When one person's impression of another collapsed, it was very easy for them to move from one extreme to another.
The previous Jiraiya had respected Hiruzen Sarutobi immensely.
Even more than his own father.
He had held one hundred percent trust in him.
Even after being seriously injured, becoming crippled, and even though during the battle, Jiraiya had already sensed something wrong—Rasa had understood his intelligence far too clearly—Jiraiya still believed in Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Even after Hiruzen Sarutobi created a fake Jiraiya, Jiraiya still tried to find reasons for Hiruzen in his heart.
He planned to seek a breakthrough through Uchiha Fugaku.
And yet, he delayed again and again.
Was there truly no opportunity?
No.
In Jiraiya's heart, there had actually already been an answer. It was merely because of his trust in Hiruzen Sarutobi that he did not dare face that answer, which was why he acted that way.
Only when news came that Orochimaru had become a missing-nin did Jiraiya begin to regret.
Only then did he suddenly take action against Uchiha Fugaku.
Once tested, he uncovered a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan.
No matter how unwilling Jiraiya was to believe it, he had no choice but to admit that Uchiha Fugaku was the culprit.
Hiruzen Sarutobi might truly be the real mastermind behind the scenes.
Even then, Jiraiya still clung to a trace of hope.
He spread the news of Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyo Sharingan.
But in the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi did nothing to Uchiha Fugaku. He even issued an announcement defending Uchiha Fugaku.
That caused Jiraiya to fall into complete despair.
The more he had trusted him before, the more Jiraiya distrusted Hiruzen Sarutobi now.
One matter after another, one incident after another—Jiraiya no longer questioned those rumors.
Even matters that had never appeared in the rumors, Jiraiya now felt might possibly be connected to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Furthermore, if Hiruzen Sarutobi truly was greedy for power and wanted to keep the Hokage position within the Sarutobi clan, then Nawaki had indeed been a major problem.
The grandson of Senju Hashirama.
Tsunade's younger brother.
Orochimaru's disciple.
It could be said that as long as Nawaki reached adulthood and possessed decent strength, he would definitely become Hokage. There would be no obstruction at all.
And given Nawaki's circumstances, it would have been difficult for him not to possess strength.
"Nawaki's advantage was far greater than Minato's."
"Minato only had the identity of being my disciple, plus the many contributions he made during the Third Great Ninja War."
"But Nawaki could have received far more support."
"Previously, Teacher Sarutobi disguised himself too well. No one knew his true face."
"Looking back now, everything was suspicious."
"Nawaki should never have died."
After the image of Hiruzen Sarutobi in Jiraiya's heart collapsed, he felt that this possibility was very high.
Jiraiya looked at Tsunade with burning eyes.
"I never thought of it before either. But now, after learning Teacher Sarutobi's true face, I have seriously thought through many matters from the past. Nawaki's death was indeed abnormal."
"It was as though someone deliberately sent Nawaki into the enemy's trap."
"Tsunade, don't you want to understand the truth behind this?"
"Do you no longer care about Nawaki either?"
Jiraiya's words changed Tsunade's expression.
There were not many people in this world whom Tsunade cared about. Even fewer were still alive.
And Nawaki was a hurdle Tsunade could never cross.
Tsunade had always felt that she had failed to protect Nawaki. She believed it was because she had given Nawaki that cursed necklace that Nawaki had died so miserably on the battlefield.
But now Jiraiya was saying that Nawaki's death had not been an accident.
It had been a conspiracy.
If she did not know that Jiraiya would never lie to her about something like this, Tsunade would have thought he was fabricating it in order to persuade her.
And after receiving that reminder, when Tsunade thought back on what happened that year, doubt also began to rise in her heart.
Humans were like that.
Once there was a starting point, suspicion could easily grow.
Moreover, Nawaki's death had not been entirely within Tsunade's sight from beginning to end.
There were many details Tsunade had not seen.
When one did not understand, one would guess.
And when one guessed in a bad direction, the doubts in one's heart would only increase.
"Jiraiya, are you serious?"
Jiraiya nodded.
"Teacher Sarutobi had both the motive to act against Nawaki and the conditions to do it. After all, when it came to the Hokage position, Nawaki was a much greater threat to Teacher Sarutobi than Minato."
Tsunade's expression turned cold.
Seeing Jiraiya explain everything so logically, Tsunade grew increasingly suspicious of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Shizune's eyes were filled with confusion.
On one hand, she was a shinobi of Konoha.
On the other hand, she had followed Tsunade for many years.
Now, from the sound of it, Tsunade was about to break with Konoha.
What was she supposed to do?
"Then, Jiraiya, what is your plan?"
Tsunade asked.
Jiraiya said, "No matter what, we must make Teacher Sarutobi step down. Only if he steps down will Konoha stop suffering tragedies like that. Afterward, we can investigate slowly."
"We will return innocence to all the innocent."
"And we will make all those guilty accept the punishment they deserve."
Tsunade froze for a moment.
"That's it?"
A trace of confusion appeared in Jiraiya's eyes.
"What else? Do we need more?"
Tsunade sighed.
"Jiraiya, you're still the same as before. I thought you came to find me because you had already made all the necessary preparations. I didn't expect that you basically hadn't thought it through at all."
"Overthrowing Teacher Sarutobi is not that simple."
"If we go back, how many people will support us?"
"How many will stand behind us, fight beside us, and stand opposite Teacher Sarutobi?"
"Don't tell me you think we can just march straight to the Hokage Building and force Teacher Sarutobi to step down?"
"What awaits us will only be attacks from countless ANBU shinobi."
"Not to mention the Sarutobi clan, Ino-Shika-Cho, and the others."
"Do you think we can withstand them with our current strength?"
Jiraiya's expression stiffened.
Tsunade shook her head.
"I'll make the plan."
"If we want to overthrow Teacher Sarutobi, we must first find the people who will support us, then formulate the appropriate strategy. After overthrowing Teacher Sarutobi, we must also ensure Konoha's stability."
"Otherwise, it would contradict your goal."
"First step—we go find the daimyo of the Land of Fire."
Faced with Tsunade's helplessness, Jiraiya did not feel ashamed.
On the contrary, Jiraiya was very happy.
Since Tsunade was willing to point out his problems, that proved Tsunade had already been persuaded by him.
With the strength of himself and Tsunade, perhaps they might truly be able to overthrow Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Konoha could be saved!
"Tsunade, as expected, you are more suited to becoming Hokage."
"That position is something I absolutely cannot take."
"Right. Because of Orochimaru, Sunagakure agreed to give me a batch of resources."
Jiraiya handed Rasa's letter to Tsunade.
"Tsunade, take a look and decide how we should choose."
"These are resources Orochimaru fought for us by using himself as the price. We must make proper use of them."