The Tenseigan started from the Hyuga main family.

The next day, early in the morning.

"Are you sure it was Danzo who personally contacted the Sand Village ninja?"

On a rooftop, Jiraiya, dressed entirely in black, gazed at the village shrouded in dark clouds and spoke.

"Yes, I not only found footage of Danzo personally contacting him in Maki's memories, but also in the memories of other Sand Ninja."

Yamanaka Inoichi stood behind Jiraiya, also dressed in black, and took out a scroll containing specific information.

Jiraiya nodded, took the scroll, and after reading it, his immense psychological pressure lessened considerably.

Although many details are still unclear, such as why the members of Root were so obedient to Hyuga Sawatatsu, it at least proves that Danzo did indeed collude with the Sand Village ninja to attack Hyuga Sawatatsu.

Konoha, which has just experienced a major upheaval, is extremely short-handed and cannot afford another internal conflict.

"Let's go, let's see the old man off on his final journey."

Jiraiya threw the scroll back into Yamanaka Inoichi's arms and then jumped off the rooftop.

Looking around, everyone on the street, whether ninja or civilian, was dressed in black and gathered in front of the Hokage Building to attend Hiruzen Sarutobi's funeral.

In the heavy rain, Koharu Utatane and Jiraiya stood side by side, jointly presiding over the memorial service for Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other victims.

As for Mitomon Homura, although he also attended the funeral, he could only stand in a corner, with two ANBU following behind him.

As more and more white chrysanthemums bloomed in front of the memorial, the sudden downpour quickly stopped, the dark clouds dispersed, and the bright sunshine once again enveloped Konoha.

-----------------

Ding!

With a crisp bell ringing, two figures wearing straw hats that obscured their faces stood on the unrepaired wall, looking down at Konoha Village from above.

"Although it was spared destruction, the damage was severe. What a pitiful village that was once so prosperous."

A figure dressed in black clothing with red clouds spoke, his voice filled with deep sorrow.

"This is so unlike you. So you really do have some attachment to your hometown?"

Another figure, carrying a weapon wrapped in huge white bandages, turned his head slightly and sighed.

No, not at all.

Alarmed that his true emotions were being exposed, Itachi Uchiha slightly raised his head, revealing his three-tomoe Sharingan that had been hidden by his straw hat.

"Let's go. The Third Hokage has just died, and Konoha must be in a lot of chaos. It's the perfect time to complete the leader's mission."

Before Kisame could speak again, Itachi Uchiha leaped off the high wall and landed in the thick fog.

Kisame Hoshigaki gazed at Itachi Uchiha's retreating figure in the distance, a cryptic smile playing on his lips, before taking steps to follow closely behind.

In the misty air after the rain, the Konoha ninjas who heard the bell looked up and saw two figures approaching.

"Excuse me, sir/madam..."

Before he could finish speaking, the ninja on duty was immediately filled with a pair of scarlet eyes, and an irresistible drowsiness overwhelmed him. He slid off the wooden pillar and onto the ground.

The two figures slowly walked away, leaving only the clear sound of bells echoing in the distance.

-----------------

"Great, they're big and white, the average size is really high. Konoha Village is definitely the best place for me..."

Outside a hot spring town, lewd laughter echoed from a rooftop.

Jiraiya, holding a monocular telescope, was half-squatting on the rooftop, a lewd smile spreading across his eyes and mouth.

Are you still doing this kind of pointless thing?

Just then, a voice rang out behind Jiraiya, filled with anger at his lack of ambition.

"This is a legitimate research trip, Ms. Xiaochun."

Jiraiya reluctantly put down his binoculars, his expression turning serious, completely different from his lecherous demeanor just moments before.

As expected, he's a fine disciple trained by that lecherous monkey!

Koharu's lips twitched twice, as she thought of the glass sphere placed in the Hokage's office.

"When will you lift Yan's house arrest? After all, he is still the Hokage's advisor and has worked hard for Konoha all his life."

With an extremely serious expression, Koharu Tsurugi shook her head and stated the purpose of her visit.

With Hiruzen Sarutobi's death, Koharu Utatane's power as Hokage's advisor immediately diminished significantly. Especially after forcing a White Zetsu out of Homura Mitokado's body in front of everyone, Koharu felt a strange change in everyone's gaze, making her deeply aware that her power was teetering on the brink of collapse.

"Before the matter is fully investigated, let Uncle Menyan rest for a while. After all, you are both getting on in years and should learn to trust young people."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes slightly, looking nonchalant.

"Konoha's strength has been severely weakened. Next, we need to negotiate with Sunagakure and deal with the possibility of our neighboring country taking daring actions at any time..."

Xiaochun, who was turning over to her dorm, looked unusually serious and took a few steps forward.

"...The Emergency Executive Committee alone is no longer sufficient to handle these situations. Konoha now needs a trustworthy and powerful leader. We need the Fifth Hokage, Jiraiya!"

Seeing Jiraiya's impatient expression and his fingers stroking the binoculars, Koharu Utatane displayed the imposing manner of an older generation ninja, her voice rising higher and higher.

"In the emergency meeting with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire just now, the Jonin team has made a choice: you will succeed the Fifth Hokage!"

Chapter 63 Konoha on High Alert

"What a pity, I'm not cut out to be Hokage..."

Jiraiya turned around without any hesitation and once again extended his binoculars to aim at the hot spring village across the way.

"This is an order! And don't forget, you still bear the title of one of the Three Legendary Sannin!"

Seeing that Jiraiya was unmoved by reason, Koharu Utatane's face darkened, and she shouted angrily.

"If we're talking about the Sannin, isn't there Tsunade? Compared to my lack of motivation, the capable Tsunade is obviously more competent."

Jiraiya sighed, turned around, and looked at Koharu Utatane.

"But we don't know where she is."

Xiaochun hesitated for a moment before retorting.

"I'll go find her and bring her back to the village, then everything will be fine, right?"

Jiraiya continued, his gaze meaningful.

"Also, I hope to bring Naruto Uzumaki with me on this journey."

Koharu instinctively wanted to refuse, but after meeting Jiraiya's unwavering gaze, she had no choice but to compromise.

"Impossible! The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is a matter of life and death for the entire village. We absolutely cannot entrust him to you! Unless..."

Xiaochun, who was switching dorms, gritted her teeth and stated her terms for the exchange.

"You will also bring Hinata Sawa Tatsuya along."

It seems that Hinata Sawatatsu's strength has made some people feel threatened...

Or perhaps, she wanted to take advantage of Hyuga Sawa's absence to regain control of Root?

Under Jiraiya's threatening gaze, Koharu Utatane lowered her eyes, unwilling to meet his gaze.

"make a deal!"

After a long while, Koharu Utatane breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Jiraiya's reply, only to find her vest already soaked with sweat.

-----------------

In the Land of Rain, inside the hall of a building, three chairs are arranged in a triangular pattern, and three figures sit on them: Pain, Obito, and Konan.

"The information sent by Zetsu has been confirmed. The mysterious person who defeated the Jade Maiden last time was none other than Hyuga Sawatatsu of Konoha."

Wearing a mask, Obito Uchiha shared the information sent back by the White Zetsu clone.

"Konoha Village has never lacked young geniuses. I wonder if Madara possessed such great strength at his age?"

Xiao Nan, who had a paper flower on her head, calmly probed the masked man's identity.

She and Nagato remained wary of the man who claimed to be Uchiha Madara.

"The intelligence has been brought back. You can decide how to handle it yourselves."

Obito Uchiha completely ignored Konan's probing. After throwing a scroll into Pain's hand, he created swirling vortexes centered on his exposed single eye, sucking his entire body into them and disappearing without a trace.

"Xiao Nan, you should take a look too."

After silently reading through the information recorded in the scroll, Pain handed it to Konan.

"Orochimaru used the Impure World Reincarnation technique to summon two deceased Hokage, and killed the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi?"

Having only read half of it, Xiao Nan suddenly looked up, gazing at Payne beside her with a hint of excitement.

"Pain, if we combine the Impure World Reincarnation technique with your jutsu, wouldn't that be..."

Xiao Nan stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence.

Each time Nagato manipulates the Six Paths of Pain, his already emaciated and frail body deteriorates further. If he were to use the Rinne Rebirth technique, Nagato's life force would likely be in grave danger.

If it were to cost one companion's life to save another deceased person, Xiao Nan would naturally find it difficult to bear.

"Zetsu has already found Orochimaru's lair. Originally, I planned to have Sasori and Deidara continue to hunt down Orochimaru and retrieve the Void Ring. However, if Orochimaru has the ability to summon dead ninjas, then let Pain take action himself."

Having relied on each other since childhood, Nagato, hiding in the shadows, naturally understood what Konan was trying to express.

Originally, I wanted to wait until world peace was achieved before handing everything over to Yahiko. Since you can't wait any longer, then let me fulfill your wish.

"But Nagato, your body won't be able to take it!"

Xiao Nan suddenly stood up, her face full of excitement.

"It doesn't matter, I may or may not die before world peace is achieved."

Payne made his assurance without any expression.

As the door to the room next to it opened, one Pain figure after another emerged, their purple Rinnegan glowing brilliantly.

-----------------

"Itachi, it seems the Konoha ninjas have discovered us..."

Walking through the streets of Konoha, Kisame Hoshigaki was initially observing with great interest how many ninjas and civilians were happily repairing buildings damaged by battle. However, he soon noticed something was amiss.