Hokage Building.
Gamabunta lay beside the Hokage building.
Fukasaku straightened his robe, sitting in the Hokage office with a sorrowful expression, and softly began to convey the distressing news to Tsunade.
"First..."
"Jiraiya has died in battle."
"..."
Tsunade's mind instantly went blank.
As the Hokage of Konoha, Tsunade's emotions had just begun to grieve. Even as she recalled various conversations with Jiraiya, she had to suppress her inner sorrow and maintain a composed demeanor.
"Lady Tsunade!"
Shizune noticed Tsunade's body trembling slightly.
"It's okay."
Tsunade shook her head, lowering it slowly to control her emotions, and continued, "Fukasaku, please tell me what happened..."
"Sorry..."
Fukasaku closed his eyes, continuing calmly, "What I am about to say might shock you even more..."
"It won't."
Tsunade shook her head firmly, though her voice trembled as she continued, "Nothing could shock me more than Jiraiya's death..."
"Compared to what I'm about to say..."
Fukasaku sighed and was about to continue with more troubling news.
"Lady Tsunade!"
An ANBU suddenly interrupted them, loudly announcing, "Lord Jiraiya has returned, along with Hanzo of the Salamander from Rain Village..."
"…"
Upon hearing the first part, Tsunade hurriedly stood up, her excitement evident to anyone observing the Fifth Hokage's reaction.
"Jiraiya is still alive!"
Fukasaku, unaware of the false information, showed a bit of joy on his face, "I thought he had died at the hands of Akihara Kagura!"
"Wait... who?"
Tsunade's forward steps abruptly stopped, feeling as if she had just misheard, a wave of dizziness overcoming her: "Did you just say that the one who tried to kill Jiraiya was... who?"
"Akihara Kagura."
Fukasaku had to state this harsh truth, even adding, "He's Jiraiya's student, and Konoha's advisor to the Hokage..."
"..."
In Tsunade's mind, it was as if a tightly stretched string suddenly snapped upon hearing that name!
"Fukasaku!"
"This joke is not funny!"
Tsunade angrily punched through the office door, intending to see Jiraiya first to ensure his safety, and then to hear the truth directly from him!
A minute later.
Tsunade saw Jiraiya.
She also saw Konan and Nagato who had come along.
And...
A man wearing a gas mask.
"Hanzo of the Salamander!"
Tsunade's nerves immediately tightened.
Even though her current strength was vastly different from her younger days, she had never forgotten how terrifying the leader of Rain Village was!
"Don't be nervous, young lady."
Hanzo spoke with magnanimity and gentleness, regarding Tsunade still as a junior, yet showing respect for the Hokage: "Now, you have become the Hokage..."
After many years.
Their statuses had changed.
The female ninja who once survived by naming herself on the battlefield had become the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, and the proud demigod ninja of the battlefield had aged...
"This time, we must thank Lord Hanzo..."
Jiraiya, lying weakly on the sickbed, spoke softly, "If not for Lord Hanzo, I might have died at the hands of Kagura..."
"Was it really... Akihara Kagura?"
The Fifth Hokage had to accept a harsh truth: Jiraiya was indeed injured by Akihara Kagura and almost died in the Land of Rain.
"We've all been fooled by the young ones…"
Jiraiya held his hand to his forehead, his face no longer cheerful but rather showing a self-deprecating bitter smile. "About ten years ago, when Uchiha Obito first revealed his identity in Konoha, Akihara Kagura was already conspiring with him…"
"Wait…"
Tsunade interrupted Jiraiya, raising a doubt. "Although we were not in Konoha at that time, I checked the village records about Uchiha Obito…"
Tsunade's expression turned strange. "If I remember correctly, the first person to discover Uchiha Obito's identity and report it to the village was Akihara Kagura…"
"Yes…"
Jiraiya looked at Tsunade, a helpless look on his face. "So, no one in the village would suspect that Uchiha Obito and Akihara Kagura were colluding, right?"
This was so obvious.
Uchiha Obito had been active under the guise of the mysterious masked man and Uchiha Madara, even gaining the respect of Konan and Nagato with this identity.
However…
Uchiha Obito's identity was suddenly exposed.
This caused a lot of trouble for Uchiha Obito and almost led to the breakdown of his cooperation with the Akatsuki organization.
The identities of Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito were vastly different.
Uchiha Obito managed to survive this crisis thanks to the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan, but the cost of this exposure to his reputation was significant.
However…
The benefits were also substantial.
Because it was Akihara Kagura who exposed Uchiha Obito's identity, Konoha never suspected that Akihara Kagura would have any collusion with the Akatsuki organization.
"When I took Akihara Kagura on a journey through the ninja world and met Nagato and Konan again, by then, Kagura had completely colluded with the Akatsuki organization…"
Jiraiya's expression grew serious as he began to talk about something troublesome. "Over the years, Akihara Kagura has maintained contact with the Akatsuki organization, secretly interfering with Konoha's investigations into Uchiha Obito and the Akatsuki…"
"..."
Tsunade gasped.
Because this news was quite shocking to her.
Jiraiya glanced at Konan and Nagato in the hospital room, adding, "The reason Kagura colluded with the Akatsuki organization back then was that he wanted their support to become Hokage, and he would assist them in capturing the tailed beasts and cover their tracks…"
"This plan…"
Jiraiya hesitated for a moment, then looked towards Hanzo of the Salamander. "It was probably learned from the previous Root leader, Danzo…"
"Danzo had contacts with Lord Hanzo in the past, and Danzo's goal was also to get Lord Hanzo's support to become Hokage, but Lord Hanzo didn't agree…"
"Of course…"
"The Akatsuki organization couldn't do much for Akihara Kagura either."
"..."
Tsunade's eyes twitched.
Why are the two Root leaders of Konoha so troublesome!
The previous Root leader was always detestable, and the current one, who was supposed to be less annoying, ended up being even more extreme!
"I have a question…"
Tsunade hesitated for a moment, then asked Jiraiya, "Did Kagura not become Hokage and thus break ties with the Akatsuki?"
"Because becoming Hokage was never his true goal."
Jiraiya shook his head and continued in a serious tone, "Having the Akatsuki's secret support for his bid to become Hokage was just an excuse for his collusion with the Akatsuki. His real aim was Nagato's Rinnegan…"
"..."
Tsunade was at a loss for words.
Although Akihara Kagura's actions were rather dark and he did collude with the Akatsuki, aiming for the Rinnegan wasn't entirely unacceptable...
The Root…
Has always dealt with the dirty work…
Moreover, Akihara Kagura had been actively pushing Konoha's investigation into the Akatsuki and Uchiha Obito, even proposing at the Five Kage Summit that the former Hokage should kill Uchiha Obito.
Tsunade frowned and raised another doubt. "All along, Kagura has been vehemently advocating for the pursuit of the Akatsuki and Uchiha Obito at all costs in front of me…"
"But none of these pursuits have ever succeeded, have they?"
Jiraiya looked again at Nagato and Konan, answering, "Because Nagato and Uchiha Obito kept asking Kagura to call off Konoha's actions, the former Hokage's efforts to chase Uchiha Obito were always intermittent…"
"And…"
"No matter what he did, no one would suspect him of colluding with the Akatsuki or having secret contacts with Uchiha Obito."
"And the ultimate goal of all this…"
"Was to obtain Nagato's Rinnegan."
"And the war weapon that the Rinnegan can control."
"This time, when I went to the Land of Rain to investigate the Akatsuki's base, all my movements were within Akihara Kagura's plans…"
Jiraiya looked at Tsunade and spoke in a deep voice, "Kagura is using the potential conflict between Nagato and me to gather information on Nagato. He thinks I can't collect much intel alone, and even Orochimaru has been used by him..."
"Orochimaru!"
Tsunade heard a name that should have been long dead.
"Yes."
"Akihara Kagura has always colluded with Orochimaru. In fact, he might be a spy planted in Konoha by Orochimaru. Perhaps he returned to Konoha through Orochimaru's help."
Jiraiya recounted these past events and continued solemnly, "Uchiha Sasuke didn't kill Orochimaru. It might have been a ploy for Orochimaru to escape Konoha's animosity under the guise of death..."
"Orochimaru and Akihara Kagura have always been in contact. Orochimaru blew up the trap set by Konan to cover Nagato and Konan's escape. He is still missing..."
"Wait a minute..."
The information was overwhelming for Tsunade.
The Hokage felt she needed a moment to process everything, rubbing her temples and trying to piece it all together.
A Hokage advisor in the village is a spy for Orochimaru?
The person who has been actively pushing the investigation of the Akatsuki and Uchiha Obito is actually deeply colluding with these enemy ninjas?
"Tsunade..."
"Sorry..."
"There is no time for you to take a break now..."
Jiraiya shook his head, looking at his old friend who seemed to have a headache, and continued to explain the tricky situation, "We escaped Akihara Kagura's assassination, but this doesn't mean the end of the matter. The real trouble is just beginning..."
"There's no rush to issue a wanted order..."
Tsunade, still rubbing her temples, stated her stance in a deep voice, "Jiraiya, do you know how much turmoil it will cause if it's revealed that the Hokage's advisor is colluding with the Akatsuki and Orochimaru?"
Bluntly speaking...
Most of Konoha's crises have been resolved by Akihara Kagura!
Even though many of these crises were also caused by Akihara Kagura...
Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, understood very well how much the ninjas of Konoha admired Akihara Kagura during this period. They have witnessed Akihara Kagura's strength. The village can do without her as the Fifth Hokage, but absolutely cannot do without the Hokage's advisor!
"Compared to what I'm about to say next, these matters are insignificant..."
Jiraiya shook his head, his expression becoming extremely serious. He looked at Tsunade and continued, "The ninja world is about to face a terrifying crisis..."
"The Akatsuki's plan was to gather the tailed beasts to create a terrifying war weapon controlled by Nagato's Rinnegan. They originally intended to use this weapon, capable of destroying a major village with a single strike, to intimidate the ninja villages into not starting wars..."
"But..."
"This plan is going to be used by Akihara Kagura."
"Akihara Kagura is seeking Nagato's Rinnegan to use that war weapon to destroy the ninja world. He wants to kill all the ninjas, end all the ninja villages of this era, and create new ninjas, ushering in a new era of the ancient ninja!"
"Give me a moment to process this..."
Tsunade took a deep breath again and turned to punch the wall!
For Tsunade, today felt like a rollercoaster ride. She was mourning Jiraiya's death, and then Jiraiya returned alive...
Alright.
This was something worth celebrating.
But then she found out her Hokage advisor was colluding with the Akatsuki and Orochimaru. Actually, internal Konoha issues were manageable, as this wasn't unprecedented...
The previous Hokage advisor, Danzo, often did things behind the Third Hokage's back. As long as it was within Konoha, discussing it in a small meeting room could resolve it...
But...
Then Jiraiya came to tell her...
The 'Future of Konoha' that the Konoha ninjas always liked to talk about had become the most dangerous and terrifying rogue ninja in the history of the ninja world.
Tsunade looked at everyone present, her gaze falling on Nagato's Rinnegan. Her solution was often a bit violent: "Since everything is caused by the Rinnegan and the war weapon, why don't we just destroy these eyes that bring disaster?"
"No!"
This was Konan's firm objection.
"It seems not possible..."
This was Jiraiya shaking his head with a troubled look.
"Tsunade, it's best not to do that..."
This was Orochimaru, stretching his neck as he crawled into the hospital room through the window.
Wait...
Orochimaru?
~~~
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— Ending + Extra Chapters!
Read upto Chapter 348: End! + Extra Chapters of Sasuke's Rebirth where the world Akihara Kagura is not around. Thank you!