Chapter 32: The Iburi Clan
“Old man! I’m back!” The window of the Hokage’s Office was pushed open from outside, and Jiraiya, reeking of alcohol all over, staggered in through it.
Sitting in the Hokage’s exclusive seat, processing documents while preoccupied and somewhat lost in thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi was startled awake by the sudden arrival of Jiraiya. He turned around and saw Jiraiya stumbling off the window and falling to the ground.
The Anbu Ninjas lurking around, responsible for protecting the Hokage, held back strongly and silently averted their gazes.
“Ah, Jiraiya, your timing is perfect.” Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his chair, picked up his pipe, and after just two puffs, smelled the alcohol emanating from Jiraiya.
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s eyebrows immediately furrowed as he asked, “Where have you been this time?”
In the 51st year of Konoha, after the end of the Third Great Ninja War, Jiraiya and Tsunade both chose to leave the village for their respective reasons, traveling and training abroad.
Of the Sannin, only Orochimaru remained in the village, but he was busy with various experiments and even colluded with Danzō.
Before Orochimaru’s live experiments on Konoha Ninjas were exposed, he had already lost his qualification to become the Fourth Hokage.
Because he had chosen the wrong side, cooperating with Danzō, he had politically drifted apart from his own teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s faction.
Therefore, Orochimaru’s defeat to Minato in the Fourth Hokage election was already predetermined.
“Weren’t you gathering inspiration in the Land of Hot Water this time?” Jiraiya scratched the back of his head and got up from the ground.
After the war between Konoha and Cloud Village broke out, although Jiraiya did not go to the battlefield, he traveled along the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water, so he could appear immediately if the war situation changed or if Hiruzen Sarutobi had urgent matters to find him.
After Cloud Village signed a ceasefire treaty with Konoha, Jiraiya came back once.
“Speaking of which, I have something to talk to you about too, old man.” Jiraiya muttered, helping himself to a pot of tea on the table and pouring a cup.
“The Great Toad Sage prophesied that the Ninja World will face an unprecedented catastrophe, with the entire world shrouded in darkness!” After finishing a cup of tea, Jiraiya said heavily.
“Hm, so you’re looking for that Child of Prophecy who can save the Ninja World, right.” This wasn’t the first time Hiruzen Sarutobi had heard Jiraiya talk about ‘Ninja World catastrophe’ or ‘Child of Prophecy.’
He was already used to it.
For him, as a village Kage, such prophecies surely hid some unknown secrets behind them.
The owners of the Three Great Sage Regions were not human after all. Hmph, as if they truly cared about humanity’s future?
“No! This situation is even more serious!” Jiraiya’s face flushed slightly as he tried hard to argue.
One moment talking about the ‘Child of Darkness who will destroy the Ninja World,’ the next about the ‘greatest catastrophe in the Ninja World’s thousand-year history.’
Hiruzen Sarutobi neither confirmed nor denied it, nodded lightly, and handed a scroll from the table to Jiraiya.
“Orochimaru has defected.” Hiruzen Sarutobi’s light remark left Jiraiya stunned in place.
Once he reacted, Jiraiya said in shock, “Old man! What kind of joke is this! Orochimaru could never—”
Before he finished, Jiraiya saw the testimonies of some Konoha Ninjas who had survived the live experiments on the scroll handed over by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
His hand trembled as he took the scroll and read it carefully.
It detailed the ninjas rescued from Orochimaru’s secret laboratory in this operation, the large amount of experimental materials found, and the shocking experiment logs.
After reading these materials, Jiraiya’s expression grew grave, and he remained silent for a long time.
Even the prophecy about the ‘Child of Darkness’ was thrown to the back of his mind.
“I’ll go catch him right now!” Jiraiya slammed the materials on the table and leaped out the window with fierce momentum.
Hiruzen Sarutobi held his pipe, stood up from the chair, stood by the window, watched Jiraiya’s fading afterimage quickly moving across the village rooftops, and let out a deep sigh.
——————
Northern Land of Fire.
Deep in a forest.
‘A,’ wearing a Tanuki Mask, who would later become the Wood Release Ninja Yamato, was now following Lord Danzō’s orders, heading to the location agreed upon with Orochimaru.
Arriving under the tallest towering big tree in this forest, Yamato slowly stopped and approached the tree roots.
A bottomless tree hole appeared before him, and Yamato slowly walked in.
Inside the tree hole was a long tunnel, with oil lamps hanging on both sides, lighting the passage. Clearly, this was not naturally formed.
Step—
Step—
At the end of the tunnel was a suddenly open underground space, with intertwined tree roots supporting the area all around.
On one wall, oil lamps flickered, seeming like a gathering place or a sacrificial site.
As Yamato stayed vigilant of his surroundings, a burst of smoke rose in the underground space, blurring his vision.
Yamato immediately sensed that this smoke was unusual, carrying a dangerous aura.
“Who are you? How do you know about this place.” An indistinct voice came from the smoke.
Yamato immediately stated his identity: “I am Lord Danzō’s subordinate! I’ve come here regarding Lord Orochimaru!”
At those words, a mass of smoke gathered into a humanoid shape and gradually floated to Yamato’s side, circling him once.
The surrounding smoke also gathered into vague humanoid forms, appearing like ghosts and surrounding Yamato, who wore the Tanuki Mask.
One pale red smoke in particular circled Yamato several times.
“This is Lord Danzō’s letter.” Yamato took a scroll from his bosom and handed it to the tall humanoid smoke in front of him.
The latter took the scroll, examined it, and murmured to himself, “It indeed bears Lord Danzō’s seal.”
Then, he dispelled his smoke state, transforming into a tall, plainly dressed adult man with a small mustache.
The surrounding smoke also dispelled, reverting to human forms, as men and women in simple short garments appeared in the underground space.
‘An ability I’ve never heard of—is it a Bloodline Limit?’ Yamato looked in shock at the more than twenty figures around him.
“Tenzo! Is that you?!” A little girl’s delighted call made Yamato’s numb emotions tremble slightly.
He turned to look; the pale red smoke that had circled him several times had transformed into a girl about his own age, with freckles on her face, curly hair, and a pair of bright, watery big eyes gazing at him.
“Yukimi, he’s not Tenzo.” Gōta, the leader of the Iburi Clan, who held the letter scroll, shook his head slightly.
“So, tell us the situation.” Gōta returned the letter to Yamato and asked, “For Lord Orochimaru, our Iburi Clan will spare no effort!”
“Even if it’s to repay Lord Orochimaru’s life-saving grace back then.” Gōta’s words drew agreement from the other clan members.
Back then, without Orochimaru’s curse mark, their clan might have been completely wiped out.
“Oh? Is that so?” A voice laced with slight contempt came from the tunnel entrance.
“Who!” Yamato whipped his head around, raising the kunai in his hand.
He clearly hadn’t sensed anyone following him on the way here!
The Iburi Clan also became alert one after another.
At the dim tunnel entrance, a mysterious person wearing a three-eyed Fox Mask and a fur collar long robe slowly walked in.
“How pitiful…” Surveying the Iburi Clan before him, a sorrowful sigh came from under Uzumaki Menma’s mask: “A clan nearly exterminated, used by Orochimaru for human experiments.”
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