Sitting in Akatsuki's temporary hideout, sharing drinks with new recruits—exchanging stories, learning why each had joined—was what Jiraiya had been doing today.
As an elite jonin who had completed over a hundred S-rank missions for Konoha, he gathered an impressive amount of intelligence simply by listening.
But it didn't make him happy.
It made his conviction sharper.
"Rare bloodline prisoners guarded by only a handful… the organization's structure is too crude… combat, intelligence, logistics—duties aren't clearly defined…"
Jiraiya sipped his drink, scanning the room where members laughed and drank together, and couldn't stop himself from sighing.
Just tonight, he'd already spotted three or four people clearly trained as professional spies, subtly extracting information from older members who lacked caution.
And from how those spies kept distance from one another, it was obvious they served different powers.
"Yahiko, Nagato, Konan…"
Jiraiya's eyes softened with worry.
"What I taught you was only a tiny fragment of the ninja world's ugliness. If you treat them all as comrades without guard… they'll sell you out so thoroughly you won't even understand how you died."
He drained the cup and made his decision.
Konoha would stabilize. Minato had the Third and other jonin supporting him, and the war had tempered him.
But Akatsuki was different.
Its leaders were born in war, yet they had no experience commanding war—no familiarity with running an organization, moving supplies and manpower at scale.
If he didn't help from the shadows, the spies alone could bleed Akatsuki's already-thin resources dry and ignite internal conflict without a blade ever being drawn.
And if a hardliner like Danzo ever reached in—
The Child of Prophecy meant to bring peace and change could be dragged into darkness, twisted into a vengeful extremist.
In times like this, it was the duty of a failed teacher—Jiraiya of Mount Myoboku, the Toad Sage, the Gallant Jiraiya—to shield his students' dream.
First, though, he needed an intelligence role.
If Konan tossed him into the combat department, he might reveal his identity in battle—and it would make it harder to pass on his experience to Nagato and Yahiko.
Adjusting the first layer of disguise on his face, Jiraiya excused himself and returned to his assigned room, falling asleep with practiced calm.
—
At the same time, Nagato—whom Jiraiya fretted over—was using a Rinnegan-exclusive technique: the Technique of the Lantern Body, to contact Kaguya Ren in Kirigakure.
"So late—what is it, Nagato?" Ren yawned without shame, rubbing at his eyes. "Don't tell me the people trying to steal your bloodline prisoners are so annoying you've decided to sell them to me."
"Did something major happen in Konoha recently?" Nagato asked instead, circling the point.
"Konoha? Major…?"
Ren squinted, thinking.
"Besides Orochimaru's defection and being listed as an S-rank missing-nin… nothing that qualifies as 'major,' I think."
He looked around Nagato's surroundings in mild confusion.
"Why? Doesn't Akatsuki have anyone collecting intelligence?"
Nagato's expression flickered. A memory surfaced—Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya leaning on one another.
He shook it away and said quietly:
"…Because Jiraiya-sensei disguised himself and came to the Land of Iron to join Akatsuki."
Ren stopped mid-yawn.
He narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, then spoke uncertainly:
"Did my earlier jab about him being a hands-off teacher get under his skin? Or did Orochimaru's defection hit him hard enough that he decided to leave Konoha for a while to clear his head?"
"Isn't there a worse possibility?" Nagato tested, voice tight. "Like… Jiraiya-sensei has completely lost faith in Konoha?"
"Not a chance."
Ren rejected it instantly.
"Minato is still sitting in the Fourth Hokage's seat as Jiraiya's student, and Jiraiya's never been obsessed with power. Why would he defect?"
Nagato exhaled.
"Then… he's just uncertain, so he came to see what our dream really looks like?"
"Maybe. Maybe not," Ren said, as if it barely mattered.
"Either way—so what?"
His tone turned lazily practical.
"Treat him as a useful tool. Your organization has problems stacked like a tower. A veteran like Jiraiya can spot them immediately."
Ren's eyes half-lidded.
"Give him authority. He might not perfect everything, but he'll patch the big holes—the ones people can exploit."
Ren continued, voice unhurried:
"And don't forget our wager about the Land of Rain and Hanzo. Keeping Jiraiya nearby means if Hanzo really makes a move, you won't be the only one who can respond."
"You're still that pessimistic about Hanzo," Nagato said.
"Not pessimism. Analysis," Ren corrected.
"The Land of Rain is small. Its population isn't huge. Amegakure once became the spark of the Second Great Ninja War under Hanzo—but a small country is still a small country."
He spoke with chilling clarity.
"After its peak, Amegakure's usable force is probably only six or seven hundred."
Ren's gaze sharpened.
"If Akatsuki were still just a dozen people, even with your Rinnegan, Hanzo might tolerate you. But now you're nearly two hundred—most of them competent."
Ren's lantern-body flickered; he was clearly ready to end the conversation.
"That scale alone is enough to make a ruler who only wants to keep his seat fear you."
Before the connection fully cut, Ren delivered his final advice:
"So my suggestion: if Jiraiya wants to help, let him—pretend you don't know who he is. And if you truly plan to make the Rain your base… guard against Hanzo's betrayal."
"That's it. I'm sleeping."
Ren severed the link.
In his room, he pushed open the window and stared at the waning moon, exhaling white mist into the cold air.
Jiraiya wasn't part of Ren's plan.
But if Jiraiya was present, then even if Hanzo tried to ambush Akatsuki like in the original timeline, it likely wouldn't push Nagato into an absolute dead end.
And if Nagato didn't fall into darkness after losing Yahiko…
Then Madara's resurrection plan wouldn't be nearly as usable.
"So many variables," Ren thought, eyes fixed on the moon forged by Six Paths power.
"I wonder if you'll change your moves outside the history I know… Uchiha Madara."
"…And you too, Black Zetsu."
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