[Some Town in the Land of Fire]
The drunken Jiraiya woke up groggily.
He grabbed the water jug beside him and chugged it down.
With the cool water in his stomach, he sobered up a little and went into the washroom.
"Glug! Glug!", Jiraiya brushed his teeth while wiping the lipstick marks off his face.
After freshening up, Jiraiya sat down at the tea table, which was piled with stacks of drafts.
This city had opened many new bathhouses, and lately he had been peeping to his heart's content.
Last night, he even went out drinking with courtesans all night, relaxed a bit, and gathered plenty of material.
Now inspiration was flowing, just the right time to write.
Jiraiya wrote while reminiscing.
As if recalling some wonderful experience, a lecherous grin appeared on his face.
After a while, a knocking sound came from the window outside.
Jiraiya finally snapped out of his creative state.
He saw a messenger bird pecking the window, quickly opened it, and took the scroll tied to its leg.
As he read the intel, Jiraiya's expression grew serious.
"Monk Senku…"
He hadn't expected Monk Senku to act again. And this time he had directly ripped the Shukaku out of Gaara's body.
But Gaara's life was not in danger at all.
The Third Hokage had specifically mentioned: Uchiha Rengoku was a standard hawkish leader.
Now Naruto's squad leader was already Uchiha Itachi.
At this rate, before long, Naruto would be completely won over by the Uchiha clan.
Once Rengoku sat in the Hokage's seat, he would very likely push for foreign invasions.
This Senku himself had the intent of extracting the Nine-Tails from Naruto.
The Third Hokage's meaning was to replace Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki with another candidate.
Although the Third didn't say it outright, it was certain he wanted to switch the Nine-Tails host to someone from the Sarutobi clan.
Jiraiya began to think about whether or not to do this.
He was a standard guardian of Konoha, and a die-hard dove.
Foreign invasions were something Jiraiya had never considered.
Although the Third Hokage had been wary of the Uchiha all these years, for Konoha's development, he had still done well.
According to the Third Hokage, the next Hokage candidates were only Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Uchiha Rengoku.
Judging by Rengoku's nature, once he took the Hokage seat, the Fourth Great Ninja War would ignite at once.
Until he found the Child of Prophecy, Jiraiya desired peace even more.
He solemnly wrote a reply on the scroll, released the messenger bird, tidied himself up, and headed toward the Land of Rain.
———
[Land of Earth]
A squad of Suna scouts had been spotted by Iwa and were now being hunted down.
The team of three was now reduced to one.
"It's over, looks like I'll die here," The Suna shinobi's expression was calm.
Missions deep in enemy territory were inherently dangerous.
Dying was normal.
At least the intel had already been sent.
Now then, the Suna shinobi leapt on, sticking explosive tags all over his clothes.
Then he pretended to tire out, slowing his pace.
The three Iwa shinobi behind him drew closer.
The big and burly one in the middle, named Ishizawa, said, "Beware of tricks, let me handle this."
"Yes, Captain Ishizawa!"
The other two slowed down at once.
The Suna shinobi slowed more and more, staggering before falling to the ground.
Ishizawa lunged fiercely at him.
The Suna turned back, the tags on his body already sizzling.
"Let's die together!"
Ishizawa sneered, and his skin rapidly changed color.
BOOM!
After the massive explosion, only Ishizawa was left, clothes tattered and ragged.
Exposed skin all black.
Not a single wound.
This was Ishizawa's Kekkei Genkai, Steel Release Hardening.
His two teammates rushed over, still shaken, "Good thing you were here, Ishizawa."
Ishizawa waved his hand dismissively, not arrogant.
"He was blown to pieces, that's cheap for him."
Every ninja village had interrogation departments; even a dead brain could reveal some information.
So some shinobi, to prevent leaks, made sure even their corpse wouldn't remain when they self-destructed.
Taking enemies down with them was common.
But with Ishizawa's Steel Release, he was the best suited to handle such cases.
Just then, from the ground suddenly emerged a figure in a black cloak with red clouds, a two-toned face.
He lifted his hand, and countless vines shot toward Ishizawa.
Ishizawa immediately used his Steel Release.
But Zetsu's Wood Release was beyond question, binding Ishizawa tight in an instant.
"Who are you? AHHH!", Ishizawa's two teammates were also snared by the Wood Release.
Without Steel Release, they were skewered through by wooden spikes and collapsed, groaning.
Ishizawa struggled desperately, but couldn't break free of the vines, "I recognize that cloak, you're Akatsuki!"
"Ah! Mmph… mmph…", As Ishizawa spoke, the vines covered his mouth.
Zetsu calmly dragged Ishizawa away.
Only two mortally wounded Iwa shinobi remained.
One weakly pulled a signal flare from his waist and fired it into the sky.
Then, dipping his finger in blood, he quickly scrawled numbers onto his clothes.
Losing blood fast, his vision grew darker and darker. Finally, with sheer willpower, he finished writing the last number.
Then his consciousness sank fully into darkness.
Dozens of minutes later, two Iwa squads hurried in.
"Quick! Around here!"
"Found them, Captain! It's Ishizawa's team!"
They followed the voices and came to the spot where Ishizawa had been captured.
"Captain, Daimo left a code!"
The Iwa captain pulled out a small booklet and quickly cross-checked the code from Ishizawa's team.
One by one, the intel became clear.
"Ishizawa was captured. The attackers were Akatsuki, and that person could use Wood Release."
———
[Amegakure]
After a long journey, Jiraiya once again arrived here.
But this time, unlike before when he had wandered around like a headless fly, he went straight to Kakuzu's office.
"Well, if it isn't the Toad Sage Jiraiya!"
Knowing the other was here to hand over money, Kakuzu beamed with joy.
Jiraiya twitched, staring at Kakuzu in disbelief.
'This mass murderer Kakuzu, how is he like this?'
But Jiraiya didn't dwell on it. He spoke directly, "I'm here to talk business with your Akatsuki."
Kakuzu smiled, "I know, I know. It's about what Monk Senku mentioned last time, right?"
He held up nine fingers, meaning the Nine-Tails.
Jiraiya nodded, "Yes, that's it."
Kakuzu replied, "This matter, you'll need to discuss with Konan."
"But she's not in the village. You'll have to stay here a few days."
Jiraiya was used to wandering around aimlessly for years.
Now being able to see Konan, a few days didn't matter at all.
"Alright, no problem. I'll wait here for her."
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