The News Spread

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"What?!"

Tsunade and Orochimaru both turned to look at Jiraiya, their expressions tinged with regret.

But they quickly grasped the reason behind his words.

Before Tsunade could speak, Orochimaru's face turned serious as he addressed Jiraiya in a stern tone:

"Jiraiya, I understand why you're doing this."

"But even if it's for sensei's sake, or to protect your own future, I strongly advise against it."

"Running away solves nothing. It only makes problems worse!"

Though he often teased and ridiculed Jiraiya for being an idiot, they were still comrades. Their bond was deep.

He didn't want Jiraiya to make the wrong choice, stray down the wrong path, and drift further away from him, Kaito, and Konoha—eventually ending up on the opposing side.

If that happened, Jiraiya's fate would be sealed, and it wouldn't end well.

From what Orochimaru knew of Kaito, it was clear the man had little regard for the Third Hokage or the toads of Mount Myoboku with their cryptic prophecies and illusions of grandeur.

Jiraiya's position was already dangerous.

As a side note, Orochimaru had never been fond of the toads from Mount Myoboku, even before forming his contract with Kaito.

Those toads, with their so-called "Child of Prophecy" nonsense, had Jiraiya completely wrapped around their fingers, wasting his entire life chasing after their vision.

To Orochimaru, the concept of a "Child of Prophecy" or predicting the future was utter nonsense.

The future? The future belongs to those who seize it with their own hands!

The toads from Mount Myoboku had their own agenda. It wasn't just about manipulating Jiraiya into free labor—they wanted to influence Konoha and, by extension, the world's trajectory through him.

That level of interference was simply outrageous.

Since when did humans need a bunch of toads dictating their destiny?

It was absurd beyond belief.

And after forming his contract with Kaito, gaining access to vast amounts of knowledge about the past and future, Orochimaru's disdain for the toads only deepened.

In the futures he'd glimpsed, Jiraiya's fate was even worse—utterly miserable, completely manipulated, and broken.

He spent his entire life chasing some nonexistent "Child of Prophecy," only to die because of it.

In a future without Kaito, Jiraiya's end was already bleak.

But with Kaito now a factor, Orochimaru could foresee an even harsher outcome if Jiraiya stubbornly aligned himself with the toads.

Sooner or later, he'd end up directly opposing Kaito—a move that would undoubtedly lead to his demise.

And it wouldn't be a pleasant end.

"Exactly!" Tsunade chimed in, nodding firmly. "Jiraiya, now is not the time to run away. Face reality with us and return to the village!"

"As his students, we have a duty to witness our teacher's fate, no matter how it turns out."

Tsunade had also caught on to Orochimaru's concerns and matched his serious tone.

After all, she understood Kaito's intentions even better than Orochimaru. She'd even heard Kaito express his hope that Jiraiya wouldn't stray down the wrong path and end up as an enemy.

That kind of warning was anything but a good sign.

"Orochimaru, Tsunade, you two..." Jiraiya looked at them, bewildered and helpless. Their unusually serious demeanor left him at a loss.

It was as if his decision to leave would result in catastrophic consequences.

All he wanted was to avoid seeing his sensei's trial and inevitable downfall. Was that so wrong?

"Stop making excuses!" Tsunade snapped. "You're coming back with us, no arguments. If you try to run, we'll just drag you back!"

"Oh, and don't think about sneaking off," she added with a smirk. "I've already marked you with the Flying Thunder God seal."

"Run wherever you want. I'll find you in an instant!"

"What?! The Flying Thunder God seal? When? Where?!"

Jiraiya's face turned pale as he frantically patted himself down, trying to locate the seal. But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find any trace of it.

Defeated, he slumped and pleaded, "Do you really have to go that far? Can't you just remove the seal? I swear I won't run!"

"It's not about whether you'll run or not," Tsunade said, folding her arms with a triumphant grin.

With that seal in place, Jiraiya's life was practically in her hands.

If she ever felt like checking in on him and teleported over, only to find him... "gathering research," the consequences would be unimaginable.

The mere thought made Jiraiya shiver.

"Haha! Don't even think about it!" Tsunade chuckled coldly, pointing two fingers from her eyes to his, signaling that she'd be watching him.

Of course, she wasn't actually that petty. Nor had she really placed a Flying Thunder God seal on him—she hadn't even mastered the technique yet.

But thanks to her teleportation abilities, she could easily lock onto Jiraiya's location anytime she wanted.

Her threat was mainly to scare him into behaving.

After all, peeping was an unforgivable sin!

"Haha!" Orochimaru, enjoying the spectacle, couldn't help but laugh, fully embracing his role as an amused bystander.

"Fine! You win!" Jiraiya growled, pointing a trembling finger at Tsunade. "I'll go back with you, alright?!"

As he spoke, he wore an aggrieved expression and grumbled, "Seriously! I've never seen such lousy teammates! They're all just out to sabotage me!"

"I just feel going to Konoha would just ruin my mood, honestly."

Of course, he had no intention of pleading for the Third Hokage.

After all, anyone with even a shred of conscience who had seen the evidence of the Third's mistakes would know he didn't deserve any mercy, nor was there any way to justify it.

"Hmph! Now that's more like it! Let's leave it at that. Pack your things; we're heading out first thing tomorrow morning!"

Tsunade crossed her arms and gave a smug smile, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"Yes, ma'am…" Jiraiya responded weakly.

"Oh, by the way!"

Tsunade couldn't help but turn to Orochimaru and ask, "We still need to leave a small number of ninjas here to guard the camp and keep an eye on the border, right? Have you arranged that?"

"Of course," Orochimaru nodded confidently. "I've already made all the necessary arrangements."

"Five teams will remain here to monitor the movements of the Iwa and Suna ninja."

As for the Amegakure forces?

They'd already been thoroughly defeated and wouldn't dare provoke Konoha again anytime soon.

"Good. That's settled, then. I'm heading to rest."

Satisfied, Tsunade nodded and headed back to her tent.

— — —

The next morning, she, along with Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Hatake Sakumo, Shikayama Nara, and others, led thousands of Konoha ninjas in a grand and powerful procession as they began their march.

Meanwhile…

The other villages—Kumogakure, Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure—finally received news about the upheaval within Konoha. The Third Hokage's faction had been toppled, with him and his supporters arrested and awaiting trial.

The revelation caused an uproar among the leadership of the four villages.

— — —

At the Iwa front-line camp:

"What the hell? I can't believe something this big happened in Konoha just a few days ago!"

"That old geezer, Sarutobi Hiruzen, got kicked off his perch, and even his clan's been suppressed? Pathetic!"

"Couldn't he have at least resisted a bit more? Stirred up some chaos or even a civil war in Konoha?"

Ōnoki was practically fuming as he cursed out loud.

If Konoha had descended into chaos, he wouldn't have been forced into such a passive and frustrating position in recent days. He might even have had the chance to lead Iwa forces into the heart of the Fire Country and claim a large piece of it!

"Such a waste! A huge waste!"

Ōnoki shook his head in frustration, muttering to himself.

What an opportunity… completely squandered.

"By the way, I heard Uzumaki Mito's still alive? And she's even regained her youth and grown stronger? What's going on with that?"

"And that Uchiha Naori, too! What's with all these weird things happening in Konoha recently?"

"Do we have any more detailed intelligence on this from our spies in Konoha?"

Ōnoki's face was filled with confusion as he looked at the Iwa intelligence chief standing before him.

The intelligence chief sighed and shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. Whether it's Uzumaki Mito or Uchiha Naori regaining their youth and power, or the development of those mysterious Uchiha energy pills, none of our agents have managed to gather any concrete details."

"Even within Konoha, it seems like very few people know the full story. Sarutobi Hiruzen himself didn't seem to know much either."

"Most likely, only a select few in Konoha—like Uzumaki Mito herself—understand the situation."

"Oh, and there's one more thing. Our spies report that Konoha seems to have resurrected the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and Uchiha Madara."

"We haven't confirmed it yet, though."

Ōnoki froze at the mention of these two names. His expression immediately shifted to one of panic and disbelief.

"What?!"

"You're telling me those two are back? Are you sure this isn't just a rumor?"

"That's impossible! Could they have used that forbidden technique, Edo Tensei? What is Konoha planning?"

Ōnoki began pacing nervously, his mind racing.

Why would Konoha resurrect Hashirama and Madara now? It didn't make sense.

The village wasn't facing an existential crisis. In fact, Konoha had just forced Iwa and Suna into peace agreements and reparations. Konoha was clearly thriving.

"This… this is bad," Ōnoki muttered under his breath.

"Chief, we don't have any further information for now," the intelligence officer replied, shaking his head. "All we know is that the two have been spotted wandering around Konoha. Beyond that, we're in the dark."

"Then find out more!"

Ōnoki snapped, glaring at him. "Gather every scrap of intel on Konoha's movements! I want detailed reports!"

"Yes, sir!" The intelligence officer saluted and left immediately.

Ōnoki continued pacing, his unease growing. "This information must be shared with the other three great villages, especially Kumogakure. We need to pressure Konoha to explain this madness."

"Maybe, if we work together, we can force them to undo this and send those two monsters back to the Pure Land where they belong."

The mere thought of Hashirama and Madara roaming the world again sent shivers down his spine. As an old man, he didn't think he could handle such a terrifying reality.

"Uh… so, are we still planning to attack the Suna ninja?" an Iwa ninja standing nearby, asked cautiously.

"Of course we are!"

Ōnoki glared at him. "Pressuring Konoha is just a political move. It doesn't pay the bills!"

"Hurry up and get ready. With Konoha's main forces retreating, Suna won't be far behind. We don't have much time to set things up."

"This time, we'll rip a piece out of Suna and make up for our losses!"

Only then would he have something to report to the Daimyō of the Land of Earth, and perhaps ease the internal tensions in Iwa.

They couldn't afford to feed so many idle ninjas indefinitely.

"Yes, sir! I'll make the final preparations. If all goes as planned, we can move out tonight!" 

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