Orochimaru hadn't taken Danzo's warnings too seriously at first. He knew exactly what kind of man Danzo was. After being stripped of power, Danzo was drowning in resentment toward Hiruzen Sarutobi. That bitterness twisted every thought into the darkest version possible, and he'd been spewing nonstop venom about the Hokage for days.
Danzo kept pushing, trying to goad Orochimaru into striking first and ending Hiruzen's reign for good. Orochimaru had brushed it off. But Jiraiya's words? Those landed different.
Orochimaru understood Jiraiya better than anyone. He knew the man's fierce loyalty to the village and to Hiruzen. Jiraiya wouldn't leave a note like that unless something real had shaken him to the core.
The crumpled paper still burned in Orochimaru's mind: "If the rumors are true, Sensei is truly evil." And right below it: "He said I walked the wrong path? I think he's the one who's truly lost his way."
Orochimaru's golden eyes narrowed. If Hiruzen was willing to silence anyone who threatened his precious Hokage seat, then Orochimaru was next on the list. Minato was already gone. That left him as the biggest remaining danger.
He needed to be careful. Extremely careful. Give Hiruzen no leverage. Don't let the old man set him up to die.
An ANBU operative burst into the Hokage Tower, breathing hard. "Lord Hokage! Bad news!"
Hiruzen looked up, already sensing trouble. "What is it?"
"Lord Jiraiya… he's gone missing."
Hiruzen shot to his feet. "Missing? What do you mean, missing?"
The ANBU swallowed. "He vanished from the medical wing. No trace. I searched the entire area, asked every medical ninja. No one saw him leave. We checked his house, the bars, the bathhouse—nothing. He's just… gone."
Hiruzen's face went pale. He and Jiraiya had just released that joint statement to kill the rumors. Now Jiraiya disappears without a trace? This was going to blow up in their faces.
"Who else knows?" Hiruzen demanded.
The ANBU hesitated. "The entire medical department, sir. I… I had to search openly."
Hiruzen's eyes flashed with pure fury. "You idiot! You couldn't have come to me first? You had to turn it into village-wide gossip before I even knew? Do you have any idea what you've done?"
The ANBU bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Lord Hokage."
Hiruzen wanted to kill the man on the spot. Jiraiya's sudden disappearance was already a disaster. Making it public knowledge was handing the enemy a loaded gun.
Word spread through Konoha like wildfire.
"Did you hear? Lord Jiraiya's gone missing."
"He was in the medical wing recovering. How does someone just vanish?"
"Maybe he couldn't handle being half a man anymore and killed himself?"
"Suicide wouldn't leave no body. This feels like someone got to him."
"Got to him? You don't think… the Hokage?"
"The rumors said Hiruzen sold Jiraiya out to Sand. Maybe Jiraiya found out the truth and Hiruzen finished the job?"
Hiruzen heard every whisper. His hands clenched until his knuckles turned white. That ANBU was going to pay for this.
Danzo sat in his compound, mind racing. He'd been feeding Orochimaru poison about Hiruzen for weeks, hoping to push the snake into action. But now Jiraiya was gone. Had Hiruzen actually done it? The old man had changed. He'd stripped Danzo of everything and confined him like a criminal. If Hiruzen could do that to his oldest friend, what else was he capable of?
Danzo's paranoia spiked. He needed to prepare. Hiruzen might come for him next. Yet a cold smile crept across his face. Hiruzen had botched the response to Jiraiya's disappearance. The whole village was talking. That was a self-inflicted wound Danzo could exploit.
Orochimaru stared out his window, worry flickering in his eyes. Jiraiya had vanished right after visiting him. Would Hiruzen think Orochimaru had something to do with it?
Uchiha Shisui walked the quiet streets, Kakashi's invitation still echoing in his head. Join the Akatsuki. Leave the Leaf behind. Save the world from the hidden villages themselves. Part of him wanted to say yes. The Uchiha were being crushed under the village's boot. But another part still believed the Leaf could be saved. Still hoped for peace between his clan and Konoha.
He stopped in front of the empty house where Uchiha Gen used to live. A familiar figure stepped out of the shadows.
"Tekka-senpai?"
Uchiha Tekka spun around, hand flying to his weapon. When he saw Shisui, his eyes narrowed. Another figure appeared beside him—Uchiha Inaho—carrying a small, unconscious body.
Itachi.
Shisui's heart clenched. "You're taking him?"
Inaho's face twisted with disgust. "You chose the Leaf, Shisui. We're not the same anymore. Stay out of our way and we won't touch you. But if you breathe a word of this to anyone, I'll kill you myself. Uchiha or not."
Tekka glanced at Inaho. "We're leaving."
Shisui watched them go, Itachi limp in Inaho's arms. He didn't call out. Didn't raise the alarm. He just stood there as the two rebels disappeared into the night, carrying the clan's future with them.
Then the questions started flooding in. Could the Leaf and the Uchiha ever truly coexist? Was there still hope left?
Shisui stood alone in the dark, lost in the silence.