"Why refuse food, Yoichi-kun? The snakes are hard to control, and it will be an entire month," Tagorihime and Tatsutahime questioned upon hearing Yoichi's request, both visibly perplexed.
Yoichi responded, "In a month, I plan to eliminate Mount Myōboku. Inform the Great White Snake Sage about this and let all the snakes have a feast when the time comes."
He couldn't just ignore the threat posed to him as Hokage; even though Mount Myōboku had once assisted Konoha in battles, there was no way he would let this go now. Ignoring this could lead to others thinking they could manipulate him as well. Konoha was a military organization, not a charity.
Tagorihime exclaimed in surprise, "Attacking Mount Myōboku? I will certainly notify the Great White Snake Sage."
"Have the Great Sage calculate how many battle-ready snakes there are. In a month, I'll summon them all."
To Yoichi, it was only natural for snakes to prey on toads. Instead of leveling Mount Myōboku with other forces, it made more sense to let the snakes of Ryuchi Cave feast on its toads.
Recently, the snakes summoned from Ryuchi Cave had been proving their loyalty, with sixty or seventy of them signing individual summoning contracts with Konoha's ninja and even donning Konoha's headbands.
"This is the kind of summoning beast Konoha needs," Yoichi remarked. "Please relay the message for me."
Tagorihime and Tatsuta-hime shook their heads, responding, "Of course, it's our duty. If there's nothing else, we'll head back and inform the Great White Snake Sage."
"Go ahead."
With that, Tagorihime and Tatsuta-hime used their jutsu to return to Ryuchi Cave.
However, Ichikishimahime lingered, prompting Yoichi to ask, "Do you need something else?"
The mischievous blue-haired snake floated over to Yoichi, wrinkling her nose playfully before softly pleading, "Can I have a drink of your blood?"
"No."
Yoichi decisively refused. "You haven't done anything to earn it. How can you just ask for my blood?"
"Who says I haven't contributed?!"
Ichikishimahime quickly put her hands on her hips, protesting, "I was the one who taught Yugito Senjutsu. Without my guidance, she couldn't have mastered it so quickly."
"Fine, I'll acknowledge that, but it's not enough. Teach ten more people Senjutsu, and I'll give you a small cup."
"You! I'll fight you for it!" Ichikishimahime, realizing he had no intention of giving her his blood, lunged at him in an attempt to take it by force.
However, she had forgotten how resilient Yoichi's skin was. Since last time, he had further strengthened his body to a planetary level, tougher than diamond.
Crack!
Ichikishimahime's fangs almost broke against his skin, despite her sneaky use of chakra to bolster her bite.
"What does this have to do with me? I'm curious why you're acting this way. Aren't you a snake?"
"I'm a Snake Sage! I'm more human now!"
"Stop that! Fine, I'll give you a cup as compensation."
Reluctantly, Yoichi took a cup, nicked his hand, and filled it with his blood. Ichikishimahime eagerly snatched it, gulping it down and licking the cup clean, savoring every drop.
"This is amazing! Your blood is even richer in energy. If I could drink it regularly, I'd evolve so much faster!"
She was so satisfied that she quickly forgot her annoyance, now only hoping for more.
"Dream on. If you want a reward, earn it. Perform well in a month!" Yoichi remarked before tossing Ichikishimahime out the window.
After she left, Yoichi tidied his office.
As he released his clone, he had it summon Uchiha Madara. Though Madara was still alive, he only had enough chakra left to breathe and speak.
The chakra drained by Kaguya would be difficult to restore. To ensure safety, Yoichi had the sealing team place a layer of seals on Madara's body before letting Hashirama visit his old rival.
Kaguya's placement was arranged by Mina, in the house Kushina previously stayed in, though it had been rebuilt.
Every other day, Yoichi visited Kaguya, subtly reminding her of the threat posed by the Ōtsutsuki clan to build her goodwill towards him. Despite her history, Kaguya's actions could almost be summed up as a naive "sweet fool" compared to the cold, ruthless nature that would have absorbed her sons for power.
"How is his condition?" Shisui asked as he escorted Jiraiya to the hospital following the sealing.
"It's not great. He's incredibly weak and should be hospitalized. What happened to him?"
The medical ninja examining Jiraiya wasn't aware that he had been stripped of his Konoha shinobi status or the details of his actions.
"Jiraiya is no longer a Konoha shinobi," Shisui stated. "Treat him, but he'll be expelled from the village afterward."
"W-what?" The medical ninja was shocked. One of the Sannin, Jiraiya, stripped of his shinobi status? Seeing Shisui's serious expression, he nodded. "Understood. To what extent should we treat him?"
"Just enough so he can live normally. He has sealing jutsu on him and will live as an ordinary person."
After witnessing Jiraiya's dire state, Shisui knew the Fifth Hokage had shown great mercy by merely severing his ties with Mount Myōboku.
After some time, Shisui noticed Orochimaru approaching.
"Orochimaru-sama," Shisui greeted.
"Shisui, may I see Jiraiya?"
"Of course, Orochimaru-sama," Shisui answered, though he hesitated, finally adding, "Jiraiya has seals placed on him. He'll be expelled once he recovers."
Orochimaru chuckled, understanding the implication, and entered the room.
Inside, he found Jiraiya lying on the bed, hooked up to an IV. Jiraiya turned his head, a faint bitterness on his face. "Orochimaru, only you would come to see me now."
"Did you expect Tsunade or Lord Hiruzen?" Orochimaru chuckled, settling down on a nearby chair. "Next month, Konoha plans to act against Mount Myōboku. You could still change your mind—I could speak for you."
"No, I won't raise a hand against Mount Myōboku," Jiraiya interrupted, sighing, "Today in the Hokage's office, Tsunade looked at me like she wanted to kill me."
"You nearly sealed away her father, refused to support Konoha; her reaction isn't surprising."
Jiraiya was starting to understand the truth behind his encounter with the Sage of Six Paths. He now suspected the pill he'd ingested and his sudden fainting were part of a setup tied to the Sage. It seemed the Fifth was right: Mount Myōboku had indeed interfered.
"There's no point in pressing the matter further, Jiraiya," Orochimaru remarked, standing up. "Live out the rest of your days in the Land of Fire."
Before he could leave, Jiraiya called out, "Wait! Orochimaru, can you break the seal on me? Help me."
"Are you insane? You're choosing to oppose Konoha?" Orochimaru was taken aback but admired how thoroughly Yoichi had anticipated Jiraiya's moves.
"Orochimaru, you wouldn't understand. I want to stop this war, and for that, I need chakra," Jiraiya pleaded, even bowing on the bed.
"You'll die," Orochimaru replied but relented upon seeing Jiraiya's determined face. "Don't blame me when it happens."
Placing his hand on Jiraiya, Orochimaru began undoing the seals. After some effort, he unlocked all of them. Despite the freedom to gather chakra, Jiraiya's weakened body limited his ability to do so.
Orochimaru set a pill container on the table. "You only have a few minutes."
"Thank you, Orochimaru." Jiraiya swallowed a chakra-restoring pill and felt the energy return.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He created a clone and quickly used it to escape through the window, summoning a small toad to swallow him before vanishing into Konoha's sewer system.
Meanwhile, Shisui noticed something amiss and rushed back to the hospital room. After cutting Jiraiya's arm, his shadow clone vanished in a puff of smoke.
Cursing, Shisui left to inform the security team before heading to the Hokage's office.
Upon hearing the report, Yoichi reassured him, "Shisui, this wasn't your fault. I was the one who hinted at Orochimaru."
Shisui was taken aback. "Why, Hokage-sama?"
"Only those with a contract know the location of Mount Myōboku. If we searched ourselves, it could take months, even years. So, I had to use another method."
After the battle in the Heavenly Space, Yoichi had left a Flying Thunder God mark on Jiraiya. If he traveled to Mount Myōboku, Yoichi's clone would teleport there and place a marker.
Tossing a scroll to Shisui, Yoichi said, "I kept this hidden from you to fool Jiraiya. Consider it compensation."
Accepting the scroll gratefully, Shisui bowed and left to begin his new training.
The toad that swallowed Jiraiya eventually spit him out outside Konoha.
"Thank you. Now, go clean up," Jiraiya said before summoning Gamakichi.
"Jiraiya, you look rough! What's up?"
"Gamakichi, summon Bunta. It's urgent." Not waiting for a reply, he ended the reverse summoning.
At that moment, he heard the guards shouting nearby.
"Jiraiya, surrender!"
Whoosh! Three shinobi appeared around him, signaling for backup.
One Hyuga Branch jōnin activated his Byakugan and yelled, "Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!"
Boom! The attack connected, but Jiraiya substituted with a log mid-air, vanishing from the scene.
"Split up and search! He's nearby!"
(End of Chapter)
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