Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Zongxian asked with great interest.

"Akatsuki Organization".

Jiraiya uttered the name, "Sōgen-kun, have you heard of this name before?"

"The Akatsuki organization... I remember seeing records from the Anbu before. If I'm not mistaken, it's a mercenary organization? As long as they're paid, they'll fight for their employers, no matter who the employers are. According to the Anbu's investigation, the Iwa ninja have hired this organization multiple times to attack the Land of Wind's vassal forces, and they've also been hired by the Sunagakure ninja to deal with Iwa ninja's allies."

Zongxian pretended to be confused even though he knew the truth.

He knew perfectly well what kind of organization Akatsuki was.

Putting everything else aside, Orochimaru alone has practically revealed the true nature of the Akatsuki organization. However, he has never shared this with anyone, not even Shisui or Chihaya. It's not that he's afraid of being discovered cooperating with rogue ninjas; as the powerful Hokage, it's not a big deal for him.

The reason for pretending to be confused,

It's because he doesn't plan to confront Nagato too early. Before that, the Rinnegan was still a very troublesome thing for him! Before he awakened the Rinnegan, he might not necessarily lose if he went head-to-head with Nagato, but considering Obito Uchiha and the Akatsuki organization at the time, it would definitely not be easy to win. Moreover, even if he won in the end, it would probably only be a temporary victory.

"However... Jiraiya-senpai, since you specifically asked this question, it seems that the Akatsuki organization is not a simple mercenary organization?"

"Yes."

Jiraiya nodded, his expression very serious.

"On the surface, the Akatsuki organization seems to be ruthless in its pursuit of profit, but according to information I've learned by chance, their true purpose is not just to make money; their target... is the Tailed Beasts!"

"Tailed Beast?"

"The core members of Akatsuki seem to be S-rank rogue ninja from different ninja villages. Although it is not yet clear what they are trying to do by capturing the tailed beasts, it is certain that this organization is planning to capture the tailed beasts, and... Orochimaru is also in this Akatsuki organization."

Mentioning Orochimaru,

Jiraiya's expression grew increasingly serious.

Both are among the Three Ninja.

He had a deep friendship with Orochimaru for decades, and he knew very well how difficult Orochimaru was to deal with. Even he was not confident of defeating Orochimaru. Strictly speaking, this statement was a bit of self-praise. At most, he was confident that he would not lose to Orochimaru under normal circumstances.

This Akatsuki organization also has an unknown number of S-rank rogue ninjas who are just as dangerous as Orochimaru.

"To capture the Tailed Beasts?"

Zongxian tapped the table with his finger. "Jiraiya-senpai, are you worried that Naruto might be in danger?"

“Naruto is definitely their target.” Jiraiya frowned and said solemnly, “I’m not just worried about Naruto. The Akatsuki’s target is all nine tailed beasts… Their conspiracy is no small matter. Sogen-kun, we probably need to prepare for this as soon as possible!”

Return to Konoha

One of the reasons was to remind Uchiha Sogen.

To prevent the Sixth Hokage from overlooking the Akatsuki organization as an insignificant minor entity.

"I see, I think I understand now."

Zongxian nodded. "Jiraiya-senpai, thank you for your reminder. Please rest assured, I will keep this matter in mind. It involves the safety of the Jinchuriki... which is equivalent to the safety of the village. The Anbu will take action soon. The Akatsuki has been quite active in recent years, but we haven't paid much attention to them before, so we haven't discovered anything."

But as long as Konoha gets serious...

With Konoha's current strength, even if they can't completely expose the Akatsuki, they certainly won't leave empty-handed.

The prerequisite is that Konoha takes this seriously, and that Hokage Sogen is willing to investigate further.

"Perhaps this is also a good opportunity."

Looking at Jiraiya's solemn expression, Sogen secretly pondered that the reason he hadn't attacked Nagato, who was hiding in Amegakure, was because he wasn't confident of victory. Taking action rashly would only make the situation uncontrollable. Against Nagato's Rinnegan, relying solely on the eye techniques of the Mangekyou Sharingan might not be enough to win.

but,

It’s different in the past.

He has already awakened the Rinnegan. Although the various powers of the Rinnegan are still under development, the Rinnegan and the Flame Fan made from the branches of the Divine Tree resonate with an unimaginable harmony. If the development of the Rinnegan's power was initially a jog, then with the assistance of the Flame Fan, he is now on a jet plane.

progress,

It can be described as progressing by leaps and bounds.

Upon closer examination, this is not surprising. The power of the Rinnegan originates from the Divine Tree, and the two are originally one and of the same origin. The so-called Sharingan is merely a degraded product of the Rinnegan. The Sharingan and the Flame Fan can produce a strange chemical reaction, let alone the Rinnegan.

and,

The road is built step by step.

Even if we were to take action against the Akatsuki, it wouldn't be something we could do on a whim; preparations would be essential.

Sōken suppressed his burgeoning thoughts and said, "I will instruct the ANBU to treat the Akatsuki matter as a top priority. I will send someone to contact you if there is any news... Speaking of which, Jiraiya-senpai, are you planning to go out again this time you've returned?"

Upon hearing this question,

Jiraiya remained silent for about ten seconds, then gently shook his head and said, "I don't know either. Naruto's situation is special right now, and I want to look after him for a while, but I have no way of knowing what will happen after that."

past,

He traveled the ninja world because of the Great Toad Sage's prophecy that his disciple would be a ninja capable of changing the entire ninja world. For this reason, the Great Toad Sage wanted him to understand the world and become a wise man. That's why he embarked on that journey with no end in sight, constantly striving for the future of the ninja world, searching for the prophesied child mentioned by the Great Toad Sage.

but now,

The Great Toad Sage had already told him that the future had been changed by the stars of another world. The future of the ninja world was shrouded in a vast fog, and the future could no longer be seen. The predetermined fate had been disrupted by those stars of another world.

That is,

Jiraiya's fate is no longer tied to the so-called prophetic child.

However, over the years, he has become accustomed to a life of traveling. Konoha is indeed his homeland, but the current Konoha has no ropes that can hold him back. Naruto is not either. He loves Naruto, but he also understands that Naruto has his own path to walk. He, an old man, cannot become a stumbling block to Naruto's progress.

and,

Traveling around,

If he's lucky, he might even run into Tsunade. Even though he's never met Tsunade outside of Konoha in all these years, this small possibility is already something Jiraiya can look forward to!

"I can't say for sure what will happen in the future, but I won't be leaving for the next two months. As for my residence, it will still be the same place. If you need anything, just send someone to find me. But I'm probably just stating the obvious. With your abilities, Zongxian-kun, it shouldn't be difficult for you to find out my exact location."

"Two months? Hopefully, we'll receive good news from the Dark Division within two months."

Zongxian said with a smile.

"Haha! I'll be looking forward to it."

Jiraiya burst into laughter.

After finishing his tea, Jiraiya refused Kabuto's offer of a refill, stood up, and took his leave. He had come to see Sogen to discuss this matter, and once he had finished, there was no reason for him to stay any longer. He knew how busy the Hokage was, and he figured Sogen wouldn't mind wasting a little time.

However, Jiraiya was not prepared to become that kind of annoying, irritating person.

When leaving the Hokage Building,

The spring rain was still drizzling, but at that moment Jiraiya had an umbrella that Yakushi Kabuto had given him. He opened the black umbrella, and the white-haired old man dressed like a kabukiman hurriedly walked into the rain. His figure quickly disappeared into the crowd on the street.

Hokage's office

Zongxian stood by the window, gazing at the wind and rain outside through the glass with its dripping water stains.

"Lord Hokage?"

As Yakushi Kabuto finished tidying the coffee table, he approached and called out softly.

"You heard what happened just now. Go to the Anbu and tell Shisui to send some experts to investigate the Akatsuki organization."

Zongxian didn't even turn his head.

He simply and slowly instructed, "Remember, this is a top-level mission. Don't neglect it. Put other things aside if you can, but you must send me an investigation report on this mission as quickly as possible."

"Yes, my lord."

"Alright, go ahead. Close the door behind you when you leave. I need some peace and quiet."

As expected, Kabuto closed the door tightly when he left.

Zongxian was left alone in the office, gazing at the village shrouded in rain with his purple, wavy eyes.

[Chapter 341. Have you ever heard of this name, Jiraiya-senpai?]

The rain was pattering softly.

The rain stopped last night, but it started raining again this morning. A misty rain shrouded the entire village of Konoha, giving this usually bustling village a touch of cool elegance. To be honest, the number of people rushing around on the streets did not decrease, but the hustle and bustle was indeed washed away by the fine spring rain.

North of the village, on the training ground at the edge of the forest.

The assessment for Class 7 has already begun.

"...Is this the difference?"

Sakura ran through the rain, her pink hair, soaked by the rain, stuck to her forehead. Her mood was as heavy as if she were tied to a ship with a massive anchor, pulling the girl's emotions downward.

"Sakura, keep backing away."

"Naruto, send two more shadow clones to protect Sakura."

"Okay! Coming right away."

The boys' shouts echoed in the rain.

Naruto's shadow clone rushed to Sakura's side through the rain and intercepted Kakashi's attack. Although the shadow clone was destroyed, Sakura managed to create some distance between herself and Kakashi. At the same time, Naruto and Sasuke launched a pincer attack.

Sasuke has already mastered the essence of the Uchiha-style swordsmanship.

They just lack real-world experience, so they seem a bit immature.

However, with Naruto's shadow clones providing cover and support, Kakashi was forced to divert his attention to defend. As for abandoning Sakura, the easiest target, and turning to deal with Sasuke... it wasn't that easy. Twelve-year-old Sasuke and twelve-year-old Naruto might not be as good as twelve-year-old Kakashi back then, but they weren't too far off.

that's it,

The battle reached a stalemate.

·······

The time was exactly eight o'clock in the morning. The boys and girls who had been waiting on the training ground for more than half an hour saw Kakashi arrive right on time. Just as Kakashi himself said, he had to get rid of his bad habit of being late, so he changed it to extreme timing technique.

Kakashi arrived at the training ground on time without saying a word.

This rainy day was definitely not the time for chatting and building relationships. Instead, the start of the assessment was announced. The assessment was exactly what it sounded like: a wilderness survival exercise. It tested the survival skills of the young men and women, and they had to withstand Kakashi's attacks for twenty minutes.

They were given twenty minutes to prepare.

Traps can be set up in the forest near the training ground, but they are not allowed to leave the training ground by more than one kilometer. Kakashi wants to test Naruto and the others' combat skills, not their long-distance running ability. Putting everything else aside, just the fact that Naruto can create a bunch of shadow clones and spread out is enough to give Kakashi a headache.

correct,