Chapter 53
JIRAIYA-The Toad Sage
Jiraiya was feeling extremely frustrated as he stood in the Hokage's office. It had been about two days since his arrival in the village. Two days and somehow, he had become Tsunade's temporary replacement in that time. It made sense, in a way. With Tsunade unconscious, he was the strongest shinobi of Konoha, and that had led to many people looking up to him during this perilous time.
As a Sanin, he commanded a great deal of respect and clout, something which he used to enjoy previously. Though now that same respect and clout were almost backfiring. Jiraiya was not meant for this. To be tied down to a chair was not a life he wanted for himself.
No, Jiraiya yearned to be free. To be truly free. To roam the lands freely as he wrote books. He dreamt of freedom, of peace. He dreamt of the impossible. Yet he would prove them wrong, for he was destined to.
'You shall guide a young soul. A soul that shall bring great change to this world.'
The words of the great elder still rang in his ears.
Minato.
He sighed as he lamented the fate of his student. It was supposed to be him sitting on this seat. Yet, perhaps it would be his son.
"So, tell me again, why did you call this meeting?" he spoke up as he glanced at the jounin commander standing opposite to him. The last occupant of the room was Tsunade's apprentice, who stood on the side leaning on the wall. Bandages still covered a major part of his body, but the kid had been working even in the hospital bed.
"As you may be aware that I was called by the Daimyo to give a report about the village."
And Jiraiya felt his heart drop at the mention of the daimyo. He looked at the face of the Nara clan head and could already make out the words that were to come out of his mouth.
"I informed the daimyo about Tsunade-sama's health, and he and I were of the similar opinion that it would be prudent for the village to have definite leadership. And both of us agreed that there is no one better than you, Jiraiya-sam…."
"NO!" Jiraiya cut him off.
"Not happening!" Jiraiya added before Shikaku could speak up once more.
"This seat belongs to Tsunade. And she will be the one to lead this village. And while she is indisposed, I will try and help as much as I can. But I am not donning taking over that accursed hat."
Then he looked Shikaku straight in the eye and spoke up in an extremely serious tone.
"I still have to complete my extensive research after all," he added with a smirk, making Tsunade's apprentice snicker as well.
"Plus, Tsunade will wake up, hopefully quickly, and I am perfectly confident in your abilities to run the village till she does so, Commander." Jiraiya finished up as he gave Shikaku an encouraging thumbs up.
The man just sighed as he pinched his nose.
"What a drag. I should have expected this," Jiraiya heard him mutter, though Tsunade's apprentice spoke up from the side.
"Well, that discussion seems to be done, so can I ask why I was summoned to the office?" the kid asked. Shikaku looked towards the kid and replied.
"You were summoned for two reasons. Firstly, to inform me about the effort to break the special ROOT seal. And secondly, I wanted to know if you are ready to divulge the details of the battle now because, without those details, it is becoming a bit of a hassle to mount up a proper prosecution against Danzo and the other elders."
And Jiraiya saw the kid narrow his eyes at that. He could see the kid's brain working overtime as he thought over his decision.
"I think I divulged enough to mount up a proper prosecution. Danzo's crimes are heinous and extremely dangerous, and if that information is not properly handled, it could lead to a disaster."
He saw the kid take out a scroll and pass it to Shikaku. And as Shikaku reached forward to take the scroll, the kid spoke up again.
"This contains a detailed report of the battle and has everything I know. Though, I would advise you not to show it to anyone else."
Shikaku finally took the scroll, and Jiraiya frowned slightly as he spoke up.
"What actually did that old bastard do?" Jiraiya found himself asking. Jiraiya was aware of the treason charges against Danzo, but what had the kid so cautious? He saw the kid look at him and raise his finger as he made a hand seal.
And Jiraiya felt a small chakra project from the kid before dying down. Then the kid finally replied in a small voice.
"Blood Line theft. Elder Danzo tried and somewhat succeeded in stealing the Kekkei Genkai of leaf's two founding clans.
"THAT BASTARD!" Jiraiya cursed the old fart. Opposite him, Shikaku Nara's eyes went wide as well. That power-hungry bastard.
Bloodline theft was perhaps the greatest taboo amongst the villages, more so doing it to a clan of your own village. There was a reason that Uchiha protested so strongly about Kakashi wielding the Sharingan. Even then, Jiraiya had been surprised by Fugaku when he had allowed Hatake to keep it.
"Are you sure?" Shikaku asked the kid with a disgusted voice, and the kid nodded.
"Yes. He had an arm made out of first Hokage's cells into which Sharingan was implanted."
"Were? As in plural," Shikaku's face was a mix of disgust and fury at the moment. Not that Jiraiya was feeling any different. Danzo had not just committed Blood line theft. No, he had also desecrated the dead.
"Yes, there were a total of ten Sharingan transplanted in his arm."
"Ten!" Shikaku seemed horrified by that news and walked to the chair placed on his side.
"That bastard!" Jiraiya muttered as he heard that.
"It seems that you were right in keeping quiet about this. If the news about this were to spread, it would lead to a disaster." Shikaku said after a while. And Jiraiya agreed.
When the village had been created, each clan was assured protection of their specific Kekkei Genkai. Even during the era before the Great Villages, bloodline theft was taboo. There were tails of whole clans getting wiped out completely for doing it.
'What were you doing, Sensei!" Jiraiya thought, for all this had taken place in his sensei's reign. Had he really been blind to his friend's crimes? Or… But Jiraiya put the thought out of his mind. Sensei was dead. Thinking like this was futile.
There was a sudden knock on the door. Shikaku looked up from the chair as he made the handseals to inactivate the privacy seals.
"Come in!" he shouted, and the door opened up to reveal the form of the red-haired Uzumaki. From her appearance, it seemed that she had rushed to the Hokage office for some reason.
"Karin! What happened?" Shinso asked as he walked towards the Uzumaki, who was still huffing as she tried to catch her breath.
"Tsunade-sama! She is awake! She finally woke up!" a wave of relief went through Jiraiya as he heard that news. Shikaku also leaned back in his seat and gave out a huge sigh, as a small smile blossomed on his face as well.
0000
OBITO UCHIHA
Obito stood in the shadows as he saw all the members of the Akatsuki gather. Without Itachi, they had been reduced to eight now. Eight but all S-ranked shinobi. Plus, there was quite a bit of surprise that he had been preparing.
Pain finally stood up. The silence in the whole cave was deathly. It had taken some time for all the members to arrive in Ame from their previous assignments. But, all of them had come. They had come, for they all knew that Akatsuki was about to change completely.
"As you all may have already heard, Itachi Uchiha has been revealed as a traitor and has defected from the organization. After Orochimaru, this is the second defection. And he will soon have the same fate as that of Orochimaru!"
And Obito watched as Karin threw the mangled remains of Orochimaru to the center of the cave. His dead body was proof of Akatsuki's retribution. And the same retribution would soon be coming for Orochimaru.
"Finally, that slimy bastard is dead!" Sasori of the sand muttered in the thickened voice of his special puppet.
"Though, I had not suspected this out of Itachi. Weren't you partnered with him, Kisame?" Sasori questioned the rogue nin from Kiri.
"Neither did I. But, somehow, he was able to put me under a genjutsu and then he vanished from our location," Kisame replied with gritted teeth.
"How embarrassing. Falling for a genjutsu! It seems your skill doesn't match up to your skill!" Kakuzu insinuated.
"SHUT UP! YOU OLD FOSSIL! OR I WILL SHOW YOU MY SKILLS RIGHT HERE!"
"ENOUGH!" Pain shouted, and the whole cave was filled with his chakra instantly.
"It is no time for squabbling like idiots. Itachi has been our member for more than six years. His defection brings Akatsuki to the light. By now, Konoha will have files on each of us, and soon they will begin to approach their allies with this information!" Pain highlighted the crux of the problem faced by the organization.
"What if they have a file! I will just sacrifice anyone they send after me to Lord Jashin!" Hidan showed his simple-mindedness, making Obito shake his head.
Konan stood up from her seat and walked to Pain's side.
"What this means is that we can no longer hide in the shadows. Akatsuki's secretive clout is gone, and this means that we must change how we operate," God's angel spoke up with clarity.
Pain then walked forward and spoke up once more.
"As Konan said, we can no longer hide in the shadows. It is time that we show the world our might. And hence I have devised plans for our next moves."
"Hihi! This seems like quite fun. It seems like I will finally get an opportunity to showcase my art!" Iwa's bomber commented with a huge smile. Pain simply ignored the overgrown man-child and continued laying out their discussed plan.
"We shall announce our presence to all the great villages. We will attack all of the five great Villages. All in a single sweep!"
"But didn't we already try that? Doing so with our current numbers will not be easy." Added Kakuzu with a slight frown. Though, Pain shook his head at that.
"Yes, but our purpose this time is not to capture the tailed beasts. No, we shall bring the five great nations to their heels. I have devised a plan to complete this mission with Akatsuki's oldest and most secret member."
"Another new member!" questioned Sasori a little bit skeptically. Though, Pain shook his head at this.
"Not a new member, per se. But an old member who has remained behind the curtain until now. He will join us now. Come out!"
Pain shouted, and Obito pushed himself from the wall. He checked over his new mask and began to walk out into the light of the lamps. There was silence in the cave as he came out. Though, he did notice the slight frown on Kakuzu's face as he set his sights on the weapon strapped to Obito's back.
The special gunbai of Madara was quite iconic and amongst the legendary weapons. A weapon that had laid devastation across the whole continent. His new mask was white porcelain instead of the previous orange with two perforations. Two Sharingan spun in them.
Danzo was not the only one who saw an opportunity during the massacre of the Uchiha clan.
Obito reached the center of the stage and could feel everyone's gaze fixated on him.
"It is nice to meet all of you in the open finally." He began, and he could feel the tension in the room. There was silence in the cave as everyone was just staring at him.
"I am Madara Uchiha, and I am going to explain how we are going to bring the five nations to their heel!" He announced.
"BULLSHIT!" came the response from Kakuzu as black tendrils raced towards him.
BOOM.
0000
Akatsuki has no other option besides this. Itachi was a part of the organization for over six years. He knows too much. Either they revamp the organization completely, or they take the offensive to the villages.
Though, Obito and Pain aren't doing it on a whim. They have a plan ( more like I have a plan ), and this is going to be quite fun.
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