"Jiraiya, what have you done?"
"How have I ever wronged you?"
"This is betraying your teacher!"
"Too much. This is far too much!"
"I am your teacher."
"You're even worse than Orochimaru and Tsunade!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi held resentment toward Orochimaru.
First, he had never particularly liked Orochimaru's methods.
Second, at Konoha's critical moment, Orochimaru's human experiments had been exposed to the public, forcing Hiruzen to expel him from the village.
Because of that, Konoha's already poor situation had become even worse.
Hiruzen also held resentment toward Tsunade.
As a shinobi of Konoha, she had left for decades.
No matter how terrible Konoha's circumstances became, she never returned.
She lingered in casinos outside the village, often lost money, and after losing, she would even send the bills back to Konoha for the village to pay.
But now, in Hiruzen's eyes, what Jiraiya had done was even more excessive than both Orochimaru and Tsunade.
"My most trusted disciple!"
"The disciple I relied on most!"
"I never imagined he would do something like this."
"Why?"
"Jiraiya, why would you slander me?"
"Could it be that my judgment of people was wrong?"
Hiruzen could not help but fall into deep self-doubt.
Among his three disciples, the one Hiruzen liked most had always been Jiraiya.
Among his companions of the same generation, the one Hiruzen relied on most had always been Shimura Danzo.
But look at what Jiraiya had done.
Then look at what Danzo had done.
"Would things have been better if I had handed the Hokage position to Orochimaru before Minato rose to prominence?"
Orochimaru had long possessed the qualifications to inherit the Hokage seat. But as long as Hiruzen refused to step down, Orochimaru could only keep waiting.
And while he waited, Namikaze Minato appeared.
"In that case, Orochimaru probably wouldn't have had the energy to conduct human experiments either. The Hokage's work is far too busy."
"The deaths of White Fang and Minato would have had nothing to do with me."
"After all, I would no longer have been Hokage. There would have been no possibility of me clinging to power."
"After stepping down as Hokage, I could have focused entirely on training Shinnosuke and Asuma. Perhaps that would have been even better."
A powerful regret rose in Hiruzen's heart.
Regret that came far too late.
"Jiraiya has completely stopped trusting me."
"Could Orochimaru have said something to him, causing him to take revenge on me like this?"
"That possibility is not small."
"Back then, it was only after Orochimaru went to see Jiraiya that Jiraiya disappeared."
Hiruzen's face became terrifyingly gloomy.
"Could there be another possibility—that this interview was fabricated by Sunagakure?"
In truth, Hiruzen himself felt that possibility was not very high.
But at this moment, the only way Hiruzen could think of to resolve this matter was to claim that the interview had been fabricated by Sunagakure.
Just like the previous interview targeting Kakashi.
"And it must be done quickly!"
An ANBU shinobi used the Transformation Technique to disguise himself as Jiraiya. Then he appeared openly in public, sitting in a wheelchair, and loudly denounced Sunagakure.
"It's all fake! Fake!"
"I never went to Sunagakure! I never accepted any interview from Sunagakure!"
"That was all fabricated by Sunagakure."
"I, Jiraiya, was Teacher Sarutobi's disciple for one day, and I will be Teacher Sarutobi's disciple forever."
"I trust Teacher Sarutobi absolutely."
"Orochimaru was guilty because of his own crimes!"
"…"
Some people believed it.
"I knew it had to be fake. Sunagakure is shameless!"
"Once was one thing, but twice? This is honestly getting boring."
"Rasa's methods are only this much."
"He just loves doing things that harm others without benefiting himself."
"Besides, Uchiha Fugaku awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan? Him?"
"If he really awakened it, would he still obediently remain in Konoha and follow orders?"
In a town within the Land of Fire.
Kakashi held the newspaper, listening to the news from Konoha, and gave a cold laugh.
"The Transformation Technique again."
"They've used it three times already. It can only fool ordinary people and mediocre shinobi who can't see through it."
"But how long can the truth stay hidden?"
Kakashi looked at Jiraiya's name printed in the newspaper.
"From the looks of it, Jiraiya has completely recognized Hiruzen Sarutobi's true face and broken with him. I wonder if there is any possibility of recruiting Jiraiya into Akatsuki."
"Jiraiya said he wants to overthrow Hiruzen Sarutobi's rule and bring Tsunade and Orochimaru back to Konoha."
"But given their current situation, accomplishing that will not be easy."
"Furthermore, returning to Konoha would only mean saving Konoha."
"The shinobi world would still remain this rotten."
"Things like that would still happen again."
"If Akatsuki could obtain both Jiraiya and Orochimaru, the plan would certainly become much easier to realize!"
Uchiha Obito had the same thought as Kakashi when he first saw Jiraiya's interview.
But after seeing the latter part of Jiraiya's words, Obito became somewhat displeased.
"If Jiraiya wants to break with Hiruzen Sarutobi, then break with him. Why did he have to mention Orochimaru?"
"After seeing this newspaper, Orochimaru may develop other thoughts. The chance of him agreeing to join Akatsuki will become even smaller. Truly hateful."
Faced with the same matter and placed in the same position, Kakashi and Uchiha Obito's thoughts were not entirely identical.
Uchiha Yashiro and Hyuga Hiashi were practically overjoyed.
Uchiha Yashiro simply did not want to see Hiruzen Sarutobi doing well.
The worse Hiruzen Sarutobi's situation became, the happier Uchiha Yashiro was.
However, the matter concerning Uchiha Fugaku made Yashiro somewhat concerned.
"Fugaku awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
"I don't know whether it's true or false."
"And if it is true, when did he awaken it?"
"If it was before Uchiha Do died, then this Uchiha Fugaku is beyond saving. Just like his idiot father, Uchiha Sanga. No… even worse than Uchiha Sanga."
"This matter will probably have quite an impact on Itachi."
Uchiha Yashiro's gaze flickered uncertainly.
Hyuga Hiashi did not have such worries.
"If Hiruzen Sarutobi is overthrown, then my Hyuga clan may actually have hope of returning to Konoha. If Lady Tsunade becomes Hokage, she should not act like Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"But if Konoha wants my Hyuga clan to return, then I must secure sufficiently generous terms for my clan."
"After all, it would be Konoha begging my Hyuga clan, not my Hyuga clan begging Konoha."
"Only with rights firmly in our hands will my Hyuga clan avoid suffering a tragedy like before."
In an underground cave.
Orochimaru shook his head.
"Jiraiya, thanks!"
"But overthrowing Teacher Sarutobi? How could it possibly be that easy?"
"And besides, Jiraiya, I truly did conduct human experiments. Those things really were done by me. When you discover that, will you still welcome me back to Konoha?"