Jiraiya's Team

Walking down the street, Yūske rubbed his not-yet-fully-awake forehead. Thinking of the chattering voices he had heard upstairs, he could not help but shudder.

Sure enough, no matter where you went, neighbors were a magical sort. When you had no prospects, they could not care less. Once you rose to prominence, they lost all sense of propriety and wondered whether they could still curry favor with you.

Since coming to this world, last night had been Yūske's best sleep. Not only had he successfully become Hiruzen Sarutobi's disciple, meaning he no longer needed to hide his abilities, but he had also cut off any underhanded moves Danzo might make behind the scenes.

After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Hokage. No matter how timid he was, he would not let Danzo lay hands on his own disciple. If he did, he would only chill the hearts of those who followed him.

After all, Danzo's character and deeds were no secret to many people.

Once he had sorted out his thoughts, Yūske truly relaxed for the first time. He strolled from the east market to the west market, eating as he went. Fortunately, he had previously lived and eaten at home, so he had saved up quite a bit of money.

"Are you Lord Yūske?"

Halfway through his stroll, a genin around eight or nine years old blocked Yūske's path.

Yūske looked ahead at the boy, who wore a forehead protector and had a little white dog by his side.

The Inuzuka Clan?

There were many summoning beasts in this shinobi world, and the Inuzuka Clan was famous for its ninja hounds.

Was the Inuzuka Clan looking for him?

When Yūske nodded, the boy smiled. "Hello, Lord Yūske. My name is Inuzuka Gakuto, and I am Teacher Jiraiya's disciple."

"Did Jiraiya send for me?" Yūske asked.

"Yes. Teacher Jiraiya sent us out to find you." Then Inuzuka Gakuto remembered that his companions were still searching everywhere for Yūske.

"I'll go notify Minato and Dōtō first. Lord Yūske, you can go find Teacher Jiraiya."

Before Yūske could say anything, Inuzuka Gakuto lifted his head and sniffed the air. Then, with his ninja hound, he quickly ran in the direction of the other two.

Watching Inuzuka Gakuto leave, Yūske could only wander around nearby. As for why he did not go find Jiraiya himself? The boy had not told him where Jiraiya was.

Relying on his keen sense of smell, Inuzuka Gakuto quickly found Minato Namikaze and Chōji Akimichi.

Seeing Inuzuka Gakuto's smug expression, Chōji Akimichi nudged him with an elbow and said,

"Gakuto, once you get the mission reward, you have to treat me to a big meal."

Inuzuka Gakuto wore a bitter smile.

"If you had found Lord Yūske, we could have stuffed ourselves, but Teacher Jiraiya said that if I found Lord Yūske first, I'd only get a reward of 1,000 yen."

As the two continued complaining, he said,

"If Minato finds him, he gets 3,000 yen. Dōtō gets 5,000 yen. Hmph!"

Minato smiled cheerfully and comforted him. "That's because you and Maru are better at finding people. Dōtō and I can only look around and try our luck."

The three chatted idly as they finally returned to Jiraiya's front door.

"Lord Yūske should already be here, right?" Minato asked.

Inuzuka Gakuto sniffed the air and sensed that something was off. Why was Yūske still where he had been earlier?

"Lord Yūske is still on that street?"

Inuzuka Gakuto stared at Minato and the other boy in stunned disbelief.

"Could it be that you didn't make it clear that Lord Jiraiya wanted us to find him?" Minato asked.

"I did! I went looking for you two only after I told him." Inuzuka Gakuto nodded firmly.

"Then perhaps Lord Yūske doesn't know where Jiraiya lives, so he's waiting for you where he is." After thinking it over, Minato analyzed the situation.

Inuzuka Gakuto thought that made perfect sense. He turned around and led Minato and Chōji Akimichi toward Yūske.

After Inuzuka Gakuto left, Yūske continued leisurely browsing the streets. He figured Jiraiya was planning to treat him to a meal, so he bought some pastries and fruit, found a teahouse, and waited for Inuzuka Gakuto to return while drinking tea.

Before long, Minato and the other two spotted Yūske sitting comfortably in the teahouse, sipping tea. Yūske saw them as well and waved them over.

"Lord Yūske, you haven't gone over yet?" Inuzuka Gakuto was the first to speak.

"I wanted to, but I didn't know where your teacher was, so I could only wait for you to come back." Yūske tapped Inuzuka Gakuto on the head.

"Now that you're back, let's go. Don't keep your teacher waiting too long." With that, Yūske picked up his things and set off with the three of them.

The group was on their way to Jiraiya's home.

Minato asked, "Lord Yūske, you were amazing yesterday. And your String Style—is it really string? Why did it feel even harder than steel?"

"String Style?" Inuzuka Gakuto and Chōji Akimichi said they had never heard of it, then immediately grabbed Yūske's arm and shook it. "Lord Yūske, can you show us?"

"I'll show you someday if I get the chance." Then his tone turned serious. "Remember this: strength is meant to defend your home and protect the weak. It isn't for children to play around with. Do you understand?"

"Understood." Even Maru had been scolded along with them. The three boys and one dog all looked dejected.

"Did your teacher pay you a mission reward for coming to find me?"

Having forced a bit of swagger, Yūske saw that they had all fallen silent and could only casually bring up another topic.

"Yes. If Minato found you first, Teacher Jiraiya rewarded him 3,000 yen. Dōtō got 5,000 yen."

Inuzuka Gakuto's voice grew quieter and quieter.

"What about you?" Yūske asked Inuzuka Gakuto curiously.

"1,000 yen."