In Orochimaru's view, he had not revealed any flaws.
In fact, he had no flaws at all.
Jiraiya's disappearance had nothing to do with him in the first place. He only learned Jiraiya had disappeared after hearing the news.
On the contrary, it had been Jiraiya who reminded him to be careful of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi did not see it that way.
In Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, after Orochimaru met with Jiraiya, it was impossible that the two of them had only discussed the battle with Rasa. Therefore, it was not that there was nothing else—it was that Orochimaru refused to say it.
This deepened Hiruzen Sarutobi's suspicion toward Orochimaru.
And in truth, even if Orochimaru had told him everything he and Jiraiya had discussed this time, Hiruzen Sarutobi's suspicion of Orochimaru would still have deepened.
Once the seed of suspicion was planted, it would not retreat.
It would only move forward.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi had not yet thought through the exact details of launching a war.
"Sunagakure is pressing aggressively."
"Kumogakure is endlessly greedy."
"Iwagakure bears a grudge."
"But the current Konoha no longer has the strength to fight multiple shinobi villages at the same time. We must ally with one of them. Only then will it be safer."
After thinking it over, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that choosing Onoki as an ally might be the better option.
Because Iwagakure, in truth, had no good choices either.
Kumogakure and Iwagakure had an extremely poor relationship.
Sunagakure would certainly want revenge against Iwagakure—for that period after the Third Kazekage's disappearance and before Rasa's rise, when Iwagakure had bullied Sunagakure.
A wheelchair was pushed out.
The crippled Jiraiya sat in the wheelchair.
The crowd discussed animatedly.
"Damn it, the people spreading rumors are too hateful!"
"Jiraiya-sama is already this pitiful, yet just to clarify that rumor, he had no choice but to appear on the street and let everyone see him. This is too cruel for Jiraiya-sama."
"The ones spreading rumors should go straight to hell!"
"…"
The people around cursed angrily.
But Uchiha Shisui saw through it.
"Fake. It's fake. All of it is fake."
"Just like Kakashi, this Jiraiya is also fake."
"This proves that Jiraiya-sama truly disappeared. Or perhaps… he may even be dead."
"Who persecuted him?"
"Hokage-sama?"
Last time, when facing Kakashi's invitation, Uchiha Shisui had refused because he felt there was still hope.
As long as he worked hard enough, sooner or later, he would be able to make Konoha accept the Uchiha, make the Uchiha return to Konoha, and restore things to how they had once been. That was Uchiha Shisui's ideal state.
But now, the appearance of a fake Jiraiya made Uchiha Shisui feel that hope growing smaller and smaller.
Along with the attitudes Uchiha Inabi and Uchiha Tekka had shown toward him last time—
"Perhaps those Uchiha truly can no longer accept me."
"Konoha cannot accept me either."
"My ideal may never be realized. And there may be no one else who can help me realize it."
"They took Itachi away. What do they intend to do?"
"Take revenge against Fugaku's family?"
"Or cultivate Itachi?"
"If they intend to cultivate him, then they chose Itachi and treated me that way because I am already older and personally chose the village over the clan in front of them?"
"One side is the clan. One side is the village. Which side is truly right?"
"I clearly did it for the village and for the clan. Why have I become someone who belongs nowhere?"
A painful and confused expression appeared on Uchiha Shisui's face.
Suddenly—
Kakashi's figure surfaced in Uchiha Shisui's mind.
"Kakashi-senpai's invitation… perhaps it may be my only hope."
Uchiha Shisui left Konoha.
Once again, he arrived at Shukuba Town.
Kakashi was still there.
When Kakashi saw Uchiha Shisui arrive, a smile appeared on his face.
"Shisui, I knew you would come."
"Kakashi-senpai, I am willing to join you. But I want to know—how do you intend to save this shinobi world? What kind of shinobi world do you want to create?"
Kakashi clasped his hands behind his back and looked out the window.
"This shinobi world has already fallen into decay."
"Just as the existence of ninja clans once became the root of war, the existence of shinobi villages has now likewise become the root of war. Konoha, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kumogakure—they are all the same."
"Only by ending the era of shinobi villages can all of this be brought to an end."
"We want to create a world where everyone is equal, where all people can live and work in peace, where harmony exists, where there is no war, and where everyone can live happily."
"And the key to accomplishing all of this lies with the Tailed Beasts."
Uchiha Shisui froze.
"The Tailed Beasts?"
Shisui had no favorable impression of the Tailed Beasts.
As someone who had personally experienced the Nine-Tails' rampage, Uchiha Shisui had seen the Nine-Tails' brutality with his own eyes. It had destroyed countless buildings in Konoha and killed countless people.
Savage. Terrifying. Bloody. Slaughterous…
"That's right."
Kakashi nodded.
"By gathering the nine Tailed Beasts, a special change can be produced. Through that change, the era of shinobi villages can be ended."
"What we members need to do now is gather intelligence on the Tailed Beasts."
"Shisui, create the future world together with us."
Kakashi extended his hand.
Uchiha Shisui hesitated for a moment, then gripped Kakashi's hand.
But in Uchiha Shisui's heart, a faint thread of doubt still remained.
Gathering the Tailed Beasts could create a world of absolute peace?
Then why had Senju Hashirama not done so back then?
With Senju Hashirama's strength, gathering the nine Tailed Beasts was merely a matter of effort.
If even Senju Hashirama could not accomplish it, could the nine Tailed Beasts truly do it?
"Shisui, we need you to continue infiltrating Konoha and gather information about the Nine-Tails."
Uchiha Shisui nodded.
"Alright."
Very quickly, Kakashi brought back the information that Uchiha Shisui had joined the Akatsuki.
Uchiha Obito raised a brow.
"Uchiha Shisui?"
Obito had heard of Uchiha Shisui's name—the genius of the Uchiha clan.
Toward this, Uchiha Obito was unconvinced.
"Genius? Dead last? What right do those mediocre people have to judge?"
"I was dead last, but now, the only one capable of changing the fate of the shinobi world is me."
"Shisui is a genius, yet now he is nothing more than my subordinate."
"As for those who called me dead last back then, who knows how many of them are still alive?"
"And Kakashi, that genius—his strength is far inferior to mine now."
Meanwhile, in another place.
Mount Myoboku.
A toad returned with news from the shinobi world.
Jiraiya hurriedly opened it.
"As expected. Just as I anticipated, Sarutobi-sensei created a fake me to replace me."
"Who exactly is that Uchiha secretly cooperating with Sarutobi-sensei?"
"He absolutely cannot be unrelated to Minato's death. I must investigate this clearly."
Join my Patreon to read public release chapters and get 1 chapter ahead for free. Paid members can read more advanced chapters.
Continue reading here
patreon.com/Inkveil_