The next day, noon.
Orochimaru arrived at a training ground in Konoha.
Looking over, several figures were currently sparring in the field, while a white-haired middle-aged man sat atop a nearby tree, writing away.
Jiraiya sat cross-legged on a branch, agonizing over how to continue the Icha Icha Paradise series!
Every so often, he poked his head with the end of his pen and occasionally glanced at the people training below, his face twisted as though he were constipated.
Just as Jiraiya sat there with a belly full of words but no idea where to begin, a Little White Snake suddenly dropped into his collar.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh... What the hell?!"
The slimy sensation made Jiraiya's skin crawl. He hurriedly stood up and shook his clothes, but in his frantic flailing, he accidentally stepped into empty air and fell from the treetop.
"Hehe... Jiraiya, why are you paying such respects the moment we meet?"
A tall figure slowly walked up before him. Jiraiya, sprawled flat on his back, saw the pair of feet entering his view. When he looked up and recognized the man's face, he immediately sprang upright!
"Orochimaru, why is it you again?! Is this kind of nasty prank really that fun?"
Jiraiya shot up in a rage, grabbed Orochimaru by the collar, and unleashed a torrent of abuse right in his face.
"I saw you agonizing over there for ages without making any progress, so I thought I'd give you a surprise..."
"You call that a surprise? You wanted to scare me to death so you could inherit my excellent disciple, didn't you?"
As the two bickered, Little White Snake had somehow already returned to Orochimaru's shoulder.
After spraying Orochimaru's face with complaints, Jiraiya finally calmed down and grudgingly released him.
"Go on, what do you want