Naruto [Possessed by Minato]: Long Time No See, Teacher Jiraiya

Konoha Hokage, Hokage Office, Konoha

The sunlight slanted in through the window, shining through the spotless floor-to-ceiling windows and illuminating every grain of the wooden floor.

Portraits of the Hokage from the First to the Fourth hang on the wall, their four faces quietly overlooking everything happening in the room under the afternoon sun.

The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, was sitting behind his desk at that moment.

This Kage Level powerhouse, revered in the Ninja World as the "Professor of Ninjutsu" and the longest-serving Hokage in Konoha's history, has aged from a young man upon assuming power to an old man.

His hair was completely white, sparsely plastered to his scalp, and his face was covered with wrinkles, each one telling the weight of time.

Those eyes, once full of sharpness, are now sunken deep in their sockets, with dark circles under them from years of hard work.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was wearing a Hokage robe, his hands clasped together on the table, his fingers covered with age spots and his knuckles slightly deformed.

He looked at his disciple, whom he hadn't seen for many years, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes:

"So you've finally come back, Jiraiya?"

There was no blame, no questioning, only... a sense of relief.

Jiraiya looked at his Teacher, who seemed even older than he remembered, and a deep sense of guilt flashed in his eyes.

He opened his mouth, but the question that had been nagging at him all the way was forcibly suppressed at this moment.

Those questions about Minato, Kushina, and Naruto were temporarily put back into their minds.

Jiraiya at his Teacher, which was slightly more hunched than he remembered, Jiraiya felt a pang of inexplicable sorrow rise in his heart.

He knew very well that the old man in front of him had had a very difficult life over the years.

The Nine-Tails Incident was a massive catastrophe that nearly altered the future of many people, including myself.

And those caught up in this disaster naturally included their Teacher, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.

As for Yu Gong, the successor handpicked by the old man, the young Fourth Hokage of Konoha, died in this disaster.

Konoha suffered its first and largest number of casualties on its own soil since the village's founding.

Most of the mid- Jonin Yuhi Shinku, were killed in action, leaving a severe shortage of high-level combatants who should have been shouldering the main responsibility.

Among the top-tier combatants, including himself and the Konoha Sannin:

One went on a long journey, one defected, and one fell ill.

The entire Hidden Konoha was in an unprecedented period of weakness, to the point that only the elderly Third Hokage Hokage could return to power.

Internally, most of the Hokage's reliable fighting force perished in the Nine-Tails Incident, while the Root faction, which had been suppressed before that, retained its fighting strength intact.

Under these circumstances, the old man could no longer suppress the ambitious Hokage assistant, Shimura Danzō, as he had before.

While unable to unify the discourse among Konoha High Command, he, as Hokage, also had to deal with the escalating conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha.

However, at the same time, there was also the watchful eye of various ninja villages, represented by the Kumogakure Village.

Those defeated adversaries, upon learning of Konoha's weakened state, began to stir like sharks smelling blood.

On a personal level, this old man also experienced the pain of losing his wife during the Nine-Tails Incident.

Not long after, he experienced the defection of Orochimaru, his most beloved disciple whom he regarded as his own son.

And two years after the Nine-Tails Incident, following Kōki's defection, her already strained relationship with her second Asuma Sarutobi, deteriorated significantly.

This directly led to Asuma leaving Konoha in a fit of anger, traveling the Ninja World under the name "The Defiant Blade," and he has not returned to this day.

Just thinking about what this old man has gone through over the years is enough to send chills down your spine.

While his Teacher was going through all that, he, burdened by guilt and the pain of losing Minato, distanced himself from Konoha and failed to shoulder his share of responsibility.

Only the old man was left to face the already battered and bruised Konoha alone.

Jiraiya lowered his head, looking at the ground, and said in a hoarse voice:

"I'm sorry, Teacher-- "

"I'm back."

The Third Hokage Hokage looked at the disciple before him, and his hand, which was about to pick up his pipe, paused slightly.

Based on his understanding of Jiraiya, he could clearly sense that his most troublesome disciple seemed to have undergone some rather obvious changes.

"It seems you've been through a lot these past few years... Jiraiya."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Jiraiya before him and said with a gratified sigh.

Jiraiya nodded, readily admitting:

"Ah, I really did understand a lot of things during my conversation with that child."

He recalled his almost absurd reunion with Koona in Mist Harbor, on those streets shrouded in mist.

Jiraiya's gaze hardened.

"Although there are many things I want to talk to you about, Old Man, let's put those things aside for now."

Jiraiya looked at the Third Hokage Hokage before him and, without further hesitation, asked the question that concerned him most at that moment:

"Minato, and Kushina, are they... still alive?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen could sense the urgency in Jiraiya's words, but there was no surprise in his aged eyes.

He had clearly anticipated Jiraiya's problem.

But instead of answering, he turned his gaze to the blond boy Jonin through drawers in the office and the silver-haired ninja who was stopping him.

"It's best to ask them directly about this."

The Third Hokage generation spoke in a flat tone, as if it were something perfectly natural.

As soon as he finished speaking, Naruto, Naruto through drawers and cabinets, stopped abruptly.

Naruto's body stiffened for a moment, and then, under Jiraiya's puzzled gaze, he slowly turned around.

On that childlike face, the expression changed from "mischievous" to "gentle".

That was by no means a deliberately feigned gentleness, but a warmth that emanated from within, like sunshine.

The light in those sky-blue eyes held a newfound maturity and composure.

"Regarding my current situation with Kushina..."

Although it was still Naruto's childlike voice, the tone of his voice made Jiraiya pause in surprise.

"I will explain this to Jiraiya- Teacher, Lord Third Hokage."

Naruto, no, it's "that person" who speaks through Naruto's mouth.

At this moment, Minato turned to look at Jiraiya, a gentle smile appearing on his youthful face.

Jiraiya looked at the gentle smile on Naruto's face, and the light in Naruto's cloudy eyes changed from doubt to shock.

That smile, that slight upturn of the corners of her mouth...

Unconsciously, the Naruto before me seemed to gradually overlap with the image of my disciple from my memories, the one who was always smiling...

"You, you are..."

Jiraiya's voice was hoarse, trembling with disbelief:

"Minato?!"

Naruto looked at Jiraiya, who was so shocked Jiraiya almost out of control, and his smile widened.

"Ah..."

He paused for a moment, and at that instant, the gentleness and smile in his eyes were conveyed to him:

"It's been a long time, Jiraiya- Teacher."

(I won't resort to conspiracy theories, but I also won't defend the Third Hokage Third Hokage. Putting aside other matters, his handling of the Uchiha incident and his leniency towards Danzo were absolutely wrong.)

(But to say that he was greedy for power and that Konoha's current decline is all his fault, I personally feel that's really not the case...)