Orochimaru was certain he hadn't slipped up. In truth, he had nothing to hide. Jiraiya's disappearance had nothing to do with him—he'd only found out after the fact. If anything, Jiraiya had been the one warning him to watch out for Hiruzen Sarutobi.
But Hiruzen didn't see it that way. In his mind, Orochimaru and Jiraiya couldn't possibly have spent that much time together just talking about Rasa. Orochimaru was holding something back. That single thought deepened Hiruzen's suspicion into something far more dangerous.
Even if Orochimaru had told him every word of the conversation, the seed of doubt was already planted. Once suspicion takes root, it never shrinks. It only grows.
Still, launching a full-scale war required careful planning. Hiruzen weighed his options. Sunagakure was aggressive. Kumogakure was greedy. Iwagakure held a grudge. But the Leaf no longer had the strength to fight multiple great villages at once. An alliance was necessary.
After thinking it through, he decided Ōnoki of Iwagakure was the best choice. The other villages already hated each other. Kumogakure and Iwagakure were bitter enemies. Sunagakure would eventually want revenge on Iwagakure for the years they bullied the desert village while Rasa was still rising. An alliance with Stone made the most strategic sense.
A wheelchair rolled into view. The crippled "Jiraiya" sat in it, missing one arm, flanked by two ANBU. Whispers rippled through the crowd.
"That's disgusting. Spreading those rumors about a man who's already been through hell…"
"Lord Jiraiya's forced to come out here just to prove he's alive? That's cruel."
"Whoever started those lies deserves to burn in hell."
People cursed the rumor-mongers, but Uchiha Shisui saw the truth immediately.
"It's fake. Just like the fake Kakashi. This Jiraiya is an impostor too."
That meant the real Jiraiya really had vanished—maybe even died. And the Hokage was covering it up.
Last time Kakashi invited him to join the Akatsuki, Shisui had refused. He still believed there was hope. If he worked hard enough, he could bridge the gap between the Uchiha and the Leaf. Restore the old harmony. That had been his dream.
But the fake Jiraiya shattered that last bit of faith. Combined with how Uchiha Inaho and Uchiha Tekka had treated him—cold, ready to kill him if he interfered—Shisui finally understood.
"The clan can't accept me anymore. The village can't accept me either. My dream is dead. And no one else can make it real."
He thought about the two rebels taking Itachi. Revenge on Fugaku's family? Or training the boy? If it was training, why reject Shisui? Because he was older? Because he had already chosen the village over the clan in front of them?
"Clan or village—which side is right? I tried to protect both… and now I belong to neither."
Pain and confusion twisted across Shisui's face.
Then Kakashi's offer flashed through his mind.
"Maybe that's my only path left."
Shisui left Konoha and returned to the roadside inn. Kakashi was still there, waiting.
Kakashi smiled when he saw him. "I knew you'd come back, Shisui."
" Kakashi-senpai… I'm willing to join you. But I need to know—what exactly is your plan to save the ninja world? What kind of world are you trying to create?"
Kakashi clasped his hands behind his back and looked out the window. "This world is rotten. Just like the old ninja clans were the root of endless war, the hidden villages have become the same problem. Konoha, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kumogakure—all of them. The only way to end it is to finish the era of hidden villages."
"We want a world where everyone is equal. Where people can live in peace, raise families, and be happy without war."
"The key to making that happen… is the Tailed Beasts."
Shisui blinked. "The Tailed Beasts?"
He had no love for them. He had lived through the Nine-Tails attack. He had seen the beast's mindless destruction, the buildings reduced to rubble, the countless villagers slaughtered. Brutal. Terrifying. Bloody.
Kakashi nodded. "Collect all nine Tailed Beasts and something special happens. That power can end the age of hidden villages once and for all. Right now our job is gathering intel on them. Shisui… help us build the future."
Kakashi extended his hand.
Shisui hesitated for only a second, then took it.
But a sliver of doubt remained. Collecting the Tailed Beasts would bring absolute peace? Then why hadn't Hashirama Senju done it? With his strength, gathering all nine would have been trivial. If even the God of Shinobi couldn't make it work, how could the Akatsuki?
"Shisui, we need you to stay inside Konoha and keep gathering information on the Nine-Tails."
Shisui nodded. "Understood."
Soon after, Kakashi reported Shisui's recruitment back to the Akatsuki.
Uchiha Obito raised an eyebrow. "Uchiha Shisui?"
He knew the name—the clan's so-called genius. Obito felt nothing but contempt.
"Genius? Dead-last? Who are these mediocre people to judge anyone? I was the dead-last, yet I'm the one who's actually going to change the ninja world. Shisui might be a genius, but now he's just my subordinate. All those people who called me a loser back then—most of them are probably dead. Even Kakashi, the so-called genius, is nothing compared to me now."
Meanwhile, on Mount Myoboku, a toad returned with news from the ninja world. Jiraiya tore open the scroll.
"Just as I expected. Hiruzen-sensei created a fake version of me to replace the real one. That Uchiha working with him in the shadows—who the hell is he? Minato's death is connected to this. I'm going to find out exactly who it is."