Ninjutsu Is Konoha's Foundation

A month later, Jiraiya reluctantly walked into the Hokage Office.

Behind the desk sat an angry Hiruzen Sarutobi. Beyond the window behind him lay the entirety of Konoha Village.

"Jiraiya! Why have you repeatedly refused the missions assigned to you?!"

Jiraiya yawned. He had left the bathhouse too late last night. An Inuzuka Clan female ninja had entered the Women's Bathhouse, and he had engaged in a battle of wits with her, nearly letting her catch his scent.

"Sensei, if Konoha Village were invaded right now, I'd be the first to charge for the gates. But what kind of missions have you been giving me? Boring C-Rank Missions," Jiraiya said listlessly.

"I've completed hundreds of S-Rank Missions. What's the point of making me do C-Rank Missions again?"

"Were those missions for you? They were meant for you to train your disciples!"

Jiraiya continued to shake his head.

"Akimichi Jirokuma has the Akimichi Clan to train him. They'd only be unhappy if I interfered.

Minato Namikaze is so precocious that having him perform C-Rank Missions is just wasting his time.

As for Haneina, she does need training. However, compared to training under me, it would benefit her more to build a good relationship with Minato Namikaze and Akimichi Jirokuma.

After all, I'm lazy, and I don't know medical ninjutsu. I can't train her for long. It'd be better to let Minato serve as half her teacher. That saves me trouble, and Haneina will develop better.

But..."

"But what?!"

"But what Minato has been doing lately is indeed a little bizarre. I went to see them. Instead of practicing ninjutsu, they were farming."

"Hmph." Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "If they were merely farming, that would still fall within the realm of bizarre. But someone has already reported Minato Namikaze for leaking ninjutsu to people outside the village!"

Jiraiya's expression instantly turned serious. He was incredulous, then immediately said, "Impossible. Minato thinks very maturely. He would never leak the village's ninjutsu."

Hiruzen Sarutobi tossed Jiraiya a report and told him to read it himself.

Jiraiya glanced over it, and his expression immediately relaxed.

"You mean he leaked that flashy ninjutsu Minato developed himself, the one with the especially long name and no practical combat value?" He lowered his head and carefully read every word. "Earth Style: Overclocked Seismic Fracture—One Thousand Acres Plowed in a Day, Type One?

I remember Minato already developed Type Two. He only gave away Type One, which proves he still knows where to draw the line."

"Jiraiya!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said with exceptional gravity. "Ninjutsu is Konoha's foundation. I taught you that long ago!"

Jiraiya's expression became complicated. Other than the Three Body Technique, the Ninja Academy taught nothing, and ninjutsu was so precious within Konoha Village.

"Fine. I'll talk to Minato first, see what he was thinking, and ask why he taught ninjutsu to people outside the village."

Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a breath of relief. He had finally persuaded Jiraiya. Of his three disciples, Jiraiya was the hardest to convince, extremely stubborn, especially after receiving guidance from the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku.

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi had to show respect to that Great Toad Sage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Aside from your persuasion, I'll have someone formally investigate Minato Namikaze."

"Hm?" Jiraiya was deeply puzzled. "Investigate him? Is that really necessary? It was just an occasional lapse in judgment by an eleven-year-old kid."

"It is necessary. Ninjutsu and secret techniques are the foundation of every great ninja clan. An eleven-year-old teaching ninjutsu to someone else may not amount to much, but my disciple's disciple—your disciple—teaching ninjutsu to others will be interpreted by those clan heads as a sign of a certain shift in the winds."

Jiraiya felt uncomfortable all over.

Telling Minato not to teach ninjutsu was no big deal. He simply did not want to affect Minato's nature; he wanted Minato to grow freely.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

After receiving permission, Orochimaru entered.

"Look at that, Jiraiya. You never knock. So rude. Orochimaru at least knows to knock before entering my office."

Orochimaru, with his narrow eyes and pale face, looked at Jiraiya. "This is the first time we've met since the Memorial Stone commemoration after the Ninja World War, Jiraiya."

"Your laboratory is cold and gloomy. I don't want to go there. Or come with me to the Women's Bathhouse. Tsunade isn't around anymore, so can't the two of us go whenever we want and leave whenever we want?"

Orochimaru rarely smiled, his lips curving faintly.

"Jiraiya! This is the Hokage Office! Can you stop mentioning the women of Konoha Village in such a lecherous tone?!"

Jiraiya paid no attention to his teacher and continued speaking to Orochimaru. "We used to go together when we were kids, but later you stopped going. Orochimaru, do you have some unspeakable problem? I'll get Tsunade to treat you. Don't feel embarrassed. Once you're cured, we can go to the Women's Bathhouse together!"

Orochimaru did not respond. He had followed Jiraiya in causing mischief when they were children, but if word got out now, how was he supposed to compete to become the Fourth Hokage? He turned and asked, "Sensei, what did you call me here for?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. Why could none of his disciples put the village first at all times like Hatake Sakumo?

He said, "Orochimaru, I'm assigning you to investigate Minato Namikaze's ninjutsu leak. This is ANBU's investigation report."

Orochimaru looked over the report and asked, "Who is Minato Namikaze? Why send me over something like this? Wouldn't it be enough to have ANBU execute him directly?"

Jiraiya had given Minato a relaxed and privileged environment. In the real Konoha, ANBU could execute any ninja.

Death existed not only outside the village, but inside it as well.

"Hey, hey! Orochimaru!" Jiraiya said furiously.

"Can't you occasionally show some concern for Tsunade and me?

Minato Namikaze is my disciple! My disciple! Do you understand? You cold-blooded snake-like creature!"

Orochimaru looked at Minato Namikaze's relationships listed in the report and indeed saw Jiraiya in the mentor field.

"You're sending me to investigate Jiraiya's disciple. Doesn't that mean you want this handled lightly? Just going through the motions?"

Jiraiya understood as well. "So that's it. Old man, I wronged you. I knew you couldn't seriously investigate your own disciple's disciple—my disciple."

Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer endure it. "Jiraiya, get out! Orochimaru, you too!"

Jiraiya did not feel that his teacher was treating them differently at all. He threw an arm around Orochimaru's shoulders and turned to leave.

"Orochimaru, for my sake, you don't need to investigate at all. Just make up a report and fool the old man. What's there to investigate? Ninja clans treasure ninjutsu like it's gold, but can they really stop Commoner Ninja or orphans from developing their own ninjutsu?"

"Fooling the old man is fine, but we should have said that after leaving. We ought to show Sensei at least some respect."

The sound of the door closing came from outside, but Hiruzen Sarutobi did not feel respected.

He turned to look at the portraits of the First Hokage and the Second Hokage on the wall.

Did he... really have to train Hatake Sakumo as the Fourth Hokage?

Hatake Sakumo was strong enough. The Konoha White Fang was stronger than all three of his disciples.

However, Hatake Sakumo was the type of ninja who blossomed late after years of accumulation.

His talent had not been noticed in the past, which meant Hatake Sakumo had remained entirely a Commoner Ninja. He had not become the disciple of Konoha's upper ranks or the retainer of any ninja clan, relying solely on his Body Flicker Technique and Lightning Style to make his way.

Was the position of Fourth Hokage really going to be given to a Commoner Ninja?