And so, Jiraiya took Nagato and his two companions to Konoha.
He also reported the events on the Land of Rain battlefield to his teacher, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.
As someone who had spoken directly with Madara Uchiha, Jiraiya was naturally asked plenty of questions.
"That sword strike really was the First Hokage's doing? Even now, I find it unbelievable."
Smoking his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi walked over to the window and stood with his hands behind his back.
He gazed absently at the distant sky and the striking Heavenly Scar across it.
Several days earlier, a brilliant white light had suddenly blazed across the sky. Even from Konoha, they had seen that dazzling radiance stretch for thousands of miles, cleaving the heavens.
He had never imagined it was the work of their own long-missing First Hokage.
Still less had he imagined that the Five Great Nations, which had nearly driven Konoha into a corner, would all be destroyed by that one man and his sword.
"Will Lord First... blame me for failing to manage Konoha properly..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help murmuring.
For a moment, his thoughts were a tangled mess.
The Second Hokage had entrusted him with the position of Naruto in a time of crisis.
Strictly speaking, he had never received the support of the major clans, leaving his authority without a firm basis.
The truly powerful clans would cooperate on their own terms rather than obey his commands, and he could hardly mobilize them.
Fortunately, he still had the support of the surviving Senju Clan and his own Sarutobi Clan,
which kept the other major clans from getting their hands on the Jinchūriki.
He also had the backing of old classmates such as Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura.
That had allowed him to establish a firm