"Old man! I'm back!" The window of the Hokage's office was pushed open from the outside, and a heavily intoxicated Jiraiya, reeking of alcohol, stumbled in,
Seated in the Hokage's chair, processing the documents while lost in thought, Hiruzen was startled by Jiraiya's sudden arrival. He turned to see Jiraiya trip and fall onto the floor from the windowsill.
The Anbu hidden around the room, who were tasked with protecting the Hokage, silently averted their gazes, suppressing their reactions.
"Ah, Jiraiya, you've returned at just the right time." Hiruzen said, turning his chair as he picked up his pipe. He took a few puffs before catching a whiff of the alcohol emanating from Jiraiya.
Hiruzen's eyebrows furrowed as he asked, "Where have you been all this time?"
In the Year 51 of Konoha Calendar, after the Third Great Ninja War, Jiraiya and Tsunade had each left the village for their own reasons… traveling and training.
Of the Sannin, only Orochimaru remained in the village, but he was preoccupied with various experiments and had even begun collaborating with Danzo.
Long before Orochimaru's human experimentation on Konoha's Ninjas was exposed, he had already lost his chance to become the Fourth Hokage.
Because he had chosen the wrong side, aligning himself with Danzo, he had politically distanced himself from his teacher, Hiruzen's faction.
Therefore, Orochimaru's defeat in the election for the Fourth Hokage against Minato had been predetermined.
"I've been gathering inspiration in the Land of Hot Springs, of course!" Jiraiya scratched the back of his head as he got up from the floor.
After the war between Konoha and Kumogakure broke out, though Jiraiya hadn't joined the battlefield, he had been wandering near the borders of the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Springs.
This way, if the situation changed or if Hiruzen urgently needed him, he could respond immediately.
Once the peace treaty between Kumogakure and Konoha was signed, Jiraiya chose to return to the village.
"Speaking of which, I have something to discuss with you too, old man." Jiraiya muttered, casually pouring himself a cup of tea from the pot on the desk.
"Great Toad Sage prophesied that the Ninja World would face an unprecedented catastrophe… one that would plunge the entire world into darkness!" Jiraiya said gravely after downing his tea.
"Hmm, so you're looking for the [Child of Prophecy] who will save the world, right?" It was not the first time that Hiruzen heard Jiraiya talk about things like 'disaster to the Ninja World' and [Child of Prophecy].
He was long used to it.
For someone like him, who is a Kage of a village, prophecies like these undoubtedly hid secrets beyond human understanding.
After all, the masters of the Three Great Sage Regions weren't human. To think they genuinely cared about humanity's future is kind of impossible.
"No! This time, it's far more serious!" Jiraiya's face flushed slightly as he tried to argue.
One moment he said, 'The Child of Darkness that destroyed the Ninja World', the next moment he said, 'Unprecedented calamity the world hadn't seen in a thousand years'.
Hiruzen remained indifferent, nodding slightly before sliding a scroll across the desk toward Jiraiya.
"Orochimaru has defected." Hiruzen said casually, causing Jiraiya to freeze in place.
After realizing what was happening, Jiraiya exclaimed in astonishment: "Old man! What kind of joke is this?! Orochimaru would never-"
Before he could finish, Jiraiya saw the contents of the scroll, which are the of testimonies from Konoha's Ninjas who had survived Orochimaru's human experiments.
His hands trembled as he took the scroll and read through it carefully.
It records in detail the Ninjas rescued and the large amount of experimental materials found in Orochimaru's secret laboratory, as well as the horrifying logs of his experiments.
After reading the report, Jiraiya's expression darkened, and he fell into a long silence.
Even the prophecy of the [Child of Darkness] was momentarily thrown out of his mind.
"I'll go bring him back right now!" Jiraiya slammed the scroll onto the desk and stormed out, leaping through the window.
Hiruzen stood by the window with his pipe in his hand, watching Jiraiya's figure dart across the village rooftops. He let out a deep sigh.
…
The northern part of the Land of Fire.
Deep within a forest.
Kinoe, wearing a raccoon mask, who would later become the Wood Release Ninja 'Yamato', was currently carrying out Danzo's orders, arriving at a prearranged meeting spot with Orochimaru.
Arriving at the base of the largest towering tree in this forest, Kinoe slowly came to a halt and approached the roots of the great tree.
A bottomless tree hollow appeared before him, and he stepped inside without hesitation.
The interior of the hollow was a long tunnel, with oil lamps hanging on either side, illuminating the passage. It was clear this wasn't a natural formation.
Step-
Step-
At the end of the tunnel was a vast underground space, supported by a network of intertwined tree roots.
On one wall, rows of oil lamps flickered, suggesting this was either a gathering place or a site for rituals.
Just as Kinoe was cautiously surveying his surroundings, a smoke began to rise within the underground space, obscuring his vision.
Kinoe immediately sensed that this smoke was unusual, as it carried a dangerous aura
"Who are you? How did you find this place?" A hazy voice echoed from within the smoke.
Kinoe quickly identified himself: "I am one of Danzo-sama's subordinates! I've come regarding Orochimaru-sama's affairs!"
Hearing this, a swirl of smoke coalesced into a humanoid form, drifting closer to Kinoe and circling around him.
The surrounding smoke also condensed into vague, ghostly silhouettes, surrounding the masked Kinoe, who wore a racoon mask.
One particular wisp of pale red smoke circled him several times.
"This is a letter from Danzo-sama." Kinoe retrieved a scroll from his pocket and handed it to the towering figure of smoke before him.
The figure took the scroll and examined it, murmuring to himself, "It is indeed the seal of Danzo-sama."
Then, he dispelled his smoke form, revealing himself as a tall, plainly dressed man with a pair of thin mustaches.
The surrounding smoke also dissipated, and over twenty figures emerged, all clad in simple, short-sleeved garments.
'An ability I've never heard of… Is this a Kekkei Genkai?' Kinoe was stunned as he observed the crowd.
"Tenzo! Is that you?!" A young girl's delighted cry sent a faint tremor through Kinoe's numb emotions.
He turned his head and saw that the pale red smoke that had circled him earlier had taken the form of a girl about his age, with freckles on her face and curly hair, looking at him with a pair of big watery eyes.
"Yukimi, he's not Tenzo." Gotta, the leader of the Iburi Clan, who was holding the letter scroll in his hand, shook his head slightly.
"Now, explain the situation." Gotta returned the scroll to Kinoe and asked, "As long as it's for Orochimaru-sama, we, the Iburi clan, will do anything!"
"Consider it repayment for Orochimaru-sama's life-saving grace in the past." Gotta's words were met with nods of agreement from the other clansmen.
Back then, if not for Orochimaru's Cursed Seal, their clan might have been wiped out entirely.
"Oh? Is that so?" A voice laced with disdain came from the tunnel entrance.
"Who's there?!" Kinoe spun around, raising his kunai.
He was certain no one had been following him when he arrived!
The Iburi Clan's members also became alert.
From the dim tunnel entrance, a mysterious man wearing a three-eyed fox mask and a fur-collared robe slowly walked towards them.
"How pitiful..." Looking at the Iburi Clan in front of him, Menma sighed sadly under his mask: "A clan nearly driven to extinction by Orochimaru's human experiments."