Jiraiya Returns to the Village

Scorching mist filled the streets.

At Konoha Hot Spring Street, several women frolicked in one of the hot springs.

"Ah, I haven't soaked in a hot spring in so long. Why does your skin seem so much better lately? Let me feel it for myself."

"Stop messing around, that tickles. You've got some nerve talking about me—you've gotten a lot bigger compared to last year. I want to know how you did it too. Let me squeeze them. Are they fake?"

The women's movements sent splashes of water flying.

Yet on a wall not far from the hot spring, through a nearly imperceptible hole, a lecherous eye could be seen peeping inside from the other side.

Outside the wall stood a tall man with long, spiky white hair. He wore a red-and-gray robe, a forehead protector marked with the character for "oil," a massive scroll on his back, and red wooden clogs on his feet.

Suddenly, an Anbu appeared beside him.

"Lord Jiraiya, Lord Hokage knows you've returned to the village. He wants you to go to the Hokage Building and see him immediately."

"Ah, what a buzzkill. It was just getting to the best part. I still need to gather material for my writing. That old man, honestly. He must be using the Telescope Technique to peek too, otherwise how would he know I'm here?"

Jiraiya turned around, his resolute face wearing an expression of regret and disappointment.

If anyone else spoke of the Hokage like that, they might have been dragged off to the Police Force. But the man before him was Jiraiya, one of the legendary Three Ninja and the Hokage's disciple, so the Anbu did not dare say much.

Seeing how restrained this Anbu was in speaking, Jiraiya found it rather dull. He merely sighed, lamenting the beautiful sight he had just missed.

"Fine, I understand. I'll go to the Hokage Building later. You may leave."

"Yes."

The Anbu ninja vanished.

Jiraiya rose from his crouch beside the wall. He had only returned this time because of the old man's orders. Unfortunately, the hard-won lead he had found on Orochimaru had gone cold there. Something major must have happened in the village recently.

Otherwise, the old man would not have ordered him to return to Konoha.

As usual, Jiraiya planned to use his own methods to learn about the village's current situation before going to see what the old man wanted.

That evening, inside a Konoha izakaya.

Jiraiya had transformed into an ordinary man and sat drinking in the izakaya, gathering information about recent events in the village along the way.

After downing several cups of sake and growing closer to the owner, Jiraiya decided it was time to get down to business.

"Boss, I only returned today after finishing some business over in the Capital of the Land of Fire. It feels like the village has changed a lot lately."

After clearing away the bowls and chopsticks left by the customer who had just departed beside Jiraiya, the owner wiped the sweat from his bald head and readily gave his Answer.

"Ah, Laiye, you haven't been back for quite a while either. It's getting late today, and there probably won't be any more customers. Let me have a proper chat with you."

Laiye was the alias Jiraiya used when gathering intelligence in the village. He often came to this izakaya to drink under that identity, and after enough visits, he had naturally become acquainted with the owner.

The owner sat down beside Jiraiya, who promptly poured him a cup of sake.

The owner was straightforward as well. The two clinked cups and drained them in one gulp.

"Phew—ah!"

"Boss, tell me if anything interesting has happened in the village lately. It might help a businessman like me find some opportunities."

The owner waved his hand.

"Haha, Brother Laiye, quite a few big things have happened in the village lately, though I can't say whether they'll help your business."

"That's fine. I haven't been back to the village in a long time, so I want to know how it's doing. After all, I'm still a man of Konoha. I'll never forget that."

Jiraiya's casual words struck a chord in the owner's heart. That was right—they were all people of Konoha. None of them had ever forgotten it.

"Alright, Brother Laiye, tonight's drinks are on the house! Let your big brother here tell you all about the major events in the village lately. My information is always sharp!"

Jiraiya drank and chatted with the owner for more than two hours, until the owner slumped over the table and fell asleep.

Jiraiya placed the payment on the table with a sake cup weighing it down, then closed the door for the owner.

He released the Transformation Jutsu and stretched his body.

Stepping outside, he looked up at the moon in the sky, only then remembering what he had told the Anbu that afternoon.

"Oh no, I forgot about the old man. He's probably still waiting for me at the Hokage Building. I'd better hurry over. I definitely won't escape a scolding from him this time."

Just as Jiraiya was about to head for the Hokage Building, he suddenly noticed that Ichiraku Ramen next to the izakaya still had its lights on.

After drinking so much, a steaming bowl of ramen would be perfect for sobering up. The old man had waited so long already; surely he would not mind waiting a little longer.

He lifted the curtain and entered.

"Brother Teuchi, you're still open this late? Give me a large bowl of chashu ramen."

The middle-aged man in a white chef's uniform and white chef's hat stopped what he was doing and turned around.

"Jiraiya, I haven't seen you in ages. Wait a moment—the ramen will be ready soon."

While waiting for his ramen, Jiraiya curiously asked a few questions.

"Brother Teuchi, why haven't you closed up at this hour today?"

Teuchi continued working as he spoke.

"Sigh, because of a child."

"A child?"

Jiraiya looked puzzled, unable to understand why a child would make the shop close later.

"Yes. His name is Naruto. I don't know when it started, but everyone in the village began saying he's the incarnation of the Nine-Tails Fox. Nobody likes him. Only late at night does he sometimes come here. There's not much I can do for him, but I can at least treat him to a bowl of ramen."

"Naruto!?"

Jiraiya cried out the name.

Just then, the voice of a young boy came from outside.

"Who!? Why are you calling me?"

The little boy walked inside.

Jiraiya turned to look at the boy before him.

He was not very old, seemingly only five or six. He had short golden hair, three even lines on each side of his face resembling fox whiskers, and azure-blue eyes.

He wore a worn yellow-green shirt with a red swirl pattern in the middle of the chest, along with tattered blue shorts. His clothes looked filthy, covered in wrinkles and dusty stains.

Though the boy's voice was full of energy and spirit, his thin limbs and slightly yellowed complexion made it easy to see that he had suffered from long-term malnutrition.

For a moment, at the very first sight of Naruto, a familiar feeling washed over Jiraiya. Perhaps it was the alcohol, but Kushina and Minato's figures seemed to overlap with Naruto before his eyes.

Memories surged into his heart, and tears glimmered at the corners of his eyes.

"Naruto? Jiraiya-sensei, I've decided. I'll use that name for the child Kushina and I will have someday!"

"Haha, is that okay? I came up with it while eating ramen..."

Suppressing the emotions in his heart, he looked at Naruto before him.

Jiraiya was about to speak, but Naruto beat him to it.

"Did I scare you, mister? I'm sorry..."

Naruto's voice carried grievance and self-blame. Jiraiya froze. He did not know how much grievance and prejudice Naruto had endured over the years for him to instinctively say something like that.