*Chapter 200: Whitebeard, Recover Yourself*

Jiraiya had been in Konoha for some time. Although he was mostly uninterested in the outside world, he wasn't naive. After noticing some of Konoha's funds being funneled toward the Sarutobi clan, he conducted a small investigation.

Jiraiya wasn't without resources in Konoha. The people left behind by the Fourth Hokage could be considered his legacy, and Jiraiya could utilize them. However, since Jiraiya didn’t dig too deep, Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn’t aware of his activities.

After this investigation, Jiraiya finally saw the true nature of the village. A shallow inquiry revealed that after the downfall of the Uchiha clan, 70% of their wealth ended up in the hands of the Sarutobi clan. Hiruzen had some conscience, leaving 30% for the village, but the situation was more complicated than it seemed.

Following the Uchiha incident, Hiruzen Sarutobi began a sweeping "reform" of Konoha. It was less of a reform and more of a scheme to amass wealth and alter the village's situation. Each clan used to contribute a portion of their profits to Konoha for its development, a crucial fund for the village. But after the Uchiha clan left, Hiruzen drastically cut the profits from each clan, demanding they contribute double to Konoha. This left the clans struggling, even reducing the pay for ninja missions, and all this money seemed to be heading straight to the Sarutobi clan.

Jiraiya had some idea of what Hiruzen was doing with this money—building a powerful army. However, Jiraiya thought that even tossing this army into the Ninja Academy might cause a bigger splash than Hiruzen’s efforts.

"Old man, I don’t think I can take on this mission. I’ve looked into Konoha’s current situation, and frankly, we stand no chance against the Hidden Cloud Village. We've lost a significant part of our front-line forces, and not just any part, but the most crucial ones. Don’t think of me as the Sage of Six Paths—I can’t do the impossible," Jiraiya said, shrugging. He was the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, not the Sage of Six Paths. He didn’t have the power to save a village as devastated as Konoha. The village was on the brink of collapse, and even with three heads and six arms, he couldn’t save it. Instead of clinging to false hope, they should consider how to minimize their losses—a pretty decent idea, Jiraiya thought.

Hiruzen Sarutobi almost blacked out. This bastard Jiraiya was surrendering before the battle even began. They hadn't even started fighting, and he was already raising the white flag. Wasn’t there any room for optimism? Couldn’t he be a bit more confident? Yet, here he was, ready to surrender without even putting up a fight.

"The missing battle power, I’ll give it back to you. I’ll even hand over the hidden assets that Danzo’s been keeping under wraps. I want Konoha to win this battle—we must win; we cannot lose," Hiruzen said, trembling as he gripped Jiraiya’s hand. This was their only option. If the Ino-Shika-Cho trio were still around, Hiruzen wouldn’t be so worried. Their combined strength was formidable, and they could ensure victory even if it meant sending genin to their deaths. But now, Konoha was left with nothing but Jiraiya. Hiruzen couldn’t afford to be picky; Jiraiya had to step up.

"Alright," Jiraiya nodded. The two of them ignored Danzo’s opinions entirely. With Konoha’s survival at stake,

Danzo’s views didn’t matter much anymore. Jiraiya glanced out the hospital window, wondering where Tsunade was.

Since their last meeting, she seemed to have vanished. Despite his attempts to gather information, Jiraiya hadn’t found a trace of her.

 If Tsunade were in Konoha, things wouldn’t be like this. With her leadership, they could assemble a formidable force.

But now, he could only rely on his former students to bolster his strength, borrowing people from Hiruzen Sarutobi in the process.

After the war, Hiruzen might not even relinquish the Hokage title. Sigh.

*In the Land of Springs*

Whitebeard stood before a wooden coffin containing Marco, his face devoid of emotion.

 Compared to when he first arrived in the ninja world, Whitebeard now looked much more haggard.

 His beard, seemingly untouched for a long time, had started to split.

"Who would have thought? The world's strongest man, defeated in such a small place. Who would have guessed? You don’t even have a smile on your face anymore,"

 Uchiha Raijin said with a smirk. His emotions were complex, yet he felt like laughing out loud. Whitebeard’s current state was too ridiculous for Raijin to hold back his laughter.

"Uchiha Raijin! I’m not in the mood to fight you right now. If you have nothing to say, get lost," Whitebeard growled at Uchiha Raijin, his aura undiminished, though less sharp than before.

 Marco’s death had clearly wounded Whitebeard deeply.

For someone like him, who valued his comrades so much, the loss of family was unbearable.

But no matter how he felt, Raijin hadn’t played any tricks this time, so Whitebeard couldn’t blame him.

"Don’t be so cold! After all, I helped bury Marco.

Look at Charlotte Linlin; she’s severely injured, and I didn’t lift a finger to help her.

I left her to fend for herself, which shows I still have some respect for the Whitebeard Pirates,"

Raijin said with a smile.

The comparison was cruel—Charlotte Linlin was hiding out in a village, licking her wounds.

But now that she was no longer useful, Raijin didn’t care about her fate.

On the other hand, despite his enmity with Whitebeard, Raijin had been the first to offer help.

 Though Whitebeard had promised him a Devil Fruit to avoid any debt, Raijin shamelessly felt Whitebeard still owed him a favor.

"So, what do you want to say?" Whitebeard asked.

Whitebeard asked, sensing that Raijin had ill intentions. However, it didn’t matter anymore. What did he have left that was worth paying attention to?

“Kaido heard about the massive damage you caused to Konoha, so he couldn’t wait to stir up trouble there,” Raijin said to Whitebeard. “If Kaido destroys Konoha, your future plans for revenge might be ruined.”

“If that kid can do it, let him. It has nothing to do with me,” Whitebeard responded, his expression unchanged. It was as if he felt nothing upon hearing this, but Raijin noticed that Whitebeard’s heartbeat quickened, and his Haki slightly leaked when Konoha was mentioned.

How typical! He clearly cared but pretended otherwise. Raijin decided not to provoke Whitebeard further and left the room, heading to Orochimaru’s lair. As soon as he entered, he was met with a strange smell, much like a hospital’s. Raijin’s mouth twitched—Orochimaru had only relocated two days ago.

“Hehehe, Lord Raijin, you came at the right time!” Orochimaru noticed Raijin and looked over with an enigmatic smile. He was pleasantly surprised by Raijin’s earlier revelation that the so-called Dead Demon Consuming Seal could be undone, giving him new insights into the ninja world’s jutsu.

“It seems you’ve already been to the Land of Whirlpools and obtained the Shinigami mask, haven’t you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so pleased with yourself,” Raijin remarked with a smile.

“Hehehe, Lord Raijin has pointed me in the right direction. If I can’t even accomplish this final step, I would be letting you down. After all, in the ninja world, you’re the only one who truly appreciates me,” Orochimaru said, licking his lips with a smile. He glanced at a nearby ninja who looked dazed, holding a Shinigami mask, already hypnotized by genjutsu. This ninja was to be Orochimaru’s sacrificial pawn.

“It looks like we’ll be getting the Nine-Tails’ chakra soon. How exciting,” Raijin said, smiling at the scene before him. Sasori’s addition had elevated Dressrosa’s industrial system to a new level, but that wasn’t enough—they needed to establish a chakra system. With the designs Raijin had obtained from the Sky Ninja Village and the support of the Nine-Tails’ chakra, Dressrosa could become a formidable force.

“Indeed!” Orochimaru snapped his fingers, prompting the ninja to begin forming hand seals. As the mask was placed on his face, a chilling atmosphere filled the room. Raijin narrowed his eyes, sensing a strange chakra spreading through the area.

“Ah!” The ninja, after putting on the Shinigami mask, briefly regained consciousness. But in the next instant, his blade involuntarily cut into his own body. Two chakras rose into the air, and Raijin’s eyes suddenly contracted. He activated the Sanzu River technique, pulling Marco and Minato Namikaze’s souls into his Sanzu River. Moreover, Minato’s chakra still carried half of the Nine-Tails within it. Raijin smiled with satisfaction at the abundant harvest.

Orochimaru hadn’t even noticed Raijin’s movements before he saw two souls flying toward Raijin’s eyes and disappearing from his perception. A hint of fear flickered in Orochimaru’s eyes. This soul-related dojutsu was truly terrifying, especially considering his current soul state, making him particularly wary of such power.

“Congratulations, Lord Raijin,” Orochimaru complimented him, though he didn’t understand the significance of what Raijin had done. It seemed Raijin had gained something valuable.

“It’s still early, Orochimaru. I want you to gather the cells of the Second Hokage and the other village Kages and use them to perform the Edo Tensei. We are still very weak and need their strength to grow. These Kages are talented individuals, and they are my target,” Raijin said to Orochimaru.

“What about the First Hokage?” Orochimaru asked. The First Hokage was the easiest to bring back with Edo Tensei, and he already had the materials on hand. If Raijin wanted them, he could produce them anytime. Yet Raijin only focused on the Second Hokage, not even mentioning the First.

“The First? We can’t touch him just yet,” Raijin replied with a sudden smile. He had to leave some contingencies for the Sage of Six Paths. With Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke in his hands, if he were to take the previous incarnations of Asura and Indra as well, the Sage of Six Paths might get desperate. It was better to show some respect.

“I understand,” Orochimaru nodded, hesitating briefly but not asking further. Perhaps he had touched upon some secret of the ninja world. The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, carried too many secrets, making him a man of taboo.

“By the way, Lord Raijin, Konoha’s battlefront is active. Are we really not going to participate?” Orochimaru suddenly asked. He thought Uchiha’s hatred for Konoha would lead to a brutal assault. But Raijin, looking calm and composed, didn’t seem inclined to join the fight.

“There’s no need! I’ll give you another task: when this war is nearing its end, if you get the chance, try to capture the Seven-Tails and the Two-Tails,” Raijin said, recalling something. He wasn’t interested in using the Gedo Statue. He planned to leave it to White Zetsu as a last hope. Instead, he intended to use the tailed beasts as batteries. After all, relying solely on the Nine-Tails for power was unreliable, especially since Dressrosa had its own downtime. Let the three tailed beasts take turns supplying power.