Orochimaru placed the fruit basket in his hand to the side.
"How are you?"
Jiraiya smiled bitterly.
"I've seen countless dangers that shinobi face, and I prepared myself mentally for them. But when this day truly arrived, it still wasn't so easy to accept."
"Now I finally understand why the words I used to comfort those people were useless."
"I have to admit, that Rasa of Sunagakure really is strong!"
"Strange abilities, one after another, with no end in sight."
"Even if I were given another chance, I still wouldn't be certain of victory."
Orochimaru's heart stirred.
"Even if you used Sage Mode?"
Ryuchi Cave and Mount Myoboku each had their own sages, and each had their own Sage Mode.
"Yes."
Orochimaru's expression became serious.
"Is Magnet Release truly that strong?"
Jiraiya shook his head.
"What's strong is not Magnet Release. What's strong is Rasa. And Rasa possesses more than just Magnet Release. His swordsmanship is not inferior to the White Fang's back then."
"His movement speed is comparable to Minato's Flying Thunder God."
"His Lightning Release surpasses the Lightning Blade."
"And his sand soldier puppets also possess special abilities."
"One seemed to create repulsion between us. Another seemed to create rejection between us."
"Orochimaru, if you face Rasa, you need to be extremely careful."
"…"
Jiraiya spoke briefly about the battle.
Then he asked what he truly wanted to ask.
"Orochimaru, I heard your relationship with Danzo is decent. Can you help me with something?"
"What?"
"I want to know whether Danzo ever went to the Land of Rain and killed someone named Yahiko."
Jiraiya did not say more.
He did not mention Yahiko's identity.
He did not mention that period of the past.
"Don't let Danzo know I'm asking."
Jiraiya added that sentence.
Orochimaru nodded.
"Fine."
Hokage Building.
"Orochimaru went to the Medical Department?"
At first, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not think much of it.
Given Jiraiya and Orochimaru's relationship, it was not strange for Orochimaru to visit Jiraiya once.
But when Hiruzen heard that Jiraiya had taken the initiative to send someone to call Orochimaru over, his expression immediately changed.
"He took the initiative to have Orochimaru come and meet him?"
"What business does Jiraiya have with Orochimaru?"
"Could it be that Jiraiya really suspects me?"
"That was only a rumor. Did Jiraiya truly believe it? Does he distrust me, his teacher, that much?"
"Because his injuries are too severe and he cannot accept it, he has developed resentment?"
Hiruzen's eyes flickered uncertainly.
Not long after, Orochimaru returned to the Medical Department.
"Orochimaru, how was it?"
"Danzo did indeed go to the Land of Rain, and he joined hands with others to kill a person named Yahiko."
Jiraiya's expression instantly sank to rock bottom.
"Jiraiya, is this person important to you?"
Jiraiya shook his head.
But after thinking for a moment, he nodded.
Then he shook his head again.
This left Orochimaru somewhat confused.
Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru and suddenly asked,
"Orochimaru, do you want to become Hokage?"
"Hm?"
Orochimaru froze.
"Why ask that all of a sudden?"
"I'm just asking."
Orochimaru thought for a moment, then said, "I suppose I still have some thoughts about it. After all, there are many things I can only fully push forward if I become Hokage. The strength of a village is far greater than that of one person."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have competed against Minato before."
"Even though Minato and I were competitors, I still find his death a pity."
Jiraiya took a deep breath and looked at Orochimaru with a complicated gaze.
Afterward, he took out paper and pen and wrote down a few words.
Then he crumpled it into a ball and handed it to Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, I'm a little tired. I'll rest first. You should go back. Don't look at what's written on this note yet. Wait until you return to your own place before reading it."
"It will be very important to you!"
Jiraiya's behavior made Orochimaru feel strange.
But since Jiraiya had already shown an attitude of sending him away, Orochimaru did not say anything more and left with the note.
"Summoning Technique!"
A toad appeared, then vanished.
The next moment—
"Reverse Summoning Technique!"
Jiraiya's figure disappeared.
He vanished from Konoha's Medical Department.
When he appeared again, he was already at Mount Myoboku.
Jiraiya's emotions were extremely complicated.
"The matter with Yahiko was real!"
"It was clearly something from my dream, yet it was fact."
"I had never heard any news about Yahiko anywhere else, so it couldn't have been something I thought about during the day."
"Could it be that everything in my dream was true?"
"Was Minato truly killed by Teacher Sarutobi?"
"Did Teacher Sarutobi really sell my intelligence to Sunagakure?"
"Previously, I did vaguely feel that Rasa seemed to understand me very well. I had acted many times before, so Sunagakure definitely had intelligence on me. But I also haven't fought for a long time."
"It is true that Sunagakure had my intelligence, but it shouldn't have been that complete."
"Rasa seemed to know far too much about me."
Once the seed of suspicion was planted, it was very easy for it to take root and sprout.
Anything at all could become nourishment for that seed.
"Teacher Sarutobi wants to kill me?"
Jiraiya deeply did not want to believe it.
But when dream and reality overlapped, he had no choice but to suspect Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Teacher Sarutobi, I don't want to suspect you…"
"Before clear evidence proves it, I won't do anything."
"That should be fine."
"As for Konoha, I won't stay there for now. I'll stay at Mount Myoboku first."
Jiraiya disappeared.
When the ANBU shinobi Hiruzen Sarutobi sent to Jiraiya arrived at the Medical Department, he found the hospital bed empty.
"Jiraiya-sama?"
The ANBU searched everywhere.
But even after searching the entire Medical Department and the nearby area, then questioning the shinobi of the Medical Department, he still could not find the slightest trace of Jiraiya.
"There are no traces of entry or exit."
"He vanished into thin air."
"There are no signs that the window was opened."
"…"
"I must report this to Hokage-sama immediately!"
…
…
On the other side, Orochimaru returned to his base.
He took out the note Jiraiya had given him.
"This Jiraiya… acting so mysterious. What is he doing?"
He opened the note.
When he saw the words written on it, his pupils abruptly shrank.
"Orochimaru, be careful of Teacher Sarutobi!"
Orochimaru's eyes flickered rapidly.
"Be careful of Teacher Sarutobi?"
"Jiraiya is warning me to be careful of Teacher Sarutobi?"
"Could it be that the previous rumor was true? Jiraiya was betrayed by Teacher Sarutobi? Jiraiya already knows this."
"Does Jiraiya think Teacher Sarutobi will also move against me?"
"Because I want the Hokage position?"
"Is Teacher Sarutobi truly that kind of person?"
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