Itachi stood quietly, his expression as still as ever.
Watching him, Hiko couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
Perhaps Itachi only turns on his communication switch when facing Sasuke or Shisui.
"Ahaha… Sorry, sorry! I'm late!" came a loud voice.
More than half an hour passed before Jiraiya finally arrived.
From his disheveled clothes and the sleep crusts still visible at the corners of his eyes, it was obvious where he'd been the previous night — likely at one of his favorite "research" establishments. Clearly, he had overindulged and overslept.
Going on a mission with Jiraiya-sama?
Itachi glanced at Hiko, his eyes filled with questions.
Hiko merely signaled him with a glance, then began walking toward the village's main gate.
"Oh! Wait for me!"
Seeing that neither Hiko nor Itachi waited for him, Jiraiya hurriedly followed, throwing in apologies as he jogged behind them.
"I've been spending time with Naruto recently and haven't been outside much… So I took a stroll last night and got back late."
It seems Jiraiya-sama went somewhere… less than proper.
Itachi silently speculated.
Hiko shrugged with indifference.
"No need to explain. Better that you enjoy yourself than go peeping into women's baths again. Can we focus on the mission now?"
Certain missions are confidential, with information restricted even from teammates. Only the leading member knows the full details, and the others follow orders in the dark.
Hiko needed to confirm whether this was such a mission.
"It's not a secret mission," Jiraiya replied, scratching his head and yawning, his hair messier than usual.
"Our mission is to locate Tsunade and try to convince her to return to the village. The Daimyō's affairs require her negotiation."
So they're trying to leverage Tsunade's connection to the Fire Daimyō?
The Third Hokage was certainly trying to pull every string he could.
That said, why were Uchiha members being brought along? Finding Tsunade didn't require more than one skilled ninja. And as for persuading her… That job obviously fell on Jiraiya. Hiko and Itachi were likely just along as backup.
"This situation with the Daimyō has gotten complicated. Other villages have joined forces with him to pressure Konoha. The old man's under a lot of heat, so he needs Tsunade to come forward on behalf of the village."
No wonder things were tense.
Even Hiko hadn't expected the effects of that intelligence he had leaked — part fact, part fabrication — to snowball like this. He had only wanted to distract Danzo and the Third Hokage so they'd ease their attention on the Uchiha.
But things had escalated far beyond what he'd predicted.
Danzo's usual overreach and manipulations had left lasting scars in the Daimyō's mind. Now even small provocations made the Daimyō uneasy. Villages like Kumogakure and Iwagakure had taken advantage of the rift to exert pressure, resulting in the mess they faced now.
Jiraiya didn't seem particularly hurried though.
He took his time walking, even stopping by a small stream to wash his face, tidy his hair, and get rid of the lingering stench of sake from his breath.
Afterward, he pulled out some dried meat and began chewing it by the stream.
"Want some?" he offered, gesturing with the jerky.
Hiko rolled his eyes. "No thanks. Enjoy it yourself."
Itachi's expression twitched slightly.
Jiraiya had just been washing himself beside the stream, and now he was eating jerky and drinking from the same water with his bare hands… The stream wasn't fast-moving either. That meant he was likely ingesting whatever he'd just washed off.
But Jiraiya had always been like this — carefree and unconcerned.
He happily munched on his meat and struck up a conversation with Hiko.
"By the way, I heard you Uchihas have been having some problems with the Shimura clan lately?"
Itachi's eyes sharpened slightly.
What's the intention behind that question?
He glanced at Hiko, who gave him a subtle shake of the head before sitting down on a nearby stone.
"It's not a big deal," Hiko said calmly. "Just some minor conflicts. Compared to what Danzo-sama's been doing, it's hardly worth mentioning.
Danzo still has the power to manipulate things from behind the scenes. He's been using underhanded tactics to suppress and discredit Uchiha. The impact has been quite damaging."
As expected, Hiko harbored deep resentment toward Danzo.
Especially after that incident at the police department — it wasn't the first time he publicly criticized Danzo.
Jiraiya nodded, chewing thoughtfully on another piece of jerky. After a pause, he said:
"After the Nine-Tails attack, I did try to investigate the masked man who claimed to be Madara Uchiha. But I didn't find anything solid."
Of course you didn't. The trail was cold, the identity well-hidden.
Who would've imagined it was Obito Uchiha all along?
Even Minato, who fought him directly, hadn't recognized him.
At least Jiraiya had the decency to talk about the Nine-Tails incident openly with the Uchiha. Not many in the village dared to do that.
Hiko raised an eyebrow.
It was clear that Jiraiya was trying to bridge the gap between Uchiha and the village. The Hokage couldn't be persuaded, so they were now approaching the clan instead.
That explained the creation of this sudden "temporary mission" — naming Hiko and Itachi as participants was no coincidence.
How amusing.
A high-ranking village elder like Jiraiya had been sent to coax the Uchiha. Despite being among the top ranks, he had no official political power — a fact the higher-ups were using to their advantage.
"We've also been investigating that masked man," Hiko said, voice steady. "If we can't find the truth behind him, the suspicion surrounding Uchiha will never clear."
"Unfortunately, all our investigations have come up dry."
He sighed, then added with a note of sarcasm:
"The rift between the village and Uchiha has grown because of the Second Hokage's policies and discriminatory treatment. The Nine-Tails incident only made things worse."
Second Hokage?
That made both Jiraiya and Itachi frown.
Most of the records Itachi had read — and what Shisui had told him — pointed fingers at the Uchiha for the growing tension. But Hiko was blaming the Second Hokage?
Was Shisui wrong?
Hiko pressed on, feigning a weary tone.
"I don't know how to fix things anymore. I want peace, but what we get in return is surveillance, isolation, and silence."
"Every time an Uchiha tries to step forward, the village puts a leash on him. Important missions? Monitored. Leaving the village? Denied. Promotions or posts? Blocked or buried."
"And when our clan members sacrifice their lives for the village, their achievements are either minimized or erased from records. They die as ghosts — unsung heroes."
What response could Jiraiya possibly give?
This wasn't the script he expected.
He had come hoping to mediate — but now he found himself cornered by hard truths.
Jiraiya crossed his legs and tapped his chin in thought.
Itachi, too, looked at him expectantly.
Surely someone like Jiraiya — a senior figure, a Sannin — could offer a way forward.
A long silence passed.
Finally, Jiraiya gave a sheepish laugh and scratched his head.
"Ahaha… That's a tough one. Sure, the old men were biased, but Uchiha isn't blameless either. Let's not forget the hardliners in the clan. There's always that faction talking about rebellion…"
"A coup won't solve anything. It'll only deepen the conflict."
"So you're saying that if the hardliners stop their rhetoric, and if Uchiha keeps itself in check…"