A long time later, Satoshi and his group packed up and took away many things from Orochimaru's laboratory.
Before leaving, Jiraiya took a deep look at the laboratory.
"Orochimaru, how did you become like this?"
Jiraiya couldn't help but recall the days when the three of them studied under the old man. At that time, he was called a stupid dead last and regarded Orochimaru as the goal of his life's pursuit.
As time passed, he became one of the legendary Sannin, the ceiling of Konoha, and also had an abstract nickname, Perverted Sage. It sounded pretty good.
It's just...
Orochimaru, who was once seen as the successor by the old man, after a series of changes, embarked on this path of no return.
Jiraiya clearly found out that even after defecting from the village, he had not stopped cooperating with Danzo all these years.
Danzo used his position to provide Orochimaru with money and experimental subjects.
The blood on Orochimaru's hands was increasing. Jiraiya couldn't even imagine how many people had died by his hands.
"Orochimaru, I must kill you with my own hands."
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
A violent fire dragon spewed out, instantly engulfing the laboratory.
Jiraiya was in a bad mood. "Let's go find a place to rest."
—
That evening, at a small restaurant.
The four of them ordered a few vegetarian dishes, four bowls of rice, and Satoshi shamelessly asked for a large pot of free soup.
Jiraiya looked at the dishes, then at Satoshi. "Kid, we're not refugees, can't we eat a little better?"
Because of the previous incident where he was caught by the Konoha Military Police Force, Jiraiya was already a bit annoyed with Satoshi.
And today, there wasn't even a bottle of sake. Wasn't this bullying?
Satoshi didn't say anything, just took out his wallet and showed it to Jiraiya.
"This is all we have left. For accommodation tonight, we'll have to rely on Tenzo-senpai."
Tenzo silently raised his hand and said, "That's on me."
Bang!
Jiraiya hit Tenzo on the head. "Is this about where we stay? This is about whether we can order more dishes."
"No money."
Jiraiya clicked his tongue. "Kid, the Police Force's salary isn't low, is it? You're not married either, where did all your money go?"
Satoshi tightly closed his mouth. He couldn't say it, not even if it killed him.
Tenzo, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere, said, "Actually, you can't blame Satoshi. All his money was lost to Tsunade-sama…"
"Ahhhhh!" Satoshi went crazy.
Tenzo, you with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, why do you like to stab me in the lung?
We agreed that this matter would only be known to a few of us.
"Oh no." Tenzo covered his mouth. "Did I say too much?"
Jiraiya was stunned. Is there really a human in the entire Ninja World who could lose to Tsunade?
And lose his entire fortune at that.
How bad must he be?
"Hahahahaha!" Jiraiya's mood suddenly improved greatly.
He slapped a banknote on the table. "Boss, bring out all the best dishes in your restaurant."
—
Two hours later.
The satisfied group returned to the inn to rest.
Satoshi, in a state of self-isolation, didn't want to talk to anyone and insisted on having a small single room. So, the remaining three burly men stayed in another room. Fortunately, the room was very large, so it wasn't too crowded.
Kakashi leaned on the sofa and pulled out Icha Icha Paradise from his backpack.
"Jiraiya-sama, please keep the matter of Satoshi losing to Tsunade-sama strictly confidential."
Jiraiya's face was practically splitting with laughter.
This kid seemed quite smart, but he didn't expect him to be so terrible in this aspect.
Then he noticed the book in Kakashi's hand. He knew Kakashi was his loyal fan and would buy his new books as soon as they were released.
"This one is my personally signed edition. It's been hyped up to dozens of times its price on the black market. Kakashi, you really are willing to spend money."
Kakashi shook his head. "This book was given to me by Satoshi when we first met."
"Ah?"
Satoshi's image in Jiraiya's mind became a little more three-dimensional.
A genius of the Uchiha clan, none of his peers could be his opponent.
So what was the cost?
His gambling luck was ultimately, unbelievably, explosively bad. He was a super fat pig, surpassing even a legendary sucker.
He was usually so righteous it bordered on fanatical, completely selfless. But secretly, he read naughty books.
What an interesting kid.
Jiraiya asked, "Kakashi, how is Tsunade?"
Kakashi closed his book and said, "Still the same, she likes to gamble and drink. I asked her if she wanted to return to Konoha, but she doesn't want to go back."
"Alas." Jiraiya sighed softly. "Tsunade is also a pitiful person."
He tapped his head and said, "Get some rest early. We still have to travel tomorrow."
Days of long travel had left them exhausted, and they quickly fell into a deep sleep. But Satoshi in the next room couldn't sleep.
From a scroll, he once again pulled out the evidence he had collected today. The more he looked, the more dissatisfied he felt.
The mentions of Danzo in it were too vague. That old man would be able to argue his way out of it. Maybe he should add a little more to it. Anyway, it was all done by that old bastard, so it wouldn't be a false accusation.
He took out a lighter and ignited one of the documents. When it was halfway burned, he snapped his fingers.
Drops of water fell onto the burning paper, emitting wisps of smoke. Then, he took out another scroll and began to fabricate a story, imitating Orochimaru's handwriting. Then he repeated the above process.
—
By the time they returned to Konoha, it was half a month later.
Because of the matter involving Orochimaru, Jiraiya, who was usually free-spirited, also uncharacteristically rushed back.
And the first thing he did upon returning was to meet Hiruzen to report on the mission.
"We encountered an attack from Orochimaru. Although we successfully defeated him, he managed to escape. He seems to have mastered a strange substitution jutsu."
Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe, a trace of helplessness flashing in his eyes.
He had originally fantasized that Orochimaru could mend his ways. Judging from his initiative attacking them, it was basically impossible.
"But with the help of Jiraiya-sama, we found one of Orochimaru's former laboratories. There, we collected some things."
As he spoke, Satoshi and the others placed stacks of materials on the office desk.
When Hiruzen finished reading the fabricated evidence by Satoshi, his hands trembled with anger.
"That bastard Danzo, what the hell has he done?!"
"He murdered ninjas of the village and reported them as missing, but they actually became Orochimaru's experimental subjects."
"He embezzled funds from the orphanage to conduct cruel human experiments."
"And this is just what we found, how much more is there that we haven't discovered?!"
Hiruzen gritted his teeth in anger. "You all go back first. Also, call Danzo here, now!"
—
When Danzo arrived at the office, Hiruzen immediately started scolding him fiercely.
When Danzo claimed he hadn't done anything recently, Hiruzen picked up a scroll and threw it at his face.
"Look!"
Danzo opened the scroll, and his face instantly turned pale.
That idiot Orochimaru, why would he keep these things?
And he even recorded them so clearly.
Are you a company warehouse manager or an accountant?
As he read, Danzo became increasingly frustrated.
Wait, a lot of these things have nothing to do with me.
(End of Chapter)
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