Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Therefore, no one would bother Jiraiya.

But Zongxian is different.

There is no complicated, unclear relationship between him and Jiraiya.

He could grant Jiraiya the right to act freely out of respect, but if he didn't want to let such a valuable asset as Jiraiya run wild, he could also forcibly order Jiraiya to return to the village to receive orders; the Hokage had that authority.

Of course, Jiraiya could also disobey orders and be disrespectful.

If things really come to that, Sōgen could strip Jiraiya of his Konoha ninja status. Although doing so would inevitably cause Sōgen a lot of trouble, Jiraiya is extremely popular in the village. If he just nods, a large number of people will support him to succeed as Hokage.

but,

That's in the past.

In this current situation,

With Sogen in control and the Uchiha clan at its zenith, Jiraiya wouldn't risk offending Sogen at this time, nor would he have any reason to cause trouble for him. He was heartbroken by Konan's plight, but that didn't mean he would disregard the village's interests for Konan's sake.

"Time has passed... a while now."

Zongxian gathered his thoughts and said with a smile, "Jiraiya-senpai, let's go take a look! I wonder how their conversation is going? I hope they won't disappoint me."

"It should have a good result."

Jiraiya took a deep breath and walked side by side with Sogen, arriving at the office where the prison guards usually worked.

Standing at the doorway,

You can feel the strange atmosphere inside.

Nagato and Konan stood before Yahiko like students from the Ninja Academy who had made a mistake; their uneasy demeanor was no exaggeration. Yahiko, sitting in a chair, wore a helpless, bitter smile and sighed repeatedly.

until--

Sogen and Jiraiya arrived.

"This is... Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, how did your conversation go?"

Sensing the strange atmosphere in the office, Jiraiya couldn't help but ask a question.

"Jiraiya-sensei!"

Yahiko stood up and faced Jiraiya, saying with a wry smile, "I have a general understanding of the stupid things that Nagato and Konan, those two idiots, have done in the years since my death." Hearing this, Jiraiya felt reassured; Yahiko had indeed not disappointed him.

Nagato and Konan heard these words,

Their energy and spirit, however, seemed to wilted like a frostbitten eggplant.

[402. Chapter 398 The Reaction of Rock and Sand]

Early autumn, in the 60th year of the Konoha calendar.

A rather subtle piece of news, whose importance is difficult to assess, spread throughout the ninja world: the Akatsuki organization, which has always enjoyed a great reputation in the dark world, had its stronghold in Amegakure destroyed by Konoha. It is said that the Sixth Hokage, Uchiha Sogen, personally led the operation and nearly wiped Amegakure off the map with Konoha's elite forces.

After this battle,

The Akatsuki organization suffered a major blow.

However, it was not completely destroyed. The list released by Konoha Village included a series of Akatsuki remnants: Obito Uchiha, Zetsu, Sasori of the Red Sand, Deidara... Apart from Zetsu, who looked like a pitcher plant and whose origins were unknown, the other three were not unknown figures.

Sasori of the Red Sand was an S-rank rogue ninja from Sunagakure.

Deidara is an S-rank rogue ninja from Iwagakure.

As for Uchiha Obito... to be honest, he was just one of many names on Konoha's memorial tablet before, and he couldn't compare to the previous two at all. However, this time Konoha removed Uchiha Obito's name from the memorial tablet and confirmed his status as an S-rank rogue ninja, which immediately made people pay attention to this little-known traitor of the Uchiha clan.

Apart from this list,

Konoha also provided a reason for attacking the Akatsuki.

It is said that it thwarted the Akatsuki's ambition to collect the nine tailed beasts in an attempt to create the strongest war weapon and dominate the ninja world.

just,

For such reasons,

Very few people believed it.

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.

Hidden Rock Village.

"Deidara, that idiot!!!"

A deafening roar of angry curses erupted from the Tsuchikage's office.

Onoki, the old man, had a sour face as he looked at the latest intelligence compiled by his subordinates while cursing his foolish disciple who had failed him. Beside him was a beautiful girl with black hair and black eyes, who was openly looking at the classified documents that were theoretically only accessible to the Tsuchikage.

"Is Deidara a member of the Akatsuki organization?"

The girl murmured to herself.

Regarding the Akatsuki organization, unlike most of the chunin and genin who had never even heard of it, as the granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage, she had always had free access to this office. She dared to open and look at any kind of confidential document. Not only did she know about the Akatsuki organization, but she also knew that her village had apparently hired this organization several times.

"Heitu, wait until I finish reading before you read it."

Looking at his granddaughter, whose eyes were practically glued to the document, Ohnoki said something rather irritating.

"What does it matter! Besides, we'll finish watching it soon, won't we?"

Kurotsuchi was completely unfazed by her grandfather's gentle scolding. Instead, she asked with great interest, "Grandpa, do you think the Akatsuki organization is really planning to collect the nine tailed beasts to create the strongest war weapon in order to dominate the ninja world?"

"How is that possible?"

Onoki snorted coldly.

"It's fine to just read this nonsense, but anyone who believes this string of lies must be out of their mind. Collecting the nine tailed beasts to create the strongest tailed beast weapon... Hmph, that's laughable! What do they think tailed beasts are? Let alone nine tailed beasts, I've never even heard of anyone being able to combine two tailed beasts, let alone nine tailed beasts."

In fact,

All the major ninja villages are constantly researching how to control the power of the tailed beasts more safely, reliably, and stably. In the process of this research, all sorts of ingenious ideas inevitably emerge. For example, during the reign of the Second Tsuchikage, researchers from Iwagakure had the outlandish idea of ​​creating 'two Jinchuriki'.

The plan is to seal two tailed beasts inside one person, find a way to make the two tailed beasts counterbalance each other, and let the jinchūriki benefit from the situation.

Unfortunately, while the idea seemed good, it turned out to be a complete mess in practice. Five Jinchūriki died in just one year, which was too much for the large and powerful Iwagakure village to handle. To be honest, it is extremely difficult to train suitable Jinchūriki. In the end, the Second Tsuchikage had to stop the experiment.

At the time, Onoki, as the second generation's top student and the future third generation, served as the monitor of this experiment.

and so,

He knew very well how difficult it was to control a tailed beast.

"Impossible? But Konoha wouldn't need to tell such an obvious lie, would they?"

Heitu, however, held a different opinion from his grandfather.

She also felt that the so-called strongest weapon of war was unreliable, but the problem was that the higher-ups of Konoha Village weren't stupid. They couldn't possibly think they could fool them with such a clumsy lie, could they? She always felt that there were many shady dealings involved that hadn't been explained clearly.

"Who knows what that brat from the Uchiha clan is up to?"

Onoki frowned.

As they spoke,

The document was turned to the last page.

Then--

The old man's pupils contracted sharply, and his expression instantly turned serious.

"Huh? It's rumored that the leader of Akatsuki and the Sixth Hokage of Konoha both possess the legendary Rinnegan? The Akatsuki leader's Rinnegan was taken by the Sixth Hokage in this battle." Kurotsuchi caught the most intriguing sentence. "Rinnegan... Could it be the eyes of the legendary Sage of Six Paths? But isn't that a myth?"

"Why does this feel... even less reliable than that damn strongest weapon?"

Heitu looked completely bewildered.

The legendary Rinnegan of the Sage of Six Paths?

This is so unreliable! Even if they added a sentence at the end saying "the authenticity of the information has not yet been verified," honestly, there's no point in reporting such rumors. Have those people in the Dark Division lost their minds?

"Rinnegan..."

Onoki stared intently at those three words.

The solemn attitude made Heitu realize that something was wrong.

She asked cautiously, "Grandpa, you wouldn't... actually believe it, would you?" The girl was already wondering what would happen if the old man really became senile. One second he was saying that anyone who believed such fake news was out of their mind, but the next second he himself believed an even more outrageous piece of fake news.

Could it be that he's really getting old and senile?

If Grandpa really can't take over as Tsuchikage, and I'm only a Chunin right now, it seems I can't succeed him. As for my father, to be honest, his personality seems a bit difficult... Kurotsuchi's mind raced, and she seriously considered what to do if her grandfather really became senile.

"Someone come here."

Onoki did not answer his beloved granddaughter's question.

He directly summoned the hidden secret agents.

"Mobilize all available manpower to find Deidara's whereabouts. Find that idiot Deidara as quickly as possible. Once you find him, don't rush to contact him. Send the information back, and I'll personally meet that idiot."

"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage."

The ANBU member, who had been kneeling on one knee in front of the table, stepped back and relayed the Tsuchikage's orders as quickly as possible. It wouldn't be long before the entire force of Iwagakure was mobilized.

"grandfather?"

"What? Are you asking if I'm getting senile?"

"······Um."

This "hmm" made Onoki laugh in exasperation. Goodness, his granddaughter really isn't as sweet and obedient as she was when she was little anymore. However, this commotion eased his tense mood a little, and he reached out and patted his granddaughter's head.

"Although the Dark Division has its problems, it is still faithfully fulfilling its duties. The so-called unverified information means that although we cannot guarantee its authenticity with 100% certainty, we are at least 50% certain."

"Moreover, Heitu, sometimes... it's better to believe something is true than not to believe it is not. Even if something seems impossible from a common-sense perspective, sometimes it's worth being willing to be fooled once. It's better to be safe than sorry."

Ohnoki sighed.

"...So you're looking for Deidara?"

Heitu understood his grandfather's good intentions.

"Since that idiot infiltrated the Akatsuki organization, there's no reason why he wouldn't know if their leader has the Rinnegan." Once Deidara is found, the authenticity of this information can be confirmed. It is precisely because of this channel for verifying the authenticity of information that Onoki's mood is so solemn.

I'm not afraid of you making things up.