Jiraiya Returns

If Hinata were merely to interact with Naruto, Hiashi would say nothing; even for the sake of the Fourth Hokage, he would not dare to object. However, for him to marry his daughter to Naruto—that was impossible. Do not look at the original story where Hinata married Naruto; that was due to the status Naruto held at that time: son of the Fourth, hero of the ninja world, and the strongest in the ninja world. It is safe to say that not only the Hyuga, but anyone Naruto expressed interest in would have been his for the taking. Furthermore, by that time, Naruto had already been internally designated as the Seventh Hokage, a fact acknowledged by the entire ninja world.

If the village leader wants to marry your daughter, do you dare refuse? Coupled with the fact that Naruto was already outstanding at that time, Hiashi naturally showed no signs of opposition.

But things are different now. Naruto is merely the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, and this identity is nothing but trouble. That Hiashi can tolerate the boy interacting with his daughter at all is solely out of respect for the Fourth Hokage.

"You have truly handed this old man a difficult problem." The Third Hokage took a puff of his pipe, speaking with a hint of a headache.

However, there was no rush. Over the next few months, the Third intended to observe the situation between Hiashi and Naruto before making a final decision.

In the space where Mount Myoboku resides, the scenery is picturesque and breathtaking; it is nothing short of an earthly paradise.

The moment the seal on the Nine-Tails was loosened, the toads here sensed it.

The toad responsible for guarding the key to the seal had his expression change instantly.

"This is truly troublesome."

They all knew what the Nine-Tails represented, so they immediately notified the two Toad Sages.

"Father of the children, what should we do now? Should we notify Jiraiya?"

"Naturally, we must notify him. I shall summon Jiraiya using the Reverse Summoning Technique right now."

The Nine-Tails is no small matter.

Having said that, he quickly formed the hand seals for the Reverse Summoning Technique.

Jiraiya, who was busy peeping in the ninja world, had no time to react before he was summoned to Mount Myoboku.

"What's the situation, Boss?" Jiraiya looked completely bewildered.

But upon seeing the expressions on the two toads, he sensed that something terrible had happened.

"The seal on the Nine-Tails has developed a problem," the old toad said directly.

"How could there be a problem?" Jiraiya's expression changed instantly.

One must realize that was a seal set by the Fourth Hokage; it should have been impossible for it to fail.

"That, we do not know," the two old toads said, spreading their hands helplessly.

"Very well, thank you for the notification. I must return to check on things." Knowing the urgency of the matter, Jiraiya vanished immediately.

But because he was still in the ninja world, it would take time to rush back to Konoha.

He finally arrived back in Konoha after a month, and the village appeared just as it always had.

Seeing this, he felt much more at ease. It seemed there was no major incident with the Nine-Tails; at the very least, it had not appeared in Konoha. It was likely that the seal had developed a flaw, but since the Nine-Tails had not broken out, it was not a major issue.

Now, he needed to find Naruto Uzumaki to assess the situation.

He did not go to see the Third Hokage; in truth, the Sannin and the Third Hokage held somewhat conflicting philosophies.

Seeing that there were no problems in Konoha, he relaxed and began to slowly search for Naruto Uzumaki.

Soon, he spotted Naruto Uzumaki at the Ninja Academy.

However, the Naruto Uzumaki here was a Shadow Clone.

But because of the Six Thief Immortals, Jiraiya did not recognize that this was merely a Shadow Clone.

It was another boring day: talking to Hinata during class, training after class, and preparing to head home after tidying up in the evening.

At this moment, the real Naruto appeared, and the Shadow Clone vanished.

Watching this from afar, Jiraiya was suddenly surprised; he hadn't even realized the other was a Shadow Clone.

The moment the real Naruto appeared, he sensed a massive surge of chakra.

An elite Kage-level powerhouse? Who is this? Naruto became instantly vigilant. The number of Kage-level powerhouses currently in Konoha could be counted on one hand.

He instinctively wanted to look back in that direction, but he restrained himself.

He continued walking toward his home.

Have I been discovered? Jiraiya's experience was incredibly vast; even though Naruto had promptly suppressed his impulse, he had still been noticed by Jiraiya.

"It seems I need to meet this brat!" Jiraiya sighed.

It seems I'm in a bit of trouble, being targeted by a Kage-level powerhouse. Although he didn't yet know who this Kage-level powerhouse was, it was certain they were coming for him.

Without wasting a breath, he immediately dispelled all his Shadow Clones.

The memories transmitted by the Shadow Clones left Naruto dazed for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure.

With a few Body Flicker techniques, Naruto returned home.

Just as Naruto finished cooking, an irreverent voice rang out from the window.

"It seems I've arrived at just the right time. Won't you invite me in for a meal?"

Hearing this voice, Naruto froze; he had not expected the other party to come looking for him at this time.

Of course, what Naruto did not know—or perhaps had forgotten—were those matters regarding the key to the Nine-Tails seal.

"Since you've come, please, come in," Naruto said, not saying much else.

The door opened, and a tall man with a head of white hair slowly walked inside.

After entering the room, the man did not speak immediately, instead looking around to observe Naruto's living conditions.

The room was kept very tidy and clean.

Although he lived alone now, having Shadow Clones gave him plenty of time to do everything well.

"Do you know me?" Jiraiya asked curiously, sitting down on a chair.

"I don't." Naruto answered truthfully; although he had guessed who the other party was, he naturally didn't know him since they hadn't met.

"Alright then, let me introduce myself. This Sage is none other than the most handsome man in the ninja world, the Toad Boy Jiraiya!" Jiraiya suddenly jumped up, struck a comical pose in the middle of the living room, and introduced himself in a theatrical, singing tone.

While it looked quite funny in the anime, it felt rather awkward in reality, and Naruto couldn't help but curl his toes in embarrassment.

"So it is the White-Haired Boy of the Konoha Sannin, Lord Jiraiya." The three of them were very famous in Konoha.

"Please, have a seat, Lord Jiraiya. Since you're here, let's eat together."

Naruto did not mock Jiraiya's ridiculous antics; he set out the food and prepared to eat.

The two sat opposite each other, pressed their hands together, and said, "I'm digging in."

"Oh? This tastes pretty good. I didn't expect you to have this kind of talent." After taking just one bite of the food Naruto had prepared, Jiraiya was somewhat surprised.

Whether it was Minato Namikaze or Kushina Uzumaki, the cooking skills of both could only be described as edible, but they were definitely not as delicious as what Naruto had made.

"When you've been alone for a long time, you're bound to make some progress." Naruto's calm voice rang out.

Jiraiya paused while picking up some food, then his expression returned to normal.

At the same time, he felt a bit startled by Naruto's current maturity. It wasn't that he hadn't seen mature children before, but one as mature as Naruto was rare—neither cold nor overly enthusiastic, just incredibly indifferent, remaining calm even upon meeting a legendary ninja like himself.