In the past, whenever Jiraiya returned to the village, he would always visit the bathhouse to relax. While relieving his stress, he would also gather material for his novels. It was his way of rewarding himself after completing dangerous missions.
But this time, Jiraiya had no mood to unwind. His mind was completely occupied with figuring out how to find Naruto.
According to the intelligence the old man had given him, Naruto's range of activity after leaving the village had been enormous, covering nearly half the Land of Fire. He was also proficient in the Transformation Jutsu and Shadow Clone Jutsu, capable of deceiving Anbu elites who tailed him. Finding Naruto would be no easy task.
However, for Jiraiya, finding Naruto was not the hardest part.
Ninja always left traces behind when they acted. He had completed too many S-rank missions over the years to count.
What truly gave him a headache was how to persuade Naruto to willingly stay at the Ninja Academy and study. Otherwise, even if he brought Naruto back, the boy would run away again. He could not keep watch over Naruto every moment.
As for taking Danzo's suggestion and placing a cursed seal on Naruto to restrict his movements, Jiraiya had never once considered it.
Naruto was Minato's son, his own student's son, and an inheritor of the Will of Fire.
Even setting that aside, he would never treat any of the village's other ninja as disposable tools. That would go against the Will of Fire and the beliefs he upheld.
Flipping through the intelligence scroll, Jiraiya found a familiar name amid the densely packed text: Kakashi.
Kakashi was Minato's student. Over the past few years, he had protected Naruto as an elder ninja and was one of the few ninja close to Naruto. Perhaps