Chapter 37: INAZ - 36
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Hiruzen Sarutobi's tea leaves were almost finished. He wondered who could help him get some more later. Thinking of Hiruzen Sarutobi's private stash, Shinji seemed somewhat interested.
"Then... regarding Orochimaru's situation, what else do you know?" Jiraiya frowned and sat down. He didn't sense any chakra from Shinji, and his wariness towards him immediately lessened significantly.
"There's quite a lot. Which aspect does Lord Jiraiya wish to understand?"
"All aspects! Especially the matter of his defection." Jiraiya frowned. Although he knew Orochimaru had defected from the village, he didn't know the details. After receiving the news from Hiruzen Sarutobi, he immediately went to the route Orochimaru took during his defection, intending to ask Orochimaru about it. But he was still shaken off by Orochimaru. They fought fiercely for four days, the battle stretching over a long front. Only after Orochimaru completely shook Jiraiya off did he return to Konoha, full of doubts.
"The reason for Lord Orochimaru's defection... is quite multi-faceted," Shinji looked at the anxious expression on Jiraiya's face. Looks like this could lead to several more transactions.
"Please elaborate." Jiraiya restrained his impatience, though a trace of vigilance and scrutiny remained in his eyes. As one of the Sannin, often undertaking infiltration missions, his alertness was very high.
"Lord Jiraiya, do you think... during the election for the Fourth Hokage... who was more qualified to take the position?" Shinji looked at his reflection in the teacup. Unconsciously, all three Sannin of Konoha had visited the All-Purpose Shop.
"The Fourth Hokage? Naturally, Minato Nami..." Speaking up to this point, Jiraiya suddenly paused. He understood Minato Namikaze, and understood Orochimaru even better. During the Third Shinobi World War, he knew Orochimaru was actually interested in the Hokage position. And in terms of qualifications and experience, Orochimaru was far more suitable than Minato Namikaze to serve as the Fourth Hokage. This could also be seen from their mission counts; Orochimaru completed missions with a standard 996 schedule. However, under the circumstances at that time, Minato Namikaze's reputation in the village was higher than Orochimaru's. Jiraiya was actually somewhat aware of the underlying reasons... But...
"I know Lord Jiraiya has never been interested in the Hokage position, but rather more interested in the Great Toad Sage's prophecy of the Child of Prophecy... Am I correct?" Jiraiya already knew about the Great Toad Sage's prophecy during his youth, but few people knew about the existence of the Child of Prophecy.
"Correct. I have indeed been searching for the Child of Prophecy these years," Jiraiya wasn't too surprised this time. Some people would know about the existence of the Child of Prophecy.