Hokage Tower.
"Old man." Jiraiya climbed in through the window.
The Third Hokage set down the documents in his hands.
"How is Shamu?"
Jiraiya said, "Although I won, I felt like he held back."
The Third Hokage took a slow puff from his pipe. "What about you?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "I didn't use Sage Mode."
The Third Hokage raised his brows. "Oh? Then he didn't use Susanoo?"
"He did, but only briefly. It seems Susanoo consumes an enormous amount of Chakra and can't be sustained."
The Third Hokage paced back and forth a few steps, murmuring, "Can't be sustained, can't be sustained..."
"Mm, you've worked hard, Jiraiya." The Third Hokage's expression relaxed.
Jiraiya shook his head. "After sparring with Shamu, I don't think he's an ambitious man. Maybe he really just wants to guard Uchiha's little patch of land."
"Is that so?" If anyone else had tried to judge a person based on their feelings, the Third Hokage would have torn them apart with a scolding.
But Jiraiya was different. He trained at Mount Myōboku and had long been exposed to Natural Energy.
He could sense, in a strange way, a person's inclinations and character.
So Jiraiya's words carried considerable weight.
Moreover, even the Third Hokage himself had never fully experienced just how powerful Jiraiya's Sage Mode was. Since Jiraiya said there was no problem—
The Third Hokage felt much more at ease.
After all, Uchiha Shamu had always been an unstable factor, often doing unexpected things.
This time, he had ruined Jiraiya's reputation. It had to be said that this suited Jiraiya just fine, since the Third Hokage could no longer force him to take over as Hokage.
What village leader could be a peeping tom?
Then again, if Orochimaru was not the one who kidnapped the babies,