"Chiba...?"
Jiraiya silently sat on a small tree some distance from the riverbank ahead. Half his body was already soaked as he watched the blond graduate crouching by the river, sticking out his rear as he condensed Chakra for practice—Uzumaki Naruto. His expression gradually turned solemn.
At this time...
Hand him over to Chiba.
At the same time, though, he felt somewhat hesitant.
Although he had already come to an agreement with Kakashi, that was not something he could decide. Naruto's Jonin instructor was now Kakashi. Strictly speaking, Jiraiya had no real standing to teach him.
Even if, judging by the current situation, his instruction would benefit Naruto.
But if Kakashi truly arranged another teacher and insisted on having that person instruct Naruto, Jiraiya would always be in the wrong.
Otherwise, if a teacher had no right whatsoever to choose a teacher for their own student, then wouldn't anyone be able to snatch disciples?
Kakashi had come to notify him, and had even spoken in the tone of a request. That was already the utmost respect a Jonin instructor could show someone interfering with his student's training.
At a time like this, even if Jiraiya did not want to hand Naruto over to Chiba, he still had to respect Kakashi's wishes.
Of course, given the current circumstances, Jiraiya was quite willing to hand Naruto over to Chiba. In fact, in his eyes, Chiba was more suited than himself to be this temporary instructor.
It was just that Chiba had made his act so convincing before that he had even fooled them, making Jiraiya believe he was dead.
So Jiraiya could only do it in his place.
Otherwise, whether in terms of strength or identity, Chiba would have been perfect for the role.
"How should I tell him?"
At this point,