AN: Apologies for the wait on this chapter, a lotta shit went down in the last few months or so (left a seven-year abusive relationship and the emotional fallout from it, a promotion, holidays, ect.) Anyway, this is going to be an interesting chapter. I'm getting a lotta practice with writing characters I have never written before so it's fun. Though, I'm a bit bummed this is going to be the only chapter including Jiraiya unless I think of a brilliant way to incorporate him elsewhere.

mothedman: And I hope reading it justified that excitement!

magmo22: You're welcome, you're welcome, you're welcome! Haha. Thank you. I personally think I've nailed the pacing on this fanfic. Especially considering it is my first multi-chapter story. Oh yes, Pein. He is taking a lotta learning to write and I do admit, he is OoC (as all the characters are, either intentional or unintentional), but I've targeted to write him as a person with double-edged motives (as you said, destroying Konoha which involved murdering his old teacher). Oof, Zetsu is going to have an interesting experience with Jiraiya, to say the least, haha.

Cat Beats: Oh thank god. I was a bit worried her transition would whiplash people, especially considering the five-year timeskip. Though, what I can say as she is parts old and new. She is still the definition of innocence. We didn't but I think it was because Kishimoto accidentally made him too OP (i.e. Itachi). He took down one-thousand shinobi from Iwa by himself. Like seriously, haha.

Aetherium21: Phew, thank you so much for all the reviews! I'm glad you like Wasteland so much and hopefully, continue reading!

Warning(s): Genderbend

…

Wasteland

The Akatsuki Arc

Chapter 41

By the next raising dawn, Zetsu was in Yugakure.

The blurried eyed garrison seated in a plastic chair did not give her a second glance while she walked past because, as instructed, she was dressed in civilian clothing instead of her Akatsuki cloak so to cast no suspicion. Though, considering Yugakure was a pseudo-tourist trap, it may have not anyway. It was bizarre being without it while on mission but her old, blood-stained camouflage jacket was a lot comfier.

Yugakure was an undersized Hidden Village, positively miniscule when compared to a juggernaut like that of Konohagakure, so finding Jiraiya, if he was here, shouldn't be an impossible task. Especially considering his celebrity status a Sannin. Speaking of which, she had heard he had published a novel too though she has not read it. So, perhaps a bookshop or library in case he had had held a book signing was a start. Yes, she decided on it and walked the paved boulevard in search.

After awhile, she found a humble, little bookstore which was jointed with a hand-me-down shop. She stepped inside and an oversized, older woman, holding a stack of clothes, shambled by, greeted her and asking for a minute. Zetsu offered a hand, taking the pile from her and hauling them to the back where a washing machine and dryer were located.

"Oh, thank ya, honey. Ain'tcha sweeter than sweet tea?" The middle-aged woman thanked the girl as she came back out, clapping her hands off. "Now, how can I help ya? Are ya lookin' for clothes? Books, maybe?"

"A person," Zetsu explained. "Was a man named Jiraiya here, as of late?"

"Jiraiya?" The tan-skinned lady parroted, tapping a finger to her lips. "Oh yes, that rapscallion that harassed my girls. Yes, he was here. He set up a book-signin' for his new novel, he did. No one came tho'. If yer here for that, then I'm sorry to say but yer two weeks too late, sweetie."

"Oh," Zetsu uttered, disappointed though not surprised given it was the exact time frame as the Fourth said. "Did he say if he was staying or where he might be going?"

"Ain't said nothin' like that 'cept he was goin' to the springs fer research. Whatever the boy meant by that."

Research? Again, as the Kage said. "Thank you, ma'am, you've been a great help." She said, bowing politely to the large woman. "May I ask where the springs are?"

The other woman laughed; a genuine belly laugh that made her extra weight jiggle. "Oh, honey, yer in Yugakure! They're everywhere! All ya hafta do is walk five feet an' you'll run into one."

Zetsu thanked her again and ended up buying a book out of gratitude. Though, it was a gift if anything, as the storeowner gave it to her for a fraction of the price while praising her for her manners. It was an older book of poems with the gold letting and leather jacket flaking off so she thought Kakuzu would like it. His hobbies included collecting and refurbishing old books as this.

She left the charity, doing as informed and just began walking. Obviously, walking five feet into a hot spring was a hyperbole , but Zetsu understood the circumstance as just a ways down the main boulevard which winded up a mountain side, the colder temperature became mingled with the steam billowing up from the surrounding springs, enveloping parts of the township in a thick, humid haze like something out of a horror movie. It inhibited her eyesight of anything past a perch in front of her and if it wasn't for her Kekkei Genkai, she wouldn't have seen what was coming next.

Suddenly, a man came barreling out of the effluvium and Zetsu, having predicted his chakra heading in her direction, stepped out of his path so not to be run over. As he fled past, she caught a glimpse of his mane of white hair and distinct facial markings. He disappeared into an alleyway behind her and seconds later, two other men materialized from the mist, dressed in shinobi uniforms associated with Yugakure. Obviously, they had been hounding the first individual for a while as they were red-faced, huffing and puffing. As they braked in front of the teenager in order to fetch their breath, she respectively stopped also.

"Hey…hey kid," The heavier set of the duo said between pants, dabbing the sweat pouring from his greasy face. "D-Did you…see a pervert run by?"

Zetsu hesitated because as much as she wanted to answer genuinely, especially to two figures of authority as she had been taught, she could not as it may jeopardize her mission. So, after a second of thinking, she turned and pointed straight down the gloomy path from whence she came.

"Thanks, kid." The other man said.

After taking a minute more, they continued their search with the thinner of the two running ahead while his plumpish partner toddling behind. Once they had disappeared into the chronic miasma, the fugitive they had been hunting poked his head out from the alley and upon confirming his safety, stepped out.

"Phew, lost them," He chuckled, dusting himself off. He then noticed Zetsu and walked towards her. "Thanks for that, kiddo." Zetsu said nothing, she could say nothing, as she stood there, mouth agape as she gazed upon the man, the myth himself—the Sannin Jiraiya.

"I—I…you…" She babbled out, trying her damndest not to squeal while gushing about how she had read and witnessed his and the Sannin's exploits in the Second World War. She couldn't explain this overwhelming excitement she suddenly experienced except it being she had never considered the possibility of meeting someone so influential outside media such as books and movies. "Y-You're Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya's eyes twinkled at the recognition. "Oh, a fan? As you should be! Afterall, I am the legendary Jiraiya!" He proclaimed, striking a dramatic, kabuki pose. "So, come to have me sign a copy of my bestselling book, Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, have you?"

"Oh no, I—"

To this brush-off, he physically shrunk. "Oh…"

It left her feeling a little guilty as she continued to explain herself. "I'm searching for someone and I was told you'd have the knowledge of their location."

Jiraiya barked with laughter. "Who? Me? A little young to be a private dick aren'tcha boy?" He weighed in on which offended Zetsu in the process. It wasn't so much with the crack as the misgendering, which she hated to admit but it was not the first time to occur. She was the definition of a late bloomer, having just hit puberty at the old age of eighteen so she hadn't yet developed any "feminine definition". That, plus her petite size made people think her an adolescent boy. "I don't know who told you that, but I don't know where anyone is. Now if you excuse me, I've got to return to my…ahem, 'research'." He giggled with his hand posed at his mouth, blushing red.

"Wait—" Zetsu tried as the white-haired man walked past her but did not stop despite her pleading which motivated what she said next. "I'm searching for Orochimaru!" It was successful as Jiraiya paused mid-step.

He remained frozen for a minute before putting his foot down and swiveling on his heel towards her, his prior jovial expression having disappeared and, in its place, a blank yet ominous one. Zetsu would be lying if she said she wasn't intimidated, especially considering his Sannin status "What was that?"

She swallowed thickly. "I-I've been sent to find Orochimaru," She calmly reciprocated, cursing her unprofessional stuttering. "And I was told you may know of her whereabouts."

Jiraiya laughed again though it wasn't genuine. "To 'find' her, huh? Who sent you?" Zetsu opened her mouth to give an answer, or rather, no answer since doing so could jeopardize her mission, but was cut off as the other held a dismissive hand. "No, never mind. That much is obvious."

"I—" She tried to interject but was again intercepted.

"You listen here," He said, pointing a finger at the teenager's face who unconsciously stepped back. "Tell Minato that going after Orochimaru is going to do nothing but cause more pain. She is not a person that can be negotiated with—trust me, I tried! And if he's trying to solicit others in her death, then I'll have no part! If anyone has a right to end her life, it'll be her teammates—Tsunade and I."

"Ok." Zetsu squeaked out after being left a little addled from the man's outburst.

Noticing her fright, Jiraiya sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I'm sorry, kid. It's just been a hard last few months, between Orochimaru and the failing sales of my Gutsy Shinobi book. That, and Kushina's pregnancy…It's a lot. Sorry, but I will not help."

"It's ok, I understand. Thank you for speaking with me. I'll be taking my leave now." She gifted him a bow, deciding to take her losses and leave, as much as she hated characterizing a mission as a failure. This would be her first failure too.

"But…" He said out of the blue, causing her to pause in her departure. "I may be convinced otherwise."

"Convinced?" She inquired, facing him again with a curious eyebrow piqued.

"Yes," He said, rubbing his chin and grinning. "If you help me, I'll help you. Scratch my back, I'll scratch yours, ey?"

While hesitant after being on the receiving end of a "bitching out" as Kakuzu so colourful put it, she didn't want to go back to Sir Leader empty-handed and stain her perfect record. "What would you like?"

"Gutsy Shinobi is a commercial failure, so I've started writing my next series—Icha Icha. Thing is, I came to Yugakure for my research but them black and whites keep running me off from the springs. So, I'll need you to do is keep an eye out while I get my…ahem, important research done."

"Keep an eye out?"

"Yes. If you see them coming back, distract them."

"How?"

"I don't know. Sing a song, do a dance, whatever! All I need is ten minutes to finish this chapter. Do this and I'll let you into everything I know about Orochimaru. Deal?" He extended a hand to seal the deal. She was skeptical, as she eyeballed his hand questioning but, she had little to no choice in the manner if she desired to find Orochimaru. Thus, accepted his hand, hesitantly so. "Perfect! Onward, my little assistant!" She squeaked as he enveloped an arm around her shoulders and proceeded to drag her off, which given her comical size, was not a hard task to accomplish.

He ushered them down the walkway, navigating through the eclipsing steam and to one of the multitudinous springs which gifted Yugakure its namesake. Zetsu couldn't understand what research could be done at a spring and was further muddled when instead of entering through the welcoming entryway, Jiraiya walked them behind the establishment, out of sight of any passerbyers and definitely a place they shouldn't be.

"Perfect! Those dumbbells aren't back yet so I can get into position." Jiraiya exclaimed.

"Ummm…Isn't this the women's side?" Zetsu inquired, having spied a sign which identified this being the females only side of the spring. If he was breaking in without paying the admission price, why would it be on the women's side?

"An astute observation, my little sleuth!" He said, though failed to answer her. "Now, like I said: ten minutes and that "information is yours." She tried to interject when he proceeded to use his chakra to climb up the ten-foot planking which explicitly built to forbid voyeurism, giving the teenager the impression of what his "research" actually was. It left Zetsu awkwardly standing below and anxiously numbering the seconds while praying the ten minutes came quicker.

At the five-minute mark, everything has gone well as in no security had arrived yet but it didn't last as a few seconds later, two chakra signatures she recognized as belonging to the lawmen she had spoken to earlier began to approach the establishment from wherever they'd gone off to. She scurried to the side of the building they were rounding in order to intercept them to distract them, as Jiraiya said, they could spy the Sannin hitched atop the fencing. After a minute, the two men emerged from the haze, flashlights in hand and grumbling to each other over losing the "pervert" when they noticed Zetsu, standing gawkily in front of them.

"Oi, it's that kid again. Oi, kid!" Officer "Husky" barked, shining his light on Zetsu who flinched. "What're you doing here?"

Zetsu's brain scrambled for a lie but in her panic, drew a blank. Due to her position as an assassin, she wasn't used to being encountered like this. Typically, if she was found out on a mission, she'd just dispatch the person either through lethal or non-lethal means, but she couldn't do that here. So, she'd have to talk her way out, a task easier said than done since she was the worst liar who ever did lie. Once, she had asked Glut out of curiosity what he did when caught in a crime since he was a professional cat burglar and he had explained it as this: "baffle them with your bullshit until you can outsmart them with your intelligence." So basically, lie until finding an opening.

"I…I…couldn't find the entrance." She finally mumbled out; a weak, clumsy lie. One which they obviously saw through as the two deputies stared at each other with quirked lips and flat gazes that read, "seriously?" Konan once told her that she could tell she was lying because he ears turned red and if that was turn, they must be crimson right now.

"Aren't you a little too young to be at the hot springs by yourself?" Officer "Rawbone" interrogated her, again crediting her child-like appearance. "You have to be eighteen or older to be here by yourself."

"I am eighteen." She insisted though it was disregarded with chuckled laughter.

"Sure, sure. Come on now, don't need you skulking around the springs," Rawbone said, ushering at her then looking towards his partner and motioning with a flick of his head. "Why don't you finish the walk while I take his boy back to his mother?"

"Sure." Husky shrugged, adjusting his pants over his large belly.

Hearing this, Zetsu realized he may walk onto Jiraiya who had yet to finish his studying and therefore to avoid this, she spat out the first thing that popped inside her mind and thus, digging her grave further. "B-But my mother is here! I came to wait for her!" Cue suspicious gazes back onto her.

"That so?" Husky asked slowly, tapping his triple chin and decided to humour her. "Then let's take you to your mother, aye?" Rawbone caught onto the other's little plan and nodded, smirking.

No resistance was offered as the officers stepped on either side of her and grabbed her arms in order to chaperon her to the building, accidentally picking her up at points due to her feather-like weight. While she was thankful this little stunt would distract them for an additional minute or two, she wasn't enthusiastic about how much this little white lie had snowballed. This had to be her hardest mission she ever had. She was trained to assassinate and spy, both professions which did not require training in lying.

The baths had paper shōji entryway which led into a well-lit lobby with a waiting area and check-in desk. Rawbone and Husky proceeded to take Zetsu up to the desk which had a black-haired woman standing behind it, fiddling with paperwork and took a moment to notice the three visitors.

"Oh, Saburo, Ren, hello!" She greeted the two uniformed men, being familiar with them as they were assigned as security for the business and the neighbouring ones. "How can I help you?"

"Hello, Niko," Husky, a.k.a. Saburo replied. "We just have a kid here searching his mom. Can you tell her that her son it is waiting for her?" As he said this, he pushed Zetsu up to the counter with a shit-eating grin.

Niko delivered the teenager a friendly smile. "Well of course! What is your mother's name, sweetie?" Zetsu stared back her, mouth shutting and closing like a suffocating fish out of water as she was put in the spot. Meanwhile, Saburo and Ren stood behind her, arms crossed and smirking.

"Umm…umm, it's…" She uttered while frantically trying to think of a name, any name which could be common enough to be feasible. "It's…Hana?"

"Hana?" Niko said with the other female giving an animatronic-like nod to confirm, the bones in her neck cracking like rusted joints. "Ok. Why don't you stay here while I go find her?"

As she left to the springs behind the building to find "Hana", Zetsu was left petrified in place while the two guards giggled amongst themselves with childish glee, taking a twisted pleasure in watching her squirm as either one of two things happened now: either there was a Hana or there wasn't. As mortifying as this was, the officers were distracted and that's all that mattered, she kept telling herself as she tried to ignore the crippling awkwardness of the situation. The one or two minutes it took for the desk clerk to return felt like two and a half eternities for Zetsu. Once she did, the green-haired woman prepared herself for the obvious, that wasn't a Hana here with the two men doing the same, so they had an excuse to drag her off the premises for trespassing.

"Ok, sweetie, she'll be out in a minute, she said." Niko happily told Zetsu and everyone's jaws hit the floor.

Zetsu was in disbelief at the pure luck which came from her blind shot in the dark while Saburo and Ren were left questioning if the kid had had a lucky break or was in fact, telling them the truth this entire time. Either or, they grumbled at the loss of their temporary entertainment and decided to find a new one elsewhere as they turned to take their leave. Something Zetsu noticed. She felt her heart drop to her toes since now they were back at square one with her trying to distract them and she was out of any bright ideas.

Before she had time to do anything, if she could, an older, woman with her greying hair tied back in a bun wound so tight that her expression was permanently that of surprised, exited through the back doors which led to the female side of the spa. She gave Zetsu a once over, then twice and after the third one, frowned.

"You're not Haruto." She proclaimed, pointing at the teenager who was clearly not her little boy. "Where is my Haruto?"

Zetsu bleached as she witnessed her house of cards finally fall. The counterwoman stepped in, apologizing profusely to the irritated woman for the mix-up, especially once learning her son was eight years old, not eighteen. Saburo and Ren smirked to each other and stepped in to seize the fabricator.

"Come here, you." Officer Saburo "Husky" said.

"It's been fun, but you're coming with us." Officer Ren "Rawbone" tacked on. They grabbed Zetsu by the underarms and marched her towards the exit.

Outside, the guards paused and openly discussed what to do with her while the girl was left dangling by her arms between them like a doll. It was between a slap on the wrist or running her out of Yugakure. Before a decision was made though, her knight in shining armour arrived (Sannin in shining armour?) as Jiraiya rounded the building. He had finished his studying and noticed his little assistant gone so decided to search for her when he literally walked into her and the two, bumbling officers. Immediately, they dropped Zetsu and simultaneously pointed at him.

"It's the pervert!"

"Get him!"

"Uh oh. Run, kiddo!" Jiraiya exclaimed then turned and comically ran away.

Zetsu picked herself up from the dirt and as the two started after the male, she stuck her foot out, catching their ankles and causing them to fall with Officer Husky's impact with the ground having triggered the nearby seismometers. She then leapt over them and after Jiraiya, tracking his chakra through the haze. Once the patrolmen gathered themselves and gave chase, she ducked into an alleyway and used her Mayfly to materialize inside the brick walling. She waited until they passed her by and was a satisfactory distance from her location before arising. Jiraiya had managed to shake them too as she picked up his chakra nearby. She followed it and after a bit of searching, found him sheltering inside a bush—or trying to as his bleach, white hair could be seen through the green foliage like a sore thumb.

"Are they gone?" He inquired from her and when she replied with a nod, he straightened up from his hedge hideaway, picking the leaves from his mane. "Phew. Now that was a close one."

Zetsu gave a half-hearted nod. "Did you finish your…research?"

"Yes! Thanks to you, I collected enough material to finish this chapter and start the next." He said and pulled out his notebook, giggling and blushing as he read over the new hot and steamy details listed on its papers.

"I'm glad," She said, though it was more in reference that this entire debacle over with. "Now then, I've upheld my side of the deal."

"Deal?" Jiraiya asked, glancing up at her over his book. She must've given him a look of dither or detest, either or. "Oh yes, Orochimaru…why don't we walk and talk?" She agreed, falling beside him as he packed his journal away and began walking down the path, in the opposite direction of their law enforcement friends.

"Minato was smart sending you to me if you wanted to know everything there was on Orochimaru," Jiraiya began. "Though, that isn't saying much since I know nothing about her and the little I do it plagued with questions without answers. Like, what led her to take this dark path? How far back did she start to walk it? Was it when Old Hiruzen picked Minato to be Hokage instead of her? Was it because of the horrors of the Second World War? Or was it since the beginning when her parents died? If none of that happened; her parents, the war, her dysphoria, would she be a different person? Or was she just birthed this evil? I should've asked her that night she left Konoha, but I didn't. All I could asked her was 'why?'. And she said, 'you should know', but I don't. I don't think anyone does besides her, but she'll never explain herself just like she never has the entire time I've known her since we were kids. Maybe with her, ignorance is bliss."

Zetsu said nothing, letting him blather on since it was clear this subject was one he didn't typically have the chance to speak about to a listening ear. That, and she didn't want to pressure him to the point and possibility make him shut down completely. He had already demonstrated a defensive hostility towards strangers when it came to the mentioning his old teammate and she didn't want to step on his toes again. Besides, she personally knew how therapeutic talking was and he was obviously stressed out with everything he had mentioned before.

"And that's everything I know about Orochimaru which is to say nothing." Jiraiya said, turning towards Zetsu with a casual shrug. "Thanks for everything today, my little sleuth." He patted her on the arm, kicking her out of the trance she had fallen into while he prattled on. It was then she realized that they had succeeded in walking through Yugakure to the back entrance where they were now standing. Likely so he could see her off.

"Wait, what of her location?" She asked, blinking at him.

"Oh uh…sorry to say but I don't where she is." He claimed, glancing elsewhere. Immediately, she caught the lie by the fluctuations of his chakra signature; people lie but chakra does not. "Hey, I kept my end of the bargain. I said I'd tell you everything I knew about Orochimaru and I did. One of those things, however, is not her location. I haven't seen her since she left Konoha." This was also a lie.

"So, you do not where she is?"

"No."

"And you have not seen her since she left Konoha?"

"Nope." She squinted her eyes at him with a frown.

She could've called out his lying there and then but hesitated as it could cause him to turn hostile, a quickness of which he had already demonstrated before. It was frustrating to think about how she had sacrificed her time (and dignity) with little to no reward. Either way, she did not see herself getting him to relinquish Orochimaru's location willingly and therefore, decided to throw in the towel.

"Very well then. We'll just have to find Orochimaru ourselves. Thank you again, Jiraiya-sama." She bowed then turned towards the gates to leave.

"Hey, kiddo," Zetsu stopped and stared at him over her shoulder to find Jiraiya scratching the back of his head. "I feel bad leaving you empty-handed so here, take this: a copy of Gutsy Shinobi signed by the one, the only: Jiraiya!" He fished the book out from his robe and held it out for her to take.

She stepped up and graciously accepted it. "Oh, thank you." She peeped, examining the brown, plain cover and back which had a picture of him, posing with a giant and flashing two peace signs.

"Only for you, my little sleuth!" He trumpeted, giving her a grin and a thumbs-up. "Don't read it until you get home! Now, if you excuse me, Yugakure has a lot more springs for me to 'research'." Before she could bid him goodbye, he was off, scuttling down the street, his mischievous giggling echoing throughout the peaceful atmosphere of the village.

While bummed she was unable to coerce Orochimaru's whereabouts from the only person who knew where she was, Zetsu could not say she was disappointed, having met a legend in the flesh: the Sannin Jiraiya.

With that, she packaged the novel in her hoodie with the other and trekked back to Amegakure.

…

"So Jiraiya had knowledge of Orochimaru's location but would not give it to you?"

"Yes, sir."

Pein nodded, thumbing one of his lip piercings. "Yes, that does sound characteristic of him. How could I expect anything else?" He sighed, leaning back in his chair. "We'll just have to spend the resources we have to find Orochimaru instead. Thank you, Zetsu. You are dismissed."

"Yes, Sir Leader." Zetsu said, bowing to her superior before walking to the steam elevator to leave the office.

"Sasori," She overheard Pein's telepathic transmission to the puppet master.

"Hn?" Sasori's grunting came through a few seconds later.

"Would you kindly report to my office? I have an assignment for you." Sasori confirmed this request with another grunt which was where the conversation consequently ended.

Once back at the Akatsuki Manor, Zetsu excused herself to her bedroom where she let out the heaviest sigh once sliding the paper door shut behind her. It was inevitable that she feel bad about this mission considering it was a failure and her first failure at that. Maybe she could've done more to convince Jiraiya to hand over the information, but it was too late now. With a second sigh, she pulled her jacket off over her head.

As she did, there was two heavy thumps of something hitting the hardwood flooring and after getting the article of clothing off her head, she glanced down to discover the two books she had acquired while in Yugakure. She picked them up, checking for damage then carried them over to her desk. She set aside the older book to give to Kakuzu later as he was currently out on mission with Glut while she decided to read the first chapter of Gutsy Shinobi to gage her interest in it. Even if it wasn't something she'd like to read, it was a perfect collector's piece. The synopsis read interestingly enough and turning to the title page is where she found the autograph Jiraiya left.

"To my biggest fan!" The generic message read, making her think he must've mass signed several copies to hand out. In the corner was a cartoonish drawing of a frog displaying a peace symbol which she may've overlooked if something peculiar hadn't caught her eye about it. On its belly written were numbers in no particular order: 15. 23. 45. 2. 176. 12. Confused, she questioned what they meant; a code, maybe?

On a hunch, she fingered through the novel to one of the page numbers that matched a number but in it, found nothing else written or circled which only fueled her puzzlement. It had to mean something! Maybe it was just a game for readers to find a secret message. Either way, she was going to figure it out, one way or another. Grabbing a notebook, she wrote down the numbers and got to work.

After a half-an-hour, she got figured it out after her second attempt. Her first attempt involved writing down the words the numbers counted to, so the fifteenth word, the twenty-third word, ect. That had resulted in nothing as the collected words read nothing coherent, even when arranged every which way. So next she tried the page numbers again and discovered that each number signified the beginning of a new chapter and as was basic practice for other books, the first word starting off that chapter was emphasized by either being bolded and in a larger font size. Bingo: she got it.

And what a bingo it was because she learned it wasn't a super-secret message for his fans but a location: Orochimaru's location, it hinted. She couldn't understand why he left it to her as a riddle instead of outright telling her but chalked it up as his pride. Whatever the reason, she now knew where Orochimaru was.

With a cheer, Zetsu grabbed the book and her notebook and ran out the door back to Pein's Tower.

…

"So, I'm thinkin' that—"

"Sir Leader!"

"Oh, bloody hell." Sasori huffed, chafed that he was interrupted as Zetsu hurried out of the elevator. "What do you want, woman?"

"Is everything ok, Zetsu?" Pein asked as the teenager paused in front of his desk, hunched over and heaving for breath after sprinting through Amegakure to get here since the city's metal exoskeleton prevented her from using the Mayfly.

"I…I've leaned where…Orochimaru is..."

"What?" Pein and Sasori said in unison with even Konan overhearing the unexpected news from the other side of the office and springing her head up.

Zetsu extended the two books to Pein. "Jiraiya…he…" She didn't have the chance to explain as Pein held up a hand to hush her so he could read it for himself. That, and also so she could regain herself.

Opening them up, he read over Zetsu's neatly handwritten notes, a majority of which had been scribbled out with her first failed attempt. At the bottom had the transliterated message, each individual letter written out with its respective page number and circled. He checked it to the novel and confirmed her findings.

"'She is where rice once was.'" Pein read out loud, quirking an eyebrow at the bizarre message and pushed his pen to his lips.

"Where the rice once was? The bleedin' 'ell that supposed to mean?" Sasori directed his snorting at Zetsu who shook her head, having not gotten as far as to deciphering the message after well, deciphering it. "Rice grows everywhere. She could literally be anywhere!"

"Where the rice once was…" Pein uttered to himself, tapping his pen to his chin while in deep thought.

"Wait. Isn't there the Land of Rice Paddies that neighbours the Firelands?" Konan suddenly inquired aloud. "Perhaps that is where she is?"

"Oh yes, you are correct, Konan." Pein acknowledged, mentally facepalming for not coming to such an obvious answer.

"But 'e said where the rice 'once was'. Last I 'eard, the Ricelands 'ad rice." Sasori inputted his obvious two cents.

Pein nodded. "Yes, that is true but at the moment, is it our best bet and we should investigate. Sasori, do you have any moles in the Firelands or in a nation within the proximity of the Ricelands?"

"Reckon I do. I got me moles everywhere 'round this godforsaken earth. 'ow many ya want?"

"One, for now. We are not positive if that is indeed Orochimaru's location and if it is, we need to stay as inconspicuous as possible while investigating. We do not want to clue her onto our presence."

"Right. I'mma go make some phone calls then."

Pein nodded. "You are dismissed, Sasori, thank you." Once Sasori had hauled his heavyset puppet to the elevator and left, the ginger turned to Zetsu who was still standing present. "And you, Zetsu, you have my kudos on cracking Jiraiya's code. But I expect nothing less from you; you are the star of this organization."

"Thank you, Sir Leader." Zetsu said, bowing while her head was down, blinked back the tears from the genuine compliment before straightening back up. "What would you like me to do now? Would you like me to investigate also?"

"No, I want to wait for Sasori's informer to be dispatched and get back to us. We cannot be hasty, especially when involving ourselves with Orochimaru. For now, take a break until I have a new mission for you. You are dismissed, Zetsu."

Zetsu nodded, bowing again before taking her leave.

By themselves again, Konan went back to her paperwork but paused when hearing her partner's chuckling. She glanced up at Pein to find him with his chin in his palm while he had that Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi open in the other hand.

"This book is dedicated to my student, Nagato; the gutsy shinobi." He read out to her then smirked and shut the book.

…

AN: Phew, finally. I'll admit, this one and the last chapter may be my least favourite chapters written. But, but! They had to exist to get us here and starting now, shit is going down because next chapter is the introduction of Orochimaru! And what an introduction it'll be. I'm going to have so much fun writing her, especially when paired with Sasori, my other favourite character to write. They'll be like a match made in Hell.

Next Chapter: Orochimaru.

Until Next Time.