Saitama unconsciously tightened his grip on the aluminum drink can, producing a crunching sound.
The wind stopped howling, the insects stopped chirping—the whole world seemed to fall silent for that one second.
"Jiraiya-sama," Saitama asked calmly, "what connection is there between this 'Saitama Uchiha' you mentioned and me, Yufei?"
Still keeping his composed expression, Saitama slowly lifted the Coke—a drink only an Aniki would drink—and took another small sip.
What a dramatic actor Jiraiya-sama was, trying to bluff him like this. But he wasn't as naive as before anymore; naturally, he wouldn't fall for Jiraiya's tricks.
"Yufei… Maybe I got it wrong!"
Jiraiya looked at Saitama's calm and completely unperturbed eyes, the area around his nostrils wrinkling.
His breathing became heavier, facial muscles slightly stiffened—that's how Saitama perceived Jiraiya's transformation.
This was the visual enhancement provided by the [Snake Sage Art] after he mastered it.
"Are we going to fight or not?"
Remaining in the posture of drinking Coke, tilting his head back, Saitama slightly narrowed his eyes.
He didn't believe Jiraiya could actually see through his [Transformation Jutsu] with just tone and words alone.
Feeling Jiraiya's gradually rising pressure, Saitama internally assessed whether this was a real attack or still just testing.
The soda can covered his line of sight while Saitama maintained his upward tilt, as a faint breeze approached his throat, yet he seemed completely oblivious, easily swallowing down the coke.
After finishing the drink, Saitama moved the can from his lips—just in time to see a fist suddenly appear directly in front of him.
That gust of wind moments ago had also been caused by the fist breaking through air resistance.
"Jiraiya-sama, what are you—"
Saitama took a slight step back, eyes widening in shock as he stared at Jiraiya.
"Not much. Just stretching my limbs. Didn't expect to startle you... Ha ha!"
Jiraiya withdrew his hand, scratching the top of his head, feigning embarrassment.
"Oh, guess I was just being too jumpy," Saitama said, lowering the can toward his thigh and tilting his head slightly, as if brushing off Jiraiya's earlier move like it was nothing.
When Jiraiya threw a punch at him earlier, he immediately determined its trajectory but still pretended not to notice anything, aiming to dispel any suspicion Jiraiya might hold. Didn't matter if it worked or not—right now, just getting through this moment was enough.
Rather than leaving immediately, Saitama casually leaned against the railing instead, keeping some distance from Jiraiya, gazing out toward Konoha Village.
A long silence passed before Jiraiya finally spoke again.
"How do you feel now being here in Konoha?"
"Konoha? It really is thriving and powerful—it's leagues ahead of us Amegakure people!"
Saitama paused briefly before replying.
"Indeed, Konoha is doing great right now, continuing its thriving development."
Both Saitama and Jiraiya shared the exact same posture, arms resting on the railing, eyes fixed forward.
"This is the thriving, peaceful Konoha that all its ninja have worked so hard to build, and I won't allow anyone to destroy it. I will do everything in my power to protect it—even if it costs me my life!"
Jiraiya spoke firmly, determination blazing in his eyes.
"I also won't allow anyone to disrupt the peace of Yufei. That's only natural for any ninja."
Saitama caught the subtle implication in Jiraiya's words and gave a slight smirk.
"Peace in the Shinobi World is rare and precious. Nobody wants to see it destroyed, right, Yufei-jonin?"
Jiraiya tilted his head slightly, staring directly at Saitama.
"Yes, peace is indeed precious. No one would wish for it to be broken."
"But what if this peace and prosperity we're experiencing now is nothing but an illusion—an outward appearance with no substance? What would you do about that, Jiraiya-sama?"
Saitama didn't argue; instead, he shook the soda can in his right hand slightly, listening to the remaining cola slosh around, rattling against the metal with a 'clinking' sound.
This movement made drinking cola seem as elegant as sipping fine wine.
"Do you mean peace can have false forms too? Are you saying the current peace in the shinobi world is fake, Yufei-jonin?"
"I didn't say that. After all, this peace has been hard-earned!"
Saitama drank the last sip of cola from the can, squinting his eyes as he locked gazes with Jiraiya.
Jiraiya was tall and broad, standing there like an unshakable mountain towering over Saitama.
"To me, peace doesn't have false forms. Anyone who dares to destroy it becomes my enemy—Jiraiya's enemy—and the enemy of all Konoha!"
Jiraiya noticed Saitama's intention to leave and straightened up, slowly leaning closer. He lowered his head slightly to look at Saitama, who stood half a head shorter than him.
His expression was deadly serious, making Saitama feel as though Jiraiya had already seen through his [Transformation Jutsu].
"Hmph."
Saitama acknowledged Jiraiya's words with a low sound while shifting his stance sideways, taking one step past Jiraiya onto another path.
"I really hope that's true..."
Jiraiya watched Saitama's retreating back, whispering to himself.
He also sensed something unusual about this Yufei—he definitely wasn't just an ordinary jonin from Amegakure.
Moreover, that indifferent tone and uncaring attitude were strikingly similar to Saitama Uchiha's.
Yet their chakra energies felt completely different. Though Jiraiya remained suspicious, he eventually let go of his doubts.
This was Konoha territory. Acting on mere subjective suspicions and attacking someone from another village would create serious diplomatic problems.
At such a crucial moment, it was not acceptable for Konoha to be the one breaking the balance.
The only thing left to do now was to keep a closer eye on this Yufei fellow and pay more attention to him.
Leaning back against the railing, Jiraiya looked down at the peaceful, lively Konoha, a gentle warmth glowing in his eyes.
Despite knowing some troubling things happened behind the scenes, to him, this land remained the most precious place in his heart.
He was born here, raised here—it was only right that he now protected it.
Clutching the rail tightly with both hands, Jiraiya's thoughts drifted far away.
Recently, he had handed over the previously collected [Earth Grudge Fear] black threads and White Zetsu Clones to the Konoha Research Division. The intelligence he received in return truly startled him.
Those black threads appeared to be a chakra-based substance, yet they could seamlessly fuse and coexist with human flesh. Moreover, there were other effects that couldn't yet be identified.
Jiraiya suspected that Kakuzu, after having his heart pierced by his attack, survived precisely because of the latent effects of these black threads.
As for the White Zetsu Clones, researchers from the division extracted a strange type of cell and fusion material from them.
Both substances were completely absent from the Konoha Research Division's archives, so no concrete conclusion had been reached—only certain characteristics observed after research were reported back to Jiraiya.
Jiraiya himself knew a great deal and had seen many things. However, based on the information provided by the Intelligence Division—such as extremely high cellular activity, strong absorptive properties, and incredible compatibility—his suspicions deepened further.
Therefore, he took advantage of the chaos following Danzo's death and Root's impending dissolution. He used Minato's official order to gain access to Root's archive room.
It must be admitted that Root under Danzo's command had originally held the most complete intelligence within Konoha.
With Danzo dead and Root gradually dissolving, Minato was gradually shifting Root's operations under Anbu's control.
After comparing what he obtained from Root with what he already knew, Jiraiya discovered that one component within the white clone—the strange cell—was actually The First's cell.
As for the other substance, he still had absolutely no idea what it was. But given that it could coexist with Hashirama's cells, it was clearly nothing short of extraordinary.
Drawing this conclusion, Jiraiya became even more suspicious of the connection between Orochimaru and the Akatsuki organization.
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