"Jiraiya's still the same—he never changes," Nawaki muttered with a look of disdain.
Minato sighed, rubbing his forehead with a bitter smile. "Things are getting complicated. This morning, I went to the Hokage's office to apply for an external mission, planning to go on a mission with Takuya."
"The Hokage mentioned a special task for Takuya and asked him to come to the office."
Before Minato could finish, Nawaki began yelling in protest. "How could you, Minato?! You're going to leave me behind and run off with Takuya? That's so unfair!"
"Shut up!"
Everything was chaotic enough already, and Nawaki was only making it worse. Minato shot him a stern look, his face hardening.
"Uh..."
Nawaki immediately fell silent, staring at Minato in surprise. Has the little sun lost his mind? he thought. What's with the attitude today?
Clearly, something interesting had gone down involving Takuya and the old man.
Now that Nawaki was quiet, Minato continued, "After Takuya returned, he asked me to help him write an application. He wants to retire, to quit being a shinobi."
"...."
Orochimaru's usual smile froze for a second.
Nawaki's jaw practically hit the floor as he sat up in his hospital bed despite his injuries. "Ouch! Damn it! Takuya's actually thinking about retiring?! What did the Hokage say to him?!"
"Apparently, the Hokage questioned Takuya's loyalty to the village, which made him feel like he's been singled out and targeted. He's disappointed and wants to retire."
"Enough talking—I need to find Master Jiraiya."
Minato rushed out of the hospital room, heading straight for parts of the village no child was allowed to visit.
"Teacher..."
Nawaki, feeling helpless and frustrated, wanted to confront the Third Hokage himself, to demand an explanation. But with his injuries, he could barely move, so he turned to Orochimaru with a pleading look.
Orochimaru chuckled softly. "I'll go talk to the old man. You just focus on recovering. I'll also send a message to Tsunade."
"Thanks, sensei."
With a wave, Orochimaru left the room, carefully closing the door behind him.
It was obvious that the old man had caused trouble again—otherwise, there was no way Takuya would be this upset and choose to retire.
Tsunade would definitely explode when she heard about this.
"This is getting more interesting by the minute," Orochimaru mused, smirking as he headed not for the Hokage's office, but the intelligence division.
"I need to send some information to Tsunade. Prepare a messenger hawk," he instructed.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama!"
The intelligence officers didn't dare ask questions. They took the scroll from Orochimaru and promptly sent the hawk flying toward the Land of Rivers.
With that task done, Orochimaru finally made his way to the Hokage's office.
It just so happened that he ran into Jiraiya, who was reeking of alcohol and sporting a few lipstick marks on his neck.
Upon seeing Orochimaru, Jiraiya's eyes lit up as he hurried over.
"Orochimaru, what's wrong with the old man lately? The village is already in chaos, and now he's making things worse!"
"You still don't get how those old geezers think?" Orochimaru sneered.
"..."
Jiraiya paused, forcing a smile. "I just hope this doesn't blow up into something bigger. If it does, it'll affect morale on the front lines. By the way, Tsunade doesn't know about this yet, does she?"
"I just sent her a message."
"What?!"
Jiraiya nearly jumped out of his skin, staring at Orochimaru in disbelief.
"You already told her?!"
The moment Tsunade found out, she'd explode with rage and probably rush back to the village immediately.
Was Orochimaru trying to make things worse?
Jiraiya, close to having a heart attack, could only point at Orochimaru, speechless.
Orochimaru chuckled darkly.
"If there's going to be chaos, why not let it spread? Let everyone see the ugly faces of those in power. Today, it's Takuya; tomorrow, it could be you or me."
"That's not going to happen. The old man wouldn't do that!" Jiraiya protested, still holding faith in the Third Hokage. He refused to believe the Hokage would ever turn against him or Orochimaru.
"I used to believe that too," Orochimaru replied quietly. "But after the war in the Land of Rain, I realized people can change."
"...."
Jiraiya had no words.
When the two arrived at the Hokage's office, Jiraiya didn't bother knocking—he threw open the door and stormed inside.
Seeing both Jiraiya and Orochimaru, the Third Hokage knew trouble was brewing.
"Old man, what is going on? Are you trying to drive Takuya out of the village? Is that what will finally make you happy?" Jiraiya demanded.
"That's not my intention." The Hokage's face darkened as he tried to defend himself.
"Besides, I wasn't the one who assigned Takuya this special mission."
It was your idea, he thought. Now that the situation had blown up, it was time for someone else to take the blame.
The Third Hokage knew he couldn't hide what had happened, but he needed to distance himself from it.
When the Hokage targets his own people, it's a huge deal. When the village elders do it, it's nothing but a minor scandal.
The difference in consequences was clear.
"Even if you didn't assign him, you stood by and let this happen!" Jiraiya's voice rose in anger, while Orochimaru leaned back, crossing his arms, thoroughly enjoying the show.
He found the whole situation rather amusing.
"And what kind of special mission requires Takuya to handle it?"
"The task was to negotiate with Hanzō, to get the Rain Village forces to withdraw from the Land of Iron and end the war. Danzō already attempted the negotiation but was chased off by Hanzō. We lost several members of both the Anbu and Root," the Hokage explained with a sigh. He lit his pipe, taking a deep drag before continuing.
"Everything we've done, it's all for the good of the village. The Land of Iron is a neutral country, and with Hanzō's forces attacking, Konoha can't just stand by. But because we lost the war, Hanzō holds a grudge against Konoha, which is why negotiations broke down."
Shifting the conversation to the well-being of the village was a trick the Hokage often used to calm Jiraiya. It usually worked on both him and Tsunade.
No matter how upset they were, once the village's interests were at stake, they'd back down.
As expected, hearing this made Jiraiya hesitate. His expression soured, and all the arguments he'd been preparing seemed to catch in his throat.
If it was for the sake of the village, how could he keep protesting? The village's well-being was more important than any one individual's problems.
"I remember Tsunade once mentioned that Hanzō's grudge against Konoha stemmed from the peace negotiations after the war. Apparently, the village didn't send anyone of equal status, which fueled his resentment," Orochimaru suddenly chimed in.
"COUGH, COUGH!!"
The Hokage choked on the smoke from his pipe, coughing so hard his eyes watered.
Jiraiya's eyes widened, glaring at the Third Hokage. "Were you trying to trick me?!"
"Tsunade, Jiraiya, and I fought our hearts out on the battlefield in the Land of Rain, only to be insulted with that ridiculous title of 'Legendary Sannin.' Don't bring up Hanzō as an excuse," Orochimaru added coldly.
He didn't mind if the Hokage tried to distract Jiraiya with other matters, but using Hanzō to justify everything was too much.
Nice try, old man.
Jiraiya slammed his hands on the desk in frustration.
"Hanzō's grudge is clearly a result of those botched negotiations. Takuya forced him into a corner once already! If Danzō couldn't succeed, what makes you think Takuya can do any better? Do you plan to force Hanzō to back down again?"
"Aren't you worried this will drive Hanzō straight into the enemy's arms?"
"Didn't Takuya already refuse to take this mission?"
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∑(ΦдΦlll What's going on with the Powerstone? I thought it was just a normal chapter, but then I saw how many I received! I was wondering why, and when I checked, I saw everyone excited and wanting more chapters!
This is a bonus chapter for reaching 2600 Power Stones.
Next Bonus 3000
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 290+ at patreon.com/ Emik01. Don't forget to give a power stone for many bonus chapters