Jiraiya

Konoha Village.

Tall wooden walls enclosed Konoha.

The entire village had changed considerably over the past ten years.

Ten years was enough to leave one's hometown almost unrecognizable; only a few landmark buildings and familiar sights still revealed its former outline.

"This..."

"Is this really Konoha?"

Young Danzo widened his eyes in disbelief.

Having grown up in Konoha as a child, he remembered it as nothing more than a crude village. Now, it had become a prosperous and bustling town.

Konoha Village's gates had also been built remarkably tall.

Two Konoha Chunin in uniform sat beside a table by the gates, registration forms laid out before them as they watched Shirou Emiya's group approach.

"Welcome to Konoha."

One of the Chunin warmly greeted them and invited them over to register. "You'll need to register your information before entering the village."

"We're ninjas from the village."

Young Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately stepped forward and took the initiative to register both his and Shimura Danzo's names, flashing the two Chunin a broad smile.

"I'm Sarutobi Hiruzen, a Genin from the village."

"Huh? You're Senior Sarutobi?!"

"You've changed way too much!"

"If one didn't look carefully, they simply wouldn't recognize you as the senior you used to be!"

The Chunin guarding the gate stared at Sarutobi Hiruzen in disbelief. Remembering the upperclassman whom his teachers had often praised back at the Ninja School, he hurriedly introduced himself. "Senior Sarutobi, I'm Kamizuki Izumo!"

"Huh?"

Young Sarutobi Hiruzen scratched his head, his eyes widening involuntarily. "You were just a little brat who enrolled when we graduated, and you're already a Chunin?"

"Hehe..."

The Chunin immediately patted his Chunin uniform with satisfaction. "I was lucky enough to pass the village's assessment the year before last, so I got ahead of you by one step, Senior Sarutobi!"

"Hahahaha... How outstanding!"

Young Sarutobi Hiruzen laughed as he praised his junior, then sighed somewhat regretfully. "Looks like we'll have to complete the exams as soon as possible after returning..."

"Hmph..."

Young Danzo walked over, clearly displeased at having fallen behind. "We only wasted ten years traveling through the Shinobi World. Otherwise, we'd definitely have been promoted to Jonin in the village by now..."

"How can that be considered wasted time?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly jabbed young Danzo in the shoulder.

Although Sarutobi Hiruzen knew that those ten years had delayed their promotions, their travels over the past decade could never have been a waste of time.

Ten years of traveling...

Had given Sarutobi Hiruzen a far broader perspective.

This young man no longer fooled around as he had in childhood. He had even tried to learn to think from the perspectives of Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju: what Konoha's future ought to look like, and what kind of relationship it should maintain with the ninja villages of the other great nations.

Most importantly...

Their strength had also improved by leaps and bounds.

Shimura Danzo had gained combat power equal to that of a Jonin over those ten years.

Not to mention Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had mastered the five Chakra nature transformations. After obtaining Shirou Emiya's Natural Energy Curse Mark, his strength had truly undergone a qualitative leap, because Shirou Emiya's Curse Mark greatly enhanced the power of techniques.

To be honest...

Sarutobi Hiruzen was even confident that he could defeat his father, Sarutobi Sasuke.

"It really was wasted time..."

However, the Chunin guarding the gate strongly agreed with young Danzo's words and brought up several of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo's peers. "Seniors Torifu Koharu and Mitokado Homura were promoted to Jonin long ago. Even Senior Maruboshi Kosuke was once a Jonin!"

"However..."

"Senior Maruboshi Kosuke made a mistake before..."

This gate guard knew quite a bit of gossip and quietly told them the story of one of their peers. "It seems he was demoted back to Genin. He refuses to take the Chunin Exams again and has kept working as a Genin in the village..."

"Kosuke?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned.

For now, Sarutobi Hiruzen had no intention of asking too much. After registering their information, he planned to first accompany Shirou Emiya to the Hokage Building to report in.

"This gentleman hasn't registered yet..."

The other Chunin stopped them and pointed at Shirou Emiya, who appeared to be about the same age as them. Curious, he asked, "Is he also a ninja from the village?"

"No."

"This gentleman is an honored guest of the village."

Sarutobi Hiruzen seriously shook his head. As he wrote down a false name, he solemnly introduced Shirou Emiya again. "He is a guest more honorable than anyone else."

"Then you can show your guest around the village properly."

After checking the ninja registration documents carried by Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo, the Chunin sighed softly. "Your information and photographs need to be updated too. If we hadn't happened to be here, other Chunin who didn't know you might not have recognized you at all..."

"Come to think of it..."

"After entering the village, you might not even recognize it as the Konoha you once knew. The village has changed greatly over these years..."

Compared to the outskirts...

The changes within Konoha Village were even greater.

The buildings lining Konoha's streets were no longer so plain and crude. Even their architectural styles had changed somewhat. The walls were no longer the simple pale green and brown of old, but had been painted in colorful hues, while more and more shops had sprung up along the streets.

At a glance...

Konoha's scenery could be described as vividly beautiful.

Encircled by low mountains, dense emerald trees stood amid brightly colored houses. From the orderly streets, one could see the red Hokage Building at a glance, as well as the rock-wall statue behind it carved in the likeness of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.

Compared with the Konoha that had only just been established ten years ago...

The current Konoha looked more like a true ninja village of a great nation. It could even be called a small city-state, making its former simplicity impossible to imagine.

Those who had grown up in Konoha might not have noticed such changes. But Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo had been away for ten years, and the transformed scenery of their hometown left them deeply shaken.

"Unimaginable..."

Young Sarutobi Hiruzen leaped onto a tall water tower and gazed out over Konoha. "Konoha changed so much in ten years..."

"Mm..."

Young Danzo could not help nodding as well.

"Time passes so quickly..."

Shirou Emiya seemed to see the passage of time in Konoha's transformation. He knew that Konoha would become even more prosperous in the future.

Compared with the changes in scenery...

There also seemed to be more and more people in the village.

Perhaps Konoha's reputation had spread far and wide. Many people had moved here and become residents of Konoha Village, and there were more children in the village as well.

Children ran and played everywhere in the streets. One white-haired little fellow even came barreling over carelessly, about to crash headlong into Shirou Emiya.

Yet Shirou Emiya slightly extended his hand, and a wisp of wind enveloped the little fellow's body, allowing the reckless brat to stop safely in place.

"Huh? Is this ninjutsu?"

The white-haired little fellow curiously touched the breeze around him, then looked up at Shirou Emiya standing before him. "Are you a senior ninja from the village?"

"No."

Shirou Emiya shook his head.

"An outsider ninja has broken in!"

The white-haired little fellow immediately shouted loudly to his companions behind him, completely ignoring the fact that he was still under the other man's control. "Hurry and get the village seniors! I found an enemy who infiltrated the village!"

"..."

A group of little fellows began crying out in panic.

"..."

Shirou Emiya fell silent.

Bonk!

Young Sarutobi Hiruzen leaped down and rapped the white-haired little fellow on the head with his knuckles. With a chuckle, he teased, "Haha, your judgment is terrible, brat. You actually picked the person who looks least like an enemy..."

"What the heck!"

The white-haired brat pouted in displeasure.

"Does this gentleman look like a bad person to you?"

Young Sarutobi Hiruzen patted the little fellow's head and gestured for him to get acquainted with Shirou Emiya. "Brat, the one standing before you is the greatest person in the Shinobi World. Even just looking at his face, there's no way he could possibly be a bad person!"

If they were judging by appearance...

Young Danzo standing beside them looked more like a bad person.

Even Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had a very approachable appearance, could not compare to Shirou Emiya, because he believed he lacked the aura of compassion Shirou Emiya exuded.

"What clan are you from? What's your name?"

Young Sarutobi Hiruzen curiously stroked the little fellow's white hair.

"..."

Shirou Emiya lowered his eyes slightly.

The little fellow's head of white hair, along with the red markings painted beneath his eyes, vaguely resembled someone Shirou Emiya would know in the future.

The white-haired brat struck an exceedingly arrogant pose, clenched his fist, and pointed his thumb downward at himself as he strung together a series of awkward descriptions for his own title!

"I am the man who has captivated countless beauties throughout the Shinobi World..."

"The most handsome, most generous, freest, most talented, most gifted genius boy in the Shinobi World! The future top student of the Konoha Ninja School! The future greatest ninja of Konoha!"

"I am Jiraiya!"

"..."

Young Sarutobi Hiruzen stared, dumbfounded.

He had never seen such a shameless little fellow.

Even though he himself had been rash and unruly in his youth, he could never have been as narcissistic as this brat.

Yet after a moment of silence, Shirou Emiya spoke a single sentence that enraged the arrogant, narcissistic white-haired brat.

"After saying so much, a child's mouth must be rather dry, right?"