Chapter 52
JIRAIYA-The Toad Sage
Jiraiya watched with trepidation as the med-nins rushed towards the new arrivals. He saw Tsunade's first apprentice, Shizune, enter alongside the Uzumaki girl. He had heard that the girl had become Kato's apprentice. With her chakra reserves and special Kekkei Genkai, the girl could grow up to surpass Tsunade.
He saw Karin, he remembered her name, stop and turn white as she spotted the state of the Hokage. Immediately she began to look around, probably to look for her fiancé. Her face going paler by the second as she did not spot him there.
"He is not here!" he spoke up as he poked her shoulder, startling her. The girl turned abruptly and was surprised to find him there.
"Jiraiya-sama!" she almost screamed out. And Jiraiya gave her a small smile.
"Your little lover," --and he smiled as he saw her face redden at his words—" is fine, but he was taken to Intelligence to give a debrief. He was injured and will probably be released in a short time."
The girl nodded at that.
"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama," she then turned to face the bed that was occupied by Tsunade.
"What happened? Who caused such injuries on Hokage-sama?" she asked quietly. And Jiraiya had no answer for her, for even he did not know as well. From his experience, he could tell that these injuries were not caused by Danzo or Orochimaru.
But the question was, if not them, then who? Who had caused that massive chakra disturbance and reduced Tsunade to such a state?
"Well, we will have to wait to find out about that," he replied mirthfully. In the end, they will have to see how much information they could reveal to the regular forces. Already he could sense a sense of quizziness amongst the regular forces as most of them had felt the ripples of the massive operation that had taken place.
His eyes went towards the unconscious form of Tsuande as he once more scanned her injuries. He had fought beside her for over a decade and was aware of her strength. Shinobi, who could reduce Tsunade, especially with Kakashi and her little apprentice, to such a state could be counted on a single hand. And most of them were already in their grave.
The image of a shinobi wearing an orange mask with a single Sharingan shining through a hole came to mind making him frown.
And Jiraiya's eyes narrowed at that. Could it be? Well, he might as well go and talk to Tsunade's apprentice.
Shizune Kato got finally stepped away from Tsunade's body. The girl had been trained well by Tsunade, evident by how she had everyone following her commands and running around. He walked up to and she looked toward him.
"Jiraiya-sama," she greeted him, and Jiraiya nodded.
"How is she?" he questioned her in a serious tone, and she took a huge breath as her stoic mask finally broke, and Jiraiya saw her face take a worried look.
"I am afraid not too well. Her injuries are quite severe, and due to her severely depleted reserves, healing her is quite complicated," Jiraiya nodded at that, cursing Tsunade in his heart for not calling him before she had planned this whole operation.
"She has also used her kinjutsu, the thousand healing marks, further complicating the whole process. We need to supplement her reserve and have them replenish before we can begin healing her physical injuries."
Jiraiya frowned at that. That was worrisome. But supplementing her reserves and a tidbit of information came to his mind as he looked towards the Uzumaki who was listening to their conversation.
And before he had spoken out, the girl volunteered herself.
"I can help with that!" the Uzumaki girl spoke out resolutely, and he saw Shizune's eyes widen at that slightly at that before she questioned the redhead once more.
"Are you sure about that, Karin? You don't hav…." But the girl cut off her mentor.
"But I can!" the girl interjected resolutely. And Jiraiya saw a very familiar determination in the girl's eyes.
"I can, and these abilities are mine to use, and if I can use them to save someone special to me, then I shall use them. So, yes, I am sure!" the redhead replied. The kid's mentor looked her straight in the eye before giving her a nod.
"All right, everyone. Move her to Intensive Care. I want the bed moving. Katsuhiko, you run point on Hatake till I am back. Everyone, let's move it," she commanded the staff and then turned towards the Uzumaki.
"You follow me," and the little girl nodded as both of them rushed towards a corridor to the right along with the rest of the staff.
Jiraiya also began to walk out of the Hospital and began to rush towards the building of the T&I to find out who had caused Tsunade's injuries.
Plus, he still had to talk to Itachi. He had convinced the management to place Itachi in a cell and also prohibited them from approaching him without Tsunade's approval. Hopefully, they had listened to his advice.
0000
SHIKAKU NARA
Shikaku watched as the door to the interrogation room closed as Inoichi stepped out with a small frown.
"What happened?" Shikaku asked and Inoichi handed him the debrief paper. Shikaku frowned and began to skim over the paper.
"He told me about the mission but left out many details as classified," and Inocihi was right. Shikaku read over the report about their battle with Danzo and Orochimaru and found most of the details about Danzo's prowess listed as classified.
He turned the page, and his eyes widened as he read over the next part.
"They fought the AKATSUKI!" he almost screamed, and Inoichi nodded, heaving out a sigh as well as he leaned on the table.
"And not just a regular member, it seems. According to the kid, their opponent had the mythical Rinnegan," and Shikaku pinched his nose as he threw the report on the table and took a seat himself.
"A Rinnegan, I had thought that it was only a myth," he thought out.
"Yeah, me as well. The kid thinks that this Pain guy is Akatsuki's leader. It was mainly him who was the source of most of their injuries, as well as that huge chakra disturbance. He is still filling out the details about his powers."
"The kid also refused to answer about Itachi and why he accepted his help," Inoichi added as he looked Shikaku straight in the eye. Shikaku did not shy away from the gaze as he saw Inochi's eyes narrow at that.
"So, this means our conjecture about the massacre was right," Inoichi questioned finally. And Shikaku did not know how to reply to that. But Jiraiya-sama had talked to Itachi like a comrade and had asked for him to be placed in a comfortable cell. Prohibiting any torture and interrogation as well.
All this pointed out that their conjecture that the true culprit behind the massacre was not Itachi may be right. And in his gut, Shikaku knew that they were right. In that case, that made the true culprit quite clear.
Danzo. Shimura f----- Danzo.
"What was the kid's answer about that?" Shikaku asked.
"He refused to disclose that information saying that he believed that he could not disclose it without Tsunade-sama's approval. You do know what this means, right?"
"I do. I do," Shikaku replied, and then the door to their room was opened up once more. Shikaku turned and saw the only conscious legendary Sanin enter the room.
"How is Hokage-sama?" Shikaku questioned. From what Shikaku had observed momentarily, she was not in a good state. And the answer was evident from the man's face as he gave him a small shake.
"Her situation is tricky, but Shizune believes that she will be fine," and then he turned to look through the mirror.
"Why is the kid still here? You need to send him to the hospital as well. He clearly has injuries." Shikaku sighed as he handed the Sanin the debrief report.
The Sanin picked it up and began reading it.
"The kid is keeping some of the information under wraps; we haven't pushed yet and were still debating what to do about it," Shikaku replied as he saw the Sanin frown. As he looked up and asked in a very serious tone.
"Is this accurate? Did they really fight the Akatsuki?" the Sanin questioned, and Shikaku nodded his head at that. Jiraiya-sama placed the file back on the table and began to walk toward the debriefing room.
"Let me talk to the kid and have the discharge form ready. The kid must have good reasons for his decision if he is waiting for Tsunade's approval to reveal the information."
"Of course, Jiraiya-sama," Shikaku answered as he saw the privacy seals around the special room activate.
0000
SHINSO KEN
The door to the room opened once more. Shinso stopped writing and looked up and was surprised to see Jiraiya-sama staring at me with a frown. The man lacked the jolly countenance. He usually walked around and was extremely serious.
"So you faced the Akatsuki during your mission?" he began questioning me without wasting any time, and I nodded at that.
"Yes, they were after Orochimaru for his defection from the group," Shinso replied concisely.
"And are you sure that what this Akatsuki member possessed the Rinnegan? The real mythical eyes belonging to the Sage himself?"
"Yes, I am sure. I am also done with his abilities and basic profile," Shinso mentioned as he handed him the file I had prepared. The white-haired Sanin took it from my hand and began to read it over.
"He was the one who killed Orochimaru," he confirmed as he read the report.
"Yes, he was the one who killed Orochimaru and Elder Danzo," Jiraiya-sama did not look away from the report though I did notice a small change in his expression at my answer.
By now, Shinso could feel my exhaustion catching up to me. Even with the first aid that I had received, the weariness and damage from the battle were too much.
"How is Tsunade-sama?" the kid questioned the aged Sanin. And the man finally looked towards him once more at this question.
"Shizune is taking care of her along with your fiancée, and they believe that she will be fine."
Shinso heaved a sigh of relief at that. Tsunade-sama's injuries were quite severe, and he had dreaded that they could lead to a very dangerous situation.
"Pain, huh? Well, at least I have a name now," Jiraiya muttered as he closed the report. He then looked toward the kid and spoke up in a serious tone.
"You did good, kid. Very well, I don't believe many shinobi can boast about facing such opponents and coming back alive. You should be proud of yourself." He finished with an encouraging smile.
"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama," and getting such praise from a legend like him was a huge deal.
"You are going to be discharged and will be taken to the hospital. We will deal with the other information when Tsunade wakes up. Hopefully, that will be sooner rather than later," the man said, and I saw the door to his side open up once more to reveal a small med-nin squad entering the room.
"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama," Shinso said as the med-nin began to help him up. The man gave him a nod, and Shinso was carried away by the med-nin. However, he did hear a small murmur.
"Amegakure. Huh, what a coincidence. Perhaps I will look into those kids again as well."
0000
Shinso gives a report, and Jiraiya recalls his old students. Karin steps up and decides that she is meant for greater things.
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Another chapter is done.
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