Hiruzen The Professor!

Danzō held yesterday's newspaper, deep in thought. The headline read: "Kumo Invades Konoha! Will the Shinobi World Be Thrown into Chaos Again?"

The tide of war was already rising, and the world seemed headed for turmoil. That meant Hiruzen would likely have no choice but to reactivate Root.

He felt that perhaps soon, Hiruzen would ask him to step out of retirement.

Just then, a rhythmic knocking came from the iron door. A freshly delivered newspaper slid in through the crack. The front page boldly declared: "Kakashi Leads Expedition Against Raikage - Ten Days of Fierce Battle, Victory on the Horizon!"

It was only a temporary victory. Bigger chaos was still coming.

He snorted coldly.

They'll still have to beg me to take action when the time comes.

---

Hiruzen, for his part, couldn't care less what Danzō was thinking. He was busy doomscrolling the forum.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

The person who entered was none other than Jiraiya.

"You called for me?"

Hiruzen snapped out of it and looked at Jiraiya. "I called you for a final insurance policy."

"What's going on? And why are you giving me that look?"

Hiruzen lit his pipe and waved off the concern.

"Asuma is currently leading a squad to Suna to escort Gaara, their jinchūriki."

Jiraiya nodded to show he was listening.

"Akatsuki will likely attack when the One-Tail leaves the village. I want you to rendezvous with them. If an opportunity presents itself, take them down. Also… Have you made up your mind about what to do with Nagato?"

The leader of the evil organization was none other than Jiraiya's former student. Jiraiya had already learned this during his last heart-to-heart with Hiruzen. But Nagato had fallen deep into madness. Even if Jiraiya went to him, there might be nothing he could do. He couldn't beat him in a fight. And words wouldn't sway him.

He was visibly troubled. As his former teacher, he couldn't just abandon his student.

"After I help Asuma's team, I plan to head to Ame."

You're seriously going to deliver yourself?

Hiruzen was momentarily speechless.

Jiraiya, as if sensing what he was thinking, continued, "I won't give up on them. Don't worry. With proper intel, I'll be fine."

That much was true.

After a brief pause, Hiruzen finally shared the latest intel on Obito. Fearing that Black Zetsu would go into hiding for another few centuries, he had deliberately avoided anything involving Obito or Madara until now.

But the Hokage's office was currently sealed with strong barriers, and Jiraiya was someone he could trust.

"Then I definitely can't leave them alone," Jiraiya said, his gaze firm. "I have to go."

---

A few days later, Kakashi returned to Konoha with his troops.

Hiruzen warmly welcomed the heroes of the recent battle. He announced an official commendation: Five of Konoha's elite ninjas would be granted the title of "Five Generals of the Leaf."

The five appointed were: Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Kakashi, and Guy.

Some questioned this, asking, "Isn't Orochimaru a missing-nin? How can he be named one of the Five Generals? Isn't Yamato, with his Wood Release, more deserving?"

The Hokage immediately responded, "Orochimaru spent years undercover within Akatsuki and rendered great service. Now that he has returned to Konoha, he naturally deserves to be honored."

No one raised further objections.

---

During this time, Itachi had been at sea, living the life of a member of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Drinking, feasting, boasting, and brawling every day... even though they were on the brink of a deadly war with a terrifyingly high mortality rate. It all felt a bit ridiculous. But in such an atmosphere, the shadow over his heart had clearly lightened. At the same time, he had begun to deeply understand the structure of this world.

This world was even darker than the shinobi world. Despite having far more abundant resources than his world, the level of conflict here exceeded even the Warring States period.

"Celestial Dragons." He downed the fine liquor in his cup, unable to help but reflect, how could such beings even exist?

He was currently aboard the Moby Dick, the main ship of the Whitebeard Pirates. Moonlight spilled across the deck. All was calm and peaceful.

He leaned against the ship's railing.

Marco sat cross-legged on a barrel, holding a freshly opened bottle of rum.

In this time, the two had become close friends. As a teammate, Itachi was surprisingly easy to get along with, for instance, Kisame, who had originally been tasked with monitoring him, had ended up genuinely teaming up with him.

Marco lazily shook the rum bottle. "Hey, Itachi, you're thinking about complicated stuff again, aren't you?"

Before Itachi could respond, he continued, "Still can't believe it, you're actually a reinforcement from another world. No idea how Ace managed to pull that off."

Though honestly, it wasn't that surprising. After all, this world had Devil Fruits that could do anything, even ones as absurd as manipulating time.

"So the Marines have already gathered all their forces and top combatants?"

Marco nodded as he uncorked the rum. "If the info from Shanks is accurate."

Not long ago, another Yonko had come to persuade Whitebeard. When their Haki clashed, the sheer force of it had quite literally split the sky.

"A war with a potential 90% death rate…" Itachi muttered.

Marco grinned, the bottle between his teeth. "Oi oi, don't jinx it like that. Pops is gonna bring everyone back alive."

"But that's unlikely. Every one of the Admirals is capable of fighting Whitebeard."

Marco didn't get angry. "Haha, are you trying to talk me out of it again? I've told you, men of the sea are nothing like ninjas. And besides, we're not going there to die, we're going to save someone."

He stood up and stretched, his gaze turning distant. "Pops once said: 'Out here on the sea, the scariest thing isn't death, it's losing your family.' So no matter how many times you try to talk us out of it, it won't work."

Family…

After a brief silence, Itachi said, "No. I've already given up trying to convince you. I'm just thinking… about the true nature of this war. Executing a Logia-type Devil Fruit user is meaningless. In most cases, they'd be imprisoned for life. But Ace is different, he carries the blood of the Pirate King."

Marco's smile faded slightly. "True. If it were me who got caught, the Marines probably wouldn't execute me."

"In that case, why are the Marines giving us time? They don't care about Ace's life. What they want is the total annihilation of the Whitebeard Pirates," Itachi delivered his conclusion.

Marco was silent for a few seconds and was just about to say, Even if it's a trap, we're still going.

But Itachi interrupted him. "If it's a trap, then why not exchange someone of equal or greater value for Ace? For example, a Celestial Dragon. In your world, aren't Celestial Dragons considered even more valuable than the Pirate King's bloodline lineage?"