Jiraiya and Naruto

Morning.

Today, Uchiha Fugaku did not head out to train his taijutsu.

Instead, he continued to study the Qi Refining Technique.

He had dumped all his responsibilities onto his eldest son, Uchiha Itachi.

Uchiha Itachi, naturally, had no choice but to accept them with a sigh.

He then began his busy day: dropping Sasuke off at school, conducting taijutsu training, accompanying Izumi Uchiha...

Uchiha Mikoto, watching Uchiha Fugaku as he became obsessed with his book, felt a touch of dissatisfaction.

It was one thing to ignore clan affairs, but he hadn't even fulfilled his marital duties last night.

However, Uchiha Mikoto understood that Uchiha Fugaku must be working on something of great importance, so she didn't disturb him and went off to attend to her own tasks.

Meanwhile.

In front of Uzumaki Naruto's small house, Jiraiya stood looking quite dashing.

To be honest, Jiraiya felt a bit nervous about meeting Uzumaki Naruto for the first time; after all, he had no idea if the boy would accept him.

But it hadn't been long since Uzumaki Naruto began to form memories.

Jiraiya believed that it wasn't too late for him to start looking after the boy now.

Jiraiya didn't wait at the door for long before the door to Uzumaki Naruto's room creaked open.

Uzumaki Naruto stared at the middle-aged man, Jiraiya, standing before him, stunned.

After all, apart from the owner of Ichiraku Ramen, every villager in Konoha he had ever met despised him. Seeing someone standing at his door today, a confused Uzumaki Naruto asked skeptically, "White-haired old man, what are you doing at my door?"

White-haired old man? Was he talking to him?

Jiraiya quickly realized it must be him, as he was the only one with white hair around.

Jiraiya took a deep breath and, for once, spoke with rare seriousness.

"My name is Jiraiya, and I was your father's master."

"From now on, how about I take care of you?"

Hearing such a direct proposal, Uzumaki Naruto was completely bewildered.

Although he had always longed for a relative to look after him, having someone suddenly show up and offer to do so was something he couldn't process right away.

Uzumaki Naruto assumed he must be hallucinating.

He retreated silently and slammed the door shut with a loud "bang."

????

Was I not prepared enough?

Jiraiya fell into a deep state of self-doubt, eventually deciding to give up on his plan and leave.

But before Jiraiya could even take a step, the door opened again a second later. Uzumaki Naruto, having washed his face to confirm he was awake, checked once more to ensure he wasn't hallucinating, then burst into tears.

Seeing Uzumaki Naruto crying, Jiraiya became completely flustered.

"What do I do now?"

Jiraiya looked at the boy before him, at a total loss.

Still, Jiraiya did have a little bit of experience raising children.

Gifts—right, gifts.

Jiraiya remembered how happy Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan were whenever he bought them presents.

He pulled out the gift he had prepared for the boy.

Then, he began to coax him.

"Naruto, this is a gift I bought for you. Won't you stop crying?"

As he spoke, Jiraiya made a funny face at Naruto, trying to make him laugh.

Seeing the anxious Jiraiya, Naruto's sobbing slowly began to subside.

This old man is so funny, but is he really my relative?

Is this what it feels like to be cared for?

Uzumaki Naruto stopped crying and asked the question he cared about most.

"White-haired old man, will you stay with me forever?"

"The parents of the kids at the Ninja Academy are always there with them."

Hearing this, Jiraiya fell into silence; after all, he had promised the Great Toad Sage that he would find the Child of Prophecy.

Naturally, he could not stay with Uzumaki Naruto all the time.

But thinking that this was just a child's concern, Jiraiya decided to agree for now, hoping that when Naruto grew up and he eventually had to leave, the boy might be able to understand.

Before Jiraiya could even answer, Uzumaki Naruto changed the subject and asked.

"White-haired old man, do you know where my parents went?"

Hearing Uzumaki Naruto ask about Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya felt even more bitter in his heart; that was his most prized student, after all.

But should he tell him?

After a moment of thought, Jiraiya ultimately decided to tell Uzumaki Naruto; he had the right to know who his parents were.

Jiraiya then picked up Uzumaki Naruto and pointed toward the distant Hokage Rock.

"See that? That man is your father, the Fourth Hokage."

????

The Fourth Hokage is actually my father?

Although he now knew who his father was, Uzumaki Naruto felt even sadder, tears welling up in his eyes as he sobbed and asked Jiraiya about the thing that confused him most.

"But... but why do the people in the village hate me so much? Why do they call me the Demon Fox?"

"They even chase me away and won't let me buy things, even though I..."

Uzumaki Naruto could no longer hold it in and buried his face in Jiraiya's shoulder, weeping.

Jiraiya could only comfort Uzumaki Naruto, as this matter involved the arrangements made by his own teacher.

He could not comment on it recklessly; although the old man had made some mistakes over the years, he was still his mentor, and one could not erase his past contributions to Konoha.

Afterward, Jiraiya personally walked Naruto to school.

Under Jiraiya's comfort, Uzumaki Naruto had regained his cheerfulness, but as one of the Sannin, Jiraiya could see the fear hidden deep within the boy's heart.

He was afraid that Jiraiya was just a sudden flash of light that would soon leave him behind.

He was afraid of loss.

Jiraiya hugged Uzumaki Naruto tighter, making a silent vow in his heart.

I will definitely take care of you until you grow up.

Just then, Uzumaki Naruto wheezed out a protest.

"White... white-haired old man, loosen up, loosen up! You're going to strangle me to death!"

Hearing this, Jiraiya instinctively loosened his grip.

With a "thud," Uzumaki Naruto fell to the ground.

Uzumaki Naruto then relied on the special constitution of the Uzumaki clan to struggle back to his feet.

At this moment, Uzumaki Naruto couldn't help but develop a bad feeling about this white-haired old man who had suddenly appeared today.

Is this white-haired old man really here to take care of me? Are you sure he isn't trying to murder me to steal my newly acquired ramen?

Seeing Naruto looking at him with suspicion, Jiraiya could only scratch his head in embarrassment and say.

"Sorry, my apologies, I definitely won't do it again next time."

Seeing Jiraiya's promise, Uzumaki Naruto ultimately chose to forgive the white-haired old man who made him feel a sense of closeness.

However, Uzumaki Naruto did not let Jiraiya carry him again.

Instead, he held his hand and headed toward the Ninja Academy.

After sending Uzumaki Naruto into the Ninja Academy, Jiraiya, having held back all day, decided to resume his "research" career.

After all, he would soon be taking Naruto out of the village to find Tsunade.

If he didn't go now, he wouldn't have the time.

With that thought, Jiraiya headed toward a hot spring in Konoha.