"Hey, Ero Sage, stop hitting my head all the time!"
Uzumaki Naruto habitually covered his head, full of annoyance and about to grumble a few words when he suddenly realized something.
"Ero Sage?"
Uzumaki Naruto's body froze in place, slowly looking up at the tall white-haired man beside him, whose face painted with red markings still had a rebellious smile.
It was Jiraiya, who had just returned to Konoha.
Uzumaki Naruto's tears slowly fell from his eyes...
Jiraiya looked down at Uzumaki Naruto, reaching out an arm to wipe away his tears, unable to help but place his hand on his head, messing up his hair, and chuckled as he spoke, "Naruto, have you forgotten what I said? A man should never cry, remember!"
"I don't care!"
Uzumaki Naruto suddenly threw himself into Jiraiya's embrace.
In any other situation, Uzumaki Naruto would certainly have wiped away his tears early, stubbornly trying to prove to Jiraiya he had already become a qualified ninja.
But now, Uzumaki Naruto felt only a sense of relief at surviving a catastrophe.
Jiraiya had never seen Uzumaki Naruto looking so timid before, he merely gently rubbed his disciple's head with his palm, "So disobedient... If I leave, who will take care of you, this little brat?"
"...What's this?"
Uzumaki Naruto mumbled, only smelling a scent of blood, feeling something touched his palm, wetting his hand.
It was blood seeping from a wound.
Uzumaki Naruto glanced at Jiraiya whose face revealed pain, his expression changed drastically, turned around and was about to push open the door, "Hey, Granny Tsunade, Ero Sage, he..."
Crack!
The entire door of the Hokage Office was directly taken down.
Tsunade threw the door panel onto the ground casually, and when she looked up and saw Jiraiya, her face instantly appeared relieved and she let out a breath.
"Heh heh..."
Jiraiya's face showed a smile, gesturing at Tsunade about his wound, "Save the confession for later, will you!"
"Idiot..."
Tsunade didn't bother with Jiraiya's words, she slowly stretched out her hand, a green chakra attached itself to her palm, falling on Jiraiya's body.
In the next moment, when Tsunade checked Jiraiya's body, her expression changed, "Kakashi, Naruto, quickly take Jiraiya to the hospital!"
"No need, no need..."
Jiraiya waved his hand, stopping them, speaking softly, "My wound is actually not too serious now, just a simple treatment will do, let's not waste too much time, because we really don't have much time."
"No way!"
"Hey, Tsunade."
Jiraiya looked seriously at Tsunade, speaking softly, "Hurry up and help me treat this! The Akatsuki knows I didn't die, soon they will invade Konoha, we must immediately formulate a plan against Akatsuki..."
"...Alright."
Tsunade nodded solemnly.
As someone who has experienced many wars, Jiraiya knew his injuries very well, at the beginning, they were indeed serious, but now, only some external wounds remain.
Fukasaku Sage also watched from the side, suddenly jumping onto Jiraiya's shoulder, full of joy, "Little Jiraiya, you're back!"
"Really, your intel is still so careless after all this time!"
Jiraiya couldn't help scratching his ear, looking at Fukasaku Sage with a helpless face, "Last time, you sent me info about Nagato and Konan dying in battle, and now you're sending info about me dying as well?"
"Uh... hehehehe."
Fukasaku Sage revealed a slightly embarrassed smile.
Inside the Hokage Office.
Jiraiya sat in the chair, simply dealing with his wound, and began to talk seriously, "First, after entering the Hidden Rain Village, I got the first news that Hanzo of the Salamander, whom we always wanted to invite, had already died."
"Was it the Akatsuki who did it?"
Tsunade furrowed her brow, her expression immediately becoming a bit unpleasant, obviously she thought it was the Akatsuki infiltrating the Hidden Rain Village collectively and surrounding Hanzo of the Salamander.
Tsunade looked up at Jiraiya and continued, "Since Hanzo of the Salamander is dead, what about that kid Uehara Naraku? Was he killed too?"
"No."
Jiraiya shook his head, revealing a solemn expression, "According to the intel I received, in fact, eight years ago, Uehara Naraku personally killed Hanzo of the Salamander."
Jiraiya spoke here and sneered self-deprecatingly, "No matter what, we couldn't possibly have thought that Uehara Naraku, who always shouted about giving his life for Hanzo, had already hung Hanzo at the Hidden Rain Village for public display eight years ago!"
"What?"
Everyone in the Hokage Office showed a look of surprise on their faces.
Even Hatake Kakashi couldn't believe his eyes, and Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura's expressions were equally shocked.
Because their relationship with Uehara Naraku was quite good.
So the Seventh Class undoubtedly believed they understood Uehara Naraku the best, and considered themselves his friends.
Hatake Kakashi slowly adjusted his forehead protector, muttering, "If what Jiraiya-sama said is true, then Uehara Naraku has been hiding for eight years... everything he said about Hanzo of the Salamander was a lie."
"Wait a minute!"
The next moment, a layer of sweat appeared on Hatake Kakashi's forehead, "If that's the case, then a few years ago during the Chunin Examination, was it also him who collaborated in the assassination attempt on the Third Hokage with Shimura Danzo? Which means he was never really our friend all along..."
Hatake Kakashi's expression really didn't look good.
Because every time Hatake Kakashi recalled Uehara Naraku, he couldn't help but feel a bit regretful. After all, during the Chunin Examination, the despair and agony on Uehara Naraku's face, the madness of a small ninja village striving for a bit of benefit...
To be honest, it made one feel a little sorry for him.
After all, such a powerful genius ninja, with a gentle personality and easy to get along with, yet he took a wrong path because of Hanzo of the Salamander's orders.
Now thinking about it...
Hatake Kakashi suddenly felt it was a real slap in the face.
Damn it, how did Uehara Naraku manage to shout Hanzo of the Salamander's name in despair and madness when he himself had already killed him?
At that time, everyone felt sorry for him.
There were even Konoha Ninja who disdainfully thought the Hidden Rain Village had such low prospects, going so far as to assassinate their Third Hokage just for a little benefit.
Who would have thought, at that time Uehara Naraku had always considered the Konoha Ninja as clowns?
Jiraiya glanced at Hatake Kakashi, looking a bit hesitant because he didn't know what to say.
But the truth had to come out.
"That's right, he was deceiving us the whole time."
Jiraiya rubbed his temples, recalling the words of Konan and Uehara Naraku, slowly shaking his head with a sigh, "How should I put it? The reason Uehara Naraku tried to assassinate the Third Hokage was actually to cover up that he had killed Shimura Danzo.
Probably because he was worried we would suspect him for Shimura Danzo's disappearance, he likely forged an alliance document between Shimura Danzo and the Hidden Rain Village, indicating Shimura Danzo was alive and had risen to power, which would offer great benefits to the Hidden Rain Village.
This way, the matter of Shimura Danzo being killed would never be suspected to have ties with the Hidden Rain Village or Uehara Naraku."
"..."
The thoughts of everyone present were varied.
Everyone couldn't help but lower their heads.
Sai couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly, "Who would have thought, we always thought others were the clowns, only to be played as clowns by that guy..."
"The reason?"
Hatake Kakashi suddenly raised his head and looked at Jiraiya, asking firmly, "What was Uehara Naraku's reason for killing Shimura Danzo? It can't be just to steal Konoha's secrets!"
"No, it wasn't."
Jiraiya was slightly puzzled as he looked down, explaining, "Because Shimura Danzo conspired with Hanzo of the Salamander to almost kill Uehara Naraku's teacher back then, so he killed Shimura Danzo and presented his corpse as a gift to his own teacher."
"..."
Everyone present was speechless.
However, this did seem somewhat understandable.
Tsunade shook her head, sighing softly, "That kid back then really respected his teacher, huh! Seven or eight years ago when I met him, that little brat was like that, as if repaying a favor for his teacher..."
Seven or eight years ago.
When Uehara Naraku landed from the Hidden Hot Water Village, he encountered Tsunade twice, gambled twice, and lost quite a bit of money to Tsunade, eventually throwing the money directly to her, saying his teacher appreciated the favor from back then.
"Heh..."
Jiraiya's face revealed a faint smile as he rubbed his face and eyes forcefully, murmuring, "That's right, after all, we stopped Orochimaru from killing them back then, and you even gave them a few pieces of dry bread..."
"Hmm?"
Tsunade raised her head in surprise.
Jiraiya rubbed his temples, forcing himself to focus, "Because Uehara Naraku's teacher is... Konan."
"Konan?"
After a flash of surprise on Tsunade's face, she suddenly looked utterly shocked and stared at Jiraiya incredulously, "Jiraiya, do you mean... Uehara Naraku, that little brat, has ties with the Akatsuki?"
The intelligence about Konan sent by The Hidden Rock Village was still on her desk!
If the relationship between Konan and Uehara Naraku is true, it's hard not to associate Uehara Naraku with the Akatsuki, especially since Uehara Naraku has always been a key figure in opposing the Akatsuki.
"Yes, that's something none of us could ever guess."
Jiraiya sat palely in the chair, as if recalling the shock when he first learned of this matter, "Uehara Naraku, that little brat, has always been a member of the Akatsuki, and he is also the next leader of the Akatsuki!"