Chapter 845 : Jiraiya's Shock and Disbelief!

Tsunade and Jiraiya stared at their old Sensei for a long time. They wanted to scold Hiruzen for letting things deteriorate to such an extent, but both could feel the sincerity on his face, accompanied by guilt and regret. Unfortunately, neither his guilt nor his regret could undo his mistake. The Uchiha Clan, one of the two founding clans of Konoha, had been betrayed by the very same village they helped create.

Tsunade sighed, “As much as I want to argue with you for allowing something like this to happen, we share the blame too. Had we been in the village, things could have been different.”

Jiraiya sighed as well. Suddenly, Tsunade's expression hardened. She said, “I won't blame you anymore regarding this matter. However, I can't ignore it either. I acknowledge the efforts they put in the village, but I don't want to be advised by the ones who allowed things to deteriorate to this extent. I'll remove Elder Koharu and Elder Homura from the council.”

Jiraiya agreed with Tsunade. While the crimes against the Uchiha clan could never be reversed and even their perpetrators would never receive any punishment, letting them enjoy the same powers and privilege crossed all lines. Now that Tsunade had taken charge, there was no reason to let them continue. Both looked at Hiruzen, who traditionally protected his old teammates.

Hiruzen thought for a bit and sighed, “I understand. However, neither will accept it without resisting since you can't tell this to everyone. They'll also become hostile towards me and assume I threw them under the bus since I'll keep my seat on the council.”

Jiraiya frowned and asked, “Are you still defending them? You of all people should understand the gravity of this incident.”

Hiruzen shook his head and answered, “I'm not. It's just a natural feeling to have. Luckily, there's a simple solution. I'll resign from my seat too. That should make them accept the situation. Hokuto or Asuma can represent the Sarutobi clan in the council.”

Hiruzen's words surprised his students. One had to remember that Hiruzen had been leading Konoha's council for too long. While he shared blame too, neither Tsunade nor Jiraiya wanted to blame him and instead wanted to focus on the remaining elders. Of course, this showed a certain bias, but neither cared much about it. It wasn't as if they needed to answer to anyone.

“Sensei…” Tsunade muttered.

Hiruzen smiled and said, “It's fine. I have been in power for too long. Accepting it back after Minato's death was a mistake. Besides, this will also give you a perfect cover.

Danzo is already not on the council. Koharu and Homura leaving would have raised eyebrows. However, this way you can send a message that Konoha is moving past the old generation and the younger generation is taking charge.”

Tsunade sighed, “If you're fine with it, then alright.”

She turned her attention back to Sasuke's file and muttered, “I still don't understand Itachi's actions. Why did he treat his brother in such a manner?”

Hiruzen explained his earlier analysis to Jiraiya and Tsunade. Though Itachi's illness was surprising, Jiraiya and Tsunade could no longer feel any surprise due to the shocking information Hiruzen had given earlier.

Jiraiya muttered, “Though I understand his thoughts, this is too risky. Sending Sasuke to Orochimaru will be no different than killing him.”

Tsunade added, “I agree. But, if he isn't satisfied with Kakashi, who do we ask to train him? I can't think of anyone more qualified than Kakashi in Konoha. My and your skill sets are completely different and Sensei is in no condition to train him right now.”

Hiruzen nodded, “Yes, there's only one possible option. Fujin…”

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and asked, “Fujin? Doesn't he specialize in Wind? Does he have good command over Lightning as well?”

Hiruzen answered, “No, he has no talent in Lightning Release. However, he forced Orochimaru to retreat thrice. He's the only one with enough reputation and prestige to make Sasuke listen to him.”

Jiraiya thoughtfully said, “I see. You're using his recent explosive gain in fame to cloud Sasuke's mental bias.”

Hiruzen nodded, “Yes. It should be easy to make Sasuke curious about him and Fujin has shown a good handle over kids. So, this should go smoothly. Unfortunately, that is where the smooth part ends.”

Jiraiya muttered, “Since Fujin doesn't know how to use Lightning Release, we can't entirely depend on him to teach Sasuke...”

Hiruzen said, “That's just one aspect. Even though Fujin has several students, including Naruto, he hasn't trained anyone very seriously. He rarely trains them in person and more often than not, delegates their training to others like the Anbu instructors or even Hoka. They seem more like projects he picked to amuse himself than the master-disciple relations we promote through squads.

While he has undoubtedly done a good job in guiding those 6, it's not the same as being a full-time teacher. So, I'm not sure how good or bad of a Sensei he'll be for Sasuke.”

Tsunade and Jiraiya were stumped. Due to all the recent events involving Fujin, they had quite an impression of him. Neither imagined there would be so many problems in making him Sasuke's teacher.

To their surprise, Hiruzen sighed again and muttered, “And, that's just the tip of the iceberg. The biggest issue is Fujin himself. I still don't understand how his mind works. Who knows how he'll interpret our requests?”

Confused, Jiraiya asked, “What do you mean?”
Tsunade didn't say anything but a vague answer formed in her mind. Since she had gotten so much information from Shikaku the other day, she had a vague understanding of Fujin's nature. However, she wasn't entirely sure either.

Hiruzen muttered, “It's too complicated to explain. You'll get an understanding soon as you interact more with him. It's just that we need to properly monitor his progress with Sasuke.

Anyway, since there are these issues, we'll have to take some preventive measures. I'll help Fujin guide Sasuke, to ensure he stays on the right path. As for Lightning jutsus, we could have Kakashi continue guiding Sasuke in Lightning Release while Fujin takes care of the rest.”

Jiraiya replied, “There's an issue. Sasuke is Kakashi's student and he has taken quite a lot of effort in guiding him. Suddenly assigning him to Fujin will be insulting. Similarly, Fujin will not understand the significance of this. Unless we tell them the truth behind these actions, Kakashi could feel humiliated while Fujin will stay carefree.”

Tsunade muttered, “That's true. However, this isn't news we can spread so much…”

Hiruzen nodded, “Yes, it isn't. Kakashi might understand, but I don't want Fujin to learn about this. I have been guiding Fujin with the hope that he succeeds you later. Though it isn't set in stone, he has the best credentials from the younger generation. I don't want him to think that eliminating a clan is an option…”

Knowing what Fujin had done in the Land of Wind, Tsunade immediately understood. Meanwhile, Jiriaya wondered, ‘Exactly what did Fujin do for Sensei to be so on edge despite completely trusting him?’

Tsunade asked, “Before we decide to do this, are you sure this is how things should happen? We could ask Itachi to return secretly and I could check up on his illness. Though he can never stay in the light, he can still live peacefully in the shadows.”

Hiruzen said sadly, “I had offered him the same. Unfortunately, he doesn't want that. He wishes to sacrifice himself by letting Sasuke avenge the Uchiha clan…”

Tsunade sighed, “That's a shame. Let's decide how to break the news to Fujin and Kakashi and how to train Sasuke…”

The trio discussed for nearly half an hour before reaching a plan acceptable to all three. Jiraiya asked, “So, who do we call first?”
Hiruzen answered, “Fujin as he's the more unpredictable one. However, before we call him, I want to tell you more about Akatsuki.”

Tsunade and Jiraiya became serious. From Hiruzen's tone, they understood he considered them a greater threat than other villages.

Hiruzen said, “By now, you should be aware that they're targeting the Tailed Beasts. You should also know most of their members.”

Tsunade and Jiraiya nodded. Though Akatsuki hadn't been very active, they had accepted quite a few missions. They had several encounters with Konoha ninjas, especially Fujin.

Hiruzen said, “The members we have confirmed so far are Sasori, Kisame, Kakuzu and Hidan, along with Itachi. In the past, Orochimaru was a part as well, while Kaminari, Juzo and Deidara have died. There's also the plant-like being who they call Zetsu. And, the Uchiha who Fujin recently confronted refers to himself as Uchiha Madara…”

“Madara? That's impossible!” Tsunade exclaimed in shock.
Hiruzen replied, “Itachi believes he's Madara, but I don't think that is the case. He may just be using the name to intimidate others, or perhaps he may have some connection to the real Madara. Regardless, he isn't the real Madara.”

Tsunade and Jiraiya calmed down. Jiraiya muttered, “So, I suppose he's the leader of Akatsuki?”

Hiruzen answered, “He isn't. Or he may be, but he works in the background. Their leader goes by the name of Pain.”

As he heard Hiruzen's next words, Jiraiya's pupils dilated and his eyes widened, shock and disbelief was visible on his face! Hiruzen revealed, “He wields the fabled Rinnegan, the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths.”