A Slap for White Fang at the Start in Leaf Village

Although having an outstanding disciple was a good thing, Jiraiya still could not help feeling annoyed at hearing others say so.

Minato Namikaze leaped down from Gamabunta's back and said to Jiraiya,

"Sensei, I've actually been working on a ninjutsu lately, but I haven't been able to complete it successfully. Could you give me some advice?"

"Oh? What kind of ninjutsu?"

Jiraiya asked curiously.

Minato Namikaze spread open his right hand, and gust after gust of swirling Chakra began spiraling in his palm.

As time passed, it slowly formed the outline of a sphere.

However, just as it was about to become a complete ball,

the Chakra sphere burst like a balloon pricked by a needle, turning into a chaotic hurricane that shot in every direction.

After another failure, Minato Namikaze gave a bitter smile.

"This is a technique I created by taking inspiration from the Tailed Beast Ball Lady Uzumaki Mito used before her death, but I still haven't managed to make it work..."

Jiraiya's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he stared at Minato Namikaze in disbelief. "Minato, you... really are a genius..."

If he had not seen Nagato's Rinnegan, he would have been almost completely certain that Minato was the "Child of Prophecy" the Great Toad Sage had spoken of.

"Urghhh!!!"

"Waaahhh!!!"

Just then, several exceptionally miserable screams reached Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya's ears.

"What's going on?"

Jiraiya's expression changed in alarm.

"Jiraiya-sensei, let's go take a look."

Minato Namikaze was the first to dash toward the source of the screams.

"Mm."

Jiraiya followed close behind.

Gamabunta had no interest in it and turned into smoke, returning to the Summoning Realm.

Master and disciple raced through the forest.

But the farther they ran, the more they realized something.

This direction seemed to be...

When they reached their destination and saw the scene before them,

the familiar farmland and little house

confirmed it. This was Genetsu's residence.

Yet when they crossed the fields and saw what lay beside them, the two were completely stunned.

A pack of vicious-looking Ninja Hounds sat or lay at the edge of the farmland.

They were gnawing on chunks of bloody flesh.

Crunch, crunch~

One Ninja Hound that looked remarkably like a Husky chewed on a bone, producing crisp cracking sounds.

Then it spat out a mouthful of saliva with a ptui.

Clang~

Something dropped from its mouth.

Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze looked closely.

It was—

a Leaf Ninja's Forehead Protector!

Beside the other Ninja Hounds, there were still human fingers and bloodied skulls!

"Hmm? Finished lunch already?"

At that moment, Genetsu emerged from the wooden house. Wearing a straw hat, a thin white shirt, and black trousers, he carried a hoe over his shoulder and spoke casually.

"Get to work. If you dare slack off, I'll turn every one of you into dog meat soup."

"Woof~"

The Husky-like Ninja Hounds, who had been viciously chewing on meat scraps a moment ago, instantly reverted to their goofy selves at Genetsu's shout.

One by one, they voluntarily put on iron plows that should have been used for cattle and began tilling the land.

Genetsu carried his hoe over to the Leaf Village Forehead Protector that the Ninja Hound had just spat out.

After glancing at it from the corner of his eye for half a second, he suddenly brought the hoe down.

It instantly shattered into countless pieces.

"Genetsu, you—"

There were not many things left in this world that could shock Jiraiya so deeply.

Yet in barely a month, the shocks Genetsu had given him might have surpassed all those of the first half of his life.

"Hmm? This?"

Genetsu used his hoe to lift a bloodstained scrap of cloth from the edge of the field. "The dogs found a few spies just now, so I used them as the dogs' lunch."

Just like the Aburame Clan's insects and the Uchiha Clan's birds,

the Hatake Clan's standard Ninja Beasts were dogs.

However, Genetsu did not use Summoned Beasts in battle at all.

Still, among the few ninjutsu he was proficient in, the Summoning Jutsu was indeed one of the techniques he used most often.

Not for scouting, nor for combat. He simply used them as oxen.

"Th-that's the Moonlight Clan's emblem?!"

Seeing the symbol on the scrap of clothing hanging from the hoe, Jiraiya swallowed hard again and said in stunned disbelief,

"You couldn't possibly fail to recognize it, could you? How could someone from the Moonlight Clan be a spy!?"

The Moonlight Clan was renowned throughout Leaf Village for its secret Secreting Skill.

They were exceptionally skilled at concealment and reconnaissance.

They were mainly active in the Anbu and Intelligence Department.

And those two departments were the primary departments led by Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō.

Thus, the Moonlight Clan could also be considered one of the Leaf Village ninja clans Hiruzen Sarutobi trusted most.

"If they weren't spies, then why would they secretly monitor a hero like me, someone who brought victory to Leaf Village?"

Genetsu smiled calmly. The next instant, burning Amaterasu reduced it to ashes.

"Come to think of it, I sensed someone watching me a week ago. Someone that persistent had to be a spy. Lord Hokage couldn't possibly have sent them, right?"

Genetsu said cheerfully.

Beside Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze was already drenched in sweat.

A week ago?

Wasn't that during the two days he had been monitoring Genetsu?

Turning to look at the Ninja Hounds plowing the fields with iron plows on their backs, the fur around their mouths still stained crimson with blood, Minato Namikaze felt a chill run down his spine.

If he had continued the surveillance mission, then perhaps he would be lying in the Ninja Hounds' stomachs now.

"A new disciple?"

Genetsu noticed Minato Namikaze standing beside Jiraiya and roughly guessed their new relationship.

Only after taking several deep breaths did Jiraiya barely calm down. He said in a grave voice,

"...Yes. I personally requested it from Old Man Sarutobi."

"Jiraiya, you're Lord Hokage's disciple, so Minato is his disciple's disciple. Heh, that's quite an interesting relationship."

Genetsu chuckled and said no more, entering the farmland to loosen the soil and plant seeds.

In truth, Genetsu spent most of his time studying the Sword Way.

For him, farming was more of a way to relax between training sessions.

On the way back to the village, Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze did not say a word.

Only when they stepped through the village gates did a woman carrying a newborn baby suddenly pass them and greet them on her own initiative.

"Ah~ Lord Jiraiya, hello."

Jiraiya froze. "You are...?"

When he saw the Moonlight Clan emblem on the woman's clothing, a strange look flashed through Jiraiya's eyes.

"My name is Gekko Nin. This is the child Moonlight and I had, Gekko Hayate."

The woman bowed slightly.

"Moonlight? Gekko Getsuei? I remember he's the Moonlight Clan's clan head... right?"

Jiraiya frowned as he thought for a moment before asking.

"Yes, my husband serves under Lord Hokage."

As she spoke, Gekko Nin's brows furrowed slightly in confusion.

"But I don't know what's been going on. He's been coming home very late these past few days..."

Toward the end, Gekko Nin bowed to Jiraiya again and apologized.

"I'm terribly sorry. I actually complained in front of one of the Sannin. Please excuse me—I still need to prepare dinner for Getsuei."

Jiraiya: "..."

Minato Namikaze: "..."

Watching Gekko Nin leave with her son Gekko Hayate in her arms, master and disciple fell silent once more.

After a long while, Minato Namikaze finally spoke in a trembling voice.

"J-Jiraiya-sensei, that Moonlight Clan head... couldn't possibly have been the one from earlier..."

"Don't say it, Minato!"

Jiraiya harshly cut off his disciple's speculation. His face had turned darker than ever. "Go back and rest first. I have something to take care of."

Minato Namikaze stood there in a daze, able only to watch blankly as Jiraiya hurried away.

Yet what filled his heart more was sympathy for that mother and son.

Her husband would never come home for dinner again. Rather, he himself had become dinner.

But if Genetsu had been here and learned that the baby was named Gekko Hayate, he might have breathed a sigh of relief.

Good grief, he had nearly prevented another high-level extra from the original story from being born.

What a sin, what a sin~.