Jiraiya's Mission

Jiraiya felt like his brain had stopped working.

Danzo had actually been taken down, and Root had actually been disbanded?

Jiraiya simply could not believe it.

His teacher had actually allowed something like this to happen?

He knew the relationship between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo better than anyone.

And his teacher was actually making him and Orochimaru part of Konoha's upper ranks? It was utterly unbelievable!

In a way, his relationship with Orochimaru was similar to that of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo.

They had once been close friends, but as time passed, their ideals had diverged.

Jiraiya knew that ever since Hiruzen Sarutobi had chosen his disciple Minato Namikaze, Orochimaru had taken another path. Perhaps one day, he might even become Konoha's enemy.

But asking him to deal with Orochimaru was absolutely impossible unless there was no other choice.

That was precisely why he could understand his teacher and Danzo so well.

Shaking his head, Jiraiya had been hit too hard by everything that had happened lately. He decided that after seeing Orochimaru, he would go gather some material at Konoha's women's bathhouse for the first time in a long while.

When he arrived at Root, the atmosphere made Jiraiya uncomfortable. He was not accustomed to places this dark and gloomy.

Deep within Root, he finally saw his old friend, Orochimaru.

"Heh heh."

At the sight of Jiraiya, Orochimaru could not help but laugh, though his voice was hoarse and strange.

At that moment, Orochimaru's state of mind had completely changed from before.

One's position determined one's perspective. Having become one of Konoha's upper ranks, his attitude toward his former teammate Jiraiya had changed as well.

At the same time, Hiruzen Sarutobi's words had reminded Orochimaru that true immortality was not merely clinging to life. If the soul was flawed, it would still decay after centuries or millennia. He needed to find a more correct method.

Before that, he still needed to lead Konoha toward prosperity.

Once Konoha grew stronger, gathering the bloodline limits of every clan in the Shinobi World might allow him to uncover the secret of eternal life.

Even though he was about to become one of Konoha's upper ranks, Orochimaru had not forgotten his experiments. He might even use Konoha's power to assist with them.

That was also what worried Jiraiya. He found it difficult to tolerate the various experiments Orochimaru carried out.

"Why are you back?"

"I heard you've already become one of Konoha's elders."

Jiraiya looked conflicted. He had finally prepared himself to return and become Hokage, only for his teacher to make Orochimaru one of Konoha's upper ranks and even want him to become an elder alongside him.

"What? Don't you want to contribute to the village?"

Orochimaru naturally knew about this. Jiraiya had rejected the position of Hokage more than once.

"But..."

Orochimaru knew what Jiraiya was thinking. Perhaps, in Jiraiya's heart, he did not possess the so-called Will of Fire?

"Cowardice is not an excuse. If you don't have the courage to change Konoha with me, then you can leave and continue being your wandering vagabond."

The Legendary Sannin had all chosen to leave Konoha because they could not change this village that was growing more rotten by the day.

"Stay. The village needs you now."

After a series of unexpected events, Konoha's strength was depleted. Jiraiya's return was urgently needed, since his combat power was undeniably at the Kage Level.

The Three Legendary Sannin were already powerful in their own right, and with the summoned beasts of the three sacred lands, they were formidable even among Kage Level fighters.

Without any hesitation, Jiraiya held out his hand to Orochimaru.

"Interesting."

His words were hard, but his heart was soft.

Orochimaru also extended his hand and clasped Jiraiya's.

Perhaps Konoha could change the course of the future through the efforts of the two of them.

"How about I have our teacher hand Root over to you, then make you Konoha's darkness of the Shinobi World?"

Orochimaru's words made Jiraiya's face darken.

"You want me to become Danzo?"

Jiraiya felt that this world had changed far too quickly.

Before coming here, he had actually wanted Orochimaru to take on Danzo's role. Who would have thought that Orochimaru would now ask him to become Root's leader?

Orochimaru was naturally joking. Root had already been disbanded.

"How about this? I'll give you a mission first. Go find Tsunade. The Medical Division needs her."

Jiraiya's eyes lit up. If Tsunade could return as well, then the Legendary Sannin could reunite once more.

During the war, they had lost too much, to the point that they had all become disappointed in this village.

Once all three of them became part of Konoha's upper ranks, could they perhaps sideline Hiruzen Sarutobi? What would Konoha become in the hands of the Legendary Sannin?

At the very least, it should not be the same as before, right?

Jiraiya had found meaning in his life again.

"Go see Naruto. I left him in Kakashi's care."

"Once you bring Tsunade back, I'll announce his identity."

Jiraiya nodded. Looking at Orochimaru, he could clearly sense that Orochimaru had changed as well.

After leaving Root, Jiraiya saw that Naruto was doing fairly well, along with Kakashi frantically trying to take care of him. Jiraiya realized that everyone was changing.

However, the Land of Fire's daimyo had some objections to Root being dealt with.

Besides handling certain matters for the village, the ANBU also did dirty work for the Land of Fire's nobles.

But the Land of Fire's daimyo only had a slight objection.

Of course, that might also have been related to Hiruzen Sarutobi taking down Danzo in a single move.

Danzo had wanted to become Hokage for a long time, and he had close ties with the nobles and daimyo of the Land of Fire.

Some of Root even carried out missions for the daimyo, so the daimyo's side had received the news as well.

The daimyo sent someone to notify Asuma and tell him to return to Konoha.

"Asuma, your father wants you to go back."

Asuma was still one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja then. Deeply dissatisfied with Hiruzen Sarutobi, he had been wandering on his own.

"Why?"

Asuma found it strange and did not understand why Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted him to return.

"Something major has happened in Konoha recently. Your father hasn't been at ease lately, so it may be related to that."

Asuma nodded, somewhat worried. Thinking that something might have happened to Hiruzen Sarutobi, he chose to return to Konoha and take a look.

Hiruzen Sarutobi taking down Danzo and having Orochimaru replace him had spread throughout the entire Shinobi World, significantly affecting its balance of power.

The other villages had long grown accustomed to Hiruzen Sarutobi's restraint and weakness, but Orochimaru was different. During the Shinobi World War, Orochimaru had been a ruthless commander.

Orochimaru becoming one of Konoha's upper ranks might cause Konoha's policies to change.

At this time, both the Cloud Hidden Village and the Hidden Rock Village were at war with Konoha, with constant minor clashes.

Orochimaru becoming one of Konoha's upper ranks made both the Cloud Hidden Village and the Hidden Rock Village consider whether to continue the war.

Orochimaru was still young. If he refused to yield, then even though Konoha had lost several top-tier fighters, it was still stronger than them. After all, in the Third Shinobi World War, both the Cloud Hidden Village and the Hidden Rock Village had been the losers.

It was only because of Konoha's internal strife that they had been able to stir up conflicts in certain regions and gradually erode Konoha's strength.