Chapter 48: Cub, You're Really... Enough!
Some things, if you try to hide them, you can't. It's better to spit them out early.
Much of Konoha's secret intelligence was kept from the middle and lower-ranking ninjas for the sake of stability. But if it were also kept from Jiraiya, that would practically signify distrust. The Third Hokage didn't intend to conceal the intelligence provided by Danzo.
However, he couldn't possibly directly expose his old friend's past assassination attempt. He couldn't ruin the reputation of the older generation of Konoha's leadership just because of Danzo Shimura alone.
After consolidating intelligence from both sides, a conclusion was reached: Konoha's freshly declared rogue ninja, Yin-Yang, or rather Zetsu, after being created by Orochimaru, was extremely proficient in the Flying Thunder God Technique but had never revealed his Wood Style talent. He himself had always been privately dispatched by Orochimaru.
After Orochimaru's defection, Zetsu decisively chose to defect from Konoha... As for why he went to the Land of Grass, perhaps Orochimaru had a base there, or perhaps Orochimaru had other plans.
This had been confirmed. The border outpost between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain had transmitted intelligence about Orochimaru to Konoha. Remaining snakeskin at the scene confirmed his identity...
The A-list rogue ninja, after an encounter with Jiraiya and his disciple, fled north and engaged in battle with an unknown individual in the Land of Rain. And the Land of Rain happened to be near the Land of Grass.
Kitahara: "..."
Although it didn't know why Orochimaru was desperately trying to make his presence known, the crow intuitively felt Orochimaru was definitely being wronged... This was nonsense; it was its own doing...
But Konoha had indeed stumbled upon news of Zetsu by accident.
Clearly one of the most deeply hidden figures in the future Akatsuki and the villain team, yet he was exposed because of some pot-king old man vying for power and profit... After all, who usually has the leisure to pay attention to what kind of character a small ninja village has added!
"Do I need to make a trip to the Land of Grass?" Jiraiya looked at the latest intelligence on the Land of Grass. The situation there was currently rather chaotic. It was the border area between the Hidden Stone Village, Hidden Sand Village, and Konoha, with four or five small countries existing there. Now, it was pretty much a state of extreme nervousness (like seeing a snake in a bow's reflection).
Not much time had passed since the Third Shinobi World War. Most of the ninja villages in the Five Great Nations were still licking their wounds, presumably very afraid of a major war breaking out...
"...I've sent Kakashi Hatake. He's the one who had direct contact with Zetsu before."
In reality, Hiruzen Sarutobi had dispatched almost all available idle ANBU, including Danzo's ANBU training class, and had also deployed many ninja squads to the border.
Because a piece of news from the Land of Grass indicated that Zetsu had joined the Land of Grass for some time. Although the Land of Grass had always been Konoha's ally, it didn't mean this small country couldn't possibly be controlled by Orochimaru and Zetsu in collusion.
And the Land of Earth, another large country bordering the Land of Grass, was home to the Hidden Stone Village's Tsuchikage, Onoki, who was definitely not an easy person to deal with. Apart from the Hidden Mist Village being too distant, almost all other major countries had been schemed against by him.
He was an old and cunning fellow...
So after Hiruzen Sarutobi held some high-level meetings, Danzo himself also rushed over... After all, in Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, Zetsu had defected from under Danzo's command.
Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly pulled out a document, handed it to Jiraiya, and glanced cryptically at Uchiha Itachi, "Take a look at this. The situation in the village is a bit unstable."
"Uchiha..." Jiraiya understood the village's consistent policy towards the Uchiha. For him, as long as nothing endangered Konoha, everything else was of no concern.
The problem was, he had an additional disciple, Uchiha Itachi...
Ever since Konoha announced the second S-rank rogue ninja, the Uchiha clan's dissatisfaction had escalated again. In just a few days, the village received seven complaints about the Konoha Military Police Force, including friction between the Aburame clan and the Uchiha clan.
The Third Hokage's meaning was for Jiraiya to temporarily stay in the village with Uchiha Itachi. Superficially, it could be seen as a gesture of appeasement, and additionally, Jiraiya's presence was also a deterrent... Uchiha Fugaku's attitude was still relatively neutral.
"Ha! It all looks like minor stuff..." Jiraiya scratched the back of his head and put down the papers in his hand, "...In that case, Itachi and I will rest in the village for a while!"
"There's one more thing..." After coughing twice, Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand, signaling Uchiha Itachi to leave temporarily... He and his disciple had some private matters to discuss.
The little boy had just left the room holding the crow when he heard sounds of complaint and argument from inside, so loud they could almost be heard throughout the Hokage Building...
"The matter of succeeding the Hokage cannot be delayed any longer!"
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't make decisions on your own!"
"Jiraiya, I'm already very old, it's hard for me to manage all the village's affairs... You've seen it too. If you can become Hokage, many things can be easily resolved!"
"Old man, there's still your residual chakra on this crystal ball... Let me try and see what I can see in it? Don't take it away! I have an excellent spot I've been observing for a long time to share with you... Hehehe..."
"..."
Uchiha Itachi and the crow looked at each other, mutually perplexed.
Not long after, Jiraiya walked out, looking very satisfied. He patted the little boy's head, "Itachi, you go home first! I have some private matters to attend to..."
Kitahara, who kind of wanted to follow and see: "..."
Uchiha Itachi nodded and hurried towards the clan grounds with the crow, muttering along the way, "First, go home to see Dad, Mom, and Sasuke! Then go visit Shisui... If there's time..."
"Caw~"
Kitahara chirped lightly. If there's time, you'll go see Uchiha Izumi, right? Might as well go find the little veterinarian!
However, putting visiting Shisui before seeing Izumi...
Cub, you really are great!
Kitahara and Itachi's social circles basically overlapped. The friends they had in Konoha Village, counting them all, were only Shisui, Uchiha Izumi, and Inuzuka Hana.
Uchiha Itachi liked to practice sparring with Shisui. Kitahara preferred to snatch snacks from the little veterinarian. The little veterinarian was basically busy every day, being carefree and not minding too many things...
As for Uchiha Izumi, if one were to say they were merely acquaintances, it wouldn't seem quite appropriate. After all, Itachi and Izumi's relationship could still be considered friends, and the little girl's feelings were quite obvious...
While the crow and Uchiha Itachi were discussing, a small figure suddenly stopped at the street corner and called out to them loudly, "Itachi! You're back?"
"..."
Kitahara fell silent. Some people really couldn't be talked about... Listen! How this girl makes it catch a cold! Upon seeing Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Izumi, whose IQ and EQ plummeted drastically, completely ignored the crow...
Whether it was Shisui or Inuzuka Hana, they would definitely greet them in turn upon seeing them...
Love-struck brain!
"Izumi, what are you doing here?" Uchiha Itachi looked at her curiously. Logically, little girls should be in class at the Ninja Academy at this time.
"We had shuriken practice today; it's okay to leave a little early! If school ends too late, it's hard to buy Three-Color Dango..." Uchiha Izumi said while holding the bag in her arms.
Both Uchiha Itachi and Kitahara remembered this time clearly; that sweet shop should be sold out by now. Rushing over might not be in time.
Uchiha Itachi's face turned slightly red, his gaze gradually fixing, "...Haven't seen you in a while. Want to sit together for a bit?"
"Caw..."
Kitahara rarely felt so irritated that it wanted to hit a child... Really, show some promise!
(End of this chapter)