"Jiraiya, we were clearly set up in this incident—but if you dare harm any of my subordinates, I swear I won't let you off." As he departed, Hanzo left behind this harsh warning.
It seemed like this was the only way to preserve his dignity as the so-called "Demi-God."
Jiraiya, however, paid the warning no mind. He had always pursued peace in the ninja world—how could he possibly do something like that?
What concerned him far more now was the identity of the hidden mastermind behind this entire scheme.
Someone had managed to manipulate both them and Amegakure like pawns on a board.
"Could it be Iwagakure?" Jiraiya speculated aloud.
In his eyes, only the other four Great Ninja Villages had the capacity to orchestrate something of this scale. And with the Land of Rain positioned between the Lands of Fire, Earth, and Wind, the prime suspects were clearly Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
But Sunagakure had always been the weakest among the Five Great Villages, and having just come out of the Second Ninja War, they were likely still focused on recovery.
On the other hand, Iwagakure—while lacking as many geniuses as Konoha—was comparable in overall strength.
Not to mention, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, had always held a deep-rooted hostility toward Konoha because of his past.
That's why Jiraiya suspected Iwagakure the most.
"..." Standing to the side, Aoshi heard Jiraiya's mutterings and quietly shook his head. Keep guessing. You're all wrong anyway.
If he didn't have memories of his past life and the knowledge that Uchiha Madara was still alive, even Aoshi might have found Jiraiya's theory convincing.
Ignoring Jiraiya's misguided deductions, Aoshi turned to Mikoto with concern. "Mikoto, are you still feeling unwell anywhere? I can heal you again."
"I'm alright now. But… it looks like we'll have to stay in the Land of Rain for a few more days before we can return to Konoha."
Mikoto had sustained serious injuries during the battle with Hanzo and would need time to fully recover. Jiraiya was in the same condition.
"Well, I think that's great. No work, and a beautiful woman by my side every day." As he spoke, Aoshi gently tucked a strand of Mikoto's messy hair behind her ear.
This tender gesture happened to catch Jiraiya's eye. "Ah, it's great to be young and full of energy..."
Hearing that, Aoshi nearly responded with, Aren't you still young?
After all, Jiraiya was barely in his twenties right now—definitely not the fifty-something old man he would become.
As for Mikoto, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment when she heard that comment.
For some reason, Konan's earlier question about whether she was Aoshi's girlfriend resurfaced in her mind. Aoshi was so talented—it was hard not to be drawn to him.
After the three of them returned home, Aoshi's shadow clone dispelled itself and transferred its memories back to the original.
At the same time, Minato reported the earlier White Zetsu attack to Jiraiya.
When he heard that someone had transformed into him—and even replicated his chakra perfectly—Jiraiya was utterly shocked.
A transformation technique like that went far beyond anything he had ever known. So naturally, he was skeptical of Minato's claim.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Minato—it was just that the story was too unbelievable.
But when everyone else, including Aoshi (who had just recovered the clone's memories), confirmed the same thing, Jiraiya finally chose to believe.
"So… this is the weirdo who turned into me." Jiraiya stared blankly at White Zetsu's corpse.
He'd traveled extensively across the ninja world and considered himself well-informed. But this was the first time he'd ever seen a creature like this.
"In any case, seal it up for now. We'll take it back to Konoha and let the old man figure it out." With no better ideas, Jiraiya decided to leave the matter to someone else.
Nobody objected.
Jiraiya, being the only one skilled in sealing techniques, personally sealed White Zetsu's corpse into a scroll and handed it to Aoshi.
"Aoshi, I'm counting on you to bring this back to the old man."
Naturally, "the old man" referred to Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage.
Aoshi nodded without hesitation.
Afterward, since both Jiraiya and Mikoto needed to rest and recover, they each returned to their rooms.
Meanwhile, Aoshi, at Jiraiya's request, took charge of training Konan and the others for the day. Even Tomoki and Ayame, who had recently mastered the water-walking technique, joined in.
Incidentally, when Konan found out that Aoshi would be staying in the Land of Rain a while longer, she was visibly overjoyed.
Back in his room, Jiraiya didn't go straight to bed. Instead, he reported the incident to Hiruzen Sarutobi and warned him to be wary of possible actions by Iwagakure.
He also made sure to highlight Aoshi's impressive performance.
Ninja intel moved fast—and before long, Hiruzen in distant Konoha had already received the report detailing everything that had happened in the Land of Rain.
"An Iwagakure plot? And that strange white creature… could it be some kind of bio-weapon developed by Iwagakure?"
After taking a deep drag from his pipe, Hiruzen immediately ordered ANBU to summon Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane.
If this involved Iwagakure, it was no longer a matter he could decide on his own.
After that, Hiruzen returned to rereading Jiraiya's high praise of Aoshi. "To think he could even hold his own against Hanzo… It seems I really underestimated Aoshi. Kosuke was right about him."
The news that Aoshi had become a certified medical ninja within just one year had already reached Hiruzen's ears. But back then, he hadn't thought much of it.
As Hokage, he had countless matters to attend to every day—and one promising young medical ninja hardly seemed worth special attention.
He'd simply done a routine background check on Aoshi, found no issues, and moved on.
"Since he's a medical ninja… perhaps I should have Tsunade mentor him."
But the moment he thought of Tsunade—currently wasting her life gambling and drinking—Hiruzen felt a headache coming on.
That was exactly why he hadn't seriously considered making Tsunade Aoshi's teacher. Besides, in terms of both medical skills and combat ability, Aoshi wasn't far off from Tsunade anyway.
There wasn't much point in a formal apprenticeship.
Having made his decision, Hiruzen instructed ANBU to inform Tsunade about the matter.
The ANBU, not daring to delay, quickly tracked Tsunade down at a casino. But upon seeing Tsunade on a hot streak, the ANBU hesitated.
He had a feeling that if he interrupted her now, she might just punch him through a wall—or worse. Still, remembering his mission, he braced himself and stepped forward.
As expected, Tsunade was furious at the interruption. But seeing that it was an ANBU, she managed to suppress her temper.
"Spit it out. What is it?"
The ANBU sighed in relief and quickly handed over the scroll containing Aoshi's profile and Hiruzen's orders.
Tsunade read it—and her eyes widened in shock. "Since when did Aoshi get this strong?"
Having once been defeated by Hanzo herself, she knew all too well how powerful he was, which only made Aoshi's achievements even more astonishing.
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