Those Old Friends of Konoha (2)

Jiraiya scratched his head, a hint of pride on his face as he spoke.

"This is a new character from one of my recent books. Guess who it is!?"

Hearing Jiraiya's words, Minato broke out in a slight cold sweat and gave an awkward smile.

"Could it be some obscure ninja predecessor?"

Jiraiya was not modest in the slightest. He said proudly, "It would certainly be fitting to call him a ninja predecessor, but..."

A sharp glint suddenly flashed through his eyes. He raised one leg and struck an exaggerated, highly difficult pose, his voice extremely serious.

"He's no obscure figure—he's the legendary Sage of Six Paths!!"

"..." Minato's expression went blank.

For a moment, an awkward silence seemed to fill the office.

"Caw... caw... caw..."

As imaginary crows flew overhead, Minato stiffly began to clap, the smile on his face looking more hideous than a grimace.

Seeing this, Jiraiya also felt a little embarrassed. He quickly dropped the pose and explained on his own.

"Ahem... just as you said, Minato, if I changed into a different outfit, I'm sure I could perfectly portray the legendary Sage of Six Paths!"

"Then... hahaha... another bestselling masterpiece will be born from my hands!!"

As Jiraiya spoke, he seemed to have already imagined the scene of his book selling like hotcakes. Drool began to trickle from the corner of his mouth without the slightest regard for his image.

Though Minato was quite helpless, he still had great faith in Jiraiya's writing ability and smiled.

"When the time comes, don't forget to treat me to a meal."

Hearing that, Jiraiya nodded heartily with a laugh.

"Of course. But for today, let's eat at your place first... I haven't been back in a long time... I've started missing Kushina's cooking."

Minato smiled and nodded. However,