Chapter 149: The Night Owls Assemble Again!
“Ken-san, when I just reported our mission to Minato-sensei, he said that if you have time, you should stop by.”
Cherry blossoms could wait; village matters came first. Itachi spoke softly to Hakken’s retreating back.
Hakken nodded and glanced at Yūgao Uzuki beside him.
“Meet me tonight at the usual spot. That mixed bath you mentioned…”
“Don’t you dare run.”
He ruffled the girl’s hair, and in the next instant, Hakken and Itachi disappeared.
Hmph.
Run? Me?
Yūgao curled her lip and vanished as well.
...
“Here are the details regarding the recent ANBU expansion.”
Inside the Hokage’s office, Minato handed a stack of documents to Hakken, a satisfied smile on his face.
Following the principle Hakken had insisted on—quality over quantity—the elite ANBU force had grown from two hundred to five hundred members over the past five years.
Quality over quantity.
And that number didn’t even include the ANBU reserve corps. These were the veterans, the core of Konoha’s combat strength.
The threshold for joining ANBU remained as high as ever. Even getting into the reserve corps required strict screening, let alone joining a true ANBU squad.
As for the Night Owls, only those personally selected by Hakken Yoru had the qualification to enter.
Hakken skimmed through the document with little interest.
Wasn’t this Yūgao’s job?
He wasn’t about to read all of that.
ANBU, reserve corps, Night Owls—three systems, not too complex, not too simple. All he needed was the final screening results.
Minato definitely hadn’t called him here just for this.
Sure enough, after finishing the matter of ANBU expansion, Minato’s expression turned serious.
“Jiraiya-sensei sent a message. That Akatsuki group you mentioned before has been unusually active.”
Akatsuki.
Hakken’s eyes sharpened.
He had already told the Fourth Hokage about Obito.
And now Minato knew which organization Obito belonged to.
The mysterious group known as Akatsuki—a name meant to symbolize dawn.
Yet it had twisted into something that walked straight into darkness.
After Hakken’s warning, Minato naturally began paying attention to their movements.
“Originally, Jiraiya-sensei was tracking Orochimaru, but based on his observations and deduction, Orochimaru has likely joined Akatsuki.”
Jiraiya.
Without a doubt, he was someone who couldn’t sit still.
Once Konoha entered a stable period of development, he resumed his travels. Having already confirmed in his heart that Hakken was the so-called Child of the Prophecy, he preferred to wander the world’s major places, leaving traces of his existence and continuing the forbidden manuscripts he never finished.
Not like Hakken would listen to his long speeches anyway. That brat didn’t need guidance.
Still, the Night Owl Squad continued to carry Jiraiya’s name.
The codename “Mr. 91” had persisted all this time, and any thought of him being a temporary member had long disappeared.
In a way, “Night Owl” had become synonymous with honor.
Rumors across the ninja world said that encountering even one member of the Night Owl Squad was enough reason to abandon a mission immediately.
That alone showed just how powerful the Night Owls’ presence was.
“Where is Jiraiya?”
But when it came to Akatsuki…
Hakken frowned, remembering something, and spoke.
In the original story, the legendary Jiraiya met his end on the open sea outside Amegakure.
The dragon returns to the sea… yet even the sea refuses to welcome me—Jiraiya!
Even when Kabuto attempted to use Edo Tensei to revive Jiraiya, he couldn’t find the body.
A corpse swallowed by the ocean.
That was not the end Jiraiya deserved.
And right now, Konoha had no need for Jiraiya to be investigating Amegakure at all.
When Jiraiya first left to continue his travels, Hakken hadn’t thought much of it. The plot hadn’t begun yet; Akatsuki wouldn’t truly become a priority until after the Chūnin Exams.
He never expected Jiraiya to uncover Akatsuki intel so early.
The cause, of course, was Orochimaru.
And judging by the timeline, it did indeed line up.
In the original, Orochimaru left Akatsuki after being obliterated by Itachi’s Tsukuyomi. If one followed that logic, the Uchiha massacre should have taken place around this time. But with Hakken present, the massacre was never going to happen.
So Orochimaru still being in Akatsuki made perfect sense.
Jiraiya hadn’t been chasing Orochimaru to fight him. With two of the Sannin back in Konoha, he simply longed for the days when the three of them stood together.
Maybe, if he brought Orochimaru back to Konoha to take a look, Orochimaru would repent and return?
Dragging a comrade out of the abyss was something Jiraiya desperately wanted to do.
But Akatsuki right now was not something he could handle!
Even without Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Deidara, Akatsuki still held terrifying powerhouses.
Nagato aside…
Without prior intel, just the Immortal Duo alone would be a nightmare.
Then add Black Zetsu’s intelligence network, Sasori of the Red Sand’s puppets, and Biba Jūzō—the brute who could cleave through a Tailed Beast Bomb with his blade.
Jiraiya alone would struggle.
Not for lack of strength—but because his incomplete Sage Mode required time to activate, and Amegakure was Akatsuki’s home territory.
Without knowing the enemy’s details, poking around could lead to disaster.
“Jiraiya-sensei said he found Orochimaru’s trail. He’s following him toward Amegakure to investigate.”
Seeing Hakken’s expression shift, Minato quickly added an explanation as he glanced at the intelligence report.
What’s wrong?
With Jiraiya-sensei’s experience in infiltration and reconnaissance, there shouldn’t be any danger… right?
Whoosh!
Before Minato could finish, Hakken had already leapt out the window.
He took a deep breath, grasped the Zanpakutō at his waist, and drove it straight into the sky.
Hum!
In an instant, a torrent of spiritual pressure, fused from three different energies, burst upward. Crimson-black light shot from the blade all the way to the white clouds overhead—splitting them cleanly in half.
At Konoha’s training grounds, Shisui—who had been testing genjutsu on his subordinates—suddenly stiffened. After giving a brief instruction, he vanished.
Kakashi and Might Guy, stationed farther away, also sprinted toward the village center.
This was the Night Owl assembly signal.
In moments, countless villagers and shinobi turned toward the Hokage Building.
The Night Owls—long absent from their sight.
Yet no one had ever forgotten the names that stirred admiration and awe.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Within fifteen seconds, several figures landed before Hakken.
He sheathed his sword, took a steadying breath, and surveyed them.
Itachi Uchiha.
Kakashi Hatake.
Might Guy.
Shisui Uchiha.
And the Nine-Tails resting on his shoulder.
Including himself—they were five.
“Destination: Land of Rain.”
“Move out!”