Hokage Office.
"Ah ha ha ha, long time no see, Old Man, why did you call me over?"
After the Anbu brought Jiraiya to Hiruzen Sarutobi and saluted him, they retreated.
Jiraiya was left alone, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi's face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot, and greeted him with a forced smile.
"You bastard, don't try to fool me. Peeping into the women's bathhouse in broad daylight, do you know how bad the influence is?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi saw his flippant demeanour, pointed his pipe at Jiraiya, and started scolding him.
"I was gathering material, looking for art inspiration! Old Man, didn't you also often use a crystal..."
"Shut up!"
Jiraiya immediately retorted, then shot back.
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
This bastard, where is this?
The Hokage Office!
The members of the Hokage Guard and Anbu were always lurking around, on a 24-hour rotating shift, responsible for the Hokage's safety.
They only obey the Hokage's direct orders, and Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't told them to retreat. If this bastard were to blurt out about him using a crystal ball to relax, and someone accidentally heard it and spread it.
Would he, the dignified "Third Hokage," still have any face left?
"Be more careful in the future. You're already in your thirties; don't make this Old Man worry all the time. By the way, how was this mission completed, and what's the situation at the border?"
When it came to serious matters, Jiraiya stopped his playful demeanour, and his expression became a bit serious.
"Traces of Kumogakure's activities have been frequently found in the Land of Hot Water. I captured two Kumogakure spies, and after handing them over to the Yamanaka clan, some interesting intelligence was extracted."
Saying that, Jiraiya pulled out an intelligence scroll from his Pocket, unsealed it, and handed it to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took the scroll, going from indifference at first to solemnity later. After reading to the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the intelligence scroll in front of him and fell silent.
After a brief silence, he put down the intelligence scroll, and Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke.
"Has Kumogakure become so rampant?"
Jiraiya's gaze deepened slightly, and after a moment of hesitation, he shook his head.
"The situation isn't too bad yet. Fortunately, we discovered it early, so the problem isn't particularly big."
The contents of the intelligence scroll spread out on the table were also revealed.
As is well known, the Land of Lightning, where the Hidden Cloud Village is located, is to the upper right of Konoha. Two small countries separate the two great nations. Adjacent to the border of the Land of Fire is the Land of Hot Water. Due to the general combat power of the Hot Water Ninja Village and the Daimyo gradually reducing its funding, the once "combat Ninja Village" of Hot Water gradually dwindled. However, because of its beautiful natural environment and tourism resources, it turned to developing tourism and successfully transformed. Hidan of the Akatsuki Organisation originated from this village.
And the small country bordering the Land of Lightning is the Land of Moon. This small country didn't have much highlight in the original work. According to the description in the intelligence, the Land of Lightning has already begun various secret material movements in the Land of Moon. A large number of spies have infiltrated the Land of Fire, and occasionally, Kumogakure Ninja disguised as rogue Ninja harass and create friction with the border defence forces.
"It seems they can't hold back anymore."
Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, looking at Jiraiya and speaking in a deep voice.
"It's been almost ten years since the end of the Second Ninja World War. The pain of war won't make them cower; they'll only remember hatred, lick their wounds in the dark, and then make a comeback."
Jiraiya walked to the window, looking at Konoha nearby, and didn't speak.
So many years have passed, and the Ninja Villages that suffered heavy casualties back then have all recovered and collectively turned their attention back to this most central, most prosperous land in the Ninja World.
Every Ninja World War has erupted around Konoha.
Fortunately, Konoha's abundance of geniuses allowed it to fight on multiple fronts, with fighting three or four opponents being commonplace.
And no one wants to fight in their own country and territory, so the small countries between the great nations became the "buffer zones" and "war centres" implicitly agreed upon by all warring parties.
The consequence was to add insult to injury to the small countries already struggling to survive, with the devastation of Ninja and years of war leading to widespread refugees and wailing.
"Since this year, the other Ninja Villages have also become increasingly brazen in creating friction with us at the borders. A large number of spies and scouts have flooded into the Land of Fire. Not just Kumogakure, Hidden Mist, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure are also eyeing Konoha. Looking at this situation, the Third Shinobi World War is not far off, Old Man, get ready, this will be a tough battle."
Jiraiya withdrew his gaze, turned around, and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, saying.
"I know. The current situation is still mainly about probing by various countries. The real full-scale war will probably start in another year or two. You've worked hard during this time. You should go rest first."
"Mmm."
Without his usual boisterousness, Jiraiya nodded to Hiruzen Sarutobi and then pushed the door open and left.
Watching the closed door, Hiruzen Sarutobi put down his pipe, sighed, and continued to sit at the Hokage's desk, dealing with the mountain-high pile of documents.
...
Meanwhile, Ren was humming a tune on his way home. His luck was really good today. Ren, who had already resigned himself to fate, had just pulled out his wallet to pay when White Fang suddenly stepped forward and said it would be improper for an elder like him to let a child pay. After paying neatly, he kindly told Ren to go home early and rest well to prepare for their match tomorrow.
Ren, who saved his wallet and enjoyed a big meal, was naturally in a great mood. After a simple wash, Ren sat in the courtyard, looking at the dimly lit sky, and began to plan for tomorrow.
Since he was going to spar with Kakashi tomorrow, he would put aside going to Orochimaru to study science and Ninjutsu for now. As for the Ninjutsu Jiraiya could teach, Ren also had some ideas; it would be best to get the toads from Mount Myōboku.
Summoning animals, as a Ninja's combat tool, or perhaps partners, allows Ninjas to summon the summoned animals they have contracted with anytime, anywhere after signing a contract.
Summoning animals can handle various situations, including direct combat, intelligence transport, exploration, assisting the Ninja in battle, etc.
And Jiraiya's summoning animals came from Mount Myōboku, one of the three great holy lands of the summoning world. The other two great holy lands are Ryuchi Cave and Shikkotsu Forest.
What truly made Ren eager was not just the toads, but also the Sage Mode inheritance of Mount Myōboku!
The Sage Mode Chakra cultivated through Sage Mode training has several or even dozens of times the power of ordinary Chakra and grants the user super-strong sensory abilities.
As long as he signs a contract with the toads of Mount Myōboku, Sage Mode will be within reach.
Of course, all of this is based on the premise of defeating Kakashi. If he loses, he can only look for opportunities later.
Ren powerfully swung a fist towards the sky.
Tomorrow, he must win!