Yet after confirming Akatsuki's objective, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not feel the slightest bit happy.
How could he possibly be happy about this!
Their objective was founded on the annihilation of the Shinobi World!
This was a true world-ending catastrophe! Although the world itself would not be destroyed, every breathing creature in the Shinobi World would cease to exist!
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer remain calm after learning this news.
After a moment of silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked hopefully, "Speaking of which, Jiraiya, you said Akatsuki's leader was once your student. I wonder..."
Jiraiya immediately understood what Hiruzen Sarutobi was thinking. With a bitter chuckle, he interrupted before Hiruzen Sarutobi could finish:
"Don't get your hopes up. When I went there with Mr. Su Yu earlier, I still had hopes for him. But, alas, just as Mr. Su Yu said, you can never wake someone who's pretending to be asleep."
With his idea rejected by Jiraiya, Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent again.
After a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and said:
"Come to think of it, the person who came to steal the scroll was most likely an Akatsuki member, because I think I've figured out which forbidden technique they were after!"
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Jiraiya froze and instinctively asked, "Which one?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was grave as he enunciated each word. "Impure World Reincarnation!"
Since Jiraiya's first order of business upon returning was to seek allies, then after the beating Su Yu had given Akatsuki, they would certainly seek new sources of strength to bolster their confidence as well.
Given the nature of Akatsuki, an alliance with another shinobi village was impossible. So where would they find help?
No matter how he thought about it, their only option was to turn to powerful shinobi who were already dead!
Hearing Hiruzen