Naruto: The Abstract Strategist of the Akatsuki

Jiraiya was also worried.

Even if the document didn't contain any relevant information, Jiraiya still couldn't trust it.

Since Orochimaru could make a mistake here once, he could make a second or third mistake as well. It's not impossible that the mistake wasn't recorded.

But do you think Jiraiya has any other evidence?

nor.

I'm just genuinely worried.

This kind of unfalsifiable concern is fundamentally unsolvable.

With these concerns in mind, Jiraiya chose to leave and return to Mount Myōboku.

According to that document, the clone's blood is the same as his. There was no movement in the ninja world. Could it have appeared in the summoning world?

Upon returning to the Spirit World, Jiraiya immediately went to find Master Shima and asked if anything strange had happened at Mount Myōboku recently, and whether he had been there recently.

"Jiraiya, are you crazy? You're asking me whether you even came to Mount Myōboku?"

Shima looked at Jiraiya with an expression as if he were looking at an idiot.

Jiraiya didn't have the energy to act silly right now, so he gave a wry smile and recounted what had happened recently.

Shima was shocked to hear that there was a clone of Jiraiya.

"Little Jiraiya, I told you long ago that Orochimaru, who could make a contract with Ryuchi Cave, was definitely not a good person. You had to be wary of him. Look, now you're suffering."

What mistake? I think he did it on purpose!

Shima picked up a twig and tapped Jiraiya on the head.

To be honest, Shima's reasoning was wrong, but the result was actually correct.

Orochimaru really did it on purpose.

"Old woman, stop talking. Let's solve this problem first. Recently... has that clone appeared at Mount Myōboku?"

Jiraiya didn't want to debate whether Orochimaru was a good person or not; he only knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep well at night until he figured out what was going on with that clone.

"Alright, Jiraiya, are you sure you haven't been to Mount Myōboku these past few days?"

Master Shima asked with a serious expression.

"Yes, could it be that the clone really did come?"

Jiraiya's expression turned serious.

"no."

"...Then why are you asking this with such a serious face?!"

Jiraiya is on the verge of a breakdown.

"Don't get excited, Jiraiya. If he came to Mount Myōboku, it's definitely to find a toad to help him. I'll go and check it out for you. Don't worry."

Shima patted Jiraiya on the shoulder and skipped away.

Jiraiya squatted alone in the same spot, somewhat dejectedly thinking about a solution.

After thinking for who knows how long, I still couldn't come up with anything, but then Master Shima returned.

"Little Jiraiya, the old man and I just conducted a frog population survey of Mount Myōboku, and we found that two toads are indeed missing."

"What? Really?"

Jiraiya was too lazy to even bother explaining what the frog census was; his entire focus was now on the phrase "two frogs are missing."

"Why do you think it took me so long to get back? My husband and I confirmed the news with you repeatedly before bringing it to you."

I remember you said that Naruto recently entered that Tsukuyomi seal, right?

"It wasn't Naruto who summoned him. Go double-check if it was the Konohamaru from the new contract who did it. If it wasn't either, then it must have been your clone."

"Understood."

Jiraiya had absolutely no intention of slacking off or lingering. After receiving the information, he immediately set off for Kirigakure to confirm with Konohamaru.

Among the people of Kirigakure, Konohamaru was one of the most diligent, aside from those who trained in taijutsu.

Konohamaru only cares about Naruto, who is imprinted in the Tsukuyomi world, so he would pick up the monitor every now and then to check if the absorption of the tailed beasts had ended.

During the rest of the time, Konohamaru did not enjoy the sun and sand, but instead meditated and trained in his tent.

—Even when Naruto was playing in the world of Tsukuyomi, he didn't forget to take the time to hone his Sage Mode skills. How could he possibly neglect it when he's out there?

Jiraiya was observing from the shadows.

Although he already knew that he did not have a second personality and would not harm others, in order to ensure the safety of others, Jiraiya felt that he should still maintain the persona of "fleeing from justice".

He is now able to step forward and explain the situation clearly.

But what happens after that?

The problem of cloning remains unsolved, and there isn't even an effective way to instantly distinguish between a clone and its clone.

What if the clone tries to harm others at this point? Wouldn't that be troublesome?

Rather than let this happen, it would be better for him to remain a suspect, so that anyone who sees a clone will be on guard.

Jiraiya watched Konohamaru train and realized that Konohamaru wasn't using the same shortcuts as before.

Naruto developed two shortcuts. In addition to the original version, there is another more convenient version, which adds a summoning beast to assist in the basic version.

Konohamaru chose this training method and formed a contract with the toads of Mount Myōboku, thus gaining a summoning contract with both Enma and the toads.

Jiraiya initially thought that since Konohamaru was training in Sage Mode, he must be summoning toads.

But upon closer inspection, there was nothing there.

It turns out that Konohamaru was inspired by Naruto and felt that he also wanted to master the method of activating the Primordial Sage Mode like his older brother Naruto.

Relying on summoned beasts still presents too many limitations.

Therefore, Konohamaru is currently experimenting with a version without summoning beasts.

This put Jiraiya in a difficult position.

This makes it impossible to determine whether Konohamaru actually summons toads.

With no other option, Jiraiya had to reveal himself.

He thought Konohamaru was alright; he just needed to tell him what happened and ask him to keep it a secret.

"Konohamaru".

"?"

Konohamaru was attempting to enter Sage Mode when he suddenly heard someone call his name, causing his expression to change drastically.

After all, he's not exactly presentable in his current state.

Moreover, the arrow was already on the bowstring and had to be released.

But why does the sound seem to be nearby?

The next second, a small toad jumped out from an inconspicuous corner. The toad opened its mouth, and a hand stretched out from it. Jiraiya crawled out from inside.

"save--"

Konohamaru was so frightened that his body trembled, and he instinctively wanted to shout for help.

Just a few days ago, Kakashi analyzed that since there were many bikinis on the sunny beach, Jiraiya was very likely to sneak in.

Unexpectedly, Kakashi guessed correctly, and Jiraiya really did come!

Konohamaru was terrified.

He thought of the tragic fate of those victims.

Why is Jiraiya here?

Why did Jiraiya appear and call his name when he tried to enter Sage Mode?

Has Jiraiya become so mentally disturbed that he's going to poison him?

"Konohamaru, calm down... Ugh!"

As soon as Jiraiya opened his mouth, he was attacked by Konohamaru's uncontrollable Sage Mode, and his face immediately turned pale.