Jiraiya stayed at Mount Myōboku for two days. The Great Sage finally advised him, "The answer you seek is not on Mount Myōboku, but in your Village. When you return to the Village, you will naturally understand."
"Really? I don't believe it!"
Jiraiya returned to the Village, feeling troubled and with no one to confide in, so he went to drink alone.
As he drank, he pondered in his heart who the Great Sage meant could guide him, when he saw a familiar yet strange figure sitting in front of him.
He didn't pay attention at first glance, but was shocked at the second.
"Pfft!" Jiraiya spat out all the sake in his mouth.
Orochimaru, with black hair, golden eyes, wearing a moon-white robe, and jade-shaped earrings, exuded an evil aura. He gently waved his hand, deflecting the sake Jiraiya had spat out.
"Orochimaru! You're still alive!?" Jiraiya instinctively jumped up, pointing at his old friend.
Thinking of the Third Hokage's death and his own responsibilities, he sternly demanded, "I saw your corpse. Tell me, who resurrected you! What conspiracy do you have in Konoha Village?!"
Orochimaru sat calmly, motioning for him to look outside. Jiraiya turned to look and saw many Ninja rushing through the Village, seemingly searching for someone. However, after a quick search, the few Ninja soon ran in another direction.
Jiraiya felt these Ninja looked very unfamiliar to him. Currently, there weren't many Ninja in the Village he didn't know.
After thinking for a moment, he suddenly realized, "The Ninja chasing you are from Root. So... Danzo saved you?"
Orochimaru motioned for him to sit down, indicating that the story was long and they could talk slowly.
Jiraiya thought long and hard, noticing that Orochimaru's aura was somewhat weak and his Chakra was scarce. He sat down warily, then asked with a fierce gaze, "What exactly is your conspiracy?!"
Orochimaru licked his lips with his tongue: "I'm dying. I heard you're going to revive Minato. Can you release my soul as well? My soul's origin is missing quite a bit, and now every morning, noon, and night feels like I'm in purgatory."
Jiraiya stared intently into his eyes and after a long while, he retorted, "How did you know about this?"
A small white snake emerged from Orochimaru's sleeve: "Two days ago, I used it to eavesdrop on your dream talk. Heh heh, your mind is still so simple and pure, you panic at the slightest thing."
His tone was basically equivalent to pointing a finger and saying, "You're a big idiot!"
Jiraiya was used to his sharp tongue and didn't care about the words, but he directly rejected Orochimaru's request: "Impossible. I haven't forgotten the bad things you've done. How could I help you? After so many years, I didn't expect you to become childish."
The killing intent in his eyes grew stronger. His current situation was a mess, and he truly didn't want Orochimaru to add any more variables. He was almost mentally prepared for a Shinobi World War and didn't mind killing a former close friend.
Orochimaru looked at him fearlessly: "Killing intent? Jiraiya, it seems you've had a lot of worries lately. For someone as slow-witted as you to become so irritable, that position truly harms people. Thankfully, I didn't become Hokage. From this perspective, Master Sarutobi still cares about me very much. He was afraid I would change my original intention and eventually... become like you are now."
Jiraiya gritted his back teeth, his left hand gripping Orochimaru's collar, and his right fist raised high: "You are not allowed to speak Master Sarutobi's name!"
Orochimaru said expressionlessly, "Isn't a name just a term to distinguish one another? Names don't change, but people do, or they die before they change. Who can say for sure about these things?"
Jiraiya wasn't truly foolish; a foolish person wouldn't have made it this far. He sneered, "Are you saying you've changed now? You no longer want to destroy Konoha? You want to return and continue being one of the Sannin?!"
The more Jiraiya spoke, the angrier he became. Orochimaru revealed a sinister smile: "Mostly correct. Your comprehension ability is much stronger than it was back then."
Knowing Orochimaru was using him, yet half an hour later, Jiraiya still locked Orochimaru in Konoha's Anbu prison, right next to Konan.
Wearing handcuffs, Orochimaru, who walked into the cell as if returning home, saw Konan. He first paused, then let out a sinister, cold laugh.
"To see you here. Where is Pain? Does this mean you're going to establish an Akatsuki Organization branch in Konoha Village?"
Konan glanced at him, her eyes filled with disgust.
She clearly didn't want to talk to him.
Orochimaru wasn't angry. He sat in his cell, closing his eyes to rest.
Jiraiya returned to the Hokage's office, constantly recalling Orochimaru's words. Without a doubt, Orochimaru was the key the Great Sage mentioned who could give him a hint.
"Do people really change?"
He murmured.
If the Third Hokage had died at fifty, he would have been an absolute hero of the Ninja World, but dying at seventy, his reputation was mixed.
Having been Hokage for about nine months, Jiraiya spent most of his time cleaning up after the Third Hokage and his generation. They had made far too many mistakes.
The Third Hokage seemed to have slowly deteriorated with time, so what about Orochimaru? Would Orochimaru change for the better?
In the original timeline, Jiraiya used the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke to analogize his relationship with Orochimaru, but Sasuke and Orochimaru were not the same kind of people.
Both lost their parents, but Orochimaru's emotions were more detached, and he didn't have a mystical older brother. Jiraiya was too preoccupied with the Child of Prophecy, so the bond between them wasn't as deep as that between Naruto and Sasuke.
The bond between Naruto and Sasuke was that they mutually improved each other and transformed into a force that aided each other.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru basically did their own thing; you went to find the Child of Prophecy, I went to research my immortality. They had no intersection in the later stages.
The bond wasn't as deep, but it still existed.
Jiraiya silently fended off Root's pursuers for Orochimaru and concealed his whereabouts. Danzo must have been furious!
Due to Izanagi, he had lost four Sharingan on his arm. Orochimaru had only transplanted two for him before running off!
He had barely recovered the ability to use Chakra, but he couldn't fight for long periods, nor could he easily use Izanagi. Once the balance between the Sharingan and Hashirama cells in his body was broken, he would die a truly miserable death.
Jiraiya finally made up his mind.
Revive Minato Namikaze!
He feared that he would grow old and become a different person. Konoha Village needed a younger leader. He was indecisive and certainly not an excellent Hokage.
Since the Third Hokage could return to being Hokage after stepping down, then the Fourth could too...
There was no need to ask the person involved for their wishes. For the Village, for Naruto, he, as their teacher, would make the decision. He would bear all the responsibility!
Coincidentally, the Hidden Sand Village wanted to host a Chunin Exams in their Village, and the invitation had been sent to Konoha. Those in Konoha who knew about it felt it was a heaven-sent opportunity to implement their plan to collapse Sunagakure!
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