Mount Myōboku
Jiraiya led Naruto, Sasuke, and Fū through the Sage forest of Mount Myōboku. The air here was filled with Natural Energy. Every blade of grass was as tall as a human, and the beetles, caterpillars, and other insects were even larger than a person.
Unlike Sasuke, who had been to Mount Myōboku earlier, it was the first time for Naruto and Fū to come to 'Mount Myōboku'. Everything here was so novel to both of them that they couldn't stop admiring and chattering non-stop.
Not wanting to mix up with Naruto and Fū's continuous chattering, Sasuke moved ahead of the group and approached Jiraiya, "Jiraiya-sama… Ano… I did not ask this earlier… but, why did you bring us to Mount Myōboku all of a sudden? I didn't even tell Itachi-nii about this! If I return home late, Okaa-san will get worried!"
Jiraiya ruffled Sasuke's hair as he answered with a smile, "Don't worry… I have already informed your family about this visit to Mount Myōboku… As for the reason for bringing you here… it's just some work…"
"Huh? You have already informed my family?" asked Sasuke in surprise.
Jiraiya nodded, "Yes."
"In that case, there is no problem, I guess," muttered Sasuke with a thoughtful expression. He decided not to question the reason for their visit, considering Jiraiya had said it was because of some work.
With that, the two returned to silence, and the smile on Jiraiya's face also disappeared, replaced by a helpless and saddened expression.
Jiraiya had made the decision to accept Uchiha Sasuke as his apprentice to resolve the conflict between the Hokage Faction and the Uchiha clan. However, he never thought that the election of the Godaime Hokage would cause the somewhat relaxed relationship between the village and the Uchiha clan to take a turn for the worse. The hatred accumulated by the two sides for decades completely broke out in an instant.
"Sigh..." Thinking of this, Jiraiya let out a faint sigh.
This sigh wasn't just for Sasuke, but also for himself. After arranging the three children on Mount Myōboku, he would return to the village immediately and participate in the battle to wipe out the rebellion of the Uchiha clan.
He couldn't help but feel disturbed, knowing that no matter how he concealed it, Sasuke, as his disciple, would eventually learn the truth about the Uchiha clan's rebellion and that his teacher had been part of the group that put it down. This reminded him of another disciple, Nagato, who once faced him in battle, fighting for life and death.
"Now that I think about it, my life has been full of failures…"
"Continuously being rejected by Tsunade…"
"Unable to protect Minato and Kushina when they needed me..."
"I also failed to bring back Orochimaru..."
"The other disciple whom I taught, meant to bring about a new dawn of peace for the Shinobi World, became the leader of the Akatsuki organization that threatened the peace of the Shinobi world..."
"Even Sasuke's family, I am unable to save..."
As Jiraiya was engulfed in a spiral of regret, he failed to notice the white blob that swelled from Sasuke's back, instantly growing bigger and enveloping half of Sasuke's body.
"What… what is this?!" Sasuke was taken aback, as the white mass not only wrapped his body, rendering him unable to move, but also absorbed his chakra frantically.
Naruto also exclaimed, "Sasuke, what's wrong with you?"
Naruto was about to step forward to help Sasuke break free from the shackles of those white spores. The sudden change snapped Jiraiya back from his distraction. He hurriedly stopped in front of Naruto, motioning him and Fū to back away while he closely observed the white mass on Sasuke's body, recognizing it all too well, "White Zetsu?!" He knew he had to act quickly to prevent any harm to Sasuke.
However, sensing the danger, the humanoid figure formed from the white mass grabbed Sasuke's neck with one hand and said in a strange tone, "Careful, Jiraiya-sama, one wrong move, and this child's life will be lost!"
"White Zetsu!" spoke Jiraiya through gritted teeth. Undoubtedly, the white mass that wrapped Sasuke's body was one of the many White Zetsu that used the Spore Technique to attach itself to him.
The Spore Technique was a mysterious and secretive Jutsu known to few. With this technique, White Zetsu could attach spore seeds to its targets, and these spore seeds were extremely difficult to detect. Even in the canon, White Zetsu was able to spore almost all the guards and the Kages during the Gokage Summit.
It was worth noting that all the people accompanying the Gokage at the Summit were experienced shinobi, including Aō with his Byakugan, yet the Zetsu was able to successfully attach spores to them undetected.
Therefore, it came as no surprise that White Zetsu was able to attach spores to Sasuke without alerting him or anyone else around him.
As he emerged from Sasuke's body, the White Zetsu clone gazed around with an amazed expression, "So this is the legendary Mount Myōboku?"
Jiraiya asked sharply, "What do you want to do?"
But White Zetsu just smirked and instead of answering Jiraiya, it looked at the figures of Naruto and Fū standing behind him and muttered, "It's great luck that two Jinchuriki are together!"
The reason why the "Spore Technique" targeted Sasuke's body instead of directly attaching to Uzumaki Naruto's body was that although the "Spore Art" seed could conceal itself from the perception of shinobi, it might not be able to hide from the Nine-Tails due to its ability to sense malicious intent.
Therefore, White Zetsu had to settle for the next best option, spreading the seeds among the trainees of the same year as Uzumaki Naruto, hoping to use these students to locate Naruto's position, and then take advantage of the chaos that would ensue during Uchiha's coup, ultimately seizing Naruto.
Having attached itself to the trainees of Konoha Ninja Academy, White Zetsu discovered that, besides Uzumaki Naruto, there was another hidden Jinchuriki in Konoha—the Jinchuriki of the Seven-Tails—who was currently standing next to Naruto.
'This guy is really after Naruto and Fū!' thought Jiraiya to himself, simultaneously realizing that since the Akatsuki organization was planning to abduct Naruto and Fū amidst the chaos, they must also be targeting other Jinchuriki. The Eight-Tailed Jinchuriki, accompanying Raikage, and the Yondaime Mizukage housing the Three-Tailed Jinchuriki, were likely in danger at that moment.
As Jiraiya grasped the gravity of the situation, White Zetsu began weaving hand signs.
Reacting swiftly, Jiraiya employed the 'Art of the Raging Lion's Mane!'. In an instant, Jiraiya's white hair stretched out, and he lunged toward the White Zetsu Clone who was still weaving hand signs.
Facing Jiraiya's attack, the White Zetsu Clone shrank back, using Sasuke's body as a shield, causing Jiraiya to hesitate due to his unwillingness to harm Sasuke.
Seizing the opportunity presented by Jiraiya's momentary hesitation, the White Zetsu Clone completed the hand signs and slammed the ground, "Summoning Jutsu!"
Poof!
As the white smoke cleared, the silhouette of a red-haired man appeared before everyone.
Seeing that iconic red hair, Jiraiya was taken aback, "Na… Nagato!"
Ignoring Jiraiya's surprise, Nagato surveyed his surroundings and muttered in an indifferent tone, "So this is the legendary Mount Myōboku?"
.
.
Read up to Chapter - 1151 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n Page: p-atreon.com/c/Milta_translations