"Aren't you Itachi Uchiha? How is he alive?" Jiraya asked as he finally looked back at Tsunade.
"He has been alive the whole time living in the hidden leaf." Tsunade said.
"How can he live in the village when he committed so many crimes? He even attacked us a few years ago." Jiraya said as he got ready to fight. He wasn't dumb enough to start attacking Itachi but he didn't want to take any chances.
Against someone like Itachi, it is necessary to be cautious. He was someone who could handle multiple S-ranked shinobis together and still make it out alive.
"I want you to listen to what he has to say. Then I will leave the decision to you whether you want to attack him." Tsunade said.
Jiraya thought for a few seconds and relaxed a little. Seeing him lower his guard Tsunade signaled Itachi to talk.
"It is true that I was the one who attacked you after the chunin exams and I was the one who massacred the Uchiha clan. But I did all that for the peace of the Hidden leaf." Itachi said.
Jiraya nearly dropped his jaw on the floor as he heard that. He couldn't believe how attacking and Killing the people of the village was meant for the peace of the village.
After that Itachi continued to explain Jiraya from the start. The expressions on Jiraya's face were a site to behold. Tsunade herself had never seen him like that. The face that is always fooling around and smiling was now serious and anger was evident in his eyes.
Tsunade who already knew everything also felt flares of anger rise up from her heart after listening to the tale again. Looking at Itachi who could still be called a kid and knowing what all he has gone through, Tsunade realized how cruel the world was.
She always felt that her problems were the bigger ones but in comparison to Itachi's, they were nothing.
The ground around Jiraya's feet started to vibrate and small stones started to float in the air. The white hair that stood like a Mane on Jiraya's back also became a shawl of thorns.
Tsunade walked a few steps ahead put one hand on Jiraya's shoulder and said "Don't let your feelings affect you Jiraya. I felt the same amount of anger when I heard all this but we can't change what has happened."
Until now she was just looking at Jiraya's back. As she walked forward, she got a chance to look at his face as well. His eyes red with anger and a drop of tear rolled down his cheek.
Tsunade never thought she would witness this sight. It would be more appropriate to say that she never wanted to witness such a sight. After the loss of her lover and brother and, the betrayal of Orochimaru, Jiraya was the only one who she leaned on and now he himself was in such a state.
"Is this all true?" Jiraya asked in a firm tone without even looking at her.
"Yes Jiraya...no matter how much it pains to say this but everything that Itachi said is true..." Tsunade said.
Itachi hadn't just told him about the Uchiha massacre but also about the Nine tails attack that took the life of Jiraya's 1st student Minato Namikaze.
"How could sensei hide all this from us? How could he even look at that boy Naruto after he knew who killed his parents?" Jiraya asked.
"About Madara...even I found out about it today. Itachi had kept this from me as well until today." Tsunade said as she threw a mean glance toward Itachi.
Jiraya stayed silent for a few seconds and then looked at Itachi and asked "I can't even imagine the pain you must have gone through while doing what you did Itachi. I don't think I would have been able to shoulder all this and still think about the village."
He expected Itachi to also display some amount of anger or sorrow but instead what he saw was a small smile. Itachi stared at him and said "I did what I had to as a leaf shinobi and I gave my all for the safety of my brothers. I have fulfilled the promise I kept to my parents. Now even if I die, I have no regrets."
"Your brothers. Do Yami and Sasuke know about this? Do they even know that you are alive?" Jiraya quickly asked as he was reminded of the two Uchiha kids.
Itachi shook his head and said "No they don't and I don't intend to tell them as well."
"What? Why? Wouldn't they be ecstatic to know that their brother is not the ruthless killer that everyone made him out to be?" Jiraya asked with a confused face as he looked back and forth from Itachi to Tsunade.
"This is what we fear Jiraya. Madara the man who calls himself Tobi, might reveal the truth about why Itachi did what he did. How do you think a 12 and a 15-year-old kid will react after hearing that the village is responsible for all this and that the Hokage knew about it and did nothing." Tsunade said making Jiraya realize the risk behind this secret.
Itachi stepped forward and said "Lady Tsunade is right. The situation is already going to be volatile because of the presence of the other Kages...if this secret is revealed in such a situation, we fear that Sasuke or Yami might do something they can never take back. I love this village but not than my brothers."
"The both of you must have decided to reveal such a big secret to me for a reason. What is it?" Jiraya asked.
He was right to think like this. Tsunade knew about this for the past 3 years but she didn't tell anyone about it and why would she reveal this all of a sudden? The only logical explanation is that the two of them wanted something from Jiraya.
"If things do get out of hand, I want you to stop Sasuke from taking any kind of action." Itachi said.
"I can do that...he is strong but not that strong...but what about Yami...I don't think he is someone who can be stopped if he loses his temper." Jiraya asked. He hadn't met Yami for 3 years but there was no doubt that Yami had already surpassed him in terms of strength.
"I will take action personally if Yami acts up. The only thing that could stop Yami would be the fact that I was still alive. But if even that doesn't work then the only one who can stop Yami from rampaging will be his sensei." Itachi said.
Jiraya was a little confused by that statement so he asked "You mean the one who wears green clothes and specializes in Taijutsu?"
"Yes he might not look like it but his eight gates technique surpasses many in terms of strength and speed." Itachi said.
"Alright I can do that...now we only have to wait for the meeting to happen." Jiraya said.
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Next Day (Afternoon)
"Is everyone ready? They will be coming any minute." Shizune asked a burly man with an old claw wound on his face. This man was Ibiki Morino, the head of Konoha's torture and Interrogation division.
Right now they were standing at the north gates of the Hidden leaf village. This was the gate that prisoners were brought in without the knowledge of the common citizens of the hidden leaf.
Just as Ibiki and Shizune were talking, Inoichi Yamanaka walked towards them and asked "When will they arrive? Have we received any update?"
Ibiki glanced toward Inoichi and said "I would not divulge such information in normal times but knowing how important this is for you, the only thing I can say is that they stepped into our territory 2 hours ago. They must have traveled continuously since they left the hidden sand because they rested for a few minutes at our outpost. We already have 2 teams supporting them in case someone tries to ambush them."
Inoichi nodded when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked back and saw it was his friend Shikaku Nara. "Don't worry Inoichi...if the Akatsuki wanted to plan an ambush then they would have done it when they were traveling from the hidden sand. Now that they have reached within our territory the prisoner is safe and sooner our kids will be safe as well."
"I understand Shikaku...will you also be a part of the people receiving the prisoners?" Inoichi asked.
Shikaku glanced at Inoichi once and said "No....I am leaving the village for a little while. But I will be back before the meeting next month."Shikaku left after comforting his friend. A few minutes passed and a guard at the gate shouted "They are here...Secure the area."
Shizune, Ibiki, and Inoichi quickly turned toward the source of the sound and then started walking to the gates. Two squads of Anbu also followed them quickly.
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