Jiraiya had returned to the Leaf Village, two toads perched on his shoulders. He wasn't in Sage Mode, though.
"It's been a while since I've been to the Leaf. Kinda nostalgic!" said Fukasaku, the green-skinned toad with white hair, mustache, and eyebrows, letting out a wistful sigh.
"Dear, I seem to recall you've only been to the Leaf twice. Is a place you've visited just twice really worth getting nostalgic over?" chimed in Shima, another green-skinned toad with purple hair and natural purple lipstick.
"Toads…"
"They're talking!"
A sudden voice caught Jiraiya and the toads' attention. "Lady Tsunade, those toads—they're talking! Toads can talk! Hic~"
"Tsunade?" Jiraiya blinked, turning to see Tsunade supporting a flushed, drunken Shizune, who reeked of alcohol.
Tsunade looked a bit tipsy herself, her eyes slightly hazy, but she was nowhere near as gone as Shizune.
Well… talk about timing!
But how did Tsunade's disciple end up this drunk? Jiraiya remembered Shizune wasn't much of a drinker.
Tsunade hadn't expected to run into Jiraiya here. Glancing at the toads on his shoulders, she caught his confused look and casually explained, "I was in a bad mood today, so I hit the tavern to drink my troubles away. Shizune, worried I'd get plastered, snatched the jug and chugged it all in one go."
"That was over 50-proof liquor. Even I sip it slowly, but this kid, who's no good with alcohol, downed it and ended up like this."
Jiraiya nodded, understanding.
Then Tsunade, brow furrowed, asked curiously, "Those are toads from Mount Myōboku, right? They seem kinda familiar… Who are they?"
"Fukasaku Sage," Jiraiya introduced. "And Shima Sage. You've met them before. They're elder sages of Mount Myōboku, second only to the Great Toad Sage, Gamamaru. They've lived for over 800 years."
Tsunade paused, a faint memory stirring. "Oh, yeah, I think I remember them. So, why are they in the Leaf?"
"Well…" Jiraiya hesitated, unsure if he should say.
Fukasaku, however, smiled and answered bluntly, "We're here to meet Uchiha Akainu. The Great Lord said there's a ninja in the Leaf named Uchiha Akainu with eyes that can see the future. We're just following the Great Lord's orders to check if it's true."
Tsunade pursed her lips. "Great Lord?"
"The Great Toad Sage," Jiraiya quickly clarified.
"Oh!" Tsunade nodded, a smirk forming. "You mean the big toad that hoodwinked you into running around in circles, only to get chewed out by Akainu?"
Jiraiya: "…"
Sweat beaded on Jiraiya's forehead as he glanced nervously at Fukasaku and Shima, worried Tsunade's irreverent words might offend the sages.
"It's fine," Fukasaku said, shaking his head. He looked at Tsunade. "Didn't Uchiha Akainu also say the Child of Prophecy exists? So why say the Great Lord fooled little Jiraiya?"
Shima added, "I recognize you. You're the one who contracted with the Slug Sage of the Shikkotsu Forest, right? Even the Slug Sage wouldn't be so rude in front of the Great Lord."
Tsunade, still supporting Shizune, smirked. "Fooling Jiraiya, this dummy, into scouring the ninja world for some so-called Child of Prophecy—isn't that just a wild goose chase? Pinning the future of the ninja world on one supposed savior is laughable."
"Like Akainu said, one savior can't change the ninja world. Only when the world starts to get better will everyone become a savior. It takes countless saviors working together to truly change things."
She paused, then continued, "Jiraiya, it's never about one person saving the world. It's about an idea—a positive one—that everyone can get behind."
"Like that kid's absolute justice."
"And because I'm from the Shikkotsu Forest, I can say this about that big toad," Tsunade scoffed. "Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, Shikkotsu Forest—the three great sage regions each have their own sage, but only that toad loves stirring up trouble."
"He's lived so long, you'd think he'd take a break. The other two sages don't meddle like he does. Is he really looking out for the ninja world, or is he just ambitious? Only he knows."
With that, Tsunade waved dismissively at Jiraiya while supporting Shizune. "That's enough for now. I gotta get this kid home. She stole my booze, got herself plastered, and now she's a mess. Gotta make sure some creepy old peeping tom doesn't snatch her up."
Jiraiya: "…"
Creepy old peeping tom? Why did that feel like a jab at him?
As Tsunade walked off, Shima's eyelid twitched. "Little Jiraiya, dear… are the inheritors of the Shikkotsu Forest all this rude nowadays? Doesn't the Slug Sage check their character before picking them?"
"Shh! Shh!" Jiraiya whispered, sweating. "Shima Sage, a drunk Tsunade is not someone to mess with. I'm the one who'll end up getting pummeled!"
Fukasaku sighed. "Once we find the true Child of Prophecy and they bring real change to the ninja world, that girl will realize the Great Lord was right."
"Little Jiraiya, no rush to meet Uchiha Akainu just yet. He's in the Leaf—he's not going anywhere. First, list out the kids you think might be the Child of Prophecy for us to review."
"Phew, alright," Jiraiya said, exhaling in relief.
---
Ninja Academy
"Finally, school's out!" Naruto bolted out of the classroom, then turned back to yell at Sasuke, "Hurry up, Sasuke! We gotta find Senior Akainu so she can take us to enforce justice in the Leaf Village!"
"Keep it down," Sasuke muttered, his mouth twitching as he felt eyes on them. Did this knucklehead not realize how embarrassing his shouting was?
As he started to follow, Sasuke paused, spotting Ino Yamanaka nearby with her dainty little backpack. "Hey," he called out, "wanna come with us?"
His face was serious. "You understand justice better than me or the knucklehead. From what you've said before, you seem to really believe in Teacher Akainu's absolute justice, right? If so, we're comrades. And as comrades, we should include you."
"Right, knucklehead?" He glanced at Naruto.
"Yeah!" Naruto nodded enthusiastically, then suddenly bristled. "Wait, did you just call me 'knucklehead' again today?"
Sasuke averted his gaze, a little guilty.
But more than that, he used "knucklehead" to mask the inferiority he felt around Naruto. Ever since Naruto unleashed the Nine-Tails' power in front of him, Sasuke had felt a nagging sense of inadequacy. He didn't know why, but he instinctively didn't want to be outdone by Naruto. It was a strange, confusing feeling—maybe unwillingness?
"No thanks," Ino said, shaking her head. Her expression was complex as she added, "I need to head back to the Nara clan grounds to help my dad deal with some bodies that haven't been processed yet."
"Bodies?" Sasuke blinked.
Ino explained, "The evildoers killed by Lord Uchiha Akainu—if their heads are intact, they're usually sent to the Yamanaka clan. We use our secret techniques to search their memories for evidence of their crimes. That way, the village can better handle their ill-gotten gains."
Sasuke nodded, getting the picture. In the system of absolute justice, Akainu was the one investigating and executing evildoers, while the Yamanaka clan worked behind the scenes, gathering evidence and compiling reports.
"Then…" Sasuke hesitated, a thought striking him. "Have you seen the memories of the evildoers Akainu-sensei killed?"
If he remembered right, those criminals' deeds were horrifying. Just hearing about them gave him chills—seeing them firsthand would be…
"No, I haven't learned how yet," Ino said frankly. "I just help my dad out."
With that, she walked off.
"No wonder she seems more mature than us," Sasuke muttered.
"Huh? Why's that?" Naruto asked from outside.
"She's seen things we haven't," Sasuke said. "She's been exposed to darker stuff than we have. Maybe that's why she understands justice better."
Naruto rubbed his chin, thoughtful.
---
"Ino… Ino!"
Not long after Ino left the academy, a familiar voice called out. She turned to see Sakura Haruno jogging up, panting. "Phew, phew…"
Sakura caught her breath, resting her hands on her knees before looking up, confusion on her face. "Ino… why don't you like Sasuke-kun anymore?"
"I just… I feel like…" Sakura bit her lip, summoning her courage. "You've changed. You don't feel like the Ino I know anymore. It's been happening lately—I've watched you change. Did something bad happen to you?"
Their rivalry over Sasuke had always made Sakura hesitant to ask, despite her concern. But now that Ino seemed to have moved on from Sasuke, Sakura finally let go of that awkwardness.
"Nothing bad happened… well, except being temporarily homeless," Ino said. "But my dad and the clan elders are working with the Leaf's construction team. The Yamanaka clan grounds should be back to normal in a year or so."
She shook her head, her voice soft but clear. "As for why I don't like Sasuke anymore… I used to like good-looking guys. Now, I like good-looking guys who aren't immature. Immature boys just… I don't know, they give me a weird vibe."
Ino was upfront about being a sucker for looks. But now, she'd added a new condition—one Sasuke didn't meet.
"Sakura," Ino said, taking a deep breath. After letting go of her crush on Sasuke, her view of Sakura had normalized too. "Here's some advice. Your time at the Ninja Academy… it's some of the only time you'll have shielded from this dark, twisted ninja world. Don't waste it on pointless crushes."
"Once you graduate and become a Leaf genin, you'll start facing the darkness of the ninja world. Without enough strength, you won't be able to protect yourself from being consumed by it. And without a strong enough mindset, you won't be able to keep yourself from falling into that darkness."
She paused, adding, "That's something my dad told me. I'm just passing it on to you."
Sakura stood frozen. Maybe it wasn't that Sasuke had become immature by hanging out with Naruto. Maybe Ino had just grown far beyond her peers.
Though Ino said nothing bad had happened, Sakura felt she was hiding something. Maybe because they no longer lived in the same world, Ino wouldn't share the truth with her.
Sakura fell silent.
---
"Yamanaka Ino, the only daughter of the Yamanaka clan head. She's one of the kids I added to the potential Child of Prophecy list this morning," Jiraiya said to Fukasaku and Shima, standing behind a tree. "Her clan is closely tied to Uchiha Akainu—almost inseparable, you could say."
"Do you think she could be the Child of Prophecy?"
Shima, perched on Jiraiya's left shoulder, rubbed her chin. "The Child of Prophecy, destined to bring peace and change to the ninja world, must have extraordinary qualities. Is this Yamanaka girl a genius of the Leaf?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "From what I've seen, her talent is above average at best. Her ceiling is probably a standard jonin."
"Then it's not her," Shima said. "A Child of Prophecy with mediocre talent wouldn't have the ability to change the ninja world."
Jiraiya nodded, shifting his attention to another student leaving the academy, passing by a motionless Sakura. "Hyūga Neji, another candidate for the Child of Prophecy. His talent is exceptional—probably the top genius in the academy. Even as a second-year, he can hold his own against sixth-years. He hasn't had much contact with Uchiha Akainu, but he's crossed paths with Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki quite a bit."
"Hyūga Neji…" Fukasaku, holding Jiraiya's list, stroked his beard, eyeing Neji in the distance. "We could try approaching him first."
---
Meanwhile, at a Leaf Village inn…
A man dressed as a foreign merchant returned to his room. After locking the door, he bit his thumb, pressed his palm to the floor, and black sealing patterns spread out.
Poof! A puff of white smoke cleared, revealing a black python as thick as a thigh.
The man spoke to the snake. "Tell Lord Orochimaru that the spies he placed in the Leaf Village have all vanished without a trace. They were likely caught or killed."
He paused, then added, "I haven't figured out how they were exposed. They didn't know each other's identities and had no way of contacting one another. Even if one was caught, the others shouldn't have been compromised. But they're all gone."
The python's cold eyes studied him, its tongue flicking before it vanished with another poof.
Less than half an hour later, Orochimaru received the report in his secret lab somewhere in the Land of Fire.
"Heh, no wonder I haven't gotten any new intel from the Leaf," Orochimaru said, his golden eyes narrowing. The man who'd summoned the python was one of his new spies, tasked with gathering info on Uchiha Akainu.
Ever since Zetsu showed up at his doorstep, Orochimaru had suspected Akainu held something the Akatsuki feared—maybe an object, intel, or some powerful ability.
"Heh, the secrets you want to know, I want to know too," Orochimaru said, licking his lips with his long tongue. "If I can uncover that secret before you do, maybe I could use it to control the Akatsuki. Even if I can't, holding it as leverage wouldn't be bad."
Would Orochimaru obediently follow the Akatsuki's orders? Of course not. He was far too cunning.
"But…" Orochimaru's wicked grin faded, a hint of awe in his eyes. "Uchiha Akainu's growth is faster than I ever imagined. Even Danzō Shimura died by his hand, and even Teacher Sarutobi's two sons were taken out by him."
A mocking smirk curled his lips. "His two sons were killed by Akainu, yet he tolerates him. But me? I only conducted a few necessary experiments for my goals, and he tried everything to stop me—even kill me."
"Teacher Sarutobi… one standard for me, another for Uchiha Akainu?"
"Heh…"
Anger flashed in his eyes, then vanished.
---
Biwa Jūzō made his decision: he wouldn't cross Uchiha Obito or Konan. He'd keep the secrets he'd learned today buried deep.
To the outside world, he'd claim he failed his mission.
Konan had only said that if he succeeded and the intel was valuable, he could become a core Akatsuki member. She never said failure would get him kicked out.
Jūzō decided to leave the Leaf Village that very day. He didn't want to stay a moment longer in this unsettling place. Uchiha Akainu's presence gave him an uneasy feeling.
"That guy knows too many secrets. Does he know things about me too? Am I just one step away from being taken out by him, like how he knows the weakness of Obito's intangibility?"
Jūzō's expression darkened. "Every day I stay in the Leaf, the risk to my life skyrockets."
Uchiha Akainu was, aside from Might Dai, the Leaf genin, the man he feared most. His instincts screamed not to make an enemy of him.
So, as night fell, Jūzō abandoned the other Rain Village ninjas and slipped out of the Leaf, vanishing into the dense forest beyond.
But less than ten kilometers out, he sensed something off. He stopped, eyes scanning the surroundings warily, his Decapitating Carving Knife now gripped tightly in his hands.
The dim moonlight was blocked by thick branches, shrouding everything in darkness.
Years of battle-honed instincts screamed danger, and Jūzō's brows furrowed, his guard up. A cruel smirk curled his lips as he called out, "A bunch of rats hiding in the shadows, waiting for me, huh?"
"How'd you know I was leaving the Leaf tonight? Got spies in the village?"
A sudden voice cut through the air, making his pupils shrink. "Caught, huh? Not bad for one of the Mist's Seven Ninja Swordsmen. That danger sense is top-notch in the ninja world."
Without hesitation, Jūzō grabbed two kunai from his waist and hurled them toward the voice, his ruthless gaze locking onto the direction.
But the next second, he was stunned to see the kunai pass straight through a figure. They didn't hit flesh but pierced a tree behind it with a heavy thud.
Boom! Boom!
Two deafening explosions lit up the night as the explosive tags tied to the kunai detonated, snapping the tree in half.
In the firelight, Jūzō saw the figure clearly: a man in a black robe with red clouds, wearing a strange mask—an Akatsuki member.
"Lord Madara, it's not that he's sharp. You let your killing intent slip," another voice said from a different direction. "Any seasoned ninja would've noticed."
Jūzō's gaze snapped to the new voice: another man in a black-and-red-cloud robe, this one even stranger. His shoulders had exaggerated pitcher-plant-like decorations, and his face was half pale white, half pitch black.
"Lord Madara…" Jūzō's palms grew sweaty as he glanced at the masked man. "…You're 'Uchiha Madara'?"
"Seems even after years of staying out of the spotlight, the ninja world still remembers my name," the masked man said, his voice low and steady. "Knowing it's me and still not dropping your weapon? You've got some guts."
"Maybe I was born bold," Jūzō said coolly, though he was sweating buckets inside.
Damn it! Uchiha Madara… no, Uchiha Obito! Why was he here?
Was he lying in wait, knowing Jūzō had met Akainu and learned some of his secrets, ready to silence him? Or was this just a bluff to test him, and acting normal would get him off the hook?
Jūzō clung to a sliver of hope.
"Biwa Jūzō, you made the wrong choice," Obito's cold voice shattered that hope. "It doesn't matter what you know. The moment you took that woman's mission and came to the Leaf, your fate was sealed."
Zetsu: "…"
It wanted to say something but felt exhausted. Didn't Obito just admit that Akainu might hold a secret that could threaten him, one he couldn't let anyone else know?
Whatever. Jūzō was going to die anyway. They'd just pretend Obito never said that.
"Hey, hold on!" Jūzō sidestepped, subtly retreating half a step, warily eyeing the supposed Madara and the pitcher-plant man he'd never seen in the Akatsuki. "We're all in the Akatsuki. No need to go all out, right? Aren't you curious about what I learned from Akainu? It might be useful intel."
"Not interested," Obito said, his killing intent palpable. He shot forward like an arrow, a sharp ninja blade materializing in his hand from thin air.
In an instant, he was inches away, slashing at Jūzō's throat.
Clang!
The harsh sound of metal clashing rang out as Jūzō, face grim, barely blocked the attack with his Decapitating Carving Knife.
The next second, he felt the ground shift beneath him. Before he could look down, dozens of vines thicker than thighs burst from the earth, coiling up his ankles like pythons, wrapping his body and tightening to strangle him.
Boom!
Jūzō's body exploded into fragments—but not blood. Water droplets sprayed everywhere.
The Decapitating Carving Knife clattered to the ground.
"A water clone?" Zetsu's eyes narrowed, looking in a direction. "He ditched his weapon just to fool us?"
"After him!" Obito ordered. "He's heading back to the Leaf! Don't let him reach it!"
With that, Obito took off in pursuit.
---
"What's this kid doing sneaking to the edge of the Leaf Village so late instead of going home?" Jiraiya muttered, trailing Hyūga Neji. He'd been following him for over three hours, tasked with letting Fukasaku and Shima observe whether Neji could be the Child of Prophecy.
Fukasaku noted, "He's been asking passersby about something the whole way. He's not wandering aimlessly—he's looking for something."
Shima added, "Dear, little Jiraiya, it seems this kid wants to sneak out of the Leaf. Whatever he's after, it's outside the village."
Jiraiya frowned. "He can't slip past the patrol ninjas. Even if he gets out, he won't make it a few hundred meters before they catch him and drag him back."
Fukasaku chuckled. "We can give him a hand."
With that, the toad hopped off Jiraiya's shoulder and vanished with a leap.
---
"He left the Leaf… and if the last person I asked wasn't lying or mistaken, he went this way. If I follow this direction, I should catch up to that man," Neji said under the night sky, taking a deep breath.
He pulled out a white ribbon and silently tied back his long hair to keep it out of the way.
"Hyūga Neji… what are you doing?" he murmured to himself. "There's no need for this."
"But…" He clenched his teeth. "If you don't do something bold, how will that man take notice of you? How will he see your determination? How will he know how much you crave justice?"
Sasuke's words from earlier hadn't discouraged him—they'd lit a fire in him.
"Two first-year students can believe in absolute justice. Why can't I? I'm not just chasing power by following absolute justice. I want justice for my father too."
Muttering to himself, Neji slipped out of the Leaf Village.
Panting after running two kilometers out, he was stunned. Glancing back in the moonlight, he saw no one behind him.
He'd expected to play a cat-and-mouse game with the patrol ninjas, maybe even get caught and scolded if his luck was bad. But everything had gone so smoothly.
The patrol ninjas seemed to have vanished.
---
Meanwhile, not far behind Neji…
"This kid… he's looking for Akainu?" Jiraiya murmured.
"Akainu…"
"He left the village?"