When Danzo had spoken with such certainty before, Orochimaru actually had not cared too much.
Because Orochimaru understood what kind of person Danzo was.
After being suppressed, Danzo would inevitably hold resentment toward Hiruzen Sarutobi. And once resentment took root, he would naturally think of people in the worst possible light and speak ill of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
During this period, Danzo had already said quite a few bad things about Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He had continuously instigated Orochimaru, hoping that Orochimaru would make a move and kill Hiruzen Sarutobi.
To end Hiruzen Sarutobi's rule.
Orochimaru had not been persuaded by Danzo.
But Jiraiya's words were different.
Orochimaru understood Jiraiya, and he understood even more clearly Jiraiya's feelings toward the village and toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.
It could be said that without absolute certainty, Jiraiya would never have left behind such a sentence.
"If the rumor is true, then Teacher Sarutobi is far too evil."
"He said I had gone down the wrong path. But from what I see, he is the one who has truly stepped onto the wrong road."
Orochimaru's eyes flickered.
"If Teacher Sarutobi acts against anyone who threatens his Hokage position, then the time for him to act against me probably isn't far away. With Minato gone, I am the greatest threat."
"Jiraiya has no intention of becoming Hokage, but Teacher Sarutobi may be worried that Jiraiya will avenge Minato."
"I need to be cautious."
"First, I cannot let Teacher Sarutobi seize any handle against me."
"Second, I cannot let Teacher Sarutobi scheme me to death."
Very soon, the ANBU shinobi returned to the Hokage Building.
"Hokage-sama, this is bad."
"What happened?"
"Jiraiya-sama… has gone missing."
"What?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened.
"Missing?"
"That's right. He's missing. He vanished without a trace. I searched the entire Medical Department and the nearby area, but none of the medical shinobi saw when Jiraiya-sama left."
The ANBU shinobi said anxiously,
"Jiraiya-sama's residence in the village, the taverns, the bathhouses… we searched all of them. He couldn't be found anywhere."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression became ugly.
He had only just issued a joint statement with Jiraiya to clarify the rumor.
But now, all of a sudden, Jiraiya had gone missing.
Without question, those people would begin to suspect again.
"Other than you, does anyone else know about this matter?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not have time to think about what exactly had happened with Jiraiya's disappearance. He only wanted to lower the impact of this matter first.
"Reporting to Hokage-sama, everyone in the Medical Department knows."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression immediately became even uglier.
"You… you. Do you not know how to use your brain when doing things? When something like this happens, you don't report it to me first. Instead, you make a grand search on your own, stirring things up until everyone knows."
"What are we supposed to do now?"
"Can you bear this responsibility?"
The ANBU lowered his head.
"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was furious.
Jiraiya's sudden disappearance was already difficult enough for Hiruzen Sarutobi to handle. Yet this ANBU had directly spread the news.
Such an idiotic subordinate was equivalent to giving him a heavy blow with his own hands.
As the news of Jiraiya's disappearance spread through the village, people could not help discussing it.
"Did you hear? Jiraiya-sama has gone missing."
"Wasn't he recovering in the Medical Department? Why would he suddenly disappear?"
"Could it be that he couldn't bear his current condition and killed himself?"
"That doesn't seem right. If he killed himself, there would still be a body. This kind of disappearance seems more like he was harmed by someone."
"Harmed? Could it have been Hokage-sama?"
"The matter of Hokage-sama betraying Jiraiya-sama was real. Jiraiya-sama learned the truth, so Hokage-sama simply killed Jiraiya-sama to end things once and for all?"
"…"
Waves of discussion entered Hiruzen Sarutobi's ears.
Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help developing the urge to kill that ANBU shinobi.
Danzo was uncertain and alarmed.
When he had spoken to Orochimaru with such certainty before, Danzo had actually only wanted to incite Orochimaru.
But now that he had heard the news of Jiraiya's disappearance—
"Could it be true?"
"Has Hiruzen become this ruthless now?"
"That Jiraiya… he killed him just like that?"
"Right. Hiruzen really has changed. In the past, no matter what I did, Hiruzen would never treat me so harshly. Now he has stripped away all my authority and confined me."
"Could he one day become angry and act against me?"
"It's not impossible. I must make preparations."
"But…"
Danzo looked in the direction outside his residence.
"Hiruzen did not handle Jiraiya's disappearance well. He made it known to everyone. This will bring him no small amount of trouble."
"For me, that is a good thing."
"I didn't even make a move, yet Hiruzen has already cut himself."
Danzo revealed a smile.
A trace of worry appeared in Orochimaru's eyes.
"Before Jiraiya disappeared, I went to see him. Will Teacher Sarutobi think I did something?"
Uchiha Shisui's face showed a complicated expression.
To say that he was completely unmoved by Kakashi's invitation would be false.
But Uchiha Shisui still cared about Konoha.
He still cared about Konoha's Uchiha.
Uchiha Shisui did not want to overthrow Konoha. He only wanted Konoha and the Uchiha to reconcile, for both sides to coexist peacefully.
"But… can that still be done?"
"Is there still hope?"
Uchiha Shisui arrived at the house where Uchiha Gen had once lived.
Suddenly—
A familiar figure entered Uchiha Shisui's field of vision.
"Senior Tekka?"
Uchiha Tekka, one of the Uchiha rebel faction's members and a loyal follower of Uchiha Yashiro.
"Why are you here?"
Hearing the voice, Uchiha Tekka instantly grew tense. When he turned around, he saw Uchiha Shisui.
"Senior Tekka, I bear no ill will. I won't act against you. We are all Uchiha. Uchiha do not harm Uchiha. I'm only curious why you are here."
At that moment, another figure appeared, arriving beside Uchiha Tekka.
Uchiha Inabi.
Another member of the Uchiha rebel faction, and another loyal follower of Uchiha Yashiro.
In Uchiha Inabi's hand was a small figure.
Uchiha Shisui immediately understood.
"Is that Itachi?"
"You came back to take Itachi away?"
"Why?"
Uchiha Inabi looked toward Uchiha Shisui, a trace of disgust appearing in his eyes.
"Uchiha Shisui, since you have already thrown yourself into Konoha's arms, you and we walk different paths. We won't interfere with your affairs, and you don't need to interfere with ours."
"For the sake of us all being Uchiha, we won't kill you."
"But if you send word out, I will kill you."
"Treat what happened today as if you saw nothing."
Uchiha Inabi turned toward Uchiha Tekka.
"Tekka, let's go."
Uchiha Shisui watched their backs without making a sound.
Just like that, he watched the two leave.
Afterward, he sank into a long silence.
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