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[NTU] [ARC-23] Chapter : 312
🕑 Added 2025-05-11 20:39:32 +0000 UTCThree Days Later – Inside the Hokage’s Office
After two days of indulging in the rare peace and the company of his two wives, Toshiro now sat behind his desk, his expression frozen in disbelief as he listened to the report before him.
“Kakashi... Are you serious?”
“You’re telling me that Jiraiya secretly released the assassin who tried to kill me—the Hokage?”
Jiraiya had always been a man driven by emotion, but he was also a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. His decision to remain in the Land of Rain to raise the orphans Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan had shown his compassion—but this was different. Konan wasn’t just a troubled soul—she had tried to assassinate the Hokage.
And now she was gone.
“Where is he?”
Was this just letting the prey slip through their fingers?
“We don’t know,” Kakashi replied, his tone apologetic. “When we came to, the prisoner was gone. No signs of a struggle. Only Lord Jiraiya had visited her.”
Toshiro’s eyes darkened. The entire squad had been knocked out cleanly. The signs were obvious.
“And how long ago did this happen?”
“About half an hour. By now, Lord Jiraiya has likely escorted her out of the village.”
That amount of time… A shinobi of Jiraiya’s caliber would be impossible to catch now.
Toshiro pinched the bridge of his nose. “These people are really burning with the Will of Fire, aren’t they?”
He hadn’t expected Jiraiya to be so reckless. And in doing so, he’d made Konoha look soft—undermined the office of the Hokage.
“Did you place any tracking marks on her?”
Konan wasn’t just a rogue ninja—she was a key to controlling Nagato. They couldn’t afford to lose her.
“Yes,” Kakashi said simply. “Standard Anbu protocol. She’s traceable.”
“Good,” Toshiro said, standing with resolve. “Notify the head of the Anbu. Assemble a pursuit squad immediately. We move out in five minutes.”
He didn’t hesitate. If he didn’t make a stand now, people might forget who truly led Konoha.
Meanwhile – A Forest Miles Away from the Village
Deep within the woods, far beyond Konoha’s borders, Jiraiya came to a stop.
“This is as far as I can take you, Konan,” he said softly, glancing back at the woman who had once been a helpless orphan under his care.
“Talk to Nagato. Convince him to take a different path. The world is changing. The Hokage has signed peace agreements with the major nations—the future won’t look like the past.”
He’d listened to Konan’s painful story, and it had weighed heavily on him. Despite everything, he still hoped Nagato could be steered away from the abyss.
Konan hesitated, her voice soft. “Sensei… won’t you come with me?”
There was a sadness in her eyes. This man had been their guardian, their mentor—the one who’d believed in them when no one else did. And now he’d risked everything to set her free.
“The Hokage won’t take this lightly,” she warned. “You’ll be punished. Maybe worse. Come with me. Nagato will be overjoyed to see you—and with you by our side, maybe we really can change things.”
Jiraiya chuckled, scratching the back of his head. “Konan, don’t underestimate me.”
“I’m still the Toad Sage, you know. And more importantly, I’m a Leaf shinobi. I can’t just run.”
His gaze drifted toward the fading outline of the Hokage Monument in the distance. If he ran now, he’d be a traitor. That, he could never be.
Besides, there were things he still needed to ask Uchiha Toshiro—things he couldn’t walk away from.
Konan’s eyes welled with tears. “Then... take care, Sensei.”
She stepped forward and embraced him tightly, then dissolved into a flutter of paper, vanishing into the trees.
By the time Toshiro and the Anbu arrived, Jiraiya stood alone, puffing calmly on his pipe.
Konan was already gone.
Toshiro’s brow twitched as he laid eyes on the sight. “Do you even realize what you’ve done?”
Without missing a beat, he turned to the Anbu.
“Arrest him.”
“Yes, Lord Hokage!”
The squad moved in, no hesitation in their eyes. These were shinobi Toshiro had promoted himself—loyal, disciplined, and uncompromising.
Now, the village would witness firsthand that even legends like Jiraiya weren’t above the law.
“Jiraiya-sama, forgive me.”
An Anbu in a fox mask, carrying a chakra-suppressing lock, stepped forward from the squad and faced Jiraiya with steady resolve.
“…Shisui.”
Jiraiya recognized him instantly. With a calm expression devoid of his usual playful demeanor, he slowly put away his pipe.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured.
Turning his gaze from Shisui to Toshiro, Jiraiya spoke directly, “Lord Hokage, if you give me your word that you’ll stop the pursuit… I’ll surrender.”
His eyes briefly scanned the group—he saw the faint gleam of the Byakugan, the presence of a tracking hound, and Shisui’s unwavering stance. He knew he wasn’t their real target.
They were after Konan.
“You’re still this stubborn?” Toshiro scoffed coldly, his tone razor-sharp. “Trying to bargain with me, even now?”
He turned away from Jiraiya and gave a direct command:
“Shisui, take your team and track the escaped criminal. You’re familiar with her abilities—proceed with caution.”
With that, Toshiro turned back toward Jiraiya, his expression darkening.
If Jiraiya refused the peaceful route, then it was time to remind him who held authority in Konoha. Toshiro had offered him face—and Jiraiya had thrown it right back at him.
“Understood,” Shisui replied crisply. With a few swift hand gestures, he and the Anbu team vanished into the forest, leaving only a whisper of chakra in their wake.
“Toshiro, wait!” Jiraiya called out, his voice rising with urgency. “I did this for the future of the ninja world, and for—”
But before he could finish, Shisui and his squad were already gone.
“Hari Jizo!”
With only a moment of hesitation, Jiraiya launched his long white hair like whips toward the fleeing shinobi, trying to entangle and halt their movement.
He’d already helped Konan escape—he couldn’t let her be captured again now.
“You really want to fight?” Toshiro’s voice was cold, his eyes sharp. A gleaming blue-green light flickered in his hand as he unleashed a flurry of crescent-shaped energy slashes, severing every strand of white hair that blocked the Anbu.
“I’ve always regretted not fighting you properly the last time,” he said as he stepped forward. “I was planning to challenge you after mastering the Flying Thunder God—but ended up using genjutsu to get the scroll from you instead.”
“Well, now I’ve got my chance.”
“Toshiro, listen—Nagato isn’t like the others,” Jiraiya pleaded. “Only Konan can reach him. If we hope to stop—”
But it was too late. Shisui and the others had broken free from the hair’s grasp and disappeared among the trees.
Jiraiya turned, chasing after them again.
“Do you really think I won’t kill you!?”
Toshiro’s fury boiled over. Watching Jiraiya turn his back—again—to block his own comrades lit a fire in his chest.
'Was the Will of Fire some kind of madness?'
First it was Nagato nearly obliterating the entire village, and they forgave him after a heartfelt story. Now Jiraiya was doing the same—protecting the enemy, betraying his duty.
Like master, like student.
“Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!”
Toshiro exhaled a wave of flame, spitting more than thirty small fireballs in Jiraiya’s direction. Though not deadly, the technique was perfect for pressure and disruption.
“Tch—hot! That’s hot!”
Jiraiya didn’t dodge. Instead, his flowing white hair coiled around him like a protective shell, shielding him from the worst of the flames.
The heat singed him more than expected—but he stood firm, blocking the Anbu’s path once more.
“Jiraiya-sama…” came a rare outburst from Shisui, who had been stopped a second time. “Are you really going to help her escape?”
“She tried to assassinate the Hokage. She’s a criminal. Why are you turning against your own village for an outsider?”
For someone like Shisui, even saying that much revealed deep frustration. He respected Jiraiya—everyone did—but even heroes couldn’t be allowed to cross certain lines.
