"Meeting again, huh!"
A tall figure draped his arms over the shoulders of both Shisui and Anko, his face radiating a bright smile.
"Lord Jiraiya, please stay away from me!"
Heat rose from Anko's body as a tiny flame curled up from her palm and burned Jiraiya, making him yelp in pain.
"So unlovable!" Jiraiya vigorously shook his arm to extinguish the flame. He shot an annoyed glance at Anko, who had her hands on her hips, standing firm as she stared him down.
Uchiha Shisui greeted him respectfully, bowing slightly while casting an envious look at how casually Anko interacted with Jiraiya.
"Shisui, huh? You've really grown into a capable shinobi!"
Jiraiya's gaze landed on Shisui, and he spoke with a mix of appreciation and nostalgia.
Unlike others in the village, Jiraiya didn't hold suspicion or fear toward the Uchiha clan. To him, as long as someone was a loyal ninja of the village and hadn't betrayed it, they were a trustworthy comrade.
Of course, there were exceptions—like a certain old geezer who loved pulling rank and lurking in the shadows, causing trouble, along with his brainwashed subordinates who sacrificed their teammates and villagers without hesitation for the sake of missions.
If Jiraiya could, he would have loved to see mishap happening to that old geezer.
Jiraiya had a good impression of Shisui and responded with a warm smile and genuine praise.
He was aware that the Uchiha clan had been growing closer to Orochimaru in recent years, openly aligning their interests with his.
Jiraiya had no strong feelings about this.
He had no desire to compete for the position of Hokage. Without that ambition, all the political maneuvers and alliances in the village were none of his concern.
Even if he didn't have grievances with some of the higher-ups, his personality simply wasn't suited for a role like that.
So, he had no real conflict with Orochimaru in this regard. The only slight connection might be his disciple, Namikaze Minato, who also had aspirations of becoming Hokage. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel(ꜰ)ire.net
But you couldn't really blame Minato. The old man often went to the Ninja Academy to give speeches, constantly talking about the "Will of Fire." The kids at the academy would get fired up, and at least half of them would start dreaming and wishing to become Hokage.
Namikaze Minato's situation was a bit more complicated.
But who cares! It had nothing to do with Jiraiya, the Toad Sage!
Jiraiya would entrust everything to Minato. After all, it was Minato's rightful inheritance. As for how far Minato could go after inheriting Jiraiya's connections and subordinates, that wasn't something Jiraiya needed to worry about.
At least for now, Minato was performing exceptionally well! He had earned the respect and admiration of everyone on Jiraiya's side, and even the old man had taken him very seriously.
Unfortunately, if it weren't for Kagetsu, Minato might have been able to skip over others in the same generation and directly challenge Orochimaru's standing, thanks to his battlefield achievements and his charisma, which seemed almost supernatural.
But with Kagetsu in the picture, even though Minato's reputation had soared, and his deeds were well-known among both villagers and the ninja world, he was still only compared among the others of the younger generation.
While Minato was highly active on the battlefield and had achieved great military success, Nara Kagetsu, though not as prolific in missions or known to other villages, had made significant contributions to the village.
The reappearance of the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai was one such contribution. Although the Technology Development Department stated that strict prerequisites were still required for a successful transplantation and awakening, it was a far cry from the near-impossible Wood Release experiments of the past. This was already cause for celebration.
Even if the ninja who awakened the Wood Release now couldn't reach the level of the First Hokage, it was still something. Neither Sarutobi Hiruzen nor the elders of the remaining Senju clan had ever truly expected the recreation of the First Hokage's abilities.
Regardless, it was progress. The power varied, and the effects were decent. The traits of the Wood Release could now be developed and controlled.
Moreover, with Tsunade's previous teachings to Kagetsu, the Senju clan's feelings toward the master-disciple pair of Orochimaru and Kagetsu were quite complex but generally leaned positive.
However, under the arrangements of the Second Hokage, the Senju clan had already decentralized most of their power to other ninja clans.
Many of their members had been assigned to fill positions in the Ninja Academy, which the Second Hokage had established but was severely understaffed. As a result, the Senju clan no longer held much sway.
Helping the Kekkei Genkai clans in the village awaken their Kekkei Genkai, and using scientific methods to develop corresponding training techniques and training directions, allowed those who awakened their Kekkei Genkai abilities to better strengthen and master them.
The Uchiha clan's Sharingan has seen a surge in recent years, with a dramatic increase in clan members awakening their Sharingan.
Clan members who had long been stuck at the two-tomoe or three-tomoe stage now have the potential to progress further, thanks to the technical support of the Technology Development Department.
However, after a period of this surge, Danzo and the advisors intervened, restricting the distribution of Sharingan-awakening medicines and tying them to contributions and missions for the village.
This forcefully halted the prosperity of the Uchiha clan. Yet, this did not diminish the clan's fervor in the slightest.
After all, the blame fell on Danzo and the council of advisors, with the Hokage tacitly approving their actions. What did this have to do with Orochimaru or the Technology Development Department?
On the contrary, after experiencing this wave of restrictions, the Uchiha clan's support for Orochimaru ascending to the Hokage position grew even more intense.
The radicals in particular no longer bothered with other topics during clan meetings. As soon as the conversation turned to Orochimaru and the Hokage, emotions ran high.
They openly questioned why Hiruzen Sarutobi had not yet retired and why Orochimaru was not the Hokage.
Occasionally, there would even be heated discussions about why the "old geezer" Danzo had not died yet.
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