On the night before the official talks, Jiraiya received a message from the Hokage Building.
After carefully reading the contents of the letter, Jiraiya's expression became extremely serious. He slammed his hand hard on the table, leaving a clear palm print on its surface.
A few days earlier, he had reported intelligence to the village, seeking support from them.
Unexpectedly, during these few days, a major event occurred in the village—his close friend, Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin, attacked fellow comrades in the village and chose to defect.
Jiraiya couldn't understand why Orochimaru would attack his comrades or why he chose to flee.
If he weren't the current commander of the Kumogakure front line, he would have abandoned his responsibility to search for Orochimaru and question him about why he left the village.
Shikaku and others noticed the expression on Jiraiya's face, looking puzzled.
Jiraiya sighed lightly and then said, "The Third Hokage sent word—they cannot send any more reinforcements to the front line because Orochimaru has left the village."
"Orochimaru left the village?"
The Konoha ninjas present were slightly stunned, and they quickly grasped what Jiraiya meant. Orochimaru's "departure" was likely a euphemism, and the reality was probably that Orochimaru had defected.
But why would Orochimaru leave the village?
Seeing the confusion on their faces, Jiraiya handed them the letter. After passing it around, their expressions gradually became serious.
There were two main reasons for Orochimaru's defection.
One was that he attacked comrades in the village and stole their blood, and the second was conducting secret Wood Release experiments, violating the village's laws.
In any case, Orochimaru had now become a rogue ninja and was wanted by the village.
After learning this, Shikaku and the others became visibly more worried, deeply concerned about the future of the village.
Orochimaru wasn't just a powerful ninja; he was one of the Sannin, with at least dozens of ninjas under his command, representing a force no less significant than any major ninja clan.
After Orochimaru's defection, even if these ninjas didn't follow him, they would be watched and interrogated due to their association with him, further depleting the already scarce strength of the village.
Where some were worried, others were pleased.
Orochimaru's defection was a terrible event for Jiraiya and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, but for the Uchiha clan, it was good news.
Orochimaru's defection meant the Hokage faction's power had been further weakened.
With this shift in the balance of power, the strength of the Uchiha clan had come very close to that of the Hokage faction, significantly increasing the chance of a Uchiha becoming the next Hokage.
Despite feeling ecstatic inside, Fugaku still wore a concerned expression and said, "Jiraiya-sama, what should we do next?"
Jiraiya looked at Fugaku helplessly and said, "We can only take one step at a time. If we can't gain more benefits, we must at least ensure peace with Kumogakure."
Hearing Jiraiya's sigh, the Konoha ninjas present fell silent.
They knew Jiraiya was speaking the truth. With Orochimaru's defection, Konoha really didn't have much leverage left to fight for the Land of Hot Water's interests.
If not for Amegakure's forced intervention, Konoha might even lose this war.
...
The next morning, the three-party talks between Konoha, Kumogakure, and Amegakure were held in the meeting room of Yogakure.
As the host of the talks, the leader of Yogakure sat in the main seat, waiting for the representatives of each side to arrive and discuss how to handle the future of the Land of Hot Water.
At this thought, the leader of Yogakure felt a sense of sadness.
He was the leader of the village, and the meeting would determine the fate of his nation, yet the main players in this discussion were not him, but Konoha and Kumogakure.
This was the sorrow of a small country: in times of peace, it could enjoy prosperity and development, but in times of war, it could only serve as a chessboard for the major ninja villages.
With a light sigh, Yogakure leader glanced at the area reserved for Amegakure, his eyes filled with a hint of envy.
Amegakure was also a small village, outside of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
In terms of land size and economy, Amegakure was not as well-off as Yogakure, yet it had the strength to contend with the major villages. Not long ago, it had even forcibly halted the war between Konoha and Kumogakure.
If only Yogakure had that kind of power.
Before long, representatives from Konohagakure, Kumogakure, and Amegakure appeared outside the conference room.
There was no change in the Kumogakure delegation; it was still led by the Fourth Raikage, followed by Killer Bee, Darui, and other elite jonin of Kumogakure.
Konoha's delegation was also still led by Jiraiya, accompanied by Fugaku, Hizashi, and others.
Upon seeing this, the Fourth Raikage frowned and addressed Jiraiya bluntly, "Jiraiya, it seems Konoha has little interest in this negotiation. Not only did the Third Hokage not come, but even the other elders didn't show up. Could it be that they are too old to walk anymore?"
Hearing this, Jiraiya stopped and replied, "My teacher is in excellent health, so there's no need for the Raikage to worry. As for why he didn't attend the talks, perhaps he didn't think the matter was all that important."
Under normal circumstances, Jiraiya would never say something like this.
However, before arriving, Shikaku had told him that he must maintain a tough stance to avoid arousing suspicion from the Raikage's side.
They needed to sign a treaty favorable to Konoha before the news of Orochimaru's defection spread.
The Fourth Raikage stared at Jiraiya for a moment before responding coldly, "Jiraiya, you seem quite confident. I hope you can maintain that confidence during the negotiations. Hanzō of the Salamander may have forcibly stopped our war, but that doesn't mean he's on your side. The next village to wage war against you might very well be Amegakure."
This remark caused the atmosphere between Konohagakure and Kumogakure to become tense.
The Fourth Raikage wasn't wrong. The war between Konohagakure and Kumogakure had been forcibly halted, and although both sides were now considering a peace agreement, they had mobilized a large number of ninjas.
It wasn't impossible for the conflict to reignite at any moment.
Just then, the ninjas from Amegakure arrived outside the meeting room. Having overheard the Raikage's words, Byakuya spoke with a light tone, "Raikage-sama, why are you stirring up trouble between Amegakure and Konohagakure in my absence? Has the always-honorable Raikage turned sly and deceitful? That doesn't seem to align with Kumogakure's usual style."
The Fourth Raikage glanced at Byakuya, uninterested in arguing with this sharp-tongued individual.
As for Byakuya's remark about Kumogakure's "honorable" ways, the Raikage took it as a veiled insult. After all, Kumogakure had a reputation for rogue behavior—they had once kidnapped Kushina Uzumaki during a time of peace and had even destroyed a small country in their pursuit of chakra techniques.