Jiraiya actually dared to raise a hand against Danzo?
Yagami felt a surge of excitement. Unfortunately, this was the Hokage's office; with so many people present, it was unlikely to escalate into a true catastrophe. What a pity.
Seeing Jiraiya weave signs, Lynx drew a kunai from his pouch and lunged straight for Jiraiya's throat. Orochimaru moved as well, but his target was Lynx. Two snakes shot from Orochimaru's sleeves: one bit Lynx's wrist to deflect the kunai, while the other coiled around Lynx's neck, tightening its grip.
Yagami saw a flash of regret in Jiraiya's eyes and knew the fight was effectively over. He wove his own signs, spreading the [Curse of the Self-Collapsing Body] outward to lock down Lynx, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya simultaneously. As a man aligned with both the Hokage and Yellow Dog, he had to maintain order.
Chakra surged through the room, sending documents flying off the desk in a chaotic whirlwind.
"Stop it!" the Third roared.
"Lynx! Stand down!" Yellow Dog barked.
Yagami saw the killing intent fade from Lynx's eyes and released the seal on him. Lynx retreated behind Danzo, black blood dripping from the twin puncture wounds on his wrist.
"Jiraiya! Don't be reckless!" the Third added. Once Jiraiya had calmed down, Yagami withdrew the [Curse of the Self-Collapsing Body] from him as well.
Orochimaru shrugged off the remnants of the binding and remarked, "Fox's sealing jutsu is quite impressive."
Yagami mused that while the [Curse of the Self-Collapsing Body] was great for bullying weaker opponents, it was still a bit lacking against true masters—the duration of the bind was too unpredictable.
No one else dwelled on the strength of the seal; all eyes were on Jiraiya. His face shifted between shades of blue and purple before he spat out a final word and turned to leave.
"I didn't know Uchiha Madara was behind Nagato! And I am not a rogue ninja! I'm going to travel the world—don't come looking for me!"
In the original timeline, Jiraiya left to travel after the Third Ninja War. Is he leaving early because of Danzo's targeting? If so, there will be even fewer obstacles for Sakumo Hatake to take Minato Namikaze as a disciple.
With a loud thud, Jiraiya slammed the door behind him.
The Third turned to Orochimaru. "Go stop him! Tell him to meet me at the Sarutobi compound tonight!" He still couldn't bear to lose a disciple as powerful as Jiraiya.
Orochimaru left with clear reluctance. He was always the one cleaning up after the foolish Jiraiya. He felt Tsunade would be better suited for the task, but she never set foot in the Hokage's office.
Before the door could even settle, Danzo turned to the Third, his voice low and dangerous. "Hiruzen Sarutobi! Why is your student special? If you don't handle Jiraiya, who will fear the village's policy on rogue ninja?"
The Third sighed. "Jiraiya is different. He has the potential to be a Kage-level shinobi—a future pillar of the Hidden Leaf Village."
"Then let this powerful pillar go hunt down the rogue ninja himself! Let him hunt Uchiha Madara!" Danzo countered. "Root's losses were caused by Madara and that Uzumaki remnant; I cannot swallow this insult! How many times has my Root been dismantled? Four new recruits just died! Jiraiya must pay for his mistake! He must atone through service!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed again. "The matter of hunting Madara requires careful planning. Madara is too strong; he isn't someone Jiraiya can handle."
Every village held a death to traitors attitude. Usually, the village wouldn't rest until the traitor was dead. But Madara was different. If you didn't hunt him, you wouldn't die. If Jiraiya went after him, Madara wouldn't rest until Jiraiya was dead. It was a inverse death to traitors situation.
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's combination of favoritism and indecision, Danzo turned and left without a backward glance. Another thud echoed as he slammed the door. He was livid over the devastating losses to Root and the Lynx Division.
Silence descended upon the office. No one was giving the Hokage any face today—not Jiraiya, and certainly not Danzo.
After a long pause, Yagami whispered, "Lord Hokage, Root is fond of using rumors. Should we be wary of them using rumors to attack Lord Jiraiya?"
Staying in the Hidden Rain Village during wartime was a heavy charge. On a scale of one to ten, it was an eleven. While everyone else was bleeding for the Hidden Leaf Village, why did Jiraiya feel entitled to abandon the battle lines? Even as angry as Tsunade was, she only stayed in the medical department; she never shirked her duties.
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "Right. Fox, keep an eye out for any rumors from Root."
"I understand."
Yagami thought: 'As soon as rumors against Jiraiya appear, Hiruzen will suspect Root, regardless of who actually started them.'
He planned to use his usual method—spreading rumors via illusion to widen the rift between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo.
'Danzo, if you won't go after Jiraiya, I'll do it for you. Jiraiya, welcome to the darkness of the Hidden Leaf Village.'
Seeing the Fox about to leave, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke up. "Fox, you can't rest yet. The Uchiha patriarch will be here shortly. You need to tell him about Uchiha Madara. Be careful with confidentiality—the Uzumaki affair is a village secret and must not be leaked."
"I understand, Lord Hokage."
Deer went downstairs to summon Uchiha Hikaku, Uchiha Fugaku, and Uchiha Toki, who had been waiting for some time. By the time they entered, the exhaustion from Hiruzen Sarutobi's argument with his teammates had vanished behind his professional mask.
"Patriarch Hikaku, please sit," the Third said. "Copper Fox has returned alive from Uchiha Madara thanks to his powerful defensive ninjutsu. The Uchiha clan should provide some insight so that the next time we encounter Madara, we don't suffer such catastrophic losses."
Uchiha Hikaku felt a deep, painful unease. This was a disaster he hadn't asked for. What insight could he possibly give? By the time he had graduated from the Academy, Madara had already defected.
The clan archives were full of records of how the First Hokage had beaten Madara. Madara's weaknesses were obvious: his chakra, ninjutsu, and taijutsu were all inferior to the First's. What could the Uchiha offer? Advice on how to be crushed?
"Lord Third," Hikaku said, "the Uchiha clan completely cut ties with Madara back during my father Uchiha Hikaku's time. When he first defected, not a single clansman followed him. The First and Second recognized our sincerity then. Given Madara's personality, he would never forgive us for that. He likely hates us more than he hates the village. We never expected him to clash with Leaf ninja again."
Hikaku was speaking from the heart; he truly had no idea how to handle the man. He wanted to suggest asking the head of the Senju clan or Princess Tsunade—when it came to dealing with an Uchiha, the Senju were the real experts.