Naruto: Help Madara rejuvenate and launch a counterattack on Konoha

Orochimaru suggested killing them. Orochimaru was a realist, and he knew that war orphans would suffer greatly in their future lives.

Giving these weak beings a release is a form of compassion unique to Orochimaru.

Jiraiya was neither realistic nor had any principles, so he stayed behind to take care of Nagato and the other two.

They also taught them ninjutsu and taught them how to become ninjas.

If we could do it again...

I suspect they will still take different approaches.

Tsunade would kill Nagato for the sake of Konoha.

Orochimaru will steal Nagato in order to obtain the Rinnegan.

Jiraiya would be more patient in guiding Nagato so as not to lead him astray.

Tsunade asked, "Jiraiya, what kind of person is Nagato in your eyes?"

Jiraiya recalled Nagato's appearance: "He was a very introverted child."

"He is sensitive and soft-hearted, kind, and prone to tears."

"He was afraid of hurting others. Once, he activated his Rinnegan and killed a group of rogue ninjas who attacked them. He had nightmares afterward and felt guilty for a long time."

"I can't imagine that someone like Nagato would become the leader of Akatsuki."

Tsunade guessed, "It must be related to their experiences!"

Jiraiya nodded: "Actually, I didn't see Nagato. I saw six Pain, and the one in the lead was Yahiko as he grew up."

"In the ensuing battle, I realized that Payne was not a living person, but a puppet."

"Yahiko is dead. Nagato turned his corpse into a puppet, and he kept saying that he didn't care about Yahiko."

"Actually, he's someone who cares deeply about his partners."

"I think the change in Nagato and Konan was triggered by Yahiko's death!"

Tsunade asked, "Should we investigate?"

Jiraiya shook his head: "The most important thing now is to deal with the Akatsuki; we can't afford to divert our forces any further!"

"I think Yahiko's matter is still inseparable from the struggle! The ninja world is constantly in war, like a curse that can never be broken."

Tsunade nodded: "You had a reason, but you still went ahead and acted stubbornly!"

"I managed to sneak out of my busy schedule today to gamble at the casino, and I won big!"

Jiraiya laughed and said, "Isn't that good?"

Tsunade shook her head: "I hate losing, but I hate winning even more."

"Yeah, every time your luck improves, something bad happens!"

Jiraiya was talking about this trait of Tsunade.

The two walked to a fence and leaned against the iron railing to look at the night view of Konoha Village.

Tsunade said, "I'm really worried that something might happen to you, Jiraiya. If the two great sages hadn't told you to evacuate, you would most likely have been left in Amegakure by Nagato."

Jiraiya chuckled. "To be killed by one's own disciple, that's truly a tragic thing!"

Tsunade pulled out two sake jugs at some point and handed one of them to Jiraiya.

The two touched hands and then started drinking.

"Speaking of which, our teacher, the Third Hokage, was killed by Orochimaru. He was another guy who taught his disciples to starve themselves to death."

Jiraiya took a sip of sake and chuckled, "The old man died with a smile on his face. He must have felt somewhat satisfied to see his proudest disciple before he died!"

Tsunade scoffed, "His most prized disciple has turned into a venomous snake. What's there to be satisfied with?"

"Perhaps taking away Orochimaru's hands will make him unable to continue causing trouble and thus bring him joy!"

"That's part of the reason, but what's the happiest thing for an elderly person?"

"Stay at home and see your children, who have been away for many years, come home?"

"That's right!"

Jiraiya recalled the past and couldn't help but feel a little sentimental.

"Orochimaru had a worse life than the two of us. His parents died in the war when he was very young."

"His inner strength isn't as formidable as it seems!"

Tsunade snorted, "I knew Orochimaru was a venomous snake from a young age. That guy has such a disregard for life!"

"He wasn't indifferent; he was realistic. He understood this cursed world better than either of us."

"You developed hemophobia because of the deaths of your loved ones. And I didn't recover for a long time because of the deaths of Minato and Kushina."

Jiraiya sighed, saying that the cause of all this tragedy was the endless war.

Tsunade took a sip of her drink: "Now there's no need to worry about Orochimaru's threat anymore; he was killed by the very disciple he taught!"

Thinking of Orochimaru, Tsunade mentioned a suspicious point: "Kakashi's mission log mentions that they noticed traces of Orochimaru during Sasuke and Itachi's battle."

"Um?!"

Jiraiya looked at Tsunade, his expression brightening slightly, and said, "Orochimaru isn't dead yet?"

Tsunade chuckled. "That guy's obsessed with immortality. I wonder what he's been researching all these years since he defected?"

"Given his genius and madness, he must have researched many incredible things, so it's not particularly hard to understand why he was spared a few more lives."

Jiraiya knew more about Orochimaru, and he speculated, "Orochimaru had previously tried to use his Reanimation Jutsu on Sasuke."

"Because Sasuke has the Sharingan, Orochimaru did not take over his body."

Instead, he was devoured by Sasuke and obtained Orochimaru's white snake cells.

"Orochimaru has not been completely eliminated from Sasuke's body. As long as Sasuke's cursed seal remains, Orochimaru's will exists within him."

Jiraiya knew more about Orochimaru than anyone else. During his years of tracking Orochimaru, he even discovered that Orochimaru's Reanimation Jutsu had a three-year gap after each reincarnation.

"I think it must have been during Sasuke's battle with Itachi that Sasuke's will and condition dropped drastically, making him unable to suppress Orochimaru's will, which allowed Orochimaru to take over Sasuke's body."

"Later, I don't know what method Itachi used, but he helped Sasuke defeat Orochimaru!"

Tsunade said, "The only way to verify this is to see if Sasuke still has the power of Orochimaru's cursed seal in the later battles!"

"I'll be careful!"

When the Uchiha brothers were mentioned, Tsunade sighed: "Itachi was a hero in the shadows. He bore the infamy of destroying the Uchiha clan all by himself."

"He's more like a Hokage than I am!"

Jiraiya remarked, "That Uchiha kid is indeed quite special; Orochimaru has frequently suffered losses at his hands."

"But unexpectedly, he was carrying out orders from higher-ups to wipe out his own clan!"

"The Uchiha clan is really complicated; they have all sorts of amazing people in them!"

"It's a pity, a real shame, that Itachi will have to carry the infamy of his clan's annihilation for the rest of his life!"

Politically speaking, Konoha has no way of clearing Itachi's name.

Because the decision to exterminate the Uchiha clan was made by the higher-ups, including the Third Hokage.

It was Danzo who bypassed the Third Hokage and gave Itachi the order to exterminate the Uchiha clan.

Afterwards, the Third Hokage also removed Danzo's Root, until the Third Hokage died and Tsunade took over.

The root section was rebuilt with the support of two elders, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.

Regarding the annihilation of the Uchiha clan, the Third Hokage acknowledged the decision made by the higher-ups and took action to punish Danzo.

They were both punished equally, but one of them was beaten to death.