Shikaku thought there was no problem with him citing the Hidden Mist Village as an example at this time; it was very apt, but Itachi found it a bit amusing.
"Lord Shikaku, I can only say that you truly know nothing about many things."
"Is there information I don't know? You can tell me. You're still our companion, that much is correct, isn't it?"
Shikaku spoke for a long time, but Itachi maintained a deadpan expression, showing no emotion at all.
"How boring, it's all meaningless nonsense." His lips moved slightly, and a peculiar Yin Style Chakra suddenly burst forth, bypassing Ino's sensory transmission, seemingly conveying some message to Shikaku, after which he disconnected their connection first.
The conversation in the mental world lasted for about half a minute, and Ino released her hold at the appropriate time, pretending her Mind Body Switch Technique had failed.
"The Fifth Hokage is catching up, let's retreat!" Itachi used a B-rank Ninjutsu, Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Claw Red, where flames attached to Shuriken, which he then shot at the five people.
This Fire Release, carrying Shuriken, also produced an explosive effect. By the time the five emerged from the smoke, Itachi and Kisame had already fled far away.
Shikaku led the pursuit for most of the day, after which Jiraiya caught up. After being thoroughly debriefed, he regrettably called off the pursuit and returned to the Village.
At the last moment, Itachi, bypassing Ino's sensory transmission, conveyed two pieces of information to Shikaku.
One was that within the Akatsuki Organization, someone was monitoring him. This person's methods were extremely clever, often undetectable, even by the Sharingan.
The other message was that after he left Konoha Village, he had maintained a one-way communication with the Third Hokage. He had previously sent back some information about the Akatsuki Organization to the Third Hokage, and he didn't know if it would be intercepted by the hidden monitor, but he believed that some of the intelligence had definitely returned to Konoha Village and, if nothing unexpected happened, should be among the Third's Relics.
Jiraiya was quite depressed.
The previous secret letter hadn't been found, and now, without further ado, he had to keep searching!
He had a drink with Tsunade, and hearing that Tsunade was going to the hot springs with Ino and the others, he suppressed the commotion in his heart and ran back to the Third Hokage's archives in one breath, continuing to rummage through those messy documents.
This matter could not be entrusted to others; he had to find it himself.
The problem was that the Third Hokage's management of important documents was simply too chaotic, and he truly didn't know when he would be able to find what he needed.
"Ah--!! Where is the information?! Third, you messy old geezer!"
Looking at over fifty filing cabinets, Jiraiya's head throbbed. Thinking of Tsunade happily soaking in the hot springs at that moment, his depression was indescribable. He wanted to go gather material!
It took him a full three days, sifting through all the documents twice, and the various dark histories he uncovered were horrifying.
Jiraiya was physically and mentally exhausted. Including the secret letter proving Itachi was not a Rogue Ninja, he found a total of six pieces of intelligence.
All of it was intelligence Itachi had gathered within the Akatsuki Organization.
Some of the information was outdated, such as the news of Orochimaru joining the Akatsuki Organization.
Some of the information Konoha Village had also discovered on its own, such as the Akatsuki Organization having nine members, all of whom were S-rank Rogue Ninja.
There was also some information that Konoha Village, and even Jiraiya, did not know.
This included information about Hidan. Hidan was recruited by Itachi and Kakuzu together, and his immortality and the use of enemy blood to cast curses were detailed.
The most incredible news was about Uchiha Madara. Itachi had doubts about this Madara's true identity; the person's words and actions did not resemble those of a cunning individual, but this person always wore a mask, and no one had seen his true face beneath it.
Itachi specifically noted that while the Akatsuki Organization outwardly had nine Rogue Ninja, this Uchiha Madara had always been hidden behind the scenes, and Konoha Village should include this Uchiha Madara when calculating forces during battles.
Next to the documents, there was also the Third's annotation. The Third said that Danzo had once dealt with this Uchiha Madara on the night of the clan's extermination, but the Third also expressed doubts about Uchiha Madara's true identity.
Itachi, Kisame, Hidan who possesses immortality, Kakuzu who is also suspected of having immortality but whose specific abilities are unknown, the Masked Man who is suspected to be Uchiha Madara, and a strange Ninja suspected of having some kind of surveillance ability.
Information on six individuals from this 9+1 Akatsuki Organization had surfaced.
Jiraiya had asked Hyuga Hiashi and Ino, and both said they had not found any surveillance personnel at the scene.
Ino's explanation for this was that her sensory ability was merely supplementary and not particularly strong.
Hyuga Hiashi was also unsure; he said he had been fully focused on Itachi's Chakra, concerned he might use genjutsu, and hadn't diverted his attention to scouting the surroundings, so he wasn't sure if there were other Ninja nearby.
Ino had a guess about this: the monitoring individual, if nothing unexpected, should be Zetsu, right?
Zetsu had lived from the era of the Six Paths Sage until today, and to be able to lurk for so long in a world of eye legends without being discovered by Byakugan or Sharingan, he definitely had some tricks up his sleeve. It was perfectly normal that her sensory ability couldn't detect him.
Jiraiya's most trusted person at the moment was naturally Tsunade, so he sought her out for a drink and to discuss some work matters.
The surveillance issue was not discussed; he mainly brought up Uchiha Madara.
"What?! You're saying Uchiha Madara is still alive?" Tsunade placed one foot on a stool, looking at him with great intensity.
Jiraiya quickly made a shushing gesture, then looked left and right before whispering, "Just a suspicion, a suspicion!"
Tsunade shook her head adamantly: "Impossible, my great-uncle personally confirmed that Uchiha Madara is dead."
Jiraiya also didn't believe Uchiha Madara could live to this day.
If he lived to today, how old would he be?
Even a ninety-year-old like the Hidden Mist's Grandmaster was considered a living fossil in the Ninja World. If Uchiha Madara lived to today, he would be over a hundred years old. How could that be possible?
"But... Danzo had a brief cooperation with this Uchiha Madara, and he never officially reported this news to the Village."
Tsunade slammed her fist on the table, creating a large hole, and said angrily, "That old dog Danzo, he should have been killed a long time ago."
Jiraiya sighed. Being Hokage meant being constrained.
He couldn't just kill Danzo because he disliked him; he needed a legitimate reason.
Back then, the Village elders viewed the Uchiha Clan like enemies, but what of it? Various targeted and marginalized measures were used for decades, and the Village only acted after they formally rebelled. It was the same for the Uchiha Clan, and it was the same for Danzo. Danzo was even more troublesome than the Uchiha Clan, who had already been marginalized.
The position of Hokage dictated that he could not actively stir up trouble.
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