"I'll be stepping away for now. There are some urgent matters I need to take care of," Hyuga Gakuya said, handing the sealed box containing the Six-Tails over to Deva Path Pain. "I won't be involved in the Tailed Beast sealing process."
Pain accepted the box and nodded slightly.
"Would you like the Akatsuki to assist you in any way?"
"That won't be necessary. I can handle it on my own," Gakuya replied, though inwardly he was cursing. The message he'd just received from Kabuto contained only five words: Jiraiya has arrived.
And now Nagato was asking whether he needed help—was this some twisted attempt to recreate that tragic master-student confrontation from the original timeline? Gakuya didn't wait around to find out. He turned and disappeared swiftly, vanishing from Pain's line of sight.
Pain stared in the direction Gakuya had gone, frowning slightly, lost in thought. A moment later, he shifted his focus back to the matter at hand: sealing the Tailed Beast.
...
Once he was far enough away from Pain, Hyuga Gakuya activated Kamui and disappeared in an instant, reappearing at his hidden base.
Inside the surveillance room of Otogakure, Kabuto was already waiting for him.
"Gakuya-sama, you've arrived," Kabuto greeted respectfully.
Gakuya nodded casually. "Where is Jiraiya? When's the meeting with the contact supposed to happen?"
"Jiraiya just entered Otogakure using a fake identity. I followed your orders and let him pass through security without any trouble," Kabuto said as he tapped a few keys, pulling up the surveillance feed—zoomed in right on Jiraiya's face.
In the footage, Jiraiya had transformed into a white-haired young drifter, cloaked and wandering the streets of the village.
To the average eye, nothing seemed out of place. But with Otogakure's omnipresent surveillance network, nothing escaped unnoticed. He was heading toward the rendezvous point—where Gakuya had arranged for a puppet contact to meet him. This contact was supposed to be a loyal follower of Orochimaru, claiming to seek Jiraiya's help to rescue him.
Of course, that entire faction had long since fallen under Gakuya's control.
Gakuya stretched his back with a yawn. "Time to go meet him."
It was time for a little performance with Jiraiya—one that would convince the Sannin to descend deeper into the heart of the Federation, in pursuit of secrets few ever lived to tell.
...
Jiraiya strolled silently through the familiar streets of Otogakure. This visit was different from all the ones before. Previously, he'd always come under diplomatic pretense—this time, he'd entered with a fake identity bought from the black market.
Naturally, the black market broker was one of Gakuya's plants as well.
Jiraiya remained hyper-alert, casting his sensory ninjutsu across the broadest radius possible. He couldn't afford to walk into a trap.
Following the arranged code, he arrived at a small inn—supposedly a gathering point for Orochimaru's loyalists. He stepped up to the counter and tapped it lightly, then muttered the bizarre password he'd been taught.
"Potato, potato… I'm sweet potato," Jiraiya said, cringing as the words left his mouth.
The receptionist nodded discreetly and replied, "Potato acknowledged."
She handed him a room key—Room 1027, located in the farthest corner of the inn's second floor.
Jiraiya eyed the number thoughtfully. October 27th—that was Orochimaru's birthday. It strengthened his belief that these people really were his old friend's subordinates.
Orochimaru hadn't changed—still twisted and brutal, yet somehow always able to command unwavering loyalty.
Jiraiya entered Room 1027. Not long after, the researcher who had delivered the meeting instructions—under Gakuya's control—knocked at the door.
Knock knock knock.
Jiraiya quickly approached the door and peeked through the peephole. Standing outside was a mature, attractive woman.
"Who are you?" he asked warily through the crack in the door.
The woman replied in a soft voice, "Open sesame. I'm watermelon."
"Open sesame… I'm winter melon," Jiraiya muttered back, shame burning in his chest.
Seriously, who the hell comes up with this crap? he thought bitterly. If only one of them had a shred of my storytelling talent, maybe they'd pick better codewords...
Of course, the ridiculous passphrases were Gakuya's idea—a prank specifically meant to humiliate him.
Jiraiya sighed and opened the door, gesturing for the woman to enter.
She glided gracefully into the room. Once the door was shut and he confirmed no one had followed her, Jiraiya's tone sharpened.
"Where's Morikawa Kei? Wasn't he supposed to come in person?"
Pretty face or not, the mission took priority.
The woman smiled oddly. Her voice turned gentle. "I am Morikawa Kei."
Her mouth suddenly stretched unnaturally wide, and a man began crawling out from within her—slimy and soaked in mucus, standing upright before a stunned Jiraiya.
The woman went slack, standing motionless like an empty shell.
Jiraiya wrinkled his nose against the sour stench. It was disgusting—and unmistakably Orochimaru's style.
Under Gakuya's control, every move of the puppet was designed to evoke Orochimaru's legacy.
The cold-eyed man—Morikawa Kei—explained, "Jiraiya-sama, the area's crawling with Chiba Mokushu's men. I had to take certain precautions."
Jiraiya gave a curt nod. "I understand. Now tell me about the plan. How do I rescue Orochimaru?"
Morikawa's eyes gleamed with a flicker of cunning. He lowered his voice.
"We'll proceed with the original plan. We've confirmed some key intel—Orochimaru-sama's body and consciousness have been taken over by Edo Tensei."
...
Jiraiya frowned. "If that's true, how do I get him back? The moment I see him, I'll be exposed. How do I help him regain control?"
Morikawa ran his tongue along his cheek, licking away the slime.
"There's no need to worry. Those resurrected by Edo Tensei remain sealed in coffins without independent awareness unless the summoner actively controls them."
"All you need to do is infiltrate the underground lab I've marked on the map, locate the room where Orochimaru-sama is being kept, and insert this talisman into his body. That will restore his consciousness."
He reached into his mouth and pulled out a slimy tag, holding it toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya recoiled slightly. "Just… put it on the table."
"Jiraiya-sama is cautious as ever," Morikawa said with a smile.
Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "Cautious? No, I just don't want to touch anything that came out of there."
"Now… where's the map?" he added.
Morikawa tapped the side of his head.
"All in here. I'll draw it out for you now. You can use my identity to gain access."
He walked to the bookshelf, retrieved some paper and a pen, and began sketching the map with practiced ease. Each room was labeled with its function, and he marked one in particular with a bold question mark.
"This one here—we believe it's the chamber where Orochimaru-sama is sealed. You'll need to sneak in and place the talisman. However, the sealing jutsu around it… you'll have to handle that yourself."
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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