Konoha.
On the surface, it remained as prosperous and bustling as ever, appearing to be a scene of peace and prosperity, but only the true high-level officials of Konoha knew...
It was all fake!
In reality, current Konoha had long since secretly entered a state of high alert.
The elite forces of the Five Major War Zones had been lying in wait in secret, and even the powerhouses of the Four Great Shinobi Villages—Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Hidden Mist, and Sunagakure—were silently lying in ambush at various key locations in Konoha under the guidance of Konoha Ninja.
Even...
Within a fifty-kilometer radius outside Konoha, there were numerous spies densely scattered around. Although they were far apart and seemed like ordinary sentries and Hidden Lookouts, they ensured there were no blind spots in any direction.
"Konoha, I'm back!"
In a dense forest, atop the tip of the tallest tree.
The white-haired Jiraiya, carrying a massive scroll, quietly gazed at Konoha in the distance.
His gaze was extremely complex, filled with heartache and worry, but even more so with determination.
"Uchiha Jin, you've gone too far!"
"The Great Toad Sage was right. Although Konoha seems peaceful now, it comes at the cost of chaos in the Ninja World."
"Current Konoha is like a blood-sucking leech; this so-called peace is just a false facade. This kind of peace, forged with blood and bone, is better off discarded."
"For the Ninja World, for peace!"
"Even if I have to fight Konoha, I, Jiraiya, am willing to pay any price!"
"Even if—it means dancing with the devil!"
After saying that.
Jiraiya's gaze became extremely firm, and with a leap, he quickly approached Konoha.
But, unfortunately.
What he didn't notice was that not far from him, the Sentry he had never taken seriously sent the intelligence back to Konoha the moment Jiraiya left.
On the other side, at the Hokage Building.
Uchiha Jin and other core powerhouses of Konoha were all gathered on the roof of the Hokage Building.
Konan walked over, her tone very calm.
"Hokage-sama!"
"News from the Sentry: Jiraiya has appeared and is rapidly approaching Konoha."
"Estimated distance—fifty kilometers!"
"He's alone!"
Following Konan's words, everyone present frowned, and Uchiha Jin was no exception.
Yes, they couldn't figure it out!
Although Jiraiya's strength was decent in the Ninja World, it was only 'decent.' What gave him the confidence to charge toward Konoha single-handedly?
One must know that current Konoha was full of powerhouses; any one of them could easily crush Jiraiya.
Uchiha Jin was also thinking: What was Jiraiya's trump card?
As a transmigrator, he was almost certain that in this Ninja World, only Mount Myōboku and the Six Paths Sage—Hagoromo—could give him such confidence!
Mount Myōboku? Unlikely!
While those toads from Mount Myōboku were quite strong and certainly had some hidden tricks, they posed little threat when it came to attacking Konoha or killing him. Even if the Great Toad Sage himself took action, it wouldn't change much.
On the contrary.
Hagoromo in the Pure Land made him more wary. After all, just two clumps of energy from him could allow Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke to evolve into the terrifying power of the Six Paths level.
Could he have given Jiraiya something similar?
But...
It didn't matter anymore!
Now that the enemy was almost at Konoha, thinking too much served no purpose.
Whatever Jiraiya's trump card was, he would find out soon enough!
Thinking of this, Uchiha Jin couldn't help but ask Konan: "Contact Nagato and ask if there's any movement from the Akatsuki Organization."
Konan was stunned for a moment, then nodded slowly.
Immediately...
She used her Thought Wave and began to contact Nagato.
A moment later.
Konan opened her eyes and slowly shook her head: "Everything is normal with the Akatsuki Organization. Nagato is currently with Fake Madara and Black Zetsu."
Hearing this, Uchiha Jin nodded.
Not bad!
He didn't know if Hagoromo and Mount Myōboku were being arrogant or if they had absolute confidence in suppressing him, since they hadn't even contacted pawns like Black Zetsu and Obito...
Otherwise.
If Jiraiya carried the power bestowed by Hagoromo, and was joined by the Akatsuki members like Obito, or even if they used Edo Tensei on Uchiha Madara, then dealing with it would truly be a bit troublesome.
"Alright, I see!"
"There's nothing more to prepare. This battle will be a contest of pure raw strength."
"Let's go!"
After saying that.
Uchiha Jin had no intention of hiding; he headed straight out of Konoha, and the other powerhouses naturally followed behind him.
Yes!
The previous hiding was to lull Mount Myōboku and Jiraiya into a false sense of security. Now that the opponent had truly arrived at Konoha, there was no longer any need for secrecy.
On the contrary.
Intercepting Jiraiya outside Konoha was essential. After all, he didn't want this battle to destroy Konoha, especially since he hadn't planned on evacuating the Civilians this time.
Five minutes later.
Uchiha Jin and his group arrived twenty kilometers outside Konoha. After waiting for about ten minutes, they saw Jiraiya rushing toward them.
Seeing this group of people, Jiraiya's expression instantly changed.
Obviously.
He didn't expect his actions to have been exposed. This scene was enough to show that Konoha had anticipated his arrival and had even made secret preparations long ago.
Especially seeing Kakashi, Orochimaru, Fugaku, and the others there, his heart couldn't help but sink. After all, he knew about Konoha's current Five Major War Zones.
Since these people had all arrived, it was clear that the powerhouses of the Five Major War Zones had all been redeployed back.
"Good, very good!"
"Such a grand display, you really think highly of me."
"Uchiha Jin, you're not scared, are you?"
Jiraiya stood steadily not far from everyone, arms crossed, and mocked Uchiha Jin.
Although he wasn't clear for the moment how his plan had leaked, he knew he couldn't show any weakness.
And to this.
Uchiha Jin, standing opposite him, let out a disdainful sneer.
"Jiraiya, save it."
"If you said those words to an ordinary Uchiha, perhaps they would fight you single-handedly just to prove themselves and ensure they didn't disgrace the Uchiha name."
"But, unfortunately."
"I, Uchiha Jin, am different. I never care about so-called warrior's dignity."
"I believe in a lion using its full strength even when hunting a rabbit. I need to be responsible for the people of all Konoha and the entire Land of Fire."
"Fairness? Justice?"
"I'm sorry!"
"I believe in the strong preying on the weak, and the absolute justice of results."
"As long as I can win..."
"Nothing else matters!"
Facing Jiraiya's mockery, Uchiha Jin immediately stated his motto.
"Fairness? Justice?"
"One-on-one duel?"
"What are you thinking?"
"As long as I can truly dominate the entire Ninja World and completely eliminate those Ōtsutsuki, I wouldn't mind even if the Uchiha name was stuffed down the toilet."
"Face? Dignity?"
"How much are those worth? I'll sell them all to you!"