"I'm afraid Jiraiya will dig up the truth about Minato's death?"
"I'm afraid Jiraiya will avenge Minato?"
"I'm afraid Jiraiya will threaten my Hokage seat?"
"Bullshit!"
"Minato's death had nothing to do with me! If Jiraiya had actually wanted the hat, I would've handed it to him years ago!"
Hiruzen had barely finished dealing with Cloud Village and was starting to hope the Leaf might finally get a short breather. Then this new rumor about Jiraiya exploded and slammed him straight back into panic mode.
Back when things were normal, Hiruzen wouldn't have worried that Jiraiya would actually believe something this ridiculous. But now? He wasn't so sure. And if Jiraiya did believe it… what the hell was he supposed to do?
His eyes drifted toward the medical wing. Jiraiya was still lying there, body wrecked from his fight with Rasa. Not only would recovery take forever, even if he healed he'd be a cripple. Missing two legs and one arm. Could someone like that even still call himself a ninja?
Jiraiya stared blankly at the ceiling. No legs. No arm. As a person he already felt incomplete. He knew Sunagakure had mechanical limb technology, but that was Sand. They were enemies. And even if Konoha eventually figured out how to use Hashirama cells to regrow limbs, Orochimaru sure as hell wasn't going to hand that tech over to him. If Orochimaru revealed he'd been secretly researching Hashirama cells, Hiruzen would come down on him even harder than he already did.
On top of that, Jiraiya's chances with Tsunade just got a whole lot smaller. From now on he'd probably be stuck in a wheelchair with only one hand.
A hollow look entered his eyes. For a moment, none of it mattered anymore — not being a ninja, not the village, not the Child of Destiny prophecy.
Then the rumor reached him.
"Minato Namikaze's death was deliberately arranged by Hiruzen Sarutobi because he was scared Minato would threaten his position as Hokage. But Hiruzen never expected it to blow up this badly — or that Rasa would actually speak up for Minato. So when Jiraiya came back, Hiruzen got scared Jiraiya would avenge Minato or demand justice. That's why he ordered Jiraiya to return after all these years away, then immediately sent him to the front lines… and sold his intel to Sunagakure. He wanted Rasa to kill Jiraiya so no one would be left to speak for Minato… and so Jiraiya couldn't threaten the Sarutobi clan's grip on the Hokage seat."
Jiraiya frowned.
"Hiruzen-sensei was worried I'd avenge Minato? Sold my intel to Sand so they could take me out? That's ridiculous. Hiruzen-sensei never cared that much about the hat. He literally asked me if I wanted it once. If I'd said yes, I would've been Hokage years ago. But I didn't want it. If he was willing to offer it to me, he wouldn't have hoarded it from Minato either. And I don't believe Minato's death had anything to do with him. Why would he suddenly be afraid I'd turn on him? He only called me back because the village was in bad shape."
Jiraiya didn't believe a single word of the rumor. But just because he didn't believe it didn't mean everyone else wouldn't.
Danzo showed up at Orochimaru's lab.
"Orochimaru, do you see it now? Hiruzen has changed. He's old, and his hunger for power has blinded him. He'll do anything to keep that seat. We need to move. If we don't, you're next."
Danzo was doing his best to push Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's eyes flickered. "You're saying Hiruzen-sensei really did sell Jiraiya's information to Sunagakure?"
"Of course it's true," Danzo said. "You and I both know Jiraiya's strength. Let me be blunt — his overall power is already above yours. Rasa may be talented and strong, but he's still young. He doesn't have Jiraiya's experience. Jiraiya isn't weak. The only reason Rasa was able to cripple him that badly was because he had inside information."
Danzo wasn't the only one pushing that narrative. Once the rumor spread, plenty of people started agreeing.
"I think it might actually be true."
"Otherwise it's way too many coincidences."
"First the White Fang, then Minato, now Jiraiya. Every single person who could've taken the Hokage seat keeps dying or getting taken out. At this rate even Orochimaru might be in danger."
"The Kage seat really is that seductive. Look at Ōnoki — he's been clinging to the Tsuchikage position for years and old Roshi left in disgust. Yagura sold out the Seven Ninja Swordsmen for the Mizukage hat. Even Cloud had the Gold and Silver Brothers try to assassinate the Raikage once. And there were those rumors about Rasa killing the Third Kazekage… though that one probably isn't true."
Ōnoki hadn't expected to get dragged into this mess. A flicker of resentment toward Hiruzen appeared. "I really do need to step down soon. Otherwise people are going to start thinking I'm just like Hiruzen. Still… Hiruzen moved way too fast on Jiraiya. Does that mean Jiraiya already figured out something about Minato's death?"
Hiruzen returned to the medical wing.
"Jiraiya. How's the recovery going?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "Not great. I'm probably stuck like this. From now on I'll only be able to act as half a ninja — using summoning techniques to support from long range. Basically like Kato Dan used to be."
"Hiruzen-sensei… I heard the rumor too. Don't worry. I don't believe it."