Chapter 174: Chujiu: Jiraiya, have you done right by the Fourth?

The Second Konoha Civil War ended with the Battle of the Valley of the End as its military conclusion.

However, politically, it was marked by the "self-extermination" of the Fire Daimyo, and countless troubles remained in its wake.

The biggest trouble was those seven or eight thousand "Konoha Rogue Ninja."

Aside from Jiraiya and Tsunade, all rogue ninja were captured, imprisoned, and put on trial.

Under Orochimaru's direction, the verdicts were essentially a formality.

The punishment for the vast majority of rogue ninja was mandatory missions, ranging in number from five to fifty.

The rogue ninja with the most serious crimes were merely stripped of their status as Konoha ninja and restricted from leaving Konohagakure.

The most troublesome were Jiraiya and Tsunade.

The two held such unique statuses: classmates and close friends of the Fifth Hokage Orochimaru, meritorious veterans of Konoha, Shadow-level Ninja with immense prestige in the Ninja World, and possessors of vast connections and influence.

Tsunade was also the only direct blood relative of the First Hokage.

Killing them was certainly out of the question.

Even without considering the feelings of the Fifth Hokage Orochimaru, one had to consider the uproar across the entire Ninja World, as well as the feelings of the ninja within the village.

But letting them go was even more impossible; leaving them to wander outside would inevitably turn them into banners for the anti-Orochimaru faction, potentially triggering a Third Konoha Civil War.

Orochimaru and Yamanaka Chujiu discussed it several times before finally finalizing the disposal plan.

First was Tsunade.

She had hemophobia, a weakness in her attachment to Shizune, and an obsession with the future of Konohagakure.

The key was that Tsunade herself had no ambition, no greed to build a large-scale rebel force; her motive for participating in the Anti-Snake Alliance was her disgust for Orochimaru's dictatorship.

In reality, if one delved deeper, she had simply been hoodwinked and had joined in a muddled state.

Therefore, Tsunade's treatment was quite good: she retained her honorary titles such as the strongest medical ninja and one of the Konoha Sannin, and was not convicted of treason.

Tsunade only needed to return to her old residence, accept regular inspections by the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan, was forbidden from leaving Konohagakure without permission, and had to report her travels to Orochimaru.

Furthermore, Tsunade could participate in Konoha's medical management at any time, take part in the training and education of medical ninja, and perform surgeries she was interested in whenever she liked.

To be honest, this didn't even look like a punishment.

Or rather, was the only punishment Tsunade received: being forbidden from gambling?

Jiraiya was even more troublesome; he was not as easy to talk to as Tsunade, preferring death over being confined to Konohagakure, and insisted on going to find some Child of Prophecy.

Yamanaka Chujiu mocked him to his face: "Lord Jiraiya, can you really find the Child of Prophecy?"

"Even if you were lucky enough to see the Child of Prophecy, would you even be able to recognize him?"

Jiraiya stiffened his neck and said: "The Great Toad Sage said I can find him, so I definitely can!"

Yamanaka Chujiu's eyes were full of skepticism, because he hadn't come to see Jiraiya alone; his left hand was holding his niece Ino, and his right hand was holding the true Child of Prophecy, Uzumaki Naruto.

Heh, the person is right in front of you, and you haven't even noticed...

It doesn't matter if you can't recognize him, I can shove him at you!

Yamanaka Chujiu picked up the four-year-old Naruto and shoved him directly into Jiraiya's arms: "Come, give your grand-disciple a hug."

Jiraiya was completely stunned: "What? Grand-disciple?"

"Wait, are you saying this is Minato's child?"

Yamanaka Chujiu raised an eyebrow and said: "Naruto, tell the Pervy Sage your name!"

Naruto wasn't shy at all, and gave Jiraiya a sweet smile: "Hello Pervy Sage, I am Uzumaki Naruto, the son of the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze and Uzumaki Kushina!"

Jiraiya's inner softness was touched, and he gently hugged Naruto: "Good, good child."

Yamanaka Chujiu said coldly: "Jiraiya, what does this softness of yours count for now? Are you trying to prove that you are a good person who values affection and sentiment?"

"But Lord Jiraiya, when the Fourth Hokage sacrificed himself, you were not in Konohagakure, and later when Kumogakure and Kirigakure attacked Konohagakure, you weren't there either."

"Four years, four whole years, you never returned to Konohagakure, never took a single look at little Naruto."

"Is this how you show that you value the bond between master and student?"

"No, stop pretending; you are just an irresponsible coward who always uses laughable excuses to escape the responsibilities you should bear. You have spent your whole life failing your own bonds and responsibilities!"

Jiraiya didn't care about Yamanaka Chujiu's accusations at all; while looking down at the oblivious Naruto in his arms, he gently defended himself: "Yamanaka Chujiu, you are only 18 years old this year; you don't know the reality of the Ninja World at all, which is why you think my actions are unreliable."

"I, the Toad Sage Jiraiya, have never failed any bond."

"I fought two wars for Konoha and executed countless missions; I do not owe Konohagakure anything."

"I take on disciples and spread the Dao, wandering the Ninja World, following the Sage's prophecy to search for the Child of Prophecy, never for my own selfish desires, but to end the endless wars of the Ninja World."

"Because the prophecy states clearly that only the Child of Prophecy can determine the fate of the Ninja World in the future extinction-level disaster."

"I must find him, educate him, and guide him toward good, so that I can give the Ninja World a beautiful and peaceful future."

Yamanaka Chujiu sneered: "High-sounding excuses, riddled with holes and evasive words."

"You say it's for the peace of the Ninja World, but where is the proof?"

Jiraiya stammered: "This is the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage, it is something that will only happen in the future, how could I have proof?"

Yamanaka Chujiu said with disdain: "So it's just empty talk then? You use such empty words to offset your irresponsibility?"

"Let me tell you what responsibilities you have abandoned!"

"I won't even mention the affairs of Konohagakure; Lord Jiraiya, you have indeed contributed greatly, which is why I still address you as 'Lord'."

"You have done right by Konohagakure!"

"But have you done right by the Fourth Hokage Minato?"

"The Fourth Hokage sacrificed himself for Konohagakure, and Lady Uzumaki Kushina sacrificed herself as well, leaving only their only child alone and miserable in Konohagakure."

"As the Fourth's master, you were obsessed with a void prophecy, wandering outside for years, failing to rescue Konohagakure."

"Fine, let's even set that aside; after all, the Fourth was the Hokage, the strongest ninja in Konohagakure, so it is understandable that you didn't save him."

"Then why did you ignore Naruto?"

Jiraiya defended himself: "I was in great pain when Minato sacrificed himself, but I knew that Master Sarutobi had taken power again, and I knew he would take good care of Naruto..."

"Haha!" Yamanaka Chujiu laughed, interrupting, "How do you know the Third would take good care of Naruto? Have you come back to see for yourself even once?"

Jiraiya's expression changed abruptly; he looked down, confirmed that Naruto was chubby, lifted him up to test his weight, felt the solid heft, and only then set his mind at ease.

"Isn't he being raised very well?"

Yamanaka Chujiu said with a sinister tone, "This is because I asked Big Brother Inoichi to raise him bit by bit!"

"In the months he was in the Third's hands, Naruto nearly died several times!"