You Brat, That's Enough!

Some things can't be kept hidden forever; it's better to reveal them sooner rather than later.

Many of Konoha's secret intelligence was withheld from lower-ranking ninja to maintain stability. However, if Jiraiya were also kept in the dark, it would essentially signal a lack of trust. The Third Hokage had no intention of concealing the information Danzō provided.

Still, he couldn't openly reveal that his old friend had once attempted assassination. He couldn't ruin the reputation of the elder Konoha leadership because of one man, Danzō.

After consolidating intelligence from both sides, they reached a conclusion: The newly minted rogue ninja of Konoha, Yin Yang, or rather Zetsu, was exceptionally skilled in the Flying Thunder God Technique after being created by Orochimaru. However, he had never revealed his Wood Style talent and had been personally dispatched by Orochimaru.

After Orochimaru's defection, Zetsu decisively defected from Konoha. As for why he went to the Land of Grass, perhaps Orochimaru had a stronghold there, or perhaps it was part of Orochimaru's other plans.

This had been confirmed. A border outpost in the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain had sent intelligence about Orochimaru to Konoha. Snake molts found at the scene verified his identity...

The S-rank rogue ninja fled north after an encounter with Jiraiya and his disciples, engaging in combat with an unknown individual in the Land of Rain, which happened to be adjacent to the Land of Grass.

Beiyuan: "..."

Though he didn't know why Orochimaru was desperately seeking attention, Beiyuan's raven intuition told him Orochimaru was being framed... though that was stating the obvious, as Orochimaru was the one who committed the acts...

However, Konoha had indeed stumbled upon information about Zetsu.

The person who would become one of the most deeply hidden figures in the Akatsuki and the villainous team was exposed because of some power-hungry scapegoat elder... After all, who normally had the leisure to pay attention to what new figures appeared in a small ninja village!

"Do you need me to go to the Land of Grass?" Jiraiya looked at the latest intelligence from the Land of Grass. The situation there was currently quite chaotic. It was a border region shared by the Hidden Stone Village, the Hidden Sand Village, and Konoha, inhabited by four or five small countries, and now everyone was on edge.

The Third Shinobi World War hadn't ended that long ago, and most of the major ninja villages were still licking their wounds and likely dreaded another large-scale conflict...

"...I've dispatched Hatake Kakashi. He's had direct contact with Zetsu before."

In reality, Hiruzen Sarutobi had dispatched as many available Anbu as possible, including Danzō's Anbu training squad, and had also stationed many ninja squads at the borders.

This was because a report from the Land of Grass indicated that Zetsu had been there for some time. While the Land of Grass had always been an ally of Konoha, it didn't mean the small country couldn't be controlled through a conspiracy between Orochimaru and Zetsu.

Furthermore, the Land of Earth, another large country adjacent to the Land of Grass, was home to the Hidden Stone Village's Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, who was not an easy person to deal with. Aside from the Hidden Mist Village being too far away, he had schemed against almost all the other major countries.

He was a cunning old fox...

Therefore, after Hiruzen Sarutobi convened several high-level meetings, Danzō himself rushed over... After all, in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, Zetsu had defected from Danzō's command.

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly pulled out a document and handed it to Jiraiya, glancing subtly at Uchiha Itachi. "Take a look at this. The village's situation is a bit unstable."

"Uchiha..." Jiraiya understood the village's consistent policy towards the Uchiha. As long as nothing that harmed Konoha occurred, he was indifferent to everything else.

The problem was that he now had a disciple named Uchiha Itachi...

Ever since Konoha announced the news of a second S-rank rogue ninja, the Uchiha clan's dissatisfaction had escalated once again. In just a few days, the village had received seven complaints regarding the Konoha Military Police Force, including friction between the Aburame clan and the Uchiha clan.

The Third Hokage's intention was for Jiraiya to temporarily keep Uchiha Itachi in the village. Ostensibly, it was to show appeasement, and Jiraiya's presence also served as a deterrent... Uchiha Fugaku's attitude remained relatively neutral.

"Ha! It looks like all minor issues..." Jiraiya scratched the back of his head and put down the paper. "...In that case, Itachi and I will rest in the village for a while!"

"There's one more thing..." Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed lightly and waved for Uchiha Itachi to leave temporarily. The master and disciple had some private matters to discuss.

As the young boy, carrying the crow, just left the room, he heard the complaints and arguments from inside, with decibel levels high enough to echo throughout the Hokage Tower...

"The matter of succession for Hokage can't be delayed any longer!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't make decisions unilaterally!"

"Jiraiya, I'm already quite old, and it's difficult for me to manage village affairs with my energy... As you can see, if you could take on the role of Hokage, many things would be resolved smoothly!"

"Old man, your residual chakra is still on this crystal ball... Let me try to see what I can see from it? Don't take it away! I have an excellent location I've been observing for a long time to share with you... Heh heh heh..."

"..."

Uchiha Itachi and the crow exchanged glances, looking at each other speechlessly.

Not long after, Jiraiya emerged with a satisfied expression, patted the young boy's head, and said, "Itachi, you should head home first. I have some personal matters to attend to..."

Beiyuan, who was contemplating following them: "..."

Uchiha Itachi nodded and hurried towards the clan compound with the crow, muttering along the way, "I should go home to see Mom and Dad and Sasuke first! Then I'll visit Shisui... if there's time..."

"Caw~"

Beiyuan let out a soft caw. If there's time, you'll visit Uchiha Izumi, right? It would be better to go find the little veterinarian!

However, placing a visit to Shisui before seeing Izumi...

This young cub is truly something!

Beiyuan and Itachi's social circles largely overlapped. The friends they had in Konoha Village, when counted, were only Shisui, Uchiha Izumi, and Inuzuka Hana.

Uchiha Itachi enjoyed sparring with Shisui, while Beiyuan preferred to snatch snacks from the little veterinarian. The little veterinarian was usually very busy and carelessly didn't care about many things...

As for Uchiha Izumi, if one were to say it was merely a familiar face, it might not be entirely appropriate. After all, Itachi and Izumi's relationship could still be considered friendly, and the girl's obvious feelings were quite apparent...

As the crow and Uchiha Itachi were discussing, a petite figure suddenly stopped at the street corner and called out to them loudly, "Itachi! You're back?"

"..."

Beiyuan fell silent. Some people really can't help but be talked about... Listen to that! How could this girl make him feel anything but annoyance! Upon seeing Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Izumi, whose intelligence and emotional quotient plummeted, completely ignored the crow...

Whether it was Shisui or Inuzuka Hana, they would definitely greet them in turn...

Such a love-struck fool!

"Izumi, why are you here?" Uchiha Itachi looked at her curiously. Logically, at this time, young girls should be attending the ninja academy.

"We're practicing shuriken today, so it's okay to leave a little early! If we leave school too late, it'll be hard to buy the three-colored dango..." Uchiha Izumi said, cupping the bag in her arms.

Both Uchiha Itachi and Beiyuan remembered this time very clearly; that sweet shop should be selling out soon, and they might not make it if they didn't hurry.

Uchiha Itachi's face flushed slightly, his gaze gradually fixed on her. "...It's been a while. Would you like to sit together?"

"Caw..."

Beiyuan, for once, felt a rare urge to lash out and scold the child. Really, show some backbone!

Second update, a little later than scheduled, apologies! But I still hope for recommendation votes