Hokage's Office.
"Thanks for handling things lately, Iruka. Don't worry about Sasuke."
Hiruzen looked at Iruka with a gentle smile.
Iruka still wore a worried look, but he nodded, gave Hiruzen a slight bow, and turned to leave the office.
"Since you're here already, come out."
Hiruzen took two pulls on his pipe, voice tinged with helplessness.
"Old man, long time no see."
With that breezy greeting, Jiraiya vaulted through the office window and landed inside, speaking in his usual offhand way.
Hiruzen glanced at him without the slightest surprise and curled his lip. "You've been back in the village nearly half a month, haven't you? I thought you'd forgotten this old man."
Jiraiya chuckled, raking a hand through his messy hair, then his face turned serious. "I've temporarily handled Sasuke's issue. It should've been Orochimaru's doing."
Hiruzen nodded, eyeing him thoughtfully. "You came back suddenly—there's something important, isn't there?"
Thinking of the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, Jiraiya paused for a beat, then spoke casually: "Nothing much. Been away too long; had to come look in. And Orochimaru sneaking into Konoha—you must know that, too."
As he said it, he watched Hiruzen's expression.
Sure enough, at the name "Orochimaru," Hiruzen's face darkened.
Jiraiya sighed inwardly, but a rare sharpness flashed in his eyes.
Orochimaru, you'd better not be the one trying to drag Konoha into war—otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless.
"Orochimaru's likely hiding among the Chunin Exam candidates, but there are too many of them. If we check one by one, with how cautious he is, he'll slip away."
Hiruzen shook his head. His gaze turned grave. He'd already sent Anbu to search, but they'd found nothing so far.
"Old man, Konoha's in for some trouble soon. You'd better prepare."
After a moment's silence, Jiraiya offered the warning.
Hiruzen blinked, a cold light flashing in his eyes.
Knock, knock.
Right then, a knock came from outside.
"Come in," Hiruzen said softly.
The door opened, and Kakashi walked in.
"Kakashi?!"
Hiruzen looked surprised—Kakashi had been unconscious all this time.
"Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama. I just woke up. There's something I need to report."
Kakashi pressed a hand to his temple, voice grim as he addressed the two.
At his words, the air in the office turned heavy.
"You're saying Kirigakure is highly suspect?"
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, some unreadable feeling in his tone.
Kakashi nodded, face solemn. "I still don't understand why Kirigakure would do this, but they're definitely plotting something."
Hiruzen's eyes flickered. He set his pipe on the desk. "I understand."
Kakashi dipped his head, gave Jiraiya a brief bow, and took his leave.
"Jiraiya, during the Chunin Exams, Konoha's defenses are yours."
Hiruzen turned to the pensive Jiraiya.
Jiraiya paused, then nodded and headed for the door.
"Wait. I'll entrust something to you for safekeeping."
As Jiraiya was about to leave, Hiruzen seemed to decide on something and called out.
Not long after, news of Hayate's assassination spread through Konoha like wildfire.
The village leadership shuddered. Waves of Anbu prowled the streets; even ordinary townsfolk occasionally saw one or two masked figures flash by.
Konoha's calm surface began to churn with undercurrents.
As for Root's Danzō—shortly after Kakashi awoke, Hiruzen reimposed restrictions on him and Root.
It meant little to Danzō; Root was already fully in his grip.
But when Danzō learned that the recently returned Jiraiya had taken charge of Konoha's defenses…
After smashing who knew how many things, he fell silent again, ready to watch the show.
For Yuto and Orochimaru alike, Hayate's death was Sunagakure's signal.
While everyone else moved with extreme caution, Yuto and Ranmaru strolled Konoha at their leisure.
Not that they did nothing—over several days, Yuto mapped out Konoha's overall situation and identified, one by one, the nodes anchoring the barrier array covering the village.
Border of the Land of Fire.
"Aaah!!"
A shrill scream split the air.
A bone blade slid out from a Konoha shinobi's heart. Kimimaro, expressionless, dropped the blood-slick bone to the ground and strode onward.
Whoosh!
A rush of wind from behind—a Konoha shinobi leapt from a tall tree, kunai aimed for Kimimaro's neck.
Kimimaro's face didn't change; he didn't even look back, still walking forward as if the attack behind him were nothing.
Just as the kunai was about to strike, a figure burst from an overlooked pool at the roadside.
Thud!
Suigetsu, wielding the Blunt Blade: Kabutowari, brought it down like a hammer. A heavy impact, a spray of blood—
The shinobi's chest caved clean through. Dead on the spot.
"Tsk, tsk. Didn't expect so many Konoha shinobi out here. Guess they've noticed something?"
Suigetsu gave a small shake of his head, amusement on his face.
Kimimaro said nothing, kept his even pace forward. Seeing it, Suigetsu sighed softly. "So cold."
They walked on. Before long, several figures appeared ahead.
Zabuza, Ameyuri, Haku, Chōjūrō—and perched lazily on a branch, Utakata.
"You two are late."
Zabuza eyed them, tone displeased.
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