After Jiraiya officially assumed the Hokage Position and went through a hectic period of adjustment, Naruto found a relatively free moment to go to the Hokage Building and bring up the matter of Tsunade.
Jiraiya hearing this, Jiraiya stroked his chin and fell into a brief moment of contemplation. The mountain of documents piled on the table almost blocked Jiraiya from view.
" Tsunade..."
He pondered for a moment, "Actually, even if you hadn't brought it up, I had this plan in mind. We need to find someone to go out of the village and find a way to bring her back."
Jiraiya had even prepared his explanation. Konoha had recently suffered Orochimaru's ' Konoha Crush Plan ' attack. Although order had been restored, the reserves of the medical system and the number of high-end medical Ninja were still major weaknesses.
"It's perfectly legitimate to ask her to come back on the grounds that 'the village urgently needs top-tier medical support.'"
After a pause, Jiraiya's voice carried a hint of complaint and calculation that only his own people could understand.
"Moreover, I genuinely intend for her to return to a high-level position, ideally one where she can directly take over some specific tasks... As you can see," Jiraiya said with a wry smile, pointing to the mountain of documents that almost completely engulfed him.
Jiraiya has only been in office for a few days, Jiraiya's already starting to regret it. Not only is there no end in sight to the work, but Jiraiya beloved 'material gathering' can't continue because he has to maintain his image.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became of his decision, Jiraiya felt increasingly justified.
Of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru went astray, and Jiraiya and Tsunade were both notorious for their long-term laziness. Now that Jiraiya has gritted his teeth and taken on this responsibility, why is she still out drinking, gambling, and living a carefree life?
Is this acceptable? This is completely inappropriate! We must bring her back to 'share the hardships'!"
Another change that followed was that Naruto moved.
The new home is a detached two-story house. It's not an unfamiliar place; it's the house where Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki once lived.
In theory, after the Minato couple's sacrifice, the rightful heir to this property was their only son Uzumaki Naruto.
However, imagine this: the Fourth Hokage had barely given his life for the village, his body still warm, and they immediately moved a blond, blue-eyed toddler into this house?
This is practically tantamount to loudly announcing to all the spies and intelligence brokers lurking throughout the Ninja World, "Look! The Fourth Hokage left behind a bloodline! And he's the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki! Aren't you scared? When he grows up, he'll teleport to your hometown with a Flying Thunder God Technique, casually toss a Tailed Beast Ball, and we can all say goodbye forever! You're all going to die."
Therefore, the Third Hokage used this as a reason to avoid Kushina being severely beaten for temporarily confiscating the house; he only ended up with a head full of bruises.
Now, Naruto's strength and identity are no longer a secret. The new house is spacious, and Naruto has his own room. He no longer has to share a bed with Kushina, although strictly speaking, Naruto lived alone in the previous small apartment.
Even Zacian got a separate room. Perhaps to make up for his decision back then, or simply to avoid being beaten up again, the Third Hokage not only didn't take back the small apartment Naruto had lived in for many years, but also officially registered its property rights in Naruto's name, as an extra gift.
The move was surprisingly easy. Aside from essential clothes and some commonly used furniture, Naruto found that he didn't have many personal belongings to pack.
A kitten plush toy, a slightly worn knitted scarf long enough to easily wrap around two people, an incubator, and the comfortable, spacious bed he was now sleeping in.
While packing, Naruto belatedly realized that almost all the everyday items around him seemed to be labeled "gifts from Satsuki "... He felt like he was living off a woman.
Life didn't settle down after leaving that small apartment that held almost all of my childhood and teenage memories.
Following this, the Fifth Hokage, Jiraiya, announced two decisions to the entire village and the outside world through both a public notice in front of the Hokage Building and official documents.
The first item concerns Uzumaki Naruto's background:
[Official announcement effective immediately: The identity of Uzumaki Naruto, the Ninja who bravely protected Konoha during the attack by One-Tails Shukaku, has been verified to be that his father is indeed Hidden Leaf Village, the Fourth Hokage of Minato Namikaze!]
Following closely behind was another announcement.
[Furthermore, the Fifth Hokage, Lord Jiraiya, personally announced that, effective immediately, he will accept Uzumaki Naruto as his personal disciple, imparting all his knowledge to him in order to carry on the Will of Fire!]
"Welcome back to the village, Child of Heroes!"
"Lord Naruto! You've worked hard!"
" Hero of Konoha! Hope for the future!"
"As expected of Lord Jiraiya's disciple! He must have completed this mission exceptionally well, right?"
Having just completed a routine two-day escort mission, Team 7 had barely approached the Konoha Gate when they were greeted by this frenzied scene that resembled a celebration.
A sea of people.
This is no exaggeration. The dense crowd not only filled the wide square at the village entrance, but also spread into the streets inside the village like a rising tide, stretching from the entrance all the way to the corner at the end of the road. The throngs of heads, waving arms, and faces brimming with excitement and enthusiasm formed a thick and noisy "human wall".
Colorful ribbons and confetti appeared out of nowhere, and several huge handwritten banners were held high by the crowd, standing out conspicuously against the white cloth.
[A warm welcome to the return of Uzumaki Naruto, son of the Fourth Hokage!]
[The pride of Konoha, the pillars of the Ninja World ]
[Grateful for the protection, heroes for generations]
The noise, cheers, shouts, and discussions mingled together, creating a wave of intense heat that rushed towards us.
Naruto's pupils dilated in shock. The Fourth Great Ninja War World War hadn't even started yet, had it? Pain hadn't come to demolish the place yet, had he? He'd only left the village, escorting a noblewoman to visit relatives in a neighboring town, and incidentally dealing with a few gangs of incompetent bandits along the way...
What's going on with this commotion?
Even Hatake Kakashi, who is usually calm or lazy, was somewhat bewildered.
"... The son of the Hokage...?"
"... the Fourth Hokage- sama's..."
Naruto suddenly jolted awake. Jiraiya to have mentioned before that he would officially announce his past... Could it be that the announcement had already been released during the two days he was on the mission?
However, now is clearly not the time to think about it too much.
" Naruto," Kakashi's voice rang out just in time. He swiftly grabbed Sakura Haruno's arm, who was equally stunned and still hadn't quite grasped the situation. "Looks like this scene was prepared especially for you. Good luck. We'll... be going now. Goodbye."
Before he could finish speaking, Kakashi skillfully used the Body Flicker Technique, disappearing from the spot with Sakura, who was still caught off guard.
Naruto, "..."
Satsuki, "..."
Almost at the same instant Kakashi disappeared, the crowd that had been merely cheering suddenly became incredibly enthusiastic. They began to surge towards Naruto and Satsuki, who were still standing in the same spot, their steps quickening and their eyes burning with an almost tangible intensity.
" Naruto! Please give me your autograph!"
"Can, can we shake hands? Just for a moment!"
The surging crowd and the overwhelming gazes made even Naruto, who had defeated Otsutsuki Tailed Beast and Otsutsuki, experience a bit of social anxiety.