Despite hearing all this from Hiruzen Sarutobi, the two Hokages decided to go to Konoha themselves to understand the situation better and see their granddaughter Tsunade.
Hiruzen was startled by their decision and quickly tried to dissuade them:
“Lords Hokage, Konoha is currently the stronghold of the Uchiha clan. It’s like entering a tiger’s den. Without thorough preparation, it’s best not to go…”
However, he was cut off by the Second Hokage.
“Are you saying Konoha is too dangerous, and you’re worried we won’t return? Monkey, you’re underestimating my brother and me,” Tobirama Senju said coldly, and with that, he raised his hand to form seals.
Edo Tensei: Release.
The First Hokage followed suit, releasing the Edo Tensei binding on them. Hashirama Senju then turned to Hiruzen and said:
“Monkey, it’s not that we don’t trust you. But by releasing this technique, we can move more freely and use our full strength.”
Those revived through Edo Tensei are controlled by the caster. But as the technique’s creator, Tobirama had designed a backdoor to prevent it from being misused by Konoha’s enemies.
“Of course,” Hiruzen nodded repeatedly.
In fact, during the process of perfecting Edo Tensei, Hiruzen discovered Tobirama’s backdoor. He could have removed it with his “Professor of Ninjutsu” skills, but he dared not control the two Hokages against their will.
“Let’s go, Tobirama,” Hashirama said excitedly, like a child eager for an adventure.
After spending decades in the afterlife, he was eager to see how much the ninja world had changed. Tobirama nodded and turned to Hiruzen: “Monkey, I’ll keep in touch with you. The usual way.”
With that, the two Hokages left the island, disappearing over the sea towards Konoha.
As they departed, Hiruzen sighed, worried that they were underestimating Uchiha Dan and that going to Konoha without full preparation might lead to trouble. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stop them.
At this moment, Asuma Sarutobi extinguished his cigarette and approached, asking, “Old man, there’s one thing I don’t understand. Why didn’t you revive the Fourth Hokage?”
Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash of Konoha, had even surpassed the Second Hokage in his mastery of the Flying Thunder God technique. If he were revived along with the First and Second, they could handle any danger in Konoha and even retreat using Minato’s Flying Thunder God.
Additionally, Minato could assist Jiraiya in negotiating with the Akatsuki, increasing the chances of a successful alliance since Naruto, the Akatsuki leader, was his son.
Hiruzen shook his head helplessly and explained:
“The prerequisite for Edo Tensei to revive someone is that their soul must be in the Pure Land. You’ve forgotten, Minato sacrificed his soul along with half of the Nine-Tails to the Shinigami using the Reaper Death Seal. His soul has been in the Shinigami’s stomach since then and cannot be revived with Edo Tensei.”
Asuma and Kurenai realized the truth and felt regretful.
However, they didn’t know the whole truth. In fact, the Reaper Death Seal could be undone. The Uzumaki clan had created the sealing technique. By using the Shinigami mask stored in the Uzumaki clan’s shrine, one could summon the Shinigami and release the souls sealed within it.
Although this would sacrifice the user, Hiruzen believed his expertise in a thousand jutsu would allow him to use an advanced substitution technique to survive.
The real reason Hiruzen didn’t revive Minato was that he didn’t know how to face him. His reputation has been tarnished since the Uchiha clan took over Konoha and exposed many of Hiruzen’s past actions. Among the many accusations was that Hiruzen had deliberately prevented the Uchiha clan from fighting during the Nine-Tails’ attack, leading to Minato’s death. Furthermore, Hiruzen had supposedly mistreated Minato’s orphan, Naruto, by making him a pariah in the village.
Although Hiruzen claimed he had done this to protect Naruto by keeping his lineage and Jinchuriki status secret, the damage was done. Reviving Minato might lead to a confrontation that Hiruzen wanted to avoid.
Moreover, Hiruzen wouldn’t allow anyone else, especially the Uchiha clan, to revive Minato. The Uzumaki shrine, along with the Shinigami mask, had been destroyed eight years ago by Konan’s 30 million paper bombs. The only Shinigami mask left was in Hiruzen’s possession, ensuring that only he could revive the Fourth Hokage.
After some thought, Hiruzen decided he couldn’t leave things to chance. He turned to Asuma: “Stay here and wait for Jiraiya’s news. I’m going to Konoha to assist the Hokages.”
With that, he set off to catch up with Hashirama and Tobirama.
Meanwhile, at the Akatsuki base.
With the traitor Kakuzu dead and Gaara and Fuu sent to different hideouts to evade the Uchiha, only three core members remained: Naruto, Konan, and the recently returned Karin.
“Konan-sensei, are we really going to… do this?” Naruto asked, his face troubled.
Konan looked at him and asked, “What’s wrong, Naruto? Are you feeling sympathetic?”
“No… no,” Naruto replied hesitantly.
“If Karin is innocent, there’s no need to worry. But if you’re feeling uncertain, it means you have doubts about her too,” Konan pointed out.
“…Alright,” Naruto conceded, feeling defeated under Konan’s reasoning.
Konan suspected that Karin had defected to Konoha. Despite Naruto’s belief in her, he followed Konan’s suggestion and interrogated Karin.
One of Rinnegan’s abilities was to read memories by placing a hand on someone’s head. This would reveal if Karin had betrayed the organization.
Naruto called Karin into the room.
“Naruto, Konan-sensei, what’s going on?” Karin asked nervously, sensing the tension in the room.
“Karin…” When an unexpected guest arrived, Naruto activated his Rinnegan, ready to proceed.
Boom!
A loud explosion sounded from outside the base, startling everyone inside.
Someone had triggered the traps around the base.
Konan’s eyes sharpened as she said, “It seems Konoha’s people have come. The Uchiha move fast, don’t they, Karin?”
She glanced at Karin.
Karin’s face turned pale, and she hastily explained, “Konan-sensei, I checked thoroughly, no one followed me…”
“Let’s check outside first,” Naruto interrupted, heading out of the room.
To his surprise, the intruder wasn’t from the Uchiha or Konoha but a tall man with wild white hair.
Jiraiya.
Covered in dust from triggering the traps, Jiraiya looked disheveled but unhurt. Seeing Naruto and the others, his face lit up as he spoke first:
“Naruto, I finally found you. I’m Jiraiya. You’ve probably heard of me from Konan. Don’t be alarmed, I come with peaceful intentions to form an alliance.”
“An alliance?” Naruto echoed, exchanging a puzzled look with Konan.
He frowned and decided to hear him out: “Explain.”
Jiraiya sighed in relief and asked, “Have you heard of the prophecy of the Child of Prophecy?”
He then recounted the prophecy from the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku and his journey over the years.
Jiraiya had once thought Nagato, with his Rinnegan, was the Child of Prophecy and had taken him, Konan, and Yahiko as his disciples. He had hoped Nagato would bring peace to the ninja world, but it turned out he wasn’t the one.
Now, both Jiraiya and the Great Toad Sage believed Naruto was the true Child of Prophecy.
“Naruto, only you can defeat Uchiha Dan and prevent him from becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki. I’m here to offer all the help I can,” Jiraiya said earnestly.
“I am… the Child of Prophecy?” Naruto was taken aback, but Jiraiya seemed sincere.
Moreover, Jiraiya was Konan’s teacher and Minato’s mentor, so Naruto felt connected.
However, Konan frowned and warned Naruto, “Be careful. He might be trying to get close to you. Don’t let your guard down.”
“I understand, Konan-sensei,” Naruto nodded. He then asked Jiraiya, “How exactly can you help me?”
Jiraiya had come prepared.
“Do you know about Sage Mode? It’s a powerful ability. The Sage of Six Paths once studied Sage Jutsu at Mount Myoboku. Eight years ago, Uchiha Dan somehow learned Sage Mode and used it to kill tens of thousands of the allied forces.
To give you the power to stand against Dan, I can take you to Mount Myoboku and help you train in Sage Jutsu,” Jiraiya explained sincerely.
Mount Myoboku, Sage Jutsu.
Hearing these terms, Naruto felt tempted despite his caution.
Especially when Jiraiya mentioned that Uchiha Dan had mastered Sage Jutsu, Naruto felt the
need to catch up.
How else could he stand against Uchiha Dan?
Naruto looked at Konan, seeking her opinion.
“Don’t rush, Naruto,” Konan patted his shoulder and turned to Jiraiya, asking, “Jiraiya-sensei, can you tell me how you found this place?”
Jiraiya hesitated, then glanced at Karin and replied truthfully, “I followed that young girl here, but she had no idea.”
However, his explanation backfired, confirming Konan’s suspicion.
“Karin is indeed compromised,” she thought.
She whispered to Naruto, “Naruto, be wary of Jiraiya. His loyalty is uncertain. He might pretend to be a rogue ninja to infiltrate us. Don’t forget, Tsunade, another of the Legendary Sannin, has already joined the Uchiha. I suspect Jiraiya’s invitation to Mount Myoboku is a trap.”
Naruto frowned, thinking deeply.
After a moment, he made his decision and told Jiraiya, ” I’m Sorry. I refuse to ally with you. Go back to where you came from.”
He then instructed Konan and Karin to pack up and leave the exposed base.
“Wait, Naruto,” Jiraiya protested, trying to follow.
The next second, Naruto’s cold voice echoed: “One more step and I won’t be polite.”
“Stay calm, Naruto. Hear me out,” Jiraiya urged, determined.
“No need,” Naruto shook his head and used Universal Pull.
Jiraiya’s eyes widened in shock.
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