Hokage Office.
"Thank you for your trouble during this time, Iruka. Don't worry about Sasuke's matter."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Iruka with a gentle smile on his face.
Although Iruka still had a worried expression, he nodded, bowed slightly to Hiruzen Sarutobi, and turned to walk out of the Hokage Office.
"Since you're already here, come out."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took two puffs of his pipe, a hint of helplessness in his voice.
"Lord Third, long time no see."
With a clear voice, Jiraiya jumped directly through the Hokage Office window and spoke nonchalantly.
Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Jiraiya, showing no surprise, but instead pursed his lips and said:
"You've been in the Village for almost half a month now, haven't you? I thought you had forgotten this old man."
Jiraiya chuckled, scratched his messy hair, and a serious expression appeared on his face:
"I've temporarily resolved Sasuke's problem. Orochimaru should be the one who made a move."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, looking thoughtfully at Jiraiya: "Is there something important about your sudden return to the Village this time?"
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression, Jiraiya thought of the Toad Sage's prophecy, paused slightly, and began casually:
"Nothing much. After being away from home for so long, I had to come back and take a look. Besides, you must already know about Orochimaru infiltrating Konoha."
Speaking of this, Jiraiya glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression.
Indeed, hearing the name 'Orochimaru', Hiruzen Sarutobi's face turned somewhat grim.
Jiraiya sighed inwardly, but a rare hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.
Orochimaru, I hope you're not the one trying to plunge Konoha into war, otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!
"Orochimaru should be hidden among the Chunin Exams candidates, but there are too many people. If we were to check them one by one, given Orochimaru's caution, he would have already slipped away."
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head slightly, a solemn look flashing in his eyes. He had already sent Anbu personnel to search, but unfortunately, there had been no results so far.
"Lord Third, Konoha might face some trouble during this time. You'd best make some preparations."
Jiraiya was silent for a moment, then reminded Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was slightly startled, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.
Bang! Bang!
Just then, a knock came from outside the Office.
"Come in," Hiruzen Sarutobi said softly.
As the Hokage Office door opened, Kakashi slowly walked in from outside.
"Kakashi?!"
Seeing Kakashi, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face showed surprise. After all, Kakashi had been in a coma during this time.
"Hokage-sama, Lord Jiraiya, I just woke up and have something I need to report."
Looking at Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi in the room, Kakashi held his forehead and spoke in a serious tone.
As Kakashi spoke, the atmosphere in the entire Office suddenly became solemn.
"You mean the Mist Ninja Village is highly suspicious?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, his tone carrying a hint of unspoken emotion.
Kakashi nodded, his face solemn: "Although I still haven't figured out why the Mist Ninja Village would do this, the Mist Ninja Village is definitely planning something."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes flickered. He took the pipe from his mouth and placed it on the table: "I understand."
Kakashi nodded, bowed slightly to Jiraiya beside him, and turned to leave.
"Jiraiya, the defense of Konoha during the Chunin Exams will temporarily be in your hands."
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his head to look at Jiraiya, who was deep in thought.
Jiraiya was startled for a moment, then nodded and turned to walk out of the Hokage Office.
"Wait a moment, I have something to temporarily entrust to your keeping."
Looking at Jiraiya, who was about to leave, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to have made a decision and suddenly spoke.
Not long after, the news of Gekkō Hayate's assassination spread throughout Konoha in an instant.
The entire Konoha high command was in turmoil. Large numbers of Anbu began patrolling throughout Konoha, and even ordinary people would occasionally see one or two Anbu figures.
The previously calm Konoha began to thoroughly stir with undercurrents.
As for Danzo of Konoha's Root, shortly after Kakashi woke up, Hiruzen Sarutobi reinstated the restrictions on Danzo regarding Root.
However, this was meaningless to Danzo, as Root was already completely under his control.
But when Danzo learned that Jiraiya, who had only recently returned to Konoha, had taken over Konoha's defense,
After smashing countless items, Danzo fell back into silence, adopting a look of watching the show.
Gekkō Hayate's death was a signal from the Sand Ninja to Yūto and Orochimaru.
While everyone else was acting cautiously, Yūto and Ranmaru were leisurely strolling through Konoha.
Of course, the two weren't doing nothing. It took Yūto several days to roughly figure out the situation in Konoha and locate the spots of the barrier covering the entire Konoha, one by one.
Land of Fire border.
"Ah!!"
A sharp scream suddenly echoed.
A bone blade was pulled from the heart of this Konoha Ninja. Kimimaro expressionlessly threw the blood-stained bone blade on the ground and stepped forward.
Whoosh!
A whooshing sound came from behind. A Konoha Ninja suddenly jumped from a large tree, holding a kunai and stabbing towards Kimimaro's neck.
Kimimaro's expression remained unchanged. He continued walking forward without even turning his head, as if completely unconcerned about the attack from the Konoha Ninja behind him.
Just as the Konoha Ninja was about to stab Kimimaro, a figure suddenly jumped out from a nearby, easily overlooked pool of water.
Bang!
Suigetsu Hozuki, wielding Kabutowari (Blunt Sword), slammed his hammer into the Ninja's body. With a heavy thud and blood splattering,
The Konoha Ninja's chest was directly smashed through, leaving him utterly dead.
"Tsk tsk, I didn't expect there to be so many Konoha Ninja here. Looks like they discovered something?"
Suigetsu Hozuki shook his head slightly, an amused expression on his face.
Kimimaro didn't speak, his face still calm as he walked forward. Seeing this, Suigetsu Hozuki shook his head helplessly and said softly, "He's really cold."
As the two walked forward, it wasn't long before several figures appeared before them.
Zabuza Momochi, Ameyuri Ringo, Haku, Chōjūrō, and Bubble, who was sitting leisurely on a tree branch.
"You two are late!"
Zabuza Momochi looked at the two and spoke with dissatisfaction.