Three days had passed.
Since the conclusion of the Forest of Death portion of the Chunin Exams, everything had remained quite peaceful.
Uzumaki Sōnagi and his group had nothing particular to do, while Tenten wandered around Konoha idly.
Naruto Uzumaki continued his training under Minato Namikaze.
Sasuke Uchiha was practicing Chidori with Kakashi.
Chinya and Orochimaru found themselves mostly idle as well since there was still nearly a month remaining—time was on their side.
Most preparations were already in place anyway. All they needed to do now was wait for the plan's commencement.
Orochimaru said to Chinya, "In a few days, I will leave Konoha and go to Sunagakure disguised as Rasa, so from then on, you'll handle the coordination with Baki."
Chinya nodded. "Alright, understood. Won't you say goodbye? Your old friend has been looking for you all this time."
Orochimaru gazed out the window at the street below, where a middle-aged man with white hair strode down the road.
That man was none other than Jiraiya-sama.
Orochimaru stared at Jiraiya emotionlessly. "It's not necessary. Although it is rather convenient timing that he returned just now."
Smiling slightly, Chinya added, "Undoubtedly about Minato Namikaze. After all, he was your teacher's most beloved disciple."
Jiraiya, like Minato Namikaze before him, noticed the gaze of Orochimaru and Chinya upon him and quickly made his way toward them.
A mischievous grin spread across Chinya's face as he waved enthusiastically. "You must be Jiraiya-sama! My student is actually a huge fan of yours. It's such an honor meeting you in their stead!"
Jiraiya froze momentarily. He had returned to Konoha unnoticed by the villagers, yet someone from another village recognized him first.
Grinning broadly, Jiraiya replied, "So your student reads my books, huh? Good taste! Here, take this advance copy of Make Out Paradise. It even has my personal autograph."
Chinya caught the book thrown by Jiraiya. "Thank you very much, Jiraiya-sama. I hope you keep producing great works! My student can't wait to read more!"
"Ha! Of course!"
Waving cheerfully, Jiraiya walked down the street.
Flipping through the copy of Make Out Paradise, Chinya gave it an awkward look. "Kakashi's going to have plenty to read again. Still, I really don't get it—why does Kakashi love these books so much? Wouldn't it make more sense if he just found himself a real girlfriend?"
Suddenly recalling something, Orochimaru spoke up. "There's something else. In Sunagakure, we discovered a spy—an infiltrator from Konoha with the Curse Seal of Absolute Silence embedded in his tongue."
Chinya narrowed his eyes slightly. "Oh? Danzo, you mean. Come to think of it, Danzo has been unusually quiet during this Chunin Exam, which isn't at all like him."
Speculating further, Orochimaru suggested, "I suspect Danzo might have sensed that Sunagakure would be taking action soon. After all, we only uncovered the spy quite late, right around the time Sunagakure had already begun mobilizing their Ninja Force."
Chinya paused in thought before speaking, "Since Danzo learned of Sunagakure's impending move but didn't report it to Hiruzen Sarutobi, this means he himself has been waiting for such an opportunity—to stir up trouble while the Suna ninjas invade Konoha.
That makes sense, though. Ever since Minato Namikaze woke up, Danzo's position in Konoha has only gotten more precarious. On the other hand, Danzo isn't young anymore. All his ambitions are useless now.
What's more, Danzo is terrified—terrified that if Minato ever finds out the truth, he'll seek revenge. Once someone has held great power for a long time, they simply can't bear the fall from grace into ruin.
Danzo isn't the kind of man to sit idly by while his influence slips away, waiting for death either. This Destruction Plan for Konoha may be his last chance inside Konoha—winning means seizing control; losing means losing everything.
Well then, the villains are finally showing their faces. I'm curious to see how the thoroughly chaotic Konoha will eventually break the deadlock."
...
Jiraiya was currently extremely excited. Upon learning of Minato Namikaze's awakening, he rushed nonstop back to Konoha.
After returning to Konoha, Jiraiya didn't even visit Hiruzen Sarutobi first—he went straight to find Minato Namikaze.
At a training ground somewhere, Naruto Uzumaki's Rasengan had already reached its final stage of training.
Considering Naruto had already mastered both chakra shape transformation and nature transformation, and since Rasengan focuses purely on shape transformation, it was relatively easier for him to grasp.
Right now, Naruto was attempting to gather highly condensed chakra in his hand—continuously releasing it, maintaining its stability, and finally solidifying it.
Once successful, it would mean Naruto had perfected Rasengan.
However, this final phase proved quite challenging, and Naruto hadn't succeeded yet—he kept failing.
Nonetheless, Minato remained astonished because Naruto's progress was surprisingly fast.
Just as Minato was about to remind Naruto not to rush things, Jiraiya arrived right behind Minato.
Turning around, Minato saw Jiraiya and exclaimed joyfully, "Jiraiya-sensei?!"
Seeing the thin figure of Minato, Jiraiya's eyes reddened slightly as he stepped forward and embraced him, saying emotionally, "You've finally woken up, Minato!"
Smiling brightly, Minato replied to Jiraiya, "Yes, it's truly wonderful to see you again, Teacher."
Noticing Naruto, who was still training nearby, Jiraiya took a glance at the boy as well, while Naruto briefly looked back at Jiraiya but, not recognizing him, resumed his training.
Surprised, Jiraiya asked Minato, "Minato, have you already met Naruto?"
Nodding, Minato answered, "Yes, but currently only a few people know about it. The Third recommended we proceed gradually—otherwise some unexpected problems might arise."
Slightly worriedly, Jiraiya—who already knew the truth—asked cautiously, "Minato... do you know everything already?"
Confused, Minato responded with a question, "Hmm? What exactly are you referring to, Jiraiya-sensei?"
"Lord Third Hokage," Jiraiya said with a grin when Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly appeared behind him and Minato Namikaze.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice had unexpectedly echoed from behind Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze: "Jiraiya, I heard you've returned to Konoha. Since you didn't come find me, I figured you must've come looking for Minato."
Knowing that Jiraiya had suddenly returned to Konoha and hadn't come to see him first, Hiruzen Sarutobi deduced he must have gone straight to visit Minato.
Hiruzen Sarutobi greatly feared that Jiraiya might reveal the truth to Minato, so he dropped whatever he was doing and rushed over.
"Old man, it's been a while," Jiraiya greeted.
Upon seeing the look in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, Jiraiya instantly understood—Minato definitely knew nothing about the matters Hiruzen Sarutobi was worried about. Hiruzen Sarutobi's very presence here served as a silent warning: don't slip up.
Jiraiya glanced at Minato Namikaze, then looked toward Naruto Uzumaki, who had already run over to greet Lord Third Hokage. Jiraiya realized at once that Hiruzen Sarutobi intended to keep everything hidden from Minato.
After all, even as his mentor, he himself couldn't bear imagining how devastated Minato—someone who deeply loved Konoha—would become if he ever learned the truth.
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