Shisui had already left, and judging by the direction he went, he was probably heading back to his usual spot at Training Ground 43.
Originally, Shimizu intended to continue focusing on his own training, but…
A faint headache began to form as he sensed someone lurking nearby, watching him for quite some time now. Shisui had already been gone for a while, so why hadn't this person shown themselves yet?
Finally, Shimizu lost patience.
"Jiraiya-senpai," he called out, "I've already noticed you."
Although the chakra he sensed wasn't at its peak, that familiar presence was unmistakable. There was no way he could mistake it for anyone else.
Yet there was no response.
Did the other party think he was bluffing?
"Jiraiya-senpai, enough already. I know your chakra too well."
Shimizu frowned slightly. At this point, it no longer felt like a joke.
His instincts sharpened immediately. Quietly, he rested his left hand on the hilt of his sword and slowly approached the dense bushes where Jiraiya's presence was hidden.
"Senpai, did you hear what I said?"
Silence answered him once again.
Shimizu slowly drew his blade, his voice lowering.
"Jiraiya-senpai… this isn't funny."
But as he got closer, he suddenly caught the faint scent of blood drifting through the air.
In an instant, alarm bells rang in his mind.
"Even if this is Konoha… even if you carry Jiraiya's chakra…"
No longer hesitating, Shimizu burst forward, slicing through the bushes with his sword—
"Jiraiya… senpai?!"
His eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before him.
Behind the bushes lay a gravely injured Jiraiya.
His entire body was covered in severe burns, and several horrifying wounds pierced through him. Most shocking of all was the nearly fatal hole through his chest.
Half a lung had probably been destroyed.
Just what kind of battle had Jiraiya gone through to end up in such a catastrophic state?
"What… happened to you?!"
"Heh… easy there, little Shimizu," Jiraiya said weakly, barely managing to open one eye. "You're still pointing a sword at me."
"Sorry, senpai." Shimizu immediately sheathed his blade, still struggling to process what he was seeing.
The Jiraiya in his memories had always been carefree, confident, overwhelmingly powerful.
And now he looked as though he were on the verge of death.
"I'll take you to Konoha Hospital first—"
"The ones who attacked me… were Madara and Tobi…" Jiraiya forced out with difficulty.
That changed everything.
This information could only be shared with the Third Hokage—or with Shimizu himself.
And if Jiraiya wanted to meet the Third Hokage, he would have to pass through layers of Anbu security. In his current condition, that was impossible.
That was why he had come here—to Training Ground 43, the place Shimizu had long used as his personal training ground.
Just as he expected, Shimizu really had been here.
Now…
He could finally relax.
"I'll go inform Lord Hokage immediately!"
…
"News of Jiraiya's injuries must not leak under any circumstances," the Third Hokage said sternly to the seven people gathered before him.
Present were the Hokage's personal four-man Anbu squad, two veteran medical shinobi who had once studied medical ninjutsu under Tsunade herself, and Shimizu—the one who had discovered Jiraiya.
"Yes, sir!" everyone answered in unison.
After briefly assigning tasks to the others and arranging treatment for Jiraiya, the Third Hokage called Shimizu aside alone.
"Shimizu," he said gravely, "tell me everything you know. In detail. Leave nothing out."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Shimizu quickly recounted everything that had happened earlier.
After listening to the full explanation, the Professor deeply furrowed his brows. He remained silent for a long while before finally speaking slowly.
"Jiraiya was ambushed near the border of the Land of Waterfalls… by Madara and Tobi working together?"
"Yes." Shimizu nodded. "And it wasn't the old, frail Madara from before…"
"He had become middle-aged again."
"This… this is absurd." The Third Hokage shook his head, disbelief written plainly across his face. "How could he possibly regain his youth?"
"But those were Jiraiya-senpai's exact words," Shimizu replied. "And I believe Lord Hokage should remember that Jiraiya once mentioned the possibility that Madara had become a man around fifty years old again."
"…Now that you mention it, I do remember."
At the time, the Third Hokage had dismissed the idea immediately. It sounded utterly impossible.
How could anyone break the laws of time and return to their youth?
Throughout the entire history of shinobi, no one had ever mastered the mysteries of time itself.
Not even the Sage of Six Paths.
If the Sage truly possessed control over time, then he never would have aged—let alone died.
"Could Jiraiya have fallen under a genjutsu?" the Third Hokage speculated.
"No." Shimizu shook his head. "Genjutsu may be one of Jiraiya-senpai's weaker areas, but in Sage Mode, there's no way he would fail to distinguish an enemy's real body."
The Third Hokage fell silent for a moment before continuing his analysis.
"And he was injured by both Wood Release and Fire Release… techniques that correspond perfectly to Tobi and Madara's specialties."
His expression darkened.
"Could that middle-aged man truly have been… Madara?"
After slowly processing this shocking possibility, the Third Hokage looked toward Shimizu again.
"Tell me, Shimizu—how great of a threat do you believe Madara poses to Konoha?"
Was he really asking Shimizu to answer this? The answer was obvious.
"In my opinion, the entire threat posed by Kumogakure doesn't compare to Madara alone."
As he spoke, he carefully watched the Hokage's reaction.
But the old man merely nodded slightly. "Go on."
"The conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure is out in the open. Their war with us is visible, predictable—even if dangerous."
"But Madara is different. Despite encountering him multiple times already, and despite Jiraiya-senpai personally gathering intelligence, we still know almost nothing about him."
"And in the meantime…" Shimizu's voice grew heavier, "he has quietly gone from a dying old man to someone capable of nearly killing one of the Sannin."
"He is Uchiha Madara—the man who once stood on equal footing with the God of Shinobi, the First Hokage himself."
"If we underestimate him… if we treat him lightly… eventually, we'll pay a devastating price for it."
There was undeniable truth in Shimizu's words.
A man like Uchiha Madara, someone with overwhelming ambition and terrifying power—if he had truly regained his strength, how could he possibly remain dormant without stirring chaos throughout the shinobi world?
And on top of that, he held both old grudges and fresh hatred toward Konoha.
Konoha stood in the open.
Madara lurked in the shadows.
With an enemy like that watching from the darkness, who could possibly sleep peacefully?
"You make a valid point…" the Third Hokage murmured.
"The medical team says Jiraiya will need time to recover. For now, we'll wait until he regains consciousness completely."
Then his gaze sharpened.
"As for Madara… if necessary, I will personally take action."
It was clear that Jiraiya's near-fatal injuries had forced the Third Hokage to reevaluate the level of danger Madara represented.
The Anbu had suffered losses because of Madara before, certainly—but none severe enough to truly shake Konoha's foundation. And during wartime, the village's primary enemies were large shinobi forces, not lone individuals operating outside the major powers.
Because of that, the Third Hokage had previously chosen to monitor Madara closely without devoting excessive manpower or resources to pursuing him.
But this time was different.
This time, one of his own disciples—one of the legendary Sannin—had nearly died.
If Jiraiya were to fall at a critical moment like this, the consequences for Konoha would be catastrophic.
The village had already lost Tsunade.
It absolutely could not afford to lose Jiraiya as well.
Under circumstances like these, if the Third Hokage still failed to take Madara seriously, that would have been truly abnormal.