Chapter 313: Snow White
"Crap, the water pressure and currents are insane," Tonbo Tobitake muttered, feeling the crushing weight of the ocean and the blender-like turbulence of the currents.
Water Style: Water Evasion Technique.
An invisible bubble expanded around him, pushing back the immense pressure. Only then did he turn his attention to his objective: Jiraiya's body. He moved quickly, drifting with the current to close the gap.
"He's really dead!"
How did this happen? Does a "World Will" truly exist? Even without his direct intervention, the intelligence regarding Pain had been delivered to Jiraiya clearly. Yet, he still died.
Did Nagato use the Gedo Mazo? Or did Konan unleash her 600 billion paper bombs? Tonbo could only speculate. Given Jiraiya's mastery of summoning, there was no logical reason he shouldn't have been able to escape.
"In that case, let's not let it go to waste."
Though surprised, Tonbo didn't experience any major emotional upheaval; he was simply puzzled by the outcome. He only needed to read the remaining memories to find out the truth. After all, his specialty was the Art of Mind Reading.
He grabbed Jiraiya's body, pulled out the black receivers embedded in his flesh, stowed them away, and began the Mind Reading technique.
Boom!
Traversing the tunnel of Jiraiya's memories, he quickly searched for the relevant nodes, prioritizing the most important events. Compared to the memories of foot soldiers or ordinary Jonin he'd read before, Jiraiya's life was exceptionally rich. Tonbo felt his Mind Reading skill was proficient enough to filter for specific key points—but...
As he breached the memory tunnel, what appeared wasn't training, or the experience of being killed, or even the writing process of a famous author.
Instead...
It was a sea of snow-white thighs, swaying curves, and a dazzling array of women of various charms—all sharing one common trait: mature bodies. One particular image made Tonbo feel incredibly awkward: a view of a young, freshly matured Tsunade emerging from a bath.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a memory of a fist swung toward "him," startling Tonbo so much he reflexively withdrew from the memory-reading state.
"My sins... I didn't do that on purpose! I'm a married man! Jiraiya, you bastard, no wonder you died... you deserved it..."
Tonbo felt like his eyes had been contaminated. He had originally felt a tinge of self-reproach over Jiraiya's death, but now...
"Let's try again. I'll use my eighteen years of Mind Reading experience to find some memories that are a bit more... decent."
Typically, Mind Reading reveals the target's most vivid or "deepest" impressions first. The practitioner must then use those time-stamps to navigate toward the desired information. Focusing on important coordinates, Tonbo searched back and forth along the timeline for significant memories.
Konoha. The Hokage's Office.
Suddenly, Tsunade's face flushed a deep red. A bizarre sensation welled up in her chest.
"Lady Tsunade, what's wrong? Are you worried about Lord Jiraiya?" Shizune asked quickly, noticing the change in her expression. Ever since Jiraiya left for the mission, Tsunade had been on edge. Combined with the Akatsuki's activity, the pressure was immense. Shizune was constantly ready to offer comfort.
"Mhm... I just had a bad premonition. I feel a bit restless."
Tsunade suppressed the strange feeling, set down her documents, and walked to the window to watch the sunset. But then, the feeling returned. This time, she couldn't ignore it.
"Neko! Notify the Sensory Division. Increase the detection range and search the village. Also, lead an ANBU squad to sweep the area around this office thoroughly."
Tsunade frowned. That sensation of being "seen" through—it felt exactly like when Jiraiya used to peek at her back in the day. Could an Akatsuki intel operative have infiltrated the heart of Konoha?
"I see. Humans are truly contradictory creatures. On one hand, he can commit the immoral act of peeping at women; on the other, he can sacrifice his life to save the world and place absolute trust in a toad."
After persistent searching, Tonbo finally found what he was looking for. He hadn't expected such a hidden story. The Great Toad Sage was truly impressive—a prophet who never missed. He had actually foreseen the era of Boruto and made preparations.
Tonbo felt a deep sense of respect for Jiraiya's unreserved trust in the Great Toad Sage and his conviction to die for that belief. Though he found it a bit foolish, he realized the world was better off with such "fools." He couldn't be like that himself, but he respected those who could.
"Orochimaru actually agreed with Jiraiya's prophecy too? No... he probably just prepared a countermeasure for the sake of immortality. It seems scientists also believe it's better to be safe than sorry."
Tonbo saw the conversation between the two Sannin. He considered a possibility: Was Orochimaru's defeat by Sasuke—and Sasuke taking everything—all part of his plan? Orochimaru was a certified genius since childhood. Educated by Hiruzen Sarutobi, master of countless forbidden jutsu, and a veteran of the Second and Third Wars... how could he lose to a hothead like Sasuke?
Even Danzo Shimura knew how to control subordinates with forbidden seals, drugs, and brainwashing. As the leader of biological technology in the ninja world, there was no way Orochimaru only applied a Cursed Seal and left nothing else inside Sasuke. He had mastered Hashirama's cells and, as their previous exchanges showed, he understood the Sharingan deeply.
He wouldn't just be arrogant and leave Sasuke unchecked. He was a ninja—one of the top survivors in the world. Intelligence, technique, and experience wouldn't allow for such carelessness.
"If that's the case, isn't Sasuke just the vanguard Orochimaru pushed out to take all the pressure in the ninja world?"
Based on Tonbo's twenty years of experience, the probability of this was over 60%. He had studied probability, after all. When a logic holds up without bugs, there's a 50% chance it's true; adding his knowledge of the original plot only increased those odds.
But why?! Tonbo had used his plot knowledge to hide in the back as a puppet master, planning to let Naruto and Sasuke be the front-line soldiers. Now, he desperately wished for a "System" or a "Cheat Code"—even his super-brain had its limits.
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