That night, Konoha High Command barely slept.
After returning to his quarters, Jiraiya spent three full hours repeatedly studying Naraku's words and mannerisms.
Shikaku delivered a dossier dozens of pages thick, detailing every public engagement Shihōin Naraku had attended since becoming Hokage, his speech habits, and his particular preferences when dealing with people.
Even details as small as Naraku's habits when reviewing documents were clearly noted.
Facing a mirror, Jiraiya practiced Naraku's most common expressions and tones over and over.
He had no choice. Ordinarily, Shihōin Naraku and Jiraiya differed greatly in tone and manner.
Although Naraku usually seemed easygoing, as the foremost figure in the shinobi world, he carried an air completely unlike that of ordinary people.
His eyes, in particular, were filled with an unimaginable sense of pressure whenever he grew serious. Ordinary ninja did not even dare meet his gaze.
Jiraiya himself spoke much more casually, liked cracking jokes, and would burst into hearty laughter at the drop of a hat.
The difference between the two styles was like fire and water.
"This is too hard..."
Jiraiya slumped into his chair and rubbed his brow, which ached slightly from the intense strain. "The more I practice, the less I feel like him."
"Naraku, you brat, hurry back already."
Jiraiya looked at himself in the mirror. No matter how he adjusted the curve of his lips, his smile carried a flippant air.
Naraku never smiled like that.
"Forget it. Getting halfway there will have to do," Jiraiya muttered to himself. "For the rest, I'll just have to bluff my way through with presence."
Early the next morning, before the sky had fully brightened, Konoha was already awake.
With the Five-Nation Joint Chunin Selection Trials approaching, the village had several times its usual foot traffic.
Shops on both sides