When the ground caved in, remember not to panic. Move away from the collapse area immediately to prevent it from spreading outward and protect your own safety.
Rumble...
Thanks to Uchiha Itachi's explosive stunt, the underground vacuum base finally began to collapse. The deafening sound of the ground sinking in filled the air... Jiraiya and Orochimaru stared at the scene before them and fell silent...
There really was no way to refute that.
When a disciple caused trouble, the master had to take the blame... Deep down, Jiraiya actually wanted to give his disciple a thumbs-up, but they were facing an increasingly irritated Orochimaru.
So it was best not to provoke him, right?
"Heh heh heh heh..."
Orochimaru staggered toward the edge of the collapse, seeming to mutter to himself while also accusing them. "Do you know what you destroyed...?"
"...Orochimaru, come back to Konoha with me!" Jiraiya stood beside Itachi. After patting the little boy on the shoulder, he turned to look at his former teammate.
Hearing Jiraiya's words, Orochimaru came back to himself. The base he had painstakingly built was doomed beyond saving. He might as well find something else to make up for it...
For example, that expressionless little brat of a ninja...
"Jiraiya, don't you think that's ridiculous?" His snake-like eyes swept over Uchiha Itachi before settling on Jiraiya. Spreading his hands, he said, "What I pursue will never be accepted by him. Go back... and wait to die?"
The old man played the emotional card. "The old man misses you very much..."
After hesitating for a moment, Jiraiya added, "I ran into Tsunade..."
Tsunade was currently utterly disheartened. Other than alcohol and dice, there was little that could move her. As long as Konoha was not destroyed, basically nothing concerned her.
During the half day Jiraiya had spent with Tsunade, she had shown no interest in anything happening in the village. She had even grown somewhat tired of Jiraiya's nagging.
"Hahahaha! Jiraiya!" Orochimaru suddenly cut him off. "We're all walking the paths we chose to pursue. There's no need to bring up those pitiful old days, is there...?"
Jiraiya fell silent. "..."
The feelings between Tsunade and Orochimaru were rather complicated, mixed up with far too many things...
There was no doubt that they trusted each other. In all of Konoha, Orochimaru had once been the person Tsunade trusted most, with even Jiraiya coming after him... Before Senju Nawaki died, Orochimaru had never disappointed Tsunade.
After all, a friend like that was strong, talented, wealthy, handsome, serious, obedient... Aside from not liking to talk about feelings, he was practically perfect.
Once the subject of Tsunade was cut off, Orochimaru seemed to have no intention of continuing to speak with Jiraiya. There was no point dragging it out... They had long since recognized their own paths, and neither of them could easily give up.
It was both the path of the strong and the direction their hearts desired.
And after suffering such enormous losses, Orochimaru would have to start from scratch again after tonight... A barefoot man was not afraid of someone wearing shoes...
"Leave Uchiha Itachi behind... Jiraiya, and I can let you and those children leave."
Orochimaru's greedy gaze spilled forth without restraint. He had coveted the little boy for far too long, but he had never desired him as badly as he did now.
Especially tonight...
The first to refuse was Kitahara. "...Caw..."
Why was my kid always being targeted? No matter who they met, they all seemed to have some special designs on Uchiha Itachi... Hmm, regardless of gender.
"Orochimaru, don't talk nonsense!" Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru and said grimly, "It seems a battle between us tonight is unavoidable..."
"The moment I saw Uchiha Itachi, the outcome was already decided." Orochimaru chuckled. "I need him very much..."
"..."
Jiraiya fell silent again. He had thought that if he threw out a few harsh words, Orochimaru would offer him a way out and make some condition or other... He had even planned to violate his principles and help Orochimaru with a few small favors.
But this guy was fixated on his disciple and refused to let go. Back when everyone had urged him to take on a disciple, Orochimaru had reluctantly chosen a beautiful young girl...
And now he had his eye on a pretty, adorable little boy...
Seeing Jiraiya hanging his head in dejection, Uchiha Itachi could not help comforting him. "Teacher Jiraiya, are you all right...?"
"I do have..." The old man glanced weakly at his disciple, then turned to look at the string of little children. In a low voice, he said, "If you get the chance, take these children and leave... If it really comes down to it, escape on your own first!"
"I can stay and help!" The little boy touched the ninja forehead protector on his brow. Even though he knew he was no match for Orochimaru, he would not back down like this!
If he could not win, he would find a way. If there was no way, he would create difficulties and press on anyway... Ever since awakening the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Itachi had never experienced a fight to the death. He was confident he would not hold anyone back...
The Uchiha clan's bloodline limit always gave them confidence...
Jiraiya shook his head forcefully. "No! Once Orochimaru and I begin fighting, it'll be hard for me to spare attention to protect you... You are my disciple, and you are also my subordinate. Obey my orders!"
The battle between the Three Legendary Ninja of Konoha was not something ordinary people could interfere in... Nor could those at the center of the battle afford to be distracted.
Caw!
Kitahara shot Jiraiya a sidelong glare. Was he looking down on them?
You said we should escape first. Did you think we could really just leave like that? Do you know what I did tonight? I was just one step away from being able to raise my kid in peace...
The crow's formidable combat power was simply not very conspicuous. Its minor flaws concealed its brilliance, and it had never truly had a moment to shine before Jiraiya and Itachi.
Other than when it had beaten Shisui senseless...
"Kitahara..." Uchiha Itachi soothed the crow, then looked up at Jiraiya. "I will obey your orders, Teacher."
"I'll find a way to hold him back..." Jiraiya nodded, stroking Uchiha Itachi's hair as he said softly, "Remember this! If there's no other choice, escape on your own!"
"Yes!"
Hearing Uchiha Itachi's promise, Jiraiya nodded in satisfaction. He truly had no confidence in this, since this was the first time he and Orochimaru would truly meet in battle...
In their past sparring matches, Jiraiya's endings had been rather miserable. Whenever he developed a new ninjutsu, he would eagerly seek out Orochimaru for a fight...
And in the end... Tsunade would be rather busy.
Still, he was not entirely without trump cards. Over the past two years, aside from traveling far and wide, he had occasionally gone to Mount Myoboku to train. He had learned some decent techniques there. If he got the chance to use them, and if he could use them successfully...
The more Jiraiya thought about it, the less confident he became...
Uchiha Itachi quickly retreated, directing the stunned children to leave...
Watching the kindergarten class monitor's actions, Orochimaru chuckled and licked his lips. "Jiraiya, no matter what, I must thank you for bringing me such a wonderful gift..."
"But how greedy of you. Do you want to take all these children away safe and sound... Summoning Technique!"
"No need to test each other any further! Let's settle this in one decisive battle!"
A gigantic purple python appeared out of thin air at Orochimaru's words and suddenly crashed onto the ground, making the earth tremble once more...
This chapter was kind of filler. I just reread it... It wasn't very good, and I forgot to revise it.
Shamelessly asking for some votes...
I need to come up with some more material.
Before you continue