Mastermind of the Akatsuki

After touring the ninja academy, Jiraiya, led by Yahiko, continued visiting other areas of Amegakure, covering nearly the entire village except for the Akatsuki base.

Upon returning to the Amegakure building, Jiraiya felt deeply conflicted.

He was happy to see Yahiko, Nagato, and the others having developed Amegakure so well, realizing his own former dreams. But Amegakure was not Konoha, and in Jiraiya's heart, nothing could take the place of Konoha.

Yet, Amegakure's growth could eventually pose a threat to Konoha, unless Konoha also embraced sweeping reforms similar to Amegakure's.

However, reforms are never easy.

Even if he were to run for Fifth Hokage, his personality alone wouldn't be enough to overcome the village's opposition. Even his teacher, who had held the position of Hokage for decades, still had to compromise at critical times.

At that moment, Jiraiya suddenly remembered something and asked Yahiko, "By the way, Yahiko, how has Lord Hanzo been? I didn't see him around the village."

"Lord Hanzo…" Yahiko and Konan exchanged glances before Yahiko replied, "He retired a long time ago and hasn't been involved in village affairs for quite some time."

"Is that so? I was hoping to meet him," Jiraiya said, his expression subtly shifting with a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

Jiraiya wondered if Yahiko and Konan might be hiding something from him. Their rise to power couldn't have been as simple as they made it sound.

If Hanzo, unaware of Yahiko and the others' connection to Jiraiya, initially nurtured them, he likely would have suspected their ties to Konoha after Yahiko's visit there.

Once he knew this, it wouldn't make sense for Hanzo to hand over his leadership role and let Yahiko and the others take over Amegakure.

Unless Byakuya was the actual power in Amegakure and Hanzo had chosen him as his true successor. But even though Jiraiya had been in Amegakure for two days now, he still hadn't met Byakuya, which felt strange.

Still, Byakuya had always been elusive, so perhaps he was off somewhere else.

Clearing his mind, Jiraiya decided not to dwell on irrelevant details. Now, he only wanted to leave Amegakure and continue his journey across various nations.

---

After spending one more night in Amegakure, Jiraiya bid farewell to Yahiko and the others and departed from the Land of Rain.

Standing at the village gate, Yahiko sighed lightly as he watched Jiraiya's figure fade into the distance, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

As a village leader, Yahiko had long developed a keen sense of reading people.

He could sense the inner turmoil within Jiraiya, understanding that his former teacher's feelings were complex—perhaps because Yahiko had mentioned Minato, or perhaps for other reasons.

Just then, a figure appeared beside Yahiko, looking off in the direction of Jiraiya's departure. He spoke softly, "So, Yahiko, how did things go with Jiraiya?"

Yahiko turned to Byakuya, surprised. "Byakuya, where have you been? I hadn't seen you these past few days; I thought you had gone off on another mission."

Byakuya shook his head and replied, "I didn't leave the village. I only stayed out of sight so as not to interrupt your reunion with your teacher. But you all certainly showed Jiraiya a lot of places… You've been so open with him—did you consider that Jiraiya might take this opportunity to gather intelligence on Amegakure and report back to the Third Hokage?"

"Jiraiya-sensei isn't like that…" Yahiko started to explain, then gave Byakuya a curious look. "Byakuya, you didn't stop us from taking Jiraiya-sensei on a tour. Don't tell me you had some sort of scheme in mind?"

Byakuya's expression shifted slightly, and he quickly denied it, "I wouldn't call it a scheme, exactly." After a pause, he added, "But I don't object to sharing our success with Jiraiya. If he wants to follow our example, then let him try. However, the Land of Fire is very different from the Land of Rain. I don't think Jiraiya will accomplish much."

Hearing this, Yahiko fell into brief contemplation.

Byakuya's blunt words hit on a hard truth: Jiraiya would struggle to make a real impact in Konoha, even with Yahiko and Nagato's experiences shared. The reforms in Amegakure had relied on a powerful precondition—military strength.

Byakuya and Yahiko had risen to power by force, quelling any opposition and steering Amegakure's development. But Jiraiya would never attempt a coup, nor even had ambitions to become Hokage. If he did, he wouldn't be wandering the world aimlessly, seemingly at ease.

Yahiko sighed and gazed into the distance, his view of his once-respected teacher shifting. The once-great figure of Jiraiya now seemed more ordinary. Though he preached the ideal of mutual understanding, Jiraiya rarely took concrete actions to achieve it. When Yahiko looked past the lens of his childhood admiration, he saw that his teacher was a mere human trying to survive in the cruel world of ninjas.

After letting his thoughts settle, Yahiko turned to Byakuya and said, "I still believe in Jiraiya-sensei. He will one day stand beside us as a true ally."

Byakuya nodded, "Then I look forward to that day…"

Just then, an ANBU operative suddenly appeared before Byakuya, bowing respectfully as he addressed both leaders. "Lord Byakuya, Lord Yahiko, I have an urgent report from the border."

Yahiko's face grew serious. "What happened at the border?"

Without wasting a word, the ANBU replied, "Several hours ago, Kusagakure ninjas invaded the Land of Rain and harmed its citizens."

"Kusagakure? What gives them the courage to do this?" Byakuya's expression darkened, a cold anger seeping through. "Did we not teach them a sufficient lesson in the past? This time, we should eliminate their leadership completely."

"Byakuya, that's extreme…" Yahiko reflexively started to object, though he too struggled to tolerate the provocation. "But we'll need to consider our options carefully."

Though Byakuya's expression was intense, his mind was puzzled. What had emboldened Kusagakure to act so boldly against Amegakure? Was it possible that the Box of Ultimate Bliss from Hozuki Castle in the Land of Grass had resurfaced?

Perhaps the Kusagakure ninjas were attempting to use the power of the Box of Ultimate Bliss to expand their territory. If so, Byakuya would have to leave the village temporarily to form alliances and address the threat. After all, the Box of Ultimate Bliss was a relic from the Sage of Six Paths' era, containing a creature with strength rivaling that of a Tailed Beast.