Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Ten seconds later,

The smoke and fire from the explosion subsided.

Twenty seconds later, Obito Uchiha appeared at the center of the explosion, standing alone at the bottom of the crater. The birds circling in the sky slowly descended. Deidara peered around but couldn't find the Konoha ANBU member wearing the bird-face mask.

"Alright, Deidara, come down! That guy's already gone."

Obito Uchiha shouted.

"Ran away?"

Deidara jumped off the bird's back.

"They've withdrawn!"

Obito Uchiha corrected him.

He looked up at the dark sky and said, "Anyway, Deidara, get ready! The real show will start soon, and this... is just a rehearsal."

[Chapter 357 The Root of Calamity and the Consequences (Happy Lunar New Year's Day 2! Enjoy your meal!)]

Pharmacist Hospital.

Intensive Care Unit.

The tightly closed window was violently pushed open, forced open from the outside, and the latch on it was completely shattered. Then, a red-skinned toad, slightly shorter than the hospital building, was seen squatting outside the window, with a white-haired man dressed like a kabuki actor standing on the toad's head.

It goes without saying who the culprit was who destroyed the window latch.

Jiraiya pushed open the window, flipped over and jumped into the intensive care unit where no one else was allowed to enter. Then, with a "bang," the toad turned into white smoke and disappeared, returning to Mount Myōboku, leaving only two deep toad footprints in the hospital courtyard.

After seeing those huge footprints that almost filled the entire yard,

Pharmacist Nonou has already been thinking about submitting a claim for compensation. The inpatient building is still a bit small, and the number of beds is very tight. Perhaps this is an opportunity to expand it. You know, Konoha Village is becoming more and more prosperous, and the population is constantly increasing. The two hospitals are under considerable pressure to receive patients!

Konoha Hospital is a village-run unit, supported by the medical department, and lacks nothing in terms of funding, equipment, and manpower.

However, pharmacist hospitals are privately owned.

Although nominally under the jurisdiction of Pharmacist Nonou, setting aside the fact that the main investors in the original construction of Pharmacist Hospital were the Uchiha clan, and that there are now many Uchiha clan members holding various positions in Pharmacist Hospital, Pharmacist Hospital is ultimately not a unit directly under the Medical Department.

Therefore,

There was no funding support from the village.

If they wanted to expand, they had to raise the money themselves. It just so happened that Jiraiya, a wealthy man who made his fortune by writing books, offered himself up. Of course, it wouldn't be too much to ask Jiraiya for compensation, but if the village paid the compensation on behalf of Jiraiya, one of the three legendary ninja, they could probably exaggerate the amount of the loss.

Pharmacist Nonou's kindness and gentleness are reserved for children and patients.

As a legendary spy, anyone who actually regards her as some kind, simple, and naive good person would be a laughingstock.

Pharmacist Nono, who was secretly calculating in her mind, did not enter the intensive care unit. Instead, she waved away the doctors and nurses who came to check on the situation. She believed that the people inside needed some time, and as Kakashi's attending physician, she could not possibly be unaware of the situation.

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki fell into enemy hands.

She knew.

"They shouldn't...fight, right?"

Yakushi Nono murmured to herself.

······

"Kakashi."

Jiraiya sat down on the windowsill, blocking the cool breeze blowing in from outside with his broad, upright back. His gaze had been fixed on Kakashi Hatake lying on the hospital bed since he entered the room, and a torrent of emotions surged within him.

His voice was somewhat out of tune and distorted.

The hoarse voice might have startled his former self.

"Lord Jiraiya?"

Kakashi's reaction was not usually that slow; he only woke up from his drowsy state when Jiraiya called his name.

The main problem was that his injuries were too severe.

His abdomen, pierced by the Kusanagi sword, was subjected to the shockwave of the explosion at close range, and then he was soaked in seawater for a long time. It was a miracle that he didn't die. In order to relieve the pain, we had to give him a lot of sedatives, which reduced his sensory acuity to an extremely low level.

Ten minutes before Jiraiya's visit.

Kakashi just took his medicine.

"You don't look well, Kakashi," Jiraiya said, looking at Kakashi, whose condition was clearly worrying.

"...It's my incompetence that I failed to take good care of Naruto."

Kakashi glanced at Jiraiya, then turned his gaze to the pristine white ceiling above, his eyes filled with deep pain. Once again... he had failed to protect what he should have protected. He had lost Rin, lost Obito, lost Minato-sensei, and now he had lost Naruto.

He hated his own incompetence so much.

When he realized that Jiraiya had arrived, he felt no fear, only endless shame and a desire to be punished.

"This is not your fault."

A wry smile appeared on Jiraiya's face.

"The bastard Orochimaru did such a terrible thing... It's Orochimaru's fault, it's my fault."

Contrary to Kakashi's initial expectations, Jiraiya's arrival was not to reprimand him for failing to protect Naruto, but rather to comfort him. However... this did not make Kakashi feel any better; on the contrary, it made him even more distressed.

When Obito was lost, Rin comforted him.

When he lost Lin, his teacher comforted him.

When he lost Minato-sensei, the Third Hokage comforted him.

Now that he has lost Naruto due to his incompetence, Jiraiya-sama has come to comfort him... Scenes from the past flashed before his eyes, and heart-wrenching pain overwhelmed his heart.

"It's my fault, it's my fault. As their mentor, it's my responsibility to protect them, but I failed in my duty. I didn't protect them well. It's all my fault..." Broken, disordered, and incoherent self-talk echoed in the room.

"Kakashi!"

The shout, imbued with deep authority, jolted Kakashi out of his self-reproach.

“I only said it wasn’t your fault, but I never said it wasn’t your responsibility. Regret and guilt won’t solve anything. Time will only keep moving forward. Instead of wasting time regretting past mistakes, you should turn your attention to the future and think about how to make up for them.”

only--

Later, the voice became a soft whisper.

"I'm sorry, Minato. I didn't take good care of Naruto. It was my fault, and I will do my best to make up for the mistakes I didn't make back then."

"Lord Jiraiya?"

Kakashi looked at Jiraiya, whose face had calmed down and was devoid of any extra expression, and for some reason, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. His heart trembled for a moment.

Always felt,

This Jiraiya-sama is simply the embodiment of 'terror'.

"...Back then, the old man was too soft-hearted, and I couldn't bring myself to do it, allowing that unrepentant bastard Orochimaru to live to this day, and those three children, I didn't guide them onto the right path... The evil consequences of today are all the result of the seeds of disaster sown by my soft-heartedness back then. Tracing back to the source, it's all my fault!"

"Lord Jiraiya, this is my responsibility, and it has nothing to do with you."

Kakashi was starting to panic.

Jiraiya-sama doesn't seem to be in a good state.

"As a teacher, it is indeed your responsibility to fail to protect your students, but as a grandfather, it is only natural to protect your grandson. Naruto... you call me Grandpa Jiraiya." Jiraiya said, turning his back to Kakashi lying on the hospital bed, and left his last words, "Take good care of yourself, Kakashi."

Then--

Jiraiya's figure vanished without a trace, like wisps of smoke scattered by the wind.

Kakashi, left alone in his hospital bed, was plunged into a long, sleepless night.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

It was 9 p.m.

This was the beginning of Konoha's bustling night, with crowds of people thronging the streets and alleys. Jiraiya didn't go down to join in, but instead ran around on the rooftops, heading towards the Hokage Building. As he approached the Hokage Building, which resembled an overturned red bucket, he saw the figure wearing the Hokage hat standing on the rooftop.

"Jiraiya-senpai, you've arrived!"

Zongxian greeted Jiraiya, who had just arrived, with gentle politeness.

"Sixth Hokage, did you come all this way just to wait for me?"

"That's right. I've been spending all my time in the office and the conference room these past few days. I'm getting a bit tired of that kind of scenery, so I was thinking of changing the environment to relax my mind. I guessed that you would come over after visiting Kakashi, so I rested here for a while longer."

Zongxian placed his hands on the iron railing, feeling the cool night breeze blowing in his face, and looked up to see the brilliant Milky Way in the dark sky.

"What are you planning to do about Naruto's situation?"

There has never been any rambling or beating around the bush.

They went straight to the point from the very beginning.

"Of course, it's to save people!"

"Save them?"

The frost on Jiraiya's face melted a little.

"Yes, to save people."

Zongxian said with absolute certainty.

He glanced at Jiraiya standing beside him and said with a smile, "Compared to the gains and losses of the Nine-Tails, Naruto is more important. As for the Tailed Beasts... in my opinion, they don't have that much strategic significance. As long as we don't tie our own hands, what are a mere Tailed Beast?"

"Furthermore, I personally told Kakashi that Naruto was allowed to leave the village to carry out a mission. Now that this has happened, I, as the Hokage, cannot simply shrug and shift all the responsibility onto Kakashi. Naruto must be saved, even if it means losing the Nine-Tails. Only by saving Naruto can we live up to the Fourth Hokage's sacrifice back then."

The frost on Jiraiya's face melted away.

The old man let out a deep sigh.

"Minato... Forget it, there's no need to bring up the past. What are your plans for rescuing Naruto?"

"Strike straight at the heart of the enemy."

Zongxian replied.

"The Akatsuki's lair..."

"Rain-Hidden Village".