Before this, Jiraiya had never fully understood why Orochimaru looked so helpless when facing Uchiha Itachi. Why his resistance to genjutsu had been so abnormally low.
If Itachi had activated the Mangekyo Sharingan and used Tsukuyomi, that would have made sense.
But instead, it had been nothing more than a very ordinary genjutsu. And yet it was enough to completely ensnare Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, the infamous Orochimaru himself, and have him instantly defeated by Uchiha Itachi.
That level of performance was more than just embarrassing for Orochimaru alone. As someone who shared the title of Sannin with him, Jiraiya felt his own face burning with shame as well.
The three Sannin were bound together by reputation. When one of them shone, the other two benefited. But when one of them disgraced himself, all three were dragged down with him.
And then there was the final humiliation.
During the body-snatching stage, Orochimaru had actually been killed in return by Uchiha Sasuke, a brat who had barely even grown up yet.
That was beyond disgraceful.
Now, though, everything finally made sense.
The problem had to lie in Orochimaru's reincarnation technique.
After all, it was a forbidden jutsu. And anything classified as forbidden carried enormous risks. There had never been a jutsu that only brought benefits, with no drawbacks and no price to pay.
It also finally explained something else that had puzzled Jiraiya for a long time.
Why Kaede Kitahara sometimes called Orochimaru "Snake Auntie" in his diary.
Back then, Jiraiya hadn't understood it at all. He had thought it was just some weird sense of humor.
Now he got it.
It wasn't Kaede Kitahara's taste that was strange.
It was because Orochimaru was already a woman.
The moment that realization hit him, Jiraiya shuddered from head to toe. The thought of his former teammate turning into a woman made his skin crawl.
It was revolting.
"Orochimaru… you've really turned into some kind of half-man, half-woman, inhuman monster."
"So this was Orochimaru's goal. This was his plan."
Uchiha Sasuke stared at the scenes unfolding before him, watching Orochimaru's gradual transformation.
He wanted immortality.
And Sasuke's body was exactly what Orochimaru coveted.
After suffering a crushing defeat at Uchiha Itachi's hands, Orochimaru had set his sights on the bloodline of the Uchiha Clan.
That woman's appearance was familiar to Sasuke as well. He had seen her before, in that special space during Orochimaru's reincarnation ritual. Back then, she had been nothing but a soul, imprisoned there.
Originally, Sasuke hadn't cared.
For the sake of killing Uchiha Itachi and avenging his clan, he had been willing to sell his body to the devil if that was what it took.
But Orochimaru's performance had disappointed him too deeply.
He had no interest in Orochimaru's grand theories. Like most members of the Uchiha Clan, Sasuke only believed in one thing.
Overwhelming power.
Things like Talk Release meant nothing to him. If you wanted to convince him, beating him into the ground was far more effective.
And while Orochimaru was still unimaginably powerful compared to Sasuke's current self, among true Kage Level experts, Orochimaru simply wasn't that outstanding.
That instinctively made Sasuke resist him.
In Konoha, I could grow to that level too.
In the future, I'll awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan. And I won't need to kill my closest family to do it.
By contrast, Uchiha Itachi felt the exact opposite.
Right now, he wanted nothing more than to immediately head to the Land of Rice Fields and kill Orochimaru ahead of time. That would eliminate Sasuke's future hidden danger and prevent the Konoha Crush Plan from ever happening.
Akatsuki had been searching for Orochimaru for a long time anyway. This would solve two problems at once.
And yet, at the same time, Itachi couldn't help but feel conflicted.
In the original course of history, the path Sasuke took hadn't been entirely bad. Letting Orochimaru train Sasuke for three years had produced results.
Judging from how Sasuke turned out later, Orochimaru was, in fact, an excellent teacher.
That realization left Itachi torn.
Meanwhile, within the scene itself, the First Hokage didn't pause for even a moment.
Wood Release erupted.
In the blink of an eye, countless trees surged upward, completely filling the space. The terrifying power of Wood Release was overwhelming, and it blocked everyone's vision entirely.
The Anbu watching from outside could no longer see what was happening inside at all.
"Don't lower your guard, Teacher. You've always been too naïve."
Orochimaru let out a cold laugh as he looked at the Third Hokage, who was bleeding.
Only then did everyone realize what had happened.
At the critical moment, the Third Hokage had used the Shadow Clone Technique to multiply the Adamantine Staff, barely blocking the Wood Release attack.
"What's wrong with you today? This really isn't like you."
Enma still seemed unable to understand what was going on with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"I'm sorry."
The Third Hokage finally seemed to understand something.
Images of Orochimaru from the past resurfaced in his mind. So brilliant. So gifted. The student he had once believed could inherit both his strength and his will.
It was his own naïveté and tolerance back then that had led to all of this.
He had watched Orochimaru escape with his own eyes, and that had ultimately turned into the disaster before him now.
"So even a Hokage can play favorites?"
Watching from outside the scene, Uchiha Itachi felt his emotions churn.
Even the Hokage he had once looked up to had a selfish side.
No matter how many ninja Orochimaru had slaughtered in the village, Sarutobi Hiruzen had still chosen not to kill him.
And that decision had led directly to this outcome.
"The old man was still too soft," Jiraiya muttered.
But on this matter, he had no right to criticize.
The Third Hokage couldn't bring himself to kill Orochimaru because Orochimaru was the disciple he had cultivated for decades, the one he believed would inherit his will.
But what about himself?
Hadn't he also let Orochimaru go at a critical moment?
Otherwise, would Orochimaru really have escaped from him with nothing more than severe injuries?
In that earlier scene from the diary, when Hatake Kakashi was still in Anbu and ran into Orochimaru, Orochimaru had already been gravely wounded, barely holding on.
And the one who caused that state wasn't anyone else.
It was Jiraiya.
Back then, Jiraiya hadn't been able to make the final decision. He knew full well that if he truly stopped Orochimaru, the result would likely be death.
His teacher had made a grave mistake back then.
And he himself was no different.
Everyone believed he had already done his utmost at the time. But only Jiraiya knew the truth.
He still had a little strength left.
At the very least, he could have died together with Orochimaru. Or even just stalled for time until Konoha's main forces arrived.
Because of that, he could completely understand what his teacher was feeling now.
The lingering attachment to a former companion.
And the regret of having committed an unforgivable mistake.
At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally made his decision.
This time, he would clean house for good.
Facing the First Hokage and Second Hokage charging straight at him, the Third Hokage finally used the Shadow Clone Technique he had been afraid to use all along.
This was the decisive moment.
Everyone could see the resolve in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes.
They all knew his chakra reserves were limited. He was old. Not only was his total chakra far below his peak, even his recovery speed couldn't compare.
Under normal circumstances, he couldn't afford to use the Shadow Clone Technique at all.
And yet now, he had created two shadow clones.
This was an all-or-nothing gamble.
The Anbu watching were equally shocked.
"Why use the Shadow Clone Technique? He's splitting what little chakra he has left."
"It really seems you've grown old. You're in such a hurry to shorten your own lifespan."
Orochimaru sneered coldly at the sight.
But Enma seemed to realize something.
As Sarutobi Hiruzen's lifelong partner, how could he not understand his old friend's thoughts?
"What? Don't tell me you're planning to—"
Before Enma could finish, the Third Hokage completed his hand seals.
A gigantic shadow of a god of death appeared behind him.
A terrifying pressure flooded the area instantly. Everyone reading the diary felt their hearts sink under that overwhelming, unbelievable weight.
"What is that?" Uchiha Itachi exclaimed in shock.
That pressure was far beyond the scope of Kage Level.
It was pure terror.
Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke were drenched in cold sweat as well. The creature's mouth was full of sharp teeth, clamped around a blade. Just looking at it made their scalps tingle.
"Is that… the god of death?" Jiraiya stared at the scene, his eyes locked in place. He immediately recognized it.
The Reaper Death Seal.
His own disciple had once used this technique to seal the Nine-Tails, paying with his life in exchange. Jiraiya knew it well.
According to legend, after the technique was cast, only the user could see the terrifying existence known as the god of death.
It shouldn't have been visible to anyone else.
Yet now, through the power of this diary, they could all see it.
That thought made Jiraiya think of his student who had died far too young. The man he had called the most perfect ninja.
The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.
It was such a waste.
He should have had limitless possibilities.
"So this is the god of death that only those who form a contract with this jutsu can see."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the looming figure behind him and finally understood.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru still had no idea that catastrophe was upon him.
He scoffed mockingly.
"No matter what you do now, it's already too late."
"I've won. Konoha is doomed."