stonecrandall Chapter 538 Jiraiya! Something terrible has happened!
Chapter 538 Jiraiya! Something terrible has happened!
Chapter 538 Jiraiya! Something terrible has happened!
Late at night, in Konoha Village.
The lights in every household gradually dimmed, including the Hokage Building below the Hokage Rock.
Deep beneath the Hokage Building, Ryoma Aburame walked silently down a dimly lit corridor, a document in his hand.
At the end of the corridor not far ahead of him, a faint light was emanating from the crack in a room's door.
That was the storage room used to store confidential documents and sealed scrolls.
Ryoma Aburame gently pushed open the door to the storage room.
The door hinges creaked slightly, a sound that was particularly clear in the quiet corridor.
In the dimly lit room, only a table lamp was on, casting a long, yellowish shadow on the wall.
Danzo, dressed in the Hokage robes, was currently hunched over the desk in the center of the secret room, engrossed in the forbidden techniques recorded in the last volume of the sealing scroll, under the lamplight.
The scroll was very long, hanging from the table all the way to the ground. It was covered with dense writing, as well as some complex runes and array diagrams.
Two days have passed since they returned from the Land of Iron. Although the four Kage each had their own thoughts, the Kage Summit ended relatively smoothly in the face of a common enemy, at least reaching a basic consensus on forming the Allied Shinobi Forces.
As for the mysterious man, Tobi, who suddenly barged into the Four Kage Summit and claimed he could help them fight against Shura, all four ninja villages knew that he must have some unspeakable secret.
However, upon learning that the other party was a member of the Akatsuki organization and represented the Akatsuki, the four great ninja villages couldn't help but want to take advantage of them.
After all, the Akatsuki is the strongest mercenary organization in the underworld, possessing several S-rank rogue ninjas and the strength to easily wipe out a small to medium-sized country.
However, issues such as the assembly, deployment, and command of the Allied Shinobi Forces need to be discussed by the four major ninja villages and cannot be decided in a short time.
Therefore, Danzo returned to Konoha first, leaving only Yamanaka Fu as his representative to continue negotiations with other ninja villages.
The shadows from the other villages did the same, each returning to their own village to prepare for the war.
"Lord Hokage," Ryoma Aburame, wearing small round-framed sunglasses, said respectfully, "the interrogation results are in."
Since Danzo became the acting Hokage, his Root members have started to call him "Hokage-sama" directly, dropping the word "acting".
Although this move angered most of the Konoha leadership, Danzo now wielded immense power within the village, and no one dared to criticize him on such a matter.
"Put it down." Danzo raised his head from the table, looked at Aburame Ryoma with his one eye, and said in a low voice.
"Yes!" Ryoma Aburame stepped forward and placed a document on the table.
He then stepped back two steps and stood quietly to the side, awaiting further instructions.
Danzo continued reading the sealed scroll.
Many of the ninjutsu mentioned above were forbidden techniques invented during the time of the First and Second Hokage. They were either offensive to the natural order or had very strict requirements for the user.
For example, the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique that Naruto learned is not only an A-rank ninjutsu, but is also classified as a forbidden technique.
The most important reason is that this technique requires a very high amount of chakra from the user. If a ninja with a low chakra level learns it, he or she may die from having his chakra completely depleted.
Now, after being reminded by "Obi," Danzo has begun to pay attention to a forbidden technique that is the final one in the sealing scroll.
Impure World Reincarnation Technique!
The S-rank forbidden technique invented by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, is not only extremely difficult to learn, but it is also not perfect.
Based on the description on the sealed scroll, Danzo found that the Impure World Reincarnation technique Orochimaru used during the Chunin Exams was significantly different from what the Anbu ninjas reported.
Orochimaru seems to have improved this technique, making it more refined and practical.
After putting down the sealing scroll, Danzo stretched his stiff neck.
He then sat down in the chair and picked up the document that Ryoma Aburame had placed on the table with his left hand.
The document, spanning several pages, details the interrogations of Shikamaru and the other nine members of the torture unit conducted by Morino Ibiki's interrogation department upon their return to the village.
Shikamaru and the others told the truth that they caught up with Naruto and Sasuke in Fukuyama Castle in the Land of Rivers, but were ambushed by Kaguya Kimimaro, Hyuga Neji, and Otsutsuki Toneri from the Land of Stars, as well as the riot in Fukuyama Castle.
Ultimately, the nine were no match for their opponents, were captured, and forced to travel to the Land of Stars.
Then came the various encounters in the Star Country.
Each person's interrogation transcript was several thousand words long.
Danzo initially read carefully, but gradually skimmed through the text, and eventually skipped over the interrogation records of the last few people.
His expression grew increasingly somber, and a sinister glint flashed in his single eye.
"Have they all been released?" Danzo closed the document in his hand and looked at Aburame Ryoma with his one eye.
"Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino were released after their statements were taken, but the others are still in the interrogation department," Aburame Ryoma reported in a low voice.
Danzo narrowed his single eye, resting his left hand on his chin, his fingers gently tracing the cross-shaped knife mark on his chin, his eyes sinister, as if he were deep in thought.
The mission to retrieve the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki failed, but he couldn't easily move the nine Shikamaru's men.
After all, the other party was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, while Shikamaru and the others were just ordinary genin. They didn't believe that the other party could really bring back the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, but they were forced to go after him by Jiraiya's pressure.
The real pursuing force was a squad of six elite Root ninjas, consisting of two platoons that Aburame Ryoma subsequently mobilized.
Each of the two squads was led by a Jonin from Root, and each member was among the top-tier Chunin in Konoha, including a ninja skilled in sealing techniques.
But this very team, which was considered an elite assault force even during the Third Shinobi World War, was completely wiped out by a single Star Ninja within the Land of Rivers.
"What about Jiraiya?" Danzo asked again.
"He's been staying in the village lately. The Root ninjas who are monitoring him report that his daily routine is very monotonous. He either drinks at an izakaya or sunbathes on the Hokage Rock. Occasionally, he'll go to the women's bathhouse to spy on them—to gather information—and then get chased by the bathhouse customers for several blocks."
When Jiraiya was mentioned, Ryoma Aburame adjusted his small sunglasses.
He simply couldn't understand how Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin, could be such a lewd old man.
"Hmph, he's just sulking himself." Danzo's eyes grew even more sinister.
Currently, the only person in the entire Hidden Leaf Village with the prestige to threaten his candidacy for the Fifth Hokage is Jiraiya, so he naturally pays special attention to him and has assigned someone to monitor Jiraiya's every move.
But Danzo also knew that someone of Jiraiya's strength couldn't be stopped from leaving Konoha if he wanted to.
However, as long as the other party is within my sight and under my surveillance, that's enough.
With this in mind, Danzo continued to peruse the sealing scroll, studying the Impure World Reincarnation technique.
At that moment, his right arm, which was wrapped in bandages, suddenly started to hurt slightly, as if something was wriggling under his skin, bringing a piercing pain.
Several veins bulged on Danzo's face, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but he gritted his teeth and did not make a sound.
He couldn't help but miss Orochimaru a little.
Although his arm was transplanted to him before Orochimaru defected, because of Orochimaru's defection, subsequent Sharingan transplants could only be done by Danzo's own scientists, and the rejection reaction after the transplant tormented him every day.
The pain felt like countless tiny needles piercing under the skin, and it was especially unbearable in the dead of night.
But in order to obtain the power of the Sharingan and the Wood Release of the First Hokage, Danzo refused to give up this arm no matter what.
He took a deep breath, enduring the pain in his arm, and continued reading the sealed scroll.
While Danzo was diligently studying the Impure World Reincarnation technique.
Konohagakure (Hidden Leaf Village), Commercial Street.
As night fell, most of the shops on both sides of the street had closed, with only a few 24-hour stores still open.
Occasionally a few pedestrians walk by on the street, their footsteps echoing in the empty street.
At Ichiraku Ramen, after seeing off two customers who had finished eating, Uncle Tezuka glanced at the clock on the wall and realized it was quite late. He couldn't help but yawn.
Just as he was about to close the door, two more guests suddenly lifted the curtain at the entrance.
"Welcome." The middle-aged man squinted and instinctively called out.
Then he realized that the two people who came in were regulars.
Wearing a loose red coat, a slightly drunk Jiraiya was holding a sake bottle in his hand. His face was flushed, and he was being helped to sit on the stool at the front desk by a helpless-looking Iruka.
"Hey, this is handwritten, long time no see."
Jiraiya let out a burp, placed the sake bottle on the table, and said with a grin, "Give me a bowl of tonkotsu chashu ramen, this guy's treating."
As he spoke, he pointed to Iruka next to him with his thumb.
Iruka sighed, saying somewhat helplessly, "Lord Jiraiya, really! We agreed it would just be one drink, and it turned out like this—"
"Alright, Uncle Hand-Pulled Ramen, give me a bowl of tonkotsu chashu ramen too, I haven't had dinner yet."
"Okay, please wait a moment, you two." He gestured for them to sit for a while before getting to work.
Iruka looked around at the familiar ramen shop, and a wave of memories washed over him.
Naruto, Menma, and Hinata—those three little guys also love eating ramen from this shop the most.
Although the three of them often got into trouble together, and the Third Hokage would make Iruka clean up their messes, after spending several years together, Iruka developed feelings for the three kids.
In particular, Naruto and Menma, who were both orphans, evoked great sympathy from Iruka, who had also lost his parents at a young age.
Although he hated Naruto when he first met him because of the rumor that Naruto was the incarnation of the Nine-Tails, Iruka accepted reality after being enlightened by Hiruzen Sarutobi and realized that it was not Naruto who killed his parents, but the Nine-Tails.
So later Iruka was very kind to Naruto, often treating them to ramen.
I never imagined that things would change so drastically in less than a year since I graduated.
"Hey, Iruka." A drunken voice startled Iruka from his reverie.
Iruka turned to look at Jiraiya, who was already slumped over the table.
"I heard from the old man that you took good care of Naruto and Menma when they were at the Ninja Academy." Jiraiya propped himself up from the table, his face still flushed with a hint of drunkenness.
The sake bottle beside him had fallen to the side on the table, with a few drops of sake spilling from the rim and spreading a small water stain on the table.
Iruka naturally knew who the old man Jiraiya was talking about was.
The respected Third Hokage, who had once guided him, has left them forever.
"Yes—" Iruka lowered his head slightly, his expression lost in memories.
"Naruto is always so loud and boisterous, while Menma is always so calm. Their personalities are completely opposite, yet Menma can make Naruto obedient—" Iruka couldn't help but smile as he recalled the scenes of Naruto being lectured by Menma after he caused trouble.
"Those two guys really do look like brothers," Iruka remarked.
Jiraiya, standing nearby, silently watched Iruka, without telling him the fact that Naruto and Menma were brothers.
In fact, after the changes in the Chunin Exams, Naruto and Menma's identities were not revealed. Only a few people in Konoha knew that they were brothers and the children of the Fourth Hokage.
Iruka was just an ordinary Chunin teacher and had no right to know these secrets.
"Gentlemen, your ramen is ready!" Just as the two were feeling down, Uncle Tetsuya placed two steaming bowls of ramen in front of them.
Jiraiya looked down at the ramen bowl in front of him. The milky white tonkotsu broth was topped with golden char siu pork, which made his mouth water. Half a soft-boiled egg and bright green scallions adorned the ramen, which was steaming hot and smelled delicious.
And his stomach, quite fittingly, started growling.
"Then I won't be polite!" Jiraiya picked up a pair of chopsticks, separated them, clasped his hands together, and said loudly, "I'm going to dig in!"
However, just as Jiraiya was about to pick up his chopsticks after speaking, a small cloud of smoke suddenly burst out in front of him.
A red toad with a pair of diving goggles around its neck appeared out of thin air and then fell into the ramen bowl with a splash.
"Croak! It's burning hot!" A red toad jumped out of the ramen bowl, clutching its bottom and hopping around on the table.
"Gama Kosuke?!" Jiraiya recognized him at a glance; he was the toad contact from Mount Myōboku.
What are you doing here?
Jiraiya quickly put the ramen bowl aside, and his previously drunken eyes instantly cleared up considerably.
The toads of Mount Myoboku rarely come to me through reverse spiritual communication.
"Has something serious happened?"
A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in Jiraiya's heart.
Iruka, who was standing next to him, had already put the ramen in his mouth with chopsticks, but he stopped in surprise when he saw this.
"Jiraiya! Something terrible has happened!" Toad Kosuke, ignoring his scalded buttocks, looked up at Jiraiya waving his two front paws, his voice filled with panic and anxiety.
"Mount Myoboku has been attacked by humans!"
"What?!"
Jiraiya suddenly stood up, and the alcohol on his face vanished instantly.