Inside.
Jiraiya looked at Nagato and Konan and asked, "What are your plans now?"
Konan looked at Nagato.
Nagato met Jiraiya's gaze and said, "Teacher Jiraiya, we will inherit Yahiko's will and dedicate ourselves to achieving peace in the ninja world!"
His voice was incredibly firm.
Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "Amegakure is in chaos now. You can take this opportunity to take control, establish yourselves in Amegakure, and then cooperate with Konoha."
"Now that the major ninja villages have gone through a major war, their strength has been damaged, and they won't make a move easily."
"However, you must be careful, as Amegakure's strength is not weak."
"If you need..."
Before Jiraiya could finish, Nagato said, "Teacher Jiraiya, we want to rely on our own strength."
...
A moment later, Jiraiya and Sarutobi Asuma departed.
Nagato and Konan watched them go.
"Why did Nagato refuse Teacher Jiraiya?"
Konan suddenly asked.
"We can cooperate with Konoha, but it must be as equals."
Nagato said indifferently, "If I accept Konoha's help to take over Amegakure now, I might become a vassal of Konoha!"
Konan nodded, then hesitated for a moment and said, "But with our current strength, even if Hanzō is dead, we can't take over Amegakure."
"But we have the Rinnegan!"
Nagato's tone was firm.
Konan's expression changed slightly. "Are you going to cooperate with that person who calls himself Uchiha Madara?"
Nagato looked up at the gray, drizzly sky. "If we had the same strength as Sarutobi Asuma, Yahiko wouldn't have died."
"If we had strength greater than Sarutobi Asuma's, no one could invade the Land of Rain, and no one could ignore us."
"Peace requires the support of strength!"
"And I will become a god!"
"Someone who surpasses Hanzō, surpasses Sarutobi Asuma!"
"To rule over war!"
"To rule over peace!"
Konan's heart trembled.
...
Cave.
Uchiha Obito, wearing a mask, saw Black Zetsu return, merged with White Zetsu, and said calmly, "You were too reckless!"
Black Zetsu laughed, "Don't worry, my concealment ability is stronger. Even Sarutobi Asuma would find it hard to discover me easily."
"Moreover, even if I were discovered, I could still hide in the shadows."
"Besides, if I didn't act this time, there might not be such a good opportunity next time."
After hiding for a thousand years, it was finally worth being a little reckless when the Rinnegan appeared.
"Although there was a slight accident, things are going smoothly so far."
White Zetsu said, "However, the sudden appearance of Sarutobi Asuma and Jiraiya here, did they discover something?"
Uchiha Obito thought for a moment. "Probably not."
"Their purpose in coming here was not just to save Nagato and the others, but to prevent Hanzō from cooperating with the Stone Ninja. They killed Hanzō, supported the Akatsuki, and indirectly controlled Amegakure."
"However, that guy Sarutobi Asuma is indeed someone to be wary of."
Black Zetsu chuckled upon hearing this. "That guy is indeed very powerful, but with your ocular abilities, you don't need to fear him, do you?"
"Then you underestimate him too much!"
After saying that, Uchiha Obito walked out of the cave.
...
On the other side, Sarutobi Asuma, on his way back to Konoha, suddenly received memories from a Shadow Clone. He turned to Jiraiya and said, "Something has happened in the village. It seems we need to hurry!"
Jiraiya's heart sank. "What's wrong?"
"There are some rumors circulating in the village about Lord Orochimaru, experimenting with children from villages around Konoha, and even harming his own comrades."
Jiraiya's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. "That guy Orochimaru..."
"The news must have come from Danzō. Looks like he's restless again!"
Sarutobi Asuma gave a cold laugh and then said, "Alright!"
Before his voice even faded, he placed one hand on Jiraiya's shoulder and swapped positions with a Shadow Clone within Konohagakure.
Konohagakure.
Hokage's Office.
Sarutobi Asuma, Namikaze Minato, Jiraiya, Uzumaki Kushina, Tsunade, Sarutobi Shinya, and Nara Shikaku, who Minato appointed as his Hokage assistant, were all gathered.
After reading the intelligence provided by Namikaze Minato, Sarutobi Asuma chuckled coldly, "Secretly conducting the First Hokage's Wood Release experiments, I know a bit about that."
"However, anyone who believes Orochimaru went and captured people by himself to conduct these experiments is a fool."
"This information was definitely leaked intentionally by Danzō. I suspect he wants to force Orochimaru out and regain control of Root."
"He probably thinks that in Konoha, besides Orochimaru, no one is more suited to lead Root than himself."
Tsunade snorted upon hearing this, "After all, he is the 'Darkness of Konoha'!"
Everyone present could understand the sarcasm in Tsunade's remark.
Namikaze Minato gave a wry smile. He had just taken office and hadn't even fully sorted out affairs within Konoha before this incident occurred.
There was a high chance that Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, would defect.
"Regardless of whether Orochimaru was the one capturing people, he was the one conducting the experiments."
"And using village ninja for experiments, I'm afraid..."
Nara Shikaku spoke, highlighting the most troublesome issue.
"That darn Orochimaru!"
Jiraiya gritted his teeth, expressing his disappointment.
Tsunade's eyes twitched slightly, but she calmly said, "If we're going to deal with this, then everyone involved should be dealt with!"
Uzumaki Kushina immediately added, "I agree with Lady Tsunade!"
"Our biggest enemy is the potential presence of Uchiha Madara. We can't afford infighting!"
Namikaze Minato looked towards Sarutobi Asuma.
Sarutobi Asuma smiled, "Fourth Hokage, I fully support your decision!"
"Danzō can be dealt with by me!"
"I already gave him a chance last time and allowed him to save face."
"Since he doesn't want to save face, I'll have to help him do it!"
Hearing this, Sarutobi Shinya secretly thought, It's fortunate Father isn't here.
His own brother truly showed no respect to those senior figures.
Headache-inducing!
However.
Sarutobi Shinya looked at Namikaze Minato, thinking, But since the Fourth Hokage has taken office, a new era indeed requires a new atmosphere.
Such a young Hokage, the village should also be full of vitality!
Nara Shikaku was also looking at Namikaze Minato, awaiting his decision.
And he couldn't help but wonder in his heart.
If it were the Third Hokage, how would he handle this?
Namikaze Minato pondered for a moment, then said solemnly, "Asuma, Shinya, Danzō will be handled by you and the Anbu."
"As for Orochimaru, that will be entrusted to Master Jiraiya and Elder Tsunade."
"Effective immediately, Orochimaru is relieved of his position as leader of Root and will be temporarily detained pending investigation."
Jiraiya nodded, "Understood!"
Tsunade, however, said, "That guy Orochimaru won't surrender so easily."
Sarutobi Asuma laughed, "He'll most likely defect."
"However, in that case, I ask Master Jiraiya and Sister Tsunade to go easy on him."
Huh?
Everyone looked at Sarutobi Asuma in confusion.
Was he showing favoritism to Orochimaru?
Sarutobi Asuma explained, "I have a hunch that Uchiha Madara is hiding an even more astonishing plan."
"But with Obito's and Nagato's strength, it's likely far from enough."
"So I think rogue ninja from the various hidden villages would be excellent candidates."
Spies?
Everyone was stunned.
Even Nara Shikaku hadn't thought in that direction.
However, this wasn't because everyone was dumber than Sarutobi Asuma.
It was due to a difference in information.
"That guy Orochimaru isn't easy to deal with," Tsunade interjected. "If he defected, he wouldn't work as a spy for you."
Sarutobi Asuma, however, laughed. "Sister Tsunade, although you were in the same team, you don't understand him as well as I do. As long as there's something that interests him, he won't mind. And regarding the Rinnegan, he's probably more interested than we are!"
Namikaze Minato immediately made his decision. "Then we'll go with Asuma's suggestion!"
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