I, Uchiha: Split Konoha

Chapter 118 Jiraiya's Questioning

Konoha!

The gloomy sky brought a sense of oppression to the entire village, and the continuous drizzle seemed to add a touch of melancholy to this oppressive atmosphere.

Inside this prison, which is under the jurisdiction of the 7th Police Division, the layout is similar to the dueling room after passing through the Forest of Death in the original series. At this moment, there are ninjas on guard everywhere on the stairs, and the prisoners inside the prison are all hiding in their cells, afraid to come out.

"Brother Ye!"

"Master Ye."

Uchiha Shisui and Hyuga Hizashi, who are currently the highest-ranking officers in the police department, were immediately tense upon seeing the newcomers, as if they had seen a glimmer of hope.

As the cursed seal faded, Uchiha Yoru arrived at the prison, exhausted. Amidst the somewhat flustered expressions of the crowd, he calmly stated in a deep voice, "Don't worry, Orochimaru-sensei is innocent. The arrest warrant issued by the Anbu was based on Orochimaru-sensei's alleged human experimentation with ninjas from his own village."

At this point, Uchiha Yoru looked at Shisui and the guards Kakashi and Might Guy in the distance. "Shisui, immediately gather all the village ninjas and children in the prison. All members of the 7th Police Division, listen up!"

"The priority is protecting these fellow village ninjas and children! Unless the Hokage gives a direct order, the police department has the right to disobey orders from any other department, not even the Anbu!"

Uchiha Yoru's loud shout instantly reassured the somewhat panicked ninjas around him, who all shouted in unison, "Yes!"

They were originally Orochimaru's elite subordinates, and if something really happened, they would inevitably be implicated.

"Kid, take me to see the missing ninja."

Jiraiya, who had followed all the way, now wore a solemn expression, his usual comical demeanor gone. However, Uchiha Yoru gave a self-deprecating smile and said, "Uzuki Yugao, go and get the list for Lord Jiraiya."

Uzuki Yugao, who was originally just observing, was immediately shocked upon hearing this, looking completely bewildered. She genuinely had no idea what was going on. Uchiha Yoru, seeing this, shook his head and said softly, "Go to the prison office and bring me the file in the third compartment of the seventh cabinet."

"Yes!" Upon hearing the order, Uzuki Yugao hurriedly and respectfully shouted, then transformed into a black shadow and disappeared.

At this moment, the presence of Jiraiya, one of the three legendary Sannin, seemed to bring a sense of calm to their panicked hearts, especially Hyuga Hizashi, who was extremely flustered.

If Orochimaru were to get into trouble, not only would the Uchiha clan be too powerful and wealthy to care about other civilian ninjas, but the Hyuga branch family would almost all be branded with Orochimaru's name, making it virtually unavoidable.

The Hyuga branch family and countless Orochimaru direct ninjas were filled with panic, hoping that nothing would happen this time, yet also harboring a hint of fear.

Soon after, Uzuki Yugao brought over the file scroll. At the same time, figures appeared one after another in the spacious, enclosed space of the prison. At this moment, the Konoha ninjas of the Seventh Squad all frowned.

Most of them were young ninjas, mostly Chunin and Genin, and there were even children around ten years old. These were all missing persons.

Seeing this, Jiraiya frowned, while Uchiha Yoru gave a self-deprecating laugh, "Although they lost their freedom in prison, back then, as long as they appeared in the village, what awaited them was Lord Jiraiya. I don't need to tell you that, do I?"

Jiraiya fell silent. It would be a lie to say he didn't know what Root had been doing in the village, hence his silence.

"Captain Night." Uzuki Yugao respectfully handed over the scroll. After taking it, Uchiha Night's eyes revealed three tomoe. After opening the file scroll, the three tomoe in his Sharingan suddenly spun.

"untie!"

After the Sharingan seal on the scroll was broken, Uchiha Yoru threw it directly to Jiraiya. "The information on these people was all investigated by the police department themselves. As for the others, we can't find out their identities yet because they are wearing black prison uniforms."

At this moment, Jiraiya looked at the identities and photos on the scroll, and then at the fellow village ninjas walking out of the prison. His face was filled with anger; there were over a hundred of them.

"Don't worry, to avoid any oversights, Orochimaru-sensei only uses enemy ninjas, spies, and ronin in his experiments."

Although this would have cost more, Uchiha Yoru secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he resisted the temptation and did not do anything reckless to save a little money, otherwise it would have been a serious stain on his reputation.

Inside the prison's sealed building, over two hundred ninjas from the Seventh Division of the Police Department waited in the oppressive atmosphere for the truth to unfold. They were all Orochimaru's loyal followers, and many were still unwilling to accept Orochimaru's loss of power.

This incident is clear to everyone with discerning eyes: Orochimaru has lost power. If that were all, it would be fine, but the real fear is that the undercurrents are escalating.

Jiraiya, holding the scroll in his hand, fell silent. "Kid, everything will be alright."

Jiraiya clapped his hands, and instantly a toad was summoned. He then threw the scroll to the toad, and the toad and Jiraiya turned into white smoke and disappeared. It turned out that Jiraiya had always been using shadow clones.

The Hokage's office.

"Third Hokage, what exactly happened with Orochimaru? Give me an explanation!"

Jiraiya burst in through the window and angrily questioned them. Of the three advisors who were ignored in the office, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu would have reprimanded Jiraiya for such behavior long ago, but this time they were also feeling guilty.

But Shimura Danzo, with a stern face, coldly retorted, "Jiraiya, you are extremely rude."

However, this time Jiraiya wasn't as casual as before. He turned around angrily and shouted back, "Danzo! What's going on with Root! Orochimaru joined Root, so don't tell me that Orochimaru could have set up a laboratory in the village without Root's support?"

Nobody's a fool. How could they set up a lab right under Konoha's nose and not be discovered? Do they really think Konoha's Byakugan, Anbu, and Root are just sitting around doing nothing?

"Jiraiya!"

The hoarse voice of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, echoed in the office. The furious Jiraiya turned to look at his teacher. Under their gazes, facing the current peak of the ninja, Jiraiya, who had not yet reached his peak, gradually fell silent.

"Third Hokage! What's going on with Orochimaru?! Do you want the village to experience another White Fang incident?!"

Jiraiya's hoarse voice echoed in the office. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, lowered his voice and said hoarsely, "Jiraiya, the village has experienced the Third Shinobi World War, the Nine-Tails Night, and lost the Fourth Hokage. Konoha cannot withstand any more turmoil. Meanwhile, the Uchiha and Hyuga clans behind Orochimaru are stirring up trouble."

"For the stability of Konoha! For peace! I have no choice but to abandon Orochimaru, but no one wants to see this situation."

Seeing the Third Hokage's sad yet resolute gaze, Jiraiya felt more sorrow than anger. He took out a scroll from his pocket and threw it at him in a huff.

"Third Hokage! Orochimaru discovered everything you've done long ago. The ninjas and children captured by Root have all been put in prison."

At this moment, Jiraiya's face revealed an even more sarcastic smile. Human experimentation, what a ridiculous charge! However, when the Third Hokage saw this scroll, a look of relief appeared on his ugly old face.

Even Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness! Thank goodness Orochimaru still knows his limits."

At this moment, it seemed that everyone's malice was directed at Danzo. Immediately, Shimura Danzo's face turned red and his neck thickened as he said aggrievedly, "Don't look down on me. Since you have information on these missing ninjas, you should investigate them carefully. These ninjas are either descendants who betrayed the village's interests, or they have committed heinous acts such as retreating in the face of battle or even abandoning their missions."

Although Shimura Danzo was ruthless, he wasn't stupid. He wouldn't just attack the village's ninjas so casually. Otherwise, the Third Hokage wouldn't have tolerated his audacity.

Seeing these old fogies still trying to argue, Jiraiya gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Master, I can barely accept this explanation, but why did you remain silent about the information Orochimaru sent you?"

Jiraiya then pulled another scroll from his robes and tossed it over, sneering, "This is a scroll Orochimaru included in the gifts when he sent his student, the Uchiha brat, to visit. It records details of human experiments. Although it doesn't say anything, teacher! Don't you know Orochimaru?!"

Seeing the scroll, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was moved and shocked. He recalled how Uchiha Yoru had visited him to borrow money and give gifts. At that time, he had returned the favor with his best A-rank ninjutsu.

Damn it! Why are they all like this? Can't they just put everything out in the open? Do they have to make everyone guess?!

At this moment, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was extremely frustrated. Who could have imagined that this brat would hide the scroll inside the gift box? Frustrated and angry, he turned to look at Danzo, who was also glaring back defiantly, as if to say, "I gave you my approval beforehand; you didn't even look at it and just acquiesced."

At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi only sensed the malice of this world, as if everyone was targeting him.

Jiraiya, of course, was unaware of his teacher, the Third Hokage's, anger. He only felt sorrow, thinking, "Orochimaru may already know your decision, but he only wants one sentence from you! He just wants you to explain yourself as soon as possible! But what about you?!"

At this point, Jiraiya roared angrily, "Do you really have to drive Orochimaru to the brink of despair?!"

At that moment, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, felt dizzy. The carelessness of the Root organization had caused all of this. At the same time, Orochimaru had already given him a signal, but he hadn't seen it.

However, at that moment, an ANBU member appeared in the Hokage's office. Seeing everyone fall silent, the Third Hokage angrily exclaimed, "What's going on now?!"

Faced with the Third Hokage's furious questioning, the Anbu members trembled and lowered their heads, saying in a deep voice, "Almost all the ninjas in the village know about Lord Orochimaru's human research, and countless ninjas have already begun to gather and protest."

"Damn it!" Hiruzen Sarutobi roared, but at that moment another ANBU ninja appeared, only this time in a rather disheveled state.

"Reporting back to the Hokage, Orochimaru's whereabouts have been discovered 60 kilometers outside the village."

Just as the panting operative was speaking, his eyes suddenly rolled back, his consciousness began to dissipate, and with a surge of air in his throat, he vomited out a large snake.

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, the large snake regurgitated a headband from its mouth.

The headband, a symbol of Konoha ninja identity, fell to the ground with a crisp clang. At the same time, a clear mark was seen on the headband, causing Jiraiya's pupils to shrink upon seeing this.

Orochimaru!

It was obvious that Orochimaru had conveyed his meaning through genjutsu and summoning jutsu, completely severing his ties with Konoha. Upon seeing this, the Konoha high-ranking members, the F4, all fell silent.

This time, something truly terrible has happened! No one is stupid enough to know Orochimaru's choice; they schemed and abandoned him, and this is Orochimaru's counterattack—a clean break.

……

A light drizzle fell from the gloomy sky. This spring rain, which should have brought vitality, instead gave the leaves a sense of desolation, and even the newly sprouted green buds bent over.

Konoha, the prison under the jurisdiction of the 7th Division of the Police Department.

In the light drizzle, one by one, the ANBU ninjas checked and counted the identities. All the members of the 7th Police Division sat silently as the ANBU members checked and took away these missing Konoha personnel.

"Little brat."

On the high walls of the prison, Uchiha Yoru stood in the misty rain as if he had lost his soul. His clothes were torn from the battle, revealing his strong body, but his figure in the gloomy rain was so lonely.

The crisp sound of wooden clogs echoed as Jiraiya approached, unsure how to comfort her. However, upon hearing footsteps behind her, Uchiha Yoru closed her eyes and began to bathe in the rain.

"Lord Jiraiya, it seems you are not trustworthy either. All the evidence has been taken away. Orochimaru-sensei's last hope has been destroyed by his fellow Sannin."

As he said this, Uchiha Yoru's lips slowly curled into a self-deprecating smile. "Orochimaru-sensei once said that there was only one fool in Konoha who always believed in him. Unfortunately, I think my sensei was wrong."

Jiraiya, also in the rain, fell silent, looked up at the sky obscured by dark clouds, and murmured to himself, "There are too many helpless choices in a person's life. No matter how Orochimaru conducts human experiments, the news has spread throughout Konoha. This has already extinguished his hope of becoming Hokage."

Human research is acceptable, but it cannot be conducted openly. By exposing this matter directly, the Sarutobi clan has completely extinguished Orochimaru's hopes.

"Konoha needs stability."

Jiraiya's voice echoed in his ears, and Uchiha Yoru revealed a mocking smile, "Stability? So Orochimaru-sensei has to bear all of this. After all, the Hokage candidates are secretly conducting human research, and the current Hokage's clan is tyrannical and suppressing its own people. Once it's all exposed, the village will be even more turbulent, right!"

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya fell silent. He was furious! He was also unwilling! But given the current situation in Konoha, a decision had to be made. If everything was exposed for the sake of a quick thrill, Konoha would be plunged into unprecedented turmoil.

Konoha needed someone to take charge, so after his anger subsided, he chose to remain silent. The Orochimaru incident had already destabilized Konoha; it couldn't afford another one.

"I will remain with the 7th Police Precinct for the time being."

Jiraiya made his choice, and his intervention in the Seventh Division also saved the Seventh Division and protected Orochimaru's direct followers from persecution.

(End of this chapter)