Became the mastermind behind the Akatsuki organization

Chapter 416 Meeting in Prison
Does Jiraiya want to return to Konohagakure? The answer is yes.

After being defeated by Byakuya, Jiraiya had a lot of information he wanted to pass on to Tsunade and others, asking the Five Kage to be more wary of Byakuya, who was an ambitious man who was more threatening than the Five Kage.

But if Orochimaru took him back to Konoha, the situation would be completely different.

Under Orochimaru's surveillance, he had no chance to pass on any information, and it was hard to say whether Orochimaru would launch another Konoha destruction plan during this trip to Konoha.

The village today can no longer withstand chaos.

However, as a prisoner, he had no right to bargain and could only follow Orochimaru to the Konoha Village.

Not long after, they arrived at the area of ​​Konoha city.

Unlike the Death Forest and other affiliated areas, there is a special perception barrier in the Konoha city area. Any ninja who wants to enter or leave the Konoha city area will be sensed by the Sealing Squad.

However, for a ninja of Orochimaru's level, breaking the perception barrier is only a matter of time.

Just as Jiraiya was thinking about how Orochimaru would break the barrier, an ANBU wearing an animal mask came up to Orochimaru and said respectfully:

"Master Orochimaru, my master has been waiting for a long time."

Orochimaru nodded slightly, then glanced at Jiraiya and said slowly: "Then let's go into Konoha together to visit your master."

Jiraiya's face was gloomy. He didn't expect Orochimaru's infiltration into Konoha had reached such an extent.

Today, after the Anbu has undergone reorganization, Orochimaru still maintains contact with the Anbu, and the other party's status is still quite high.

At this moment, Jiraiya seemed to remember something and his breathing became slightly rapid.

There are very few jonin in Konohagakure who can command the Anbu. Apart from him and Tsunade, there are only a few advisory elders left. If these people contact Orochimaru...

Jiraiya no longer dared to think about it any further. He could not accept the fact that Konoha had been infiltrated like a sieve.

Walking through the city of Konoha, the few people could clearly feel that Konoha had become much more depressed. Most of the combat-capable ninjas had been transferred to the front lines, and now only one-third of the ninjas were left in Konoha.

Most of them are old, weak, sick and disabled, and have little fighting power.

Jiraiya was a little worried about this, fearing that Orochimaru would attack Konoha again, but Orochimaru seemed to have no interest in this. He even enthusiastically helped a few old ladies cross the road while crossing the road.

After seeing this scene, Jiraiya's mouth twitched slightly.

When Orochimaru was a Genin, he always looked aloof and wouldn't show much concern for others. The contrast between his behavior of doing good deeds is really too great.

Thinking of this, Jiraiya asked with a vigilant look: "Orochimaru, what do you want to do? Why do you act like this in front of us?"

Orochimaru paused, then revealed a terrifying and sinister smile: "Jiraiya, what do you think would happen if I manipulated you to attack the Konoha Village? Let the villagers of Konoha die at the hands of their beloved Jiraiya."

"This joke is not funny!" Jiraiya's face darkened instantly.

Sasuke glanced at Orochimaru and said:
"Orochimaru, please don't talk about destroying Konoha. The Uchiha ninjas are now responsible for protecting Konoha. If you attack Konoha, I and other clan members will not stand idly by."

"I know, I know. I was just joking with an old friend."

"I have no interest in these trash who can't even serve as experimental subjects, and I don't intend to do anything in Konoha Village, but don't you think my suggestion just now is interesting?"

Sasuke replied, "That doesn't sound like what you're suggesting. Only that Byakuya guy would suggest something as horrible as this."

"That guy? You are really a young and inexperienced person who is not afraid of tigers. You actually plotted against Bai Ye behind his back. If he hears you, you will suffer in the future."

Orochimaru said with a half-smile.

Sasuke snorted coldly and said with some dissatisfaction: "Orochimaru, you have already escaped from the Akatsuki organization, why are you still defending Bai Ye? Shouldn't you scold him?"

"I'm just not as skilled as others, there's nothing to complain about."

Orochimaru seemed to be lost in memory, and continued, "Since I failed to obtain the Rinnegan even after launching a sneak attack, it is only natural that I was hunted down by the Akatsuki organization. In the final analysis, it is because I am not strong enough."

Jiraiya listened to the conversation between Orochimaru and Sasuke while analyzing the information.

Jiraiya obtained a lot of useful information from the intelligence.

First of all, Orochimaru once joined the Akatsuki organization, but later he was wanted by the Akatsuki organization because of his failed attack on Nagato. This was actually a good thing for him.

At least I don’t have to worry about being caught by Bai Ye again.

Secondly, the relationship between Orochimaru and Sasuke made him realize that Orochimaru and Shisui might have always been in contact, which might be because Shisui inherited Danzo's intelligence network and wanted to secretly join forces with Orochimaru.

Thinking of this, Jiraiya felt as if he was being teased by fate.

Would every ninja who became the leader of the Root fall to the point of colluding with outsiders? Could it be that Shisui also wanted to take the throne through a coup?
After leaving the busy city of Konoha, the group arrived at the Root Base located in the back mountains.

Jiraiya had already suspected that the final destination would be the Root base, so he was not surprised at all.

Soon, they saw Shisui in the root base.

Shisui also happened to see Orochimaru and Sasuke. After discovering that there was an uninvited guest beside Orochimaru, he frowned and said:

"Orochimaru, didn't you say you had already trained Sasuke? Why did you bring Jiraiya here?"

"This was an accident..." Orochimaru explained with a smile, "But as the leader of the Root organization, you should know the value of Jiraiya."

Shisui said without changing his expression, "If it were peacetime, this would be a great gift, but right now the village is struggling to deal with Uchiha Madara."

"Even if I got Jiraiya, I wouldn't be able to do anything useful."

After hearing this, Jiraiya finally confirmed in his heart that Shisui and Orochimaru were in collusion. Both parties actually used him as bargaining chips, which made him feel extremely humiliated.

Orochimaru seemed unwilling to keep Jiraiya any longer, and quickly said, "It will be useful in the future. I will hand Jiraiya over to you along with Sasuke."

"Don't give it to me. I don't want him. You should keep him for yourself."

Shisui seemed unwilling to deal with Jiraiya, which made Jiraiya, one of the three ninjas, feel disdainful, which made him feel very complicated.

After repeatedly giving in for a while, Orochimaru couldn't help but say, "Shisui, I have no place to put Jiraiya. If it really doesn't work, why don't you just lock him up with the Sandaime?"

After hearing this, both Jiraiya and Sasuke perked up. Sasuke knew that it was Shisui and Orochimaru who attacked the Third Hokage together, but he didn't expect that the two of them actually spared the Third Hokage's life and didn't kill the Hokage who issued the order to exterminate the clan.

Jiraiya was extremely shocked and asked incredulously: "Orochimaru, Shisui, what were you talking about just now? The Third Hokage teacher is not dead? Wasn't he killed by you?"

"No, you heard it wrong just now. I killed the old man a long time ago."

Orochimaru tried to explain, but Jiraiya seemed to be certain of something and said, "Orochimaru! Your expression has betrayed you. I know you didn't kill the old man."

Shisui glanced at Jiraiya, then said, "Orochimaru, now that Jiraiya is in our hands, there's no need for us to hide it from him."

After looking at each other, Orochimaru nodded and continued:

"Jiraiya, you guessed correctly. The Third Hokage is indeed still alive and is imprisoned in the Root Prison. We will not kill you this time, but will spare your life."

"Both of you are very powerful ninjas. Instead of dying now, why don't you become our experimental subjects? Do you know how much experimental material the Third Generation old man has provided us?"

"You guys..." Jiraiya opened his mouth, trying to say something.

But Jiraiya, who was controlled by the curse seal, couldn't say a word and could only watch himself being dragged into the darkness by the Root ninja.

After Jiraiya left, Orochimaru stopped hiding and said straight to the point: "Shisui, I suspect that Jiraiya was asked by Lord Byakuya to come here. Does he have any special instructions?"

Shisui hesitated to speak, then handed Byakuya's scroll to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru glanced at the content above and said with a strange expression: "Shisui, what do you think Lord Byakuya is going to do? Why can't I understand his thoughts?"

The intelligence scroll records in detail the events of Jiraiya and Byakuya.

Byakuya went to Myoboku Mountain and successfully recaptured Myoboku Mountain, one of the three holy places, but he had a completely different attitude towards Jiraiya, the messenger of Myoboku Mountain.

Not only did he take the initiative to reveal the news of Bai Ye and Uchiha Madara's cooperation, he even exposed his own ambitions.

After beating Jiraiya into unconsciousness, he did not treat him but sent him to Orochimaru's base.

What puzzled Orochimaru the most was Bai Ye's subsequent orders.

It is simply incomprehensible that Bai Ye actually let Shisui and Orochimaru join the camp of the five major ninja villages to fight against Uchiha Madara together, and at the critical moment... expose him.

However, since it was Lord Bai Ye who issued the order, there must be a deeper meaning behind it.

As subordinates, they can only act according to Bai Ye's ideas at this moment, and the first thing they have to do is to regain the trust of Jiraiya and the Third Hokage.

Inside the Root Prison.

Jiraiya was arranged to the prison on the second floor. The prison was equipped with a toilet, a small bed, and even a desk and a lamp. It was considered a very luxurious prison.

Next to Jiraiya's prison was the room where the Third Hokage was.

After several failed attempts, the Third Hokage completely gave up the idea of ​​escaping and stayed in prison to retire peacefully.

As for why the escape failed.

Aside from the fact that most of his chakra was sealed and he could only exert the strength of a jonin, it was also related to the fact that the jailers were all Uchiha ninjas.

These Uchiha guards are all elites with three magatama, and many of them have mastered Wood Release.

With these people joining forces, the Third Hokage thought that even if he was in his prime, it would be difficult for him to suppress this group of elite jonin.

The deeper reason is that the Third Hokage knew that his career as Hokage was a failure.

Because of him, the Hokage has declined step by step from its peak to its current state. Not only did he lose the Uzumaki clan, an important ally, but he couldn't even keep the Senju and Uchiha clan.

Instead of continuing to serve as Hokage, he should trust Tsunade, Jiraiya and Shisui and see what the younger generation is capable of.

The reason why he ran away earlier was very simple: he wanted to see what Konoha looked like today.

Sighing softly, the Third Hokage was about to light himself a cigarette as he did before. At this moment, the Third Hokage saw the cell door next door being opened and a familiar figure being imprisoned inside.

"From the back and body shape, why does this guy look so much like Jiraiya?"

The Third Hokage muttered to himself, and then focused his energy on smoking. After entering the prison, no one asked him to quit smoking. The tobacco supply was very abundant, and it seemed that nicotine was going to kill him.

At this time, Jiraiya saw the Third Hokage smoking and asked uncertainly: "Third Hokage, is it really you? Are you really not dead?"

The Third Hokage's face froze, and then he looked at Jiraiya and said in shock: "Jiraiya, how did you get caught here by Shisui? Could it be that Shisui and Orochimaru are planning to attack Tsunade?"

Jiraiya paused and said:

"That's not the case. Orochimaru saved my life, but they still sent me here. But none of this matters. What's important is that you, teacher, are not dead!"

"Orochimaru still has some conscience and didn't put you to death."

The Third Hokage said somewhat awkwardly: "Orochimaru actually wanted to kill me, but was stopped by Danzo. The newcomer Shisui also didn't intend to kill me. They thought that letting me live was the greatest punishment."

"So that's it..."

Jiraiya said with a strange expression: "So the old man just let Shisui and Orochimaru humiliate you, right? I thought you couldn't stand it and chose to commit suicide..."

The Third Hokage blushed, he actually had quite a strong endurance.

As long as Shisui and Orochimaru don't attack Konoha, he doesn't mind living a good life. No one will complain about their long life.

After a cough, the Third Hokage began to change the subject: "By the way, Jiraiya, you just said someone attacked you. Who attacked you? Could it be the masked man?"

Jiraiya shook his head, "I fought the masked man and he wasn't strong enough."

The Third Hokage continued to ask: "Could it be that the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee, with their strength, could indeed have made you flee in such a panic that you were eventually saved by Orochimaru."

"Neither are the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee. They are our allies now."

Jiraiya shook his head again, and then said: "This matter is a long story, so let me take this opportunity to tell you from the beginning."

(End of this chapter)