Toriko Izakaya
"Tsunade… the village requests that you accept the title of Fifth Hokage."
Tsunade and Shizune were shocked upon hearing this. They looked at Jiraiya, trying to find any hint of mischief, but unfortunately, they found none.
"So, it's true, huh
Sorry
I refuse"
"Tsunade, I understand your feelings, and that is exactly why Konoha needs a new Hokage.
The old man has also promised the Daimyō to elect a new Hokage this year. There is no other suitable candidate besides you."
"Heh, then why don't you become Hokage?
Anyway, everyone supports you, and I think you would become a fine Hokage."
Hearing this, Jiraiya waved his hands quickly, as if he had been given a death sentence.
"No, no, no. I am not suitable for this position."
"Then I am also not a suitable person. Go find another person to trap in that idiot seat."
After saying this, Tsunade took a huge sip of alcohol.
"Tsunade, the situation in the village is too critical now, and the Hokage seat has also lost its connections with many ninja clans.
If you truly refuse to become the next Hokage, then Konoha might really be destroyed—not by outside enemies, but by internal conflict.
Can you truly bear to see the Konoha your grandfather created be destroyed?"
Tsunade didn't reply for a minute or two.
"This is not the Konoha my grandfather created. This is an abomination that took everything from me.
It took my family, my lover, my clan—everything.
I would rather wish that this abomination is destroyed as soon as possible so that it wouldn't harm another person."
As Jiraiya heard this, he clenched his fist.
"Tsunade, just try to do something that betrays Konoha, and when that happens, I will kill you myself."
"Pfthahahaha—"
Before Tsunade could reply, laughter came from the table beside them.
Both Tsunade and Jiraiya looked toward the person who laughed and noticed a man wearing a samurai outfit and a bamboo hat, laughing while holding his stomach.
Jiraiya's face darkened upon seeing this. They were currently talking about matters that concerned the entire ninja world, and this stranger was laughing and disturbing them.
As if sensing Jiraiya's anger or Tsunade's confusion, the other party finally stopped laughing.
"Sorry, sorry, I just couldn't hold it in.
Pfthahahaha—
Control, control."
After saying this, the young samurai took a few deep breaths and finally calmed down, then introduced himself.
"Hello, my name is Shimotsuki Ryuma, a samurai from the Land of Iron. It was not my intention to hear your important conversation, but you can't blame my ears for being able to listen, right?
Anyway, you can continue."
After saying that, Ryuma—or Itachi—returned to his table to continue eating.
Two weeks ago, Jiraiya the Legendary Sannin finally returned to Konoha. Naturally, Itachi and the rest of the Uchiha clan knew about it instantly.
For the next week, the Uchiha clan regularly monitored the Hokage faction but found no changes. They were still selling their property or meeting with people from the Land of Fire.
A few days ago, Jiraiya finally left Konoha, and with a few manipulations, the Uchiha got the news that Tsunade was the next candidate for Hokage and that Jiraiya had gone to persuade her.
Itachi, who had already been thinking about seeing the outside world, naturally left Konoha the next day. Today, he finally caught up with Jiraiya.
As for why he was a samurai now—
Naturally, it was because it had always been his dream to carry a katana and roleplay as a samurai. In fact, he had even bought Tanjiro's sword, though unfortunately, it wasn't real. Now that he got the chance, of course he would fulfill his dream.
Seeing the strange samurai return to eating and minding his own business, Jiraiya wasn't happy. It wasn't that he was petty, but a stranger had laughed at him and then ignored him.
What was that?
At least tell me what you were laughing at so I can also be happy.
"Hey, brat, what were you laughing at?
Tell us, we want to laugh as well."
Tsunade didn't interrupt Jiraiya, as she was also curious about what was so funny in their serious conversation.
"Well, if you're begging me, then I'll tell you.
You are Jiraiya—the Legendary Sannin, right?"
Hearing the tone of respect from the young man, Jiraiya nodded with satisfaction.
"You just said to this sick woman that you would kill her if she betrayed Konoha.
Does that mean you would kill anyone who betrayed Konoha?"
Hearing the words 'sick woman', Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, but still nodded in response.
"Hehehe, but I didn't hear any news about the death of Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others.
Haven't those Uchiha people released all the crimes they committed in the past month or two?
Have you not seen it, or are you just a hypocrite?
Or is killing and experimenting on fellow villagers, bribery, embezzlement, corruption, abuse of power, voyeurism and money laundering not a betrayal of Konoha?
See, here are the documents."
After saying this, Itachi took out a stack of papers from his cloth bag and handed them to Jiraiya.
Jiraiya took the stack of papers and looked at them speechlessly. It wasn't that he hadn't read them—he had read them multiple times.
But when he went to confront his master, a single sentence had closed his mouth.
"Jiraiya, I do not deserve to be Hokage. I will leave the position after the next Hokage candidate is decided."
What could Jiraiya say after seeing those aged eyes, that wrinkled face? He could only forgive Sarutobi Hiruzen and look toward the future.
{ Jiraiya's or Naruto's Philosophy —
His reason for forgiving Sarutobi Hiruzen
Hatred is inherited like a curse—passed from one generation to the next through pain and revenge.
Forgiveness is the act of breaking that inheritance, choosing to end the cycle rather than continue it.
The hatred stops with me, so the future doesn't have to carry my wounds.
}
Jiraiya looked at Tsunade, who was watching him with expectation. He knew that if he threatened Tsunade for the sake of the village, he would be seen as a loyal and righteous ninja.
But if he dared to threaten Tsunade while ignoring Sarutobi Hiruzen's crimes, then he would be nothing more than a hypocrite.
And his chances of ever marrying Tsunade would drop to zero.
"Ah, ah, ah. He is the Hokage who takes care of the entire village. I can't kill him and ignore all his years of service and his contribution to the village's prosperity for a few mistakes, right?
Everyone makes mistakes, and he has already announced his resignation after the next Hokage candidate is selected."
Hearing this, Tsunade became disappointed. It's not that she wanted to see Jiraiya kill Hiruzen, but at least Jiraiya should have been as impartial as he had just shown toward her.
As for sparing Sarutobi Hiruzen because of his contributions to the village—heh—hadn't she given enough to the village herself?
"Jiraiya, you want to calm the protests in Konoha, right? That's why you urgently want me to become the Hokage. This is the answer the Hokage faction wants to give to the people of Konoha, right?
Very well
I will become the Fifth Hokage, but only after justice is served to the people of Konoha.
Deliver justice according to the laws of Konoha, and I promise that I will become the Fifth Hokage of Konoha—and even die for it."
Jiraiya wasn't happy upon hearing this. If everyone were judged according to Konoha's laws, then ninety percent of them ( accused ) would receive either life imprisonment or the death penalty.
"Tsunade, do you want to kill Teacher?!
Do you understand what you are saying?
That would mean killing almost all the high-level ninjas and officials.
Do you want to destroy Konoha?
Every village does the same thing as Konoha; it's just that it hasn't been exposed by a traitorous clan."
"Heh, so the Uchiha clan that exposed all the crimes of the village became traitors according to you?"
Itachi, who had been silently eating, suddenly spoke.
Jiraiya immediately understood that he had misspoken.
"Jiraiya, I've given you my condition. If you can fulfill it, then I will agree to your wish.
If not, then do not contact me again."
Tsunade didn't give Jiraiya time to argue with Itachi and left after announcing her decision.
"Tsunade, wait a minute!"
Jiraiya ignored Itachi and ran after Shizune and Tsunade.
Itachi, on the other hand, continued to have his dinner. He had already got the information he wanted.
---
Author's Note
Hello everyone,
I hope you're all doing well and staying healthy. I want to mention upfront that I'm currently suffering from a viral fever, so if this chapter—or even the previous one—feels a bit different in tone or execution, that might be the reason.
My brain isn't functioning at its best right now, so I apologize in advance for any
inconsistencies.
The main reason I'm writing this author's note is because I think many of you might have doubts or concerns about Jiraiya's portrayal in this chapter—things like "He wouldn't act like this" or "This doesn't feel like Jiraiya."
For that, I want to sincerely apologize to all Jiraiya fans.
To be completely honest, I don't like Jiraiya very much. That may be partly because I've read too many fanfictions that portrayed him in a very unpleasant or disgusting way, and I admit that might have influenced my perception of his character. Because of that influence, my feelings toward him aren't very positive.
That said, I don't believe most of Jiraiya's actions in this chapter are entirely out of character. For example, he did threaten Tsunade with death if she betrayed the Hidden Leaf. Personally, I find that hypocritical.
It's not as if Tsunade had betrayed the village in the past few decades. And if the justification is Orochimaru, I still don't see the point—if Tsunade truly wanted to betray the village, Jiraiya's words wouldn't have stopped her anyway.
What bothers me most is the hypocrisy surrounding Danzo. Everyone knew Orochimaru worked under Danzo. Everyone knew about Danzo's crimes, including his involvement in the destruction of clans like the Uchiha (or related actions) and the existence of Root. If I remember correctly, Root was even suspended for a time because of this.
So the question is—why didn't Jiraiya ever move against Danzo and the others? Why threaten Tsunade, but ignore someone who actively committed crimes against the village?
These are simply my reasons and my perspective. You're free to accept them or disagree with them.
Thank you very much for reading till the end