After Pain visited Konoha, Nagato's legs went weak.
As for why they went weak... don't ask.
Let's just say it was after seeing the massive body of water that had appeared in the Land of Fire, leaving him utterly speechless.
The Fire Nation, which is so vast, suddenly lost a huge chunk on the map.
If this had happened to a smaller country like the Land of Waves, it would have been completely wiped off the map.
After seeing this, Nagato was deeply shaken.
An opponent who could have gone toe-to-toe with him in the future, or even he had the upper hand on... had suddenly become overwhelmingly powerful!
This realization left Nagato feeling disoriented.
And it seemed to have driven one of his Akatsuki's members completely mad.
Ever since Deidara returned to the Land of Rain, he had been shouting, 'Art is an explosion.'
Even in his sleep, he wouldn't stop, muttering 'Art is an explosion' in his dreams, driving Sasori, who lived next door, to the brink of turning Deidara into a puppet in the middle of the night.
The more mature and seasoned Kakuzu had a more practical suggestion.
Kakuzu proposed sewing Deidara's mouth shut.
If Nagato hadn't intervened in time and sent Pain to stop them, they might never have heard Deidara's signature 'hmm' again.
In the end, during the standoff, Itachi pried open Deidara's eyes while he was asleep and cast a Genjutsu.
"Foolish man, stop talking in your sleep."
And with that, the little internal drama within the Akatsuki came to an end.
---
However, things in Konoha weren't going so well.
The incident had caused too much damage, and the fallout was severe.
Tsunade was so stressed dealing with the pressure from all sides that she was losing hair by the handful. A single tug would pull out dozens of strands.
Jiraiya, too, was troubled by the consequences of Naruto's actions, to the point where his visits to the red-light district had significantly decreased!
Now, he could only steal moments to waste time peeking into women's baths.
After realizing the magnitude of the disaster he had caused, Naruto was filled with guilt.
In the past, he had always tried to do good and dreamed of becoming stronger to shake off the villagers' disdainful nickname for him, 'the demon fox.'
But now... he had nearly blown up the village with a Tailed Beast Ball. How could he not feel guilty?
Because of this, Naruto was taken to Konoha's prison.
Naruto didn't resist, nor did he use his 'Talk No Jutsu' ability. Though deeply depressed, he understood that this was entirely his fault.
So he willingly accepted his punishment.
Just as everyone thought Naruto's colossal mistake would lead to his expulsion from Konoha or his capture by Danzo's Root...
An unexpected turn of events occurred.
It was an ordinary morning, three days after Naruto's rampage.
Like the previous two days, the strong-willed Tsunade refused to hand Naruto over to Danzo.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen, sat nearby, puffing on his pipe, remaining silent.
But his silence spoke volumes.
Although Tsunade is powerful, her political influence was weak. How could she compete with Danzo, whose network was deeply rooted in Konoha's political landscape?
In such situations, only someone with a network as vast as Hiruzen's could stand against Danzo.
For Tsunade to try and oppose Danzo on her own was almost laughable.
So while Hiruzen appeared neutral, his inaction was like sending Konohamaru to fight Madara in a free-for-all... If the spectators didn't step in, what's the difference between this and directly killing Konohamaru?
Though the analogy was a bit abstract, it roughly captured the current situation.
Anyone with eyes could see that, after days of Danzo's maneuvering, the political pressure from both Konoha and the Land of Fire was bearing down on Tsunade.
Tsunade now had two choices: either hand over Naruto, or stand by him and be branded a traitor to the village.
That's right, even the granddaughter of the First Hokage wasn't immune to such accusations. When Jiraiya, fresh from the red-light district, heard this news, he couldn't help but sigh.
'Maybe it would've been better if Orochimaru had killed the old man and Danzo back then.'
Weak against external threats, strong against internal ones... That was Konoha for you.
Moreover, Jiraiya knew very well... that Orochimaru, that slippery snake, wasn't actually dead. This was information he had obtained through his special ability.
So for the past two days, Jiraiya had been wondering: if I teamed up with Orochimaru to launch another Konoha Crush plan... what were the odds of success?
Of course, Jiraiya was only thinking about it. He didn't actually dare to do it.
But deep down, he had already made up his mind: if Hiruzen really allowed Danzo to take Naruto, then he would have no choice but to kidnap Naruto himself.
He would take Naruto on a journey, training him until he grew as strong as he was in the storyline.
But doing so would undoubtedly brand him a Missing-nin, a label he would never be able to shake off.
Yet, it would be worth it!
Having seen the future through the storyline, Jiraiya was certain: Naruto was the Child of Prophecy!
Only Naruto could save this world!
But beyond that, Naruto was also the son of his student, the Fourth Hokage's only child… though he was also Jiraiya's student.
And there was one more thing... Naruto was the protagonist of Jiraiya's story.
So... leaning against the wall outside the meeting room where Tsunade, Danzo, and others were passionately exchanging opinions, Jiraiya crossed his arms and smiled faintly.
As long as Danzo made a move, then Jiraiya... would have no choice but to become a Missing-nin.
---
Time passed minute by minute, and the heated voices in the meeting room gradually quieted down.
Standing behind Danzo were the heads of many of the great clans, as well as high-ranking officials from the Land of Fire.
"Hokage-sama, Daimyo-sama is very displeased with you."
"Could it be that... Hokage-sama wants to betray the village?"
Danzo sneered, his words dripping with malice.
Tsunade's expression darkened. Her patience was wearing thin, and she was on the verge of exploding.
Seeing Naruto, his hands bound, being brought into the room, Tsunade's anger only grew.
However, just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, a commotion erupted outside.
Jiraiya, standing outside the meeting room, was the first to see what was happening. Soon, a hearty laugh escaped his lips.
Though it was hard to make out exactly what was being said… with so many people shouting different things, Jiraiya, through his intel, knew exactly what was going on.
---
Seeing the massive crowd gathered outside the Hokage Tower, Danzo flew into a rage.
"What is the meaning of this? Are these peasants trying to rebel? How could those idiots from Root let this happen?!"
Danzo cursed angrily, then watched as the large crowd came to a stop in the open square outside the Hokage Tower.
The noise died down somewhat.
The person leading the crowd... was a mature-looking Ninja.
Danzo searched his memory for information about this person but couldn't place him.
Hiruzen, puffing on his pipe, glanced out the window with displeasure, then his expression turned to one of surprise.
'Is this... Elephant?!'
Or rather, it's Elephant who had taken off his Anbu mask!