakashi? He felt like he was just a stamping machine, a puppet sitting in a chair doing nothing.

And Danzo...

Jiraiya's brow furrowed even more.

That old man has been subtly and overtly hinting at things these past few days, practically slamming his fist on the table and shouting, "I am the most suitable Hokage!" He's been saying things like, "Konoha needs a strong leader," and "We can't afford to be weak any longer."

Powerful? Danzo's so-called power was the darkness of Root, the underhanded conspiracies, and the ruthless pursuit of his goals. Konoha didn't need that kind of "Hokage."

Therefore, Jiraiya kept Kakashi by his side and had Kakashi handle all affairs. He knew this would displease Danzo and cause the two advisors to nag, but he didn't care.

He only cares about one thing now: how to get off this damn chair as soon as possible.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Jiraiya without looking up.

The door opened, Shikaku Nara walked in. This strategist of Konoha and the leader of the Jonin Commander looked visibly tired, with deep dark circles under his eyes, clearly indicating that he hadn't slept well for the past few days.

"Lord Jiraiya." Shikaku bowed slightly.

Jiraiya looked up and saw Shikaku's expression, his heart skipped a beat. He had seen that expression too many times—every time Shikaku gave him that "I have something to report" look, it was never anything good.

"Everyone stop working and go outside." Jiraiya waved his hand and said to the few clerical ninjas in the office, "Kakashi, stay."

The office workers quickly packed their things and filed out, the last one closing the door behind them.

Kakashi looked up from behind the side desk, revealing a dead fish eye. He was still holding a reconstruction plan in his hand, and he was clearly reluctant to stay there either—he would rather review "Make-Out Paradise" or stare Memorial Stone than deal with documents.

Shikaku watched Jiraiya's actions and a thought flickered in his mind. It seemed that although Lord Jiraiya said he didn't want to be Hokage, he was just as vigilant and cautious as he should be. Perhaps... letting him temporarily act as Hokage wouldn't be a bad move.

"Lord Jiraiya," Shikaku began, preparing to report.

"Wait a minute." Jiraiya interrupted him, Hand Seals, and a Soundproof Barrier unfolded in the office, enveloping the three of them in a pale blue light membrane.

"Now you can speak, Shikaku." Jiraiya leaned back in his chair, his expression turning serious.

Shikaku was taken aback. So cautious? He glanced at Kakashi —the latter had already put down the planning diagram, placed his hands folded on the table, and was listening attentively.

"The Intelligence Division monitoring Kumogakure has sent back the latest news," Shikaku cleared his throat, "Two days ago, six members of Akatsuki raided Kumogakure and successfully captured Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer B. The Fourth Raikage A, lost his left arm in the battle. On the Akatsuki side, Sasuke Uchiha injured."

Jiraiya frowned.

He already knew about this. Hiashi had reported it the Hiashi after Pain's invasion, the information coming from Neji. But Shikaku only reported it now, which meant...

"This news should have been from two days ago, right?" Jiraiya's tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction. "Why are you only telling us now?"

Shikaku was startled.

How could Lord Jiraiya have known in advance? Although Konoha's intelligence network is advanced, Kumogakure is far away. Normally, intelligence transmission would be completed on the same day, but Konoha had just experienced a major battle and was affected.

Kakashi, standing behind Jiraiya, also changed his expression slightly. He looked at Jiraiya's back, his eyes filled with a hint of inquiry. This teacher, who always seemed so unserious, actually had a source of information that even the Anbu Intelligence Division couldn't match?

"I'm sorry, Lord Jiraiya." Shikaku quickly composed himself and explained, "Konoha suffered heavy losses in the battle Pain, and a large number of Intelligence Division personnel were drawn away to assist in the resettlement of the wounded and reconstruction efforts. The intelligence from Cloud Village did indeed come back that night, but the receiving team was temporarily reassigned and only managed to compile and report the intelligence to me yesterday afternoon."

He paused, then continued, "Furthermore, new follow-up information arrived last night. According to Lady Tsunade's previous orders, important intelligence involving the four great ninja villages must be reviewed by the Hokage personally. But now that Lady Tsunade is unconscious, I have no choice but to come to you."

Jiraiya hearing the explanation, Jiraiya's dissatisfaction subsided somewhat. Indeed, the Intelligence Division couldn't be blamed; Konoha was practically paralyzed after the Pain incident, and a shortage of manpower was a fact.

"Go on," he said, "Be more specific. What new intelligence came in last night?"

"Yes." Shikaku. "New intelligence indicates that Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure have been exchanging messages frequently recently, with extremely high encryption levels. Based on our analysis of intercepted signals and observations by our intelligence personnel, the Three Great Shinobi Villages ... are suspected of conducting some kind of joint operation against Konoha."

Jiraiya's brows furrowed into a knot.

"Targeting Konoha?" He couldn't understand. "We in Konoha are also victims of Akatsuki! Pain almost destroyed the village, and so many of us died—although they were later resurrected, the losses were real! What right do they have to target us?"

Shikaku licked his dry lips. The following analysis might make Jiraiya uncomfortable, but as the strategist, he had to tell the truth.

"This deduction is at least 80% certain," Shikaku said, his voice steady but clear. "First, the Anbu sensed at least three or more Konoha of Chakra outside Konoha, secretly scouting. The fluctuation characteristics of these Chakra match those of the sensory ninja from Cloud Village, Iwagakure, and Mist Village."

Jiraiya's expression darkened.

"Secondly," Shikaku continued, "Sasuke Uchiha is a registered Genin of Konoha. Although he defected to Orochimaru three years ago, Konoha has never officially issued a 'missing-nin,' nor has it provided any details about him to the outside world. In the eyes of other ninja villages, Sasuke is still a Konoha ninja."

Kakashi's eyes darkened. Sasuke...

"And during this operation to capture the Eight-Tails, Sasuke fought the Raikage while wearing Akatsuki attire." Shikaku's voice grew even deeper. "Kumogakure might very well believe that Sasuke's joining Akatsuki was at Konoha's behest, or even that the entire Akatsuki... was a front manipulator behind the scenes by Konoha. After all, it was Pain who intervened when Yugito Nii was arrested."

Jiraiya clenched his fist.

"Third..." Shikaku paused here, seemingly hesitant.

"Third what?" Jiraiya urged, "What time is it? Is there anything you can't say?"

Shikaku glanced at Kakashi, who nodded slightly to him.

"Kakashi, you speak," Shikaku said, handing over the conversation.

Kakashi sighed and continued, "Lord Jiraiya, the third point Shikaku- senpai wanted to make is... during Pain's invasion of Konoha, although more than 80% of the buildings were destroyed, the number of Konoha ninja deaths was zero."

Jiraiya was stunned.

"Of course we know that Naruto persuaded Nagato, Nagato used the Reincarnation Heavenly Life Technique to revive everyone." Kakashi's voice was calm, but there was a certain heaviness hidden beneath the calm. "But to the other ninja villages... a powerful enemy who could easily destroy a village was not only defeated, but also 'kindly' revived all the dead... it sounds too much like a carefully orchestrated play."

He looked at Jiraiya, a hint of helplessness in his single eye. "After all, the resurrection of the dead is beyond the realm of common sense. And Nagato... is your disciple. To outsiders, this relationship makes the whole incident even more suspicious."

Jiraiya slumped in the chair, feeling as if all his strength had been drained away.

He understood what Shikaku and Kakashi hadn't said aloud: the other ninja villages likely believed that Konoha and Nagato (the Akatsuki) were in cahoots. Konoha sent the Akatsuki to capture the Tailed Beast of other villages to weaken their opponents. Once they had captured enough Tailed Beast, they would stage a "hero defeats the villain" drama, thus clearing Konoha and making the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki —a win-win situation.

The appearance of Sasuke, the master-disciple relationship between Nagato and him, the "miracle" of zero deaths... all of these became "evidence".

"So," Jiraiya's voice was hoarse, "the Three Great Shinobi Villages Cloud Village, Iwagakure, Mist Village have likely already concluded that Konoha is the mastermind. Their frequent communications now are... to launch a joint attack on Konoha?"

"It's very likely." Shikaku nodded heavily.

The office fell into dead silence.

Sunlight streamed through the broken window, casting dappled shadows on the pile of documents. In the distance, at a construction site, Yamato was still using Wood Release to build houses, the clanging and hammering Sound Village audible. Konoha was being rebuilt, but an even greater crisis was looming like a dark cloud.

After a long while, Jiraiya sat up straight again. He looked at Shikaku, the weariness and helplessness on his face gone, replaced by a resolute attitude that seemed to say, "What's the use of giving up?"

"So what do you think Konoha should do now?" he asked.

Shikaku seemed to have anticipated this question. He pondered for a few seconds, then clearly and logically presented his solution:

"First, we must immediately strengthen our alliance with Sunagakure. Sand Village is currently the only one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages that might stand on our side. And this matter... must be handled by Uzumaki Naruto."

"Why does it have to be Naruto?" Jiraiya was puzzled.

This time, Kakashi answered, "Because Naruto and the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, have a special bond. They are both Jinchuriki, and when they were young, Naruto enlightened a confused Gaara; later, Gaara was captured by the Akatsuki, Naruto risked his life to rescue him. Gaara might have doubts about others, but with Naruto... he will definitely believe him."

Jiraiya thought for a moment and nodded, "That makes sense. And then what?"

"Then," Shikaku continued, "We need to try to appease Iwagakure and Kirigakure. If we can convince these two villages that Akatsuki's actions are unrelated to Konoha, they are likely not to participate in the joint operation with Cloud Village. After all, for Iwagakure and Mist Village, rashly starting a war with Konoha is too risky, and they won't easily get involved without solid evidence."

"The key lies in 'evidence'," Kakashi added. "We need evidence that can prove Konoha's innocence. For example... intelligence from within Akatsuki, evidence that shows their actions are completely independent of Konoha, and that their targets even include Konoha."

Shikaku glanced at Jiraiya hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

"But what?" Jiraiya asked. "We've come this far, is there anything we can't say?"

Shikaku took a deep breath. "Lord Jiraiya, if... if you have an informant within Akatsuki, perhaps you could have them help gather such evidence. If it can be proven that Akatsuki's target is all the Tailed Beast and all the ninja villages, not just Cloud Village, Iwagakure, and Mist Village, then Konoha's suspicion can be largely cleared."

He paused, lowering his voice, "And if Iwagakure and Mist Village choose to stand by and watch, Cloud Village alone, no matter how angry they are, wouldn't dare to easily launch a full-scale war against Konoha. Besides, we in Konoha... are not afraid of a war."

Jiraiya's heart, however, was ice-cold.

An informant? Neji is indeed an undercover agent, but that was arranged by Tsunade. Now that Tsunade is in a coma, is Neji still willing to cooperate? Moreover, it's always Neji who relays the information; Tsunade can't contact Neji directly, it's Neji proactively reports. Plus, the information Neji sent a couple of days ago indicates that Sasuke already knows the truth and is determined to take revenge on Konoha. If Cloud Village attacks again, Sasuke and the Akatsuki seize the opportunity to launch an attack...

Konoha will be attacked from three sides.

No, it's more like being attacked from all sides—that old Danzo might even stab us in the back.

Jiraiya felt himself having trouble breathing. He glanced at Kakashi, who was frowning in thought; then at Shikaku, whose strategist, though offering a solution, also harbored deep worry in his eyes.

Both of these people are smarter than me, and both are better suited to handle this situation.

Never mind.

Jiraiya suddenly relaxed, leaned back in his chair, and gave off an "I don't care anymore" look.

"Shikaku," he said, "Do whatever you think is right. If it requires my signature or stamp, bring it to me. If it requires my intervention, tell me what to say."

He looked at Kakashi: "Kakashi, you will assist Shikaku. You two will discuss and handle all the specific matters."

Shikaku and Kakashi exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes, but also understanding.

Lord Jiraiya has... completely relinquished power.

It's not about shirking responsibility, but rather knowing that you're not good at these things, so you hand over the power to those who are truly good at them.

"Yes, Lord Jiraiya." Shikaku bowed.

"We will do our best," Kakashi said.

"Go." Jiraiya waved his hand, then looked back at the pile of documents on the table, his eyes unfocused again. "I'll just sit here... Call me when you need me." Then he activated the barrier.

Shikaku and Kakashi bowed and turned to leave.

After the door closed, Jiraiya sat alone in the large office. The sunlight gradually slanted westward, casting a long shadow of him.

He recalled the Great Toad Sage's prophecy from many years ago, "Your disciple will bring about tremendous changes to the Shinobi World..."

He thought it was Nagato.

Later he thought it was Naruto.

But now it seems that change has indeed come, but in the most brutal and chaotic way.

War, suspicion, conspiracy, betrayal.

Konoha is now at the center of the storm.

"Tsunade..." Jiraiya murmured to himself, "If you don't wake up soon... I really won't be able to hold on any longer..."

Now it's not that I've completely let go; I also need to think about whether to let Shikaku and Kakashi know that Neji is the Akatsuki's "Sake," and how I can contact Neji.

Outside the window, the ruins of Konoha glowed a dark red in the setting sun, like an unhealed wound.

In the distance, dark clouds are gathering in the sky.