"I didn't expect that in just over a year of not seeing you… Jiraiya, you've grown this strong." Having been healed by Aoshi, Hanzo spoke in a complicated tone.
"That's because I have reliable companions," Jiraiya answered sincerely.
If Aoshi hadn't been there, Hanzo would've succeeded in stalling for time, and once Sage Mode wore off, Jiraiya would've lost.
While Jiraiya was the main force in the battle, Aoshi's contribution couldn't be overlooked.
"Yes… Konoha always has an endless stream of geniuses. It's truly enviable." Hanzo looked at Aoshi with deep emotion as he spoke.
Had he known things would end like this, he would never have given Aoshi and Mikoto time to delay him in the beginning. But it was too late for regrets now.
As a man known as the "Demi-God," Hanzo would never repay kindness with betrayal.
"Hanzo, there's definitely a third party manipulating things behind the scenes in this incident. I've never even heard of the Kinosuke you mentioned."
Just moments ago, the two sides had been locked in deadly combat, and now they were sitting together discussing the situation calmly.
Hearing Jiraiya's words, Hanzo, though previously still somewhat doubtful, now believed him.
After all, if Jiraiya had truly been the one to kill Kinosuke, there would have been no reason for him to ask Aoshi to save him just moments ago.
In that moment, had Aoshi not acted, Hanzo would surely have died.
"As I said earlier, I captured the Jonin who led the ambush on us and got intel that they were acting under Kinosuke's orders."
"But before we could take further action, that Jonin was killed right in front of our team of five—without any of us sensing the enemy's presence."
At this, Mikoto also realized that the Rain ninja's attack hadn't been part of Amegakure's plot. In fact, Amegakure had been a victim of this, too.
What Mikoto didn't know was that she had been the true target of this whole incident. Aoshi, having already deduced the truth, kept that thought to himself.
"It seems there really is a force operating in the Land of Rain that even I'm unaware of." Hanzo resolved to investigate this mysterious faction upon returning to Amegakure and vowed to eliminate it.
Unfortunately, his efforts would ultimately prove fruitless.
---
"Jiraiya-sensei's been gone for quite a while now. Even the shadow clone dispelled on its own. I wonder what's going on…" Yahiko was growing restless.
On one side was his mentor, who had taught him ninjutsu, and on the other, his childhood idol — the "Demi-God" Hanzo.
As someone born in the Land of Rain, Yahiko knew clearly that it was Hanzo's existence that had protected their country from being bullied by the great nations.
"Yahiko, I believe Jiraiya-sensei will be fine." Seeing his unease, Konan tried to comfort him.
Just then, a knock came at the door, followed by a familiar voice.
"We're back. Open the door." The moment they heard it, everyone's anxiety turned to excitement.
Yahiko rushed to open the door, but was stopped by Minato.
"Wait. That's not Jiraiya-sensei. There's only one person outside." Minato had sensory abilities and could detect the number of people nearby.
Although the chakra signature outside was identical to Jiraiya's, there was clearly only one person, not several, as the voice had claimed.
As he blocked Yahiko, Minato also threw a kunai embedded with an explosive tag at the door.
BOOM! The blast destroyed the door completely.
But there was no sign of a corpse. Just as the group cautiously investigated the outside, a scream suddenly rang out—
It was Ayame!
Everyone turned and saw a man who looked exactly like Jiraiya emerging from underground, grabbing Ayame.
But from his behavior, it was clear that he wasn't the real Jiraiya.
"Bastard! Let her go!" Tomoki charged forward in fury, only to be kicked away by the fake Jiraiya.
At the same time, Minato used Body Flicker to appear behind the imposter, striking with his kunai. To his surprise, the blow missed, and the fake Jiraiya dodged it with uncanny speed.
Releasing Ayame without hesitation, the imposter sank back into the earth and vanished completely; even Minato's sensory technique couldn't detect him.
"Everyone, back-to-back formation!"
Following Minato's command, everyone formed a circle to guard all directions. This way, the imposter wouldn't be able to ambush them from behind again.
"Who are you?!" Minato asked with a serious expression while discreetly removing the large Fūma Shuriken from his back — the same one given to him earlier by the Aoshi clone.
"If you can describe what needing to poop feels like, I'll tell you." The fake Jiraiya answered with a cheerful tone, saying something that left everyone speechless.
Whoosh! Minato immediately threw the Fūma Shuriken at him.
If it hit, it could easily slice through a human body.
"Pointless." The fake Jiraiya tilted his body and effortlessly dodged it.
Seeing this, Nagato prepared to take action himself, confident that his Shinra Tensei would be able to take care of the enemy.
But the very next moment, he stopped. Because the Fūma Shuriken Minato had thrown, suddenly transformed midair, into Aoshi.
Since Aoshi already suspected that Uchiha Madara was behind the plot, he wasn't going to take any chances.
He had pre-arranged for a shadow clone to transform into a Fūma Shuriken and handed it to Minato as a secret weapon to protect the others.
And sure enough, his caution paid off.
When Hanzo failed, White Zetsu targeted Minato's group next. The imposter hadn't expected this move and was struck head-on by Aoshi's clone.
That strike was fatal — the clone didn't hold back and instantly killed the White Zetsu posing as Jiraiya.
"Huh? Why did the Fūma Shuriken suddenly turn into Aoshi-nii?" Yahiko asked in confusion, not yet understanding what had happened.
Minato explained: the moment he grabbed the weapon earlier, he had noticed something was off about its weight — and immediately realized Aoshi's intention.
"Wow, as expected of Big Bro Aoshi!" Now understanding everything, Yahiko looked at the clone with admiration.
Konan even ran over and clung to his arm.
Meanwhile, the slain White Zetsu reverted to its true appearance.
Looking at the bizarre white humanoid with green hair, Minato asked in disbelief: "What is this thing? And how did it mimic Jiraiya-sensei's chakra so perfectly?"
This was White Zetsu's mimicry technique.
By absorbing someone's chakra, it could not only imitate their appearance but also replicate their chakra signature—fooling even the closest companions and elite sensory ninja.
Of course, Aoshi didn't explain any of this. He had no way to justify how he knew such intel.
"Let's wait for Jiraiya-sama to return and then talk."
At the same time, Uchiha Madara also received word that the test operation had failed. "Hirakawa Aoshi…"