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***
"...."
The green light rising from Tsunade's palm gradually faded, and she withdrew her hand from Jiraiya.
"Tsunade-sama, how is the teacher?"
Minato immediately came forward and asked anxiously.
"I've temporarily stabilized his injuries, but we still need to go to Konoha Hospital. This guy has three broken ribs."
"Yeah."
Minato walked over, pulled up one of Jiraiya's arms, who had fainted in the pit, and carried him up.
"Who is this brat?"
Tsunade turned her gaze and stopped at Itachi.
Just now, outside the Konoha Hot Springs, although she was in a state of anger, she did not ignore Itachi, who was also there.
Tsunade then frowned and looked at Minato, who was just about to take Jiraiya away.
"Isn't he one of Jiraiya's newest disciples?" she whispered.
"This guy, he's really stubborn!" She glared at Jiraiya, then looked at Minato and sighed.
"Minato, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but Jiraiya is your teacher. You can't control him, but do you want the child's parents to know about this? Haven't you forgotten what happened to you back then?"
"Tsunade-sama, you misunderstood."
Minato waved his hands repeatedly, his azure eyes narrowing, and sweat broke out on his forehead.
Itachi stared at this.
The Fourth Hokage, who had managed to remain calm even after hearing the serious situation he described that day, now showed such fear.
"Greetings, Tsunade-sama," Itachi bowed respectfully.
Tsunade also noticed the Uchiha family crest on Itachi's back.
"Is he from the Uchiha clan?" she whispered in her heart.
Itachi raised his eyes and said, "My name is Itachi Uchiha, not Jiraiya-sama's disciple. I just happened to be passing by the hot springs."
"Itachi?"
Tsunade thought the name sounded familiar.
After a moment's hesitation, she looked at Itachi and said, "Are you the son of the Uchiha clan leader?"
The last time she returned to the village was about three years ago, and she had occasionally heard the name of the Uchiha clan leader's son mentioned.
"Tsunade-sama, I'd better take the teacher to the hospital first," Minato said, worried about Jiraiya's injury.
"I'll go with you."
Tsunade looked displeased, but it was clear she couldn't leave Jiraiya alone.
She had injured Jiraiya because what he had done was too extreme.
This had happened countless times since they were little.
Jiraiya had been injured by Tsunade and then healed by her.
"I'll go too." Itachi glanced at Jiraiya.
He was also responsible for this matter, and he was indeed concerned about Jiraiya's injury.
The Fourth Hokage had retrieved the two Sannin from outside the village to prepare for the incident that would occur in a month.
Jiraiya's recovery could be crucial to the event, so Itachi needed to wait and see before he could rest assured.
"Okay!"
Minato, knowing what Itachi was thinking, didn't refuse.
Itachi quickly walked over to Minato's side.
"Hold my arm," Minato said, deliberately, as he couldn't let anyone know about their previous interaction.
Tsunade casually grasped Jiraiya's shoulder, and Itachi also touched Minato's arm.
Swish!
The three of them vanished from the street in the blink of an eye.
At Konoha Hospital.
A ward in Konoha Hospital.
Jiraiya, still hazy, slowly raised his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Minato's face.
"Teacher, are you alright?" Minato asked.
"Hmm," Jiraiya replied, still in shock.
He suddenly sat up, then felt a pain and instinctively glanced at his bandaged ribs.
"Where's Tsunade?"
Jiraiya's eyes flashed with fear, his voice still trembling as he suddenly remembered what had happened before he lost consciousness.
"What do you want to talk to me about?"
Tsunade's voice came over just as he finished speaking.
She was leaning against the door frame of the ward, her eyes looking toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya, still in shock, couldn't help but feel his hair stand on end.
He replied with a wry smile, "It's okay."
"Teacher, your injury was treated by Tsunade-sama."
Minato looked at Jiraiya with helplessness in his eyes.
Although he hadn't asked about the situation yet, seeing Tsunade's attitude and the source of the chaos he had just observed, he already understood what had happened.
"With your physique, resting for half a month won't be a big deal," Minato said.
Jiraiya nodded, only then noticing Itachi standing next to Minato.
"Who are you, boy?"
He lowered his eyes to look at Itachi, a hint of dissatisfaction on his face.
It was Itachi's sudden interruption that had hindered his grand mission of "collecting materials."
Furthermore, he had been beaten into this state by Tsunade.
Itachi bowed politely to Jiraiya, then raised his head and said, "Jiraiya-sama, my name is Itachi Uchiha."
"Itachi, son of Fugaku Uchiha?"
Jiraiya was far more familiar with the village than Tsunade, so he recognized Itachi's identity immediately.
"I'm truly sorry for what happened just now," Itachi said, looking at Jiraiya with a hint of guilt.
Seeing Itachi's good attitude, Jiraiya had no reason to complain even if he wanted to.
Moreover, he understood that the incident stemmed from him and had little to do with Itachi.
"Don't worry about it, it's a small matter," Jiraiya said with a casual wave of his hand and a light laugh.
"But why do you know me?"
He stared at Itachi, confirming he had never seen the child before.
Itachi naturally couldn't tell him the real reason, but he had already thought of other reasons.
"You and Tsunade-sama are both great ninjas known as the Three Legendary Sannin. Both family studies and ninja school curriculum have mentioned you."
Itachi revealed a hint of reverence, not a feigned expression, but genuine respect for this man.
Following Orochimaru's plan to destroy Konoha, the Third Hokage died, and the situation was dire.
And in this moment, it was Jiraiya who brought Tsunade back to succeed him as the Fifth Hokage, secretly gathering intelligence on the Akatsuki, and protecting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki.
"Haha, I see!"
Jiraiya, pleased with Itachi's answer, laughed heartily.
At that moment, a girl about twelve or thirteen with short black hair walked past in the hospital corridor, carrying a container of medicine.
Tsunade accidentally glanced over and saw the girl.
The calm expression on her face changed immediately.
She immediately called out to the girl.
"Shizune."
...
In the hospital corridor, the black-haired girl turned her head at the sound.
When she saw Tsunade's face clearly, her eyes immediately filled with surprise, and she quickly walked toward her.
"Tsunade-sama!" she said respectfully.
"You still recognize me," Tsunade's face lit up with a smile, and she reached out and ruffled her soft hair.
"You've grown up a lot."
"When did you come back, and why are you in the hospital?"
Shizune was also very happy to see Tsunade.
"To treat that guy," Tsunade said, looking into the ward.
Shizune took two more steps and saw several people inside.
"Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama!"
Her expression changed slightly, and she nodded to Minato and Jiraiya respectively.
"It's Shizune. How have you been lately?" Minato replied gently.
"Yes, I'm fine," Shizune said.
"Long time no see," Jiraiya raised his hand toward Shizune, but this only tugged at his wound once more, causing him to gasp.
"Who hurt you like this?" Shizune's beautiful face furrowed at the sight.
"I'm fine, you go and do your work," Jiraiya said, glancing at Tsunade beside Shizune and smiling awkwardly.
"Then I'll see you again later."
Shizune bowed and nodded again, her gaze lingering on Itachi, who was standing by Minato.
She then said goodbye to Minato and Tsunade, then left, carrying the tray of medicine.
After Shizune left, Tsunade looked at Itachi.
"Boy, aren't your parents worried about you being out alone for so long?"
Itachi immediately understood the meaning of her words.
"Since Master Jiraiya is fine now, I'll be leaving now."
He said goodbye to Minato and the others in the ward and quickly left.
Then, Tsunade closed the ward door, walked over to Jiraiya's bedside, and looked at Minato.
"Now you can tell me why you suddenly called me and this guy back to the village."
Minato's expression grew serious.
"Kushina's due soon."
"Really? That's good news. Congratulations," Tsunade smiled.
However, looking at Minato's expression, she realized something was more complicated.
As if a sudden thought struck her, Tsunade said, "You suddenly called Jiraiya and me back to the village. Could it be because..."
"I got intelligence that someone might take advantage of Kushina's labor."
"What?!"
Jiraiya and Tsunade were both shocked.
The seal's energy gradually weakens during childbirth, something even Jiraiya wasn't entirely clear about.
However, Tsunade's grandmother, Mito Uzumaki, was the first Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
Minato and the others knew this information because the Nine-Tails nearly broke free during Mito's birth.
"Who planned to do this?"
Tsunade looked at Minato gravely.
Minato shook his head, saying, "I'm not sure yet."
He didn't mention Madara Uchiha because, while he believed Itachi's words, he still had doubts.
After speaking with Itachi that night, he had specifically inquired about the Third Hokage's details of the Battle of the Valley of the End decades before.
Therefore, until he saw it with his own eyes, Minato still couldn't believe that Madara Uchiha was still alive.
After leaving Konoha Hospital, Itachi quickly headed back home.
The return of Jiraiya and Tsunade to the village had slightly relaxed his expression.
"That Zetsu guy should know soon," Itachi muttered.
Within the Akatsuki organization, a mysterious figure named Zetsu specialized in intelligence gathering.
He could easily glean confidential information from the five major ninja nations.
Therefore, Jiraiya and Tsunade's return to the village couldn't be hidden from him.
In Itachi's mind, if Madara abandoned his plan upon learning of their return, that would be the best outcome.
After Madara lost his only plan, he would need a long period of preparation to accomplish anything again.
Therefore, when Itachi gained sufficient strength, he would proactively seek him out.
He certainly wasn't so arrogant as to think he could single-handedly defeat Madara Uchiha, but as Minato had said, he now had companions.
For a while, Madara would be unable to contend with Konoha's power.
To prevent his plan from succeeding, Itachi also planned to find an opportunity to stop the Akatsuki's growth.
With this in mind, Itachi returned home.
Because much had happened along the way, his morning practice had already reached lunchtime.
"I'm back!"
Itachi announced as he entered the house.
Mikoto, who was preparing lunch, emerged from the side door and asked, "Why are you back so late?"
"Something happened on the way," Itachi replied, heading toward Sasuke's room.
Itachi had spent the entire afternoon at home helping Mikoto care for Sasuke.
After dinner, he quickly packed up and headed out for practice again.
With a swish, Itachi's figure flickered and leaped across the rooftops, heading toward the Uchiha clan's forest training grounds.
He had arranged a meeting with Shisui a few days earlier.
"Itachi?"
He had just walked a short distance when a familiar voice called from the street below.
Itachi looked down and saw it was Izumi calling him.
With a leap, Izumi landed right in front of Itachi.
"Where are you going?" Izumi asked.
"I'm just doing regular training, not with any particular goal in mind," Itachi said, unable to be honest with Izumi, so he made up an excuse.
"Oh," Izumi nodded.
"So, what are you doing tomorrow?" the girl inquired.
"Nothing special, probably training," Itachi said.
"Then tomorrow, can I join you?" Izumi looked at him expectantly.
Itachi shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Sure, let's meet in front of the clan's ninja tool shop tomorrow morning."
He trained with real shurikens, so they needed to be replaced after a while.
"Yes," Izumi nodded in surprise.
"Bye!"
Itachi said goodbye, then took a short detour.
After confirming that Izumi had lost sight of him, he continued toward Shisui's residence.
He first arrived at Shisui's cabin, but found it deserted.
But then, Itachi suddenly heard some noise coming from the training grounds not far away.
He immediately rushed over.
Boom!
At this moment, in the dark training ground, a brilliant flaming blade suddenly streaked across, like a falling meteor, leaving traces in the air.
The dazzling light immediately filled Itachi's eyes.
.....
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