Chapter 100: Poor Sarutobi Hiruzen

"Oh, Orochimaru agreed?" Konoha, Root headquarters. Danzo had been waiting for Orochimaru's reply, he had even announced some news in advance. He was really putting in effort to gain enough prestige! Of course, announcing it early wasn't a huge problem, only a few people knew about it. If Orochimaru really didn't agree, at worst, he could just have Jiraiya go find Orochimaru. "But this time it's a bit excessive, why does he want so much?" Danzo frowned as he looked at the document in his hand. Sometimes, he really wondered if Orochimaru was a 'funding thief'. They had cooperated for so many years, and he had provided Orochimaru with countless funds, but many of the researches yielded no results, which made him somewhat depressed. "Fortunately, not all research yielded no results." He glanced at his right hand and sighed again. Orochimaru indeed had capabilities. He had witnessed the rampant power of Wood Release. Otherwise, 'Kinoe' wouldn't have been the only one to survive the experiments back then. But Orochimaru managed to find an alternative path, suppressing the rampant Wood Release with the power of the Sharingan, and the combination of these two allowed Danzo to gain two powers at once. Perhaps that was why he was willing to continue supporting Orochimaru, this bottomless pit. "Forget it, as long as he's willing to go." Shaking his head, Danzo was too lazy to think about his 'missing funds' anymore. The money had already been invested, what else could he do? Moreover, Orochimaru's willingness to act this time was definitely a good thing for him. He could let Orochimaru figure out Hanzo's situation, then use Orochimaru to hook Jiraiya, and he absolutely trusted Orochimaru's ability to escape. "In that case, my intelligence is secure, the matter with Hanzo can be understood, and Jiraiya can be made to suffer a setback." Killing three birds with one stone, Danzo felt this was the most stable approach. At worst, he would reveal some information to Orochimaru, such as 'Konoha has detected his whereabouts'. He still needed Orochimaru to continue his research and development, not to be completely wiped out by Jiraiya. "After all, that kid who follows Kakashi and Jiraiya also knows the Flying Thunder God Technique." Whenever he thought of Takemi, Danzo would become annoyed. Why hadn't he discovered such a genius himself? If he had known about that kid's potential earlier, he would have brought him into Root long ago. But unfortunately, everything was too late now, he couldn't do anything. "Ultimately, it's because I'm not the Hokage." "So, this time, I must stop Jiraiya. This is my only chance!" Danzo was stirring up trouble in the shadows, and Orochimaru was restless. — — — Meanwhile, in Konoha, Takemi was forced to stand at the main gate, seeing off a blonde. "Takemi, listen to me, I will definitely be back!" Deidara stood on a white clay giant bird, waving loudly at Takemi. Then, urged by Kitsuchi, he piloted the giant bird and flew away from Konoha. "Finally gone." Takemi watched the giant bird, which still looked like a meteor, and couldn't help but murmur softly. Jiraiya, beside him, was somewhat amused amd said, "Thanks to this kid, many things have become simpler, and we've confirmed quite a few things." Kakashi nodded and said, "Indeed, but unfortunately, Iwagakure doesn't have a deep understanding of the Akatsuki, so there isn't much they can tell us." He finally knew what the mysterious organization they had been tracking was called. The Akatsuki, an organization active on the border of Iwagakure, constantly taking on war missions and black market tasks. The members of this organization possessed extraordinary strength and were all extremely mysterious. Moreover, they were ruthless in executing missions, able to complete even the most difficult tasks. It was indeed not easy to gain a deep understanding of such an organization. "However, at least they lost a client, didn't they?" Takemi thought for a moment and spoke. "And with this Deidara incident, Iwagakure probably won't let them off the hook either." "That's true, and we basically know their general area of activity now." Jiraiya rested one hand on his elbow and propped his chin with the other. "Most likely, it's some of the surrounding small countries, but there are too many small countries near Iwagakure, which makes it difficult to confirm." "Exactly. The Land of Hot Water, Land of Grass, Land of Rain, Land of Birds, Land of Bears, and Land of Demons—the scope is simply too vast." Kakashi also frowned beside him. "But the Land of Rain has Hanzo, and the Land of Waterfalls has the Seven-Tails. They probably wouldn't dare to cause trouble in those two places, would they?" You've already excluded the correct answer... Takemi gave a dry laugh, but he also knew that Kakashi's way of thinking was the most correct. The reason the Akatsuki had been able to hide for so long without being discovered was because Hanzo's reputation was too great. 'Demigod' was not a title just anyone could earn, and the Amegakure was extremely secluded, making it impossible for ordinary people to enter and investigate, so it was naturally difficult to get any information. Jiraiya said, "Forget them for now." Although he was also anxious, he clearly understood the importance of intelligence. It was better to act after getting more information. After all, he wasn't acting alone. Sarutobi Hiruzen would absolutely not allow him to act alone. "They should first resolve what we need to do. Old man also thinks it's very necessary to bring Tsunade back." "Although she most likely won't agree easily, there's no harm in trying. Besides, we've been tense for so long, we need to relax a bit." "So, let's treat this mission as a trip. I will take you two to have some fun!" "Really?!" Takemi's eyes immediately lit up, and he asked with a beaming smile. In fact, he had no ill intentions and just wanted to be a 'Bath Emperor'. Surely he wouldn't be denied a hot spring bath, right? "Really, but whether they let you in or not is none of my business." Looking at Kakashi, who was rolling his eyes, Jiraiya grinned mischievously. "If it really doesn't work, there's nothing I can do. Rules are rules, after all." "Mm-hmm, I know." Takemi nodded, then looked at Kakashi. "Don't worry, my Transformation Technique isn't bad. Even Obito didn't see through it. I'll just transform into Kakashi-sensei then." "?!" "At worst, I'll transform into Lord Fourth Hokage. After all, I also know the Flying Thunder God Technique, don't I?" "..." Takemi's two sentences instantly silenced both of them. They exchanged glances, only to find that their eyes were filled with blame for each other, as if saying the other hadn't taught this guy well enough. After a while, Jiraiya spoke slowly, "Takemi, I'll give you a suggestion. How about you transform into the old man?" "?!" Takemi and Kakashi simultaneously widened their eyes, looking at Jiraiya in disbelief. Jiraiya continued to speak slowly, "Anyway, he won't know, and he won't blame you, right?" "..." (End of Chapter) Read 40 Advanced Chapters on patreon.com/astralicity