The Collapse of a Teacher's Virtue

After they had crossed several blocks, Jiraiya led Yuehua Ai to a somewhat dilapidated apartment building.

The building stood in Konoha's third ring, neither in the village center nor close to its outskirts.

Jiraiya led Yuehua Ai up to the third floor. As soon as they rounded the stairwell, he stopped in front of a wooden door that looked rather mottled from all the peeling paint. Then Yuehua Ai watched him pull a key from his coat and slip it into the lock.

"Teacher Jiraiya, this is your home...?"

Yuehua Ai looked down the hallway, lined with solid wooden doors just like the one in front of him. Looking at the building's layout, it was easy to tell that the rooms behind them were all more or less the same. He really hadn't expected one of the famed Sannin, Jiraiya, to live in such a shabby place.

"What's with that look of disdain?!" Seeing Yuehua Ai's expression shift from disbelief to an irrepressible grin, Jiraiya immediately protested.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just such a huge contrast. I never thought Lord Jiraiya, the Toad Sage who talks himself up as unmatched under heaven, would live in this 'wonderful place'—a place with culture and history to spare, plus plenty of garbage!"

"What do you mean, 'talks himself up'? You know damn well that what your teacher says is true. Besides, think about my strength. You think I couldn't find a better place to live if I wanted one?" Jiraiya retorted with a disdainful look.

"I never thought you were so shallow, Ai! This place may not look like much, but it's equally close to every part of the village, so you can get anywhere in the shortest time!"

"Don't think you can fool me just because I haven't seen much. This building was constructed for wartime defense, wasn't it? Being equally close to the whole village and having the shortest travel time isn't about convenience. It's mostly about supporting the defenses!"

"Uh..." Jiraiya was so astonished by Yuehua Ai's analysis that he froze. To be honest, hardly anyone among the younger generation knew why this place had been built. He never would have guessed that Ai could infer its special significance just by looking around and hearing one thing he'd said.

"This place began construction during the Second's time. Wars were far more frequent then than they are now, and Konoha wasn't nearly as large as it is today. To better protect the village, the Second designated this area as a military defense base. Many promising young shinobi chose to live here—not only to show their status, but also to protect the village."

"From here, shinobi could reach any part of the village as quickly as possible. Over the past several decades, countless shinobi who once lived here have given their lives for the village. This is a true place of heroes."

As he spoke about the place's history, Jiraiya couldn't help feeling nostalgic.

"I grew up here. Because of the history behind this place, I understood my responsibilities from a very young age. I was born here and grew up here. I have a lot of important memories here, so even after I'd made a name for myself, I never moved away."

"Look at all those rooms around us. I used to know quite a few of the people who lived there, but now there are hardly any left..."

Looking at the doors in the hallway, Jiraiya couldn't hide the sorrow on his face.

Composing himself, Jiraiya asked Yuehua Ai with "deep meaning," "Some things can't be judged by their appearance alone. After hearing my story, when you look at how run-down this place is, can you feel the splendor behind it?"

"Splendor? Oh, right. There's light, and there's dust..."

Watching the dust motes drift in the sunlight at the end of the hallway, Yuehua Ai replied with no sincerity whatsoever.

Seeing his disciple looking distracted and lost in thought, Jiraiya knew he hadn't listened to a word.

The muscles at the corner of his eye twitched. Fighting the urge to headbutt Ai, Jiraiya gritted out, "You're too young to be so picky. If you don't want to sleep on the street, you'll live here and that's that!"

After another snort, Jiraiya ignored Ai. To be honest, he was starting to regret it. Why had he gone and told Ai to find his true self?

Now the good disciple who used to act cute, behave himself, and warm his heart was gone. This Ai was just a little brat who was constantly being obnoxious and throwing out taunts!

"Damn it, what's going on? Is the keyhole rusty?!"

Jiraiya turned the key, but it wouldn't budge. He pulled it out and tried again, over and over, until he was thoroughly frustrated.

"This is definitely the right key. I guess the lock rusted from being unused for so long..."

He slapped the door hard, and dust fell from the gap, leaving him covered in grime and even more annoyed.

"Teacher, this is the right place, isn't it? You'd better not have come to the wrong place!" Yuehua Ai put in.

"I've lived here for decades. How could I get it wrong?" Jiraiya shot him a look as though he were an idiot.

"Then let me try!"

Ai didn't care about Jiraiya's disdain. He volunteered and motioned for Jiraiya to step aside.

"What are you going to do?" Jiraiya asked as he moved to the side.

"Nothing much. I just want to try something direct. We've been standing around all day, and I want to get some rest."

As he spoke, Yuehua Ai took two steps back, then suddenly accelerated and used his tremendous momentum to kick the solid wooden door...

"Bam!"

Jiraiya heard a loud crash, then saw his front door burst open, followed by a cloud of dust.

"Ptoo, ptoo~~"

Jiraiya and Yuehua Ai waved the dust away. Once they could see again, Jiraiya's face darkened at the sight in the doorway.

Yuehua Ai had indeed kicked the door open, but the lock hadn't broken. The half embedded in the wall was now hanging from the door, while a sizable hole had appeared in the wall where the lock had been. At the entrance, the concrete that had broken loose from the hole—nearly half the size of a head—lay quietly on the floor.

Yuehua Ai gave an awkward smile. Before Jiraiya could say anything, he launched into a scolding.

"What kind of quality is this building, Teacher Jiraiya? You should complain to the property manager! Look at how easily the concrete crumbles off the wall. This is a shoddy construction job! You should know this isn't just a construction-quality issue. It's indirectly poisoning Konoha's future flowers! It's not only bad for Konoha's reputation; it also creates safety hazards for the shinobi fighting to defend the village and holds them back. This is an outrage—worse than shearing wool off the Konoha cause or undermining the Will of Fire..."

"Stop, stop, stop, stop!"

Jiraiya hurriedly cut Yuehua Ai off. His head was spinning from listening to all that nonsense. The strange expressions Ai kept using left him completely baffled, but they somehow sounded profoundly impressive!

"Enough, Ai. That's plenty. I never said I was going to blame you!"

Jiraiya brushed the dust off his head and carried their luggage inside.

"This building is older than I am. It must be nearly forty years old by now. It's already impressive that it's still standing, and you're demanding so much of it?!"

"What? It's forty years old!" Yuehua Ai gaped in utter shock.

"This place really is steeped in history. If you somehow kick the bucket here, at least when you meet the Grim Reaper, you won't die without knowing why..."

Thinking of the scene outside, Yuehua Ai hadn't realized this place was one of the most dangerous death traps around.

"It's not as bad as you think!" Jiraiya said with an exasperated laugh.

"How could Konoha let a building with safety hazards stand for so long? This building may be old, but it's been repaired several times over the years. The problems you're imagining don't exist!"

"All right, stop complaining. I haven't said a word, so what could a little brat like you have to gripe about? Come on, let's clean up inside first. Sigh, I haven't been back in three years. A lot of things don't work anymore!"

After calling Yuehua Ai over, Jiraiya started muttering to himself.

"So it's my fault for complaining? You're the one who told me to stay true to myself. My true self likes luxury..." Yuehua Ai muttered to himself as he followed Jiraiya into the room.

Only after entering the main hall did Yuehua Ai understand what people meant by "more than meets the eye." The interior was much more spacious than it looked from outside. Besides a hall of nearly a hundred square meters, there were four rooms around it.

"Well, this place really is a hidden gem. It's got a bit of charm inside!"

As he wandered around the room, Yuehua Ai couldn't help commenting.

"Heh, heh." Hearing his disciple change his tune, Jiraiya gave a smug chuckle. "You should know Konoha treats its shinobi very well. This house is only one small part of that."

Yuehua Ai nodded without arguing. Jiraiya was telling the truth. As the most prosperous and powerful shinobi village, Konoha had plenty of advantages in many areas!

"Come over here, Ai. This room is yours. You can clean it up yourself later."

Jiraiya pointed to a room near the balcony.

After showing Ai his room, Jiraiya pointed to the room opposite it. "My bedroom is over there. Don't go in without permission. If you need to come find me, remember to knock!"

"Why can't I go in? Is there some secret in there?" Yuehua Ai asked his teacher outright.

"Uh... It's not really a secret. There are just things in there you shouldn't see..." Jiraiya said, his eyes darting about as he faltered.

"Ohhh..." Yuehua Ai said, pretending to understand.

"Hm?! You can guess what's in there?"

Seeing Yuehua Ai's reaction, Jiraiya couldn't help asking.

Seeing the look on Jiraiya's face—like there was no way he could know—Yuehua Ai gave him a disdainful look.

"Knowing you, Teacher Jiraiya, the things you're afraid I'll see are either erotic books or pornographic magazines!"

Jiraiya: "..."

"Ahhh! Woe is me!"

Wailing inwardly, Jiraiya stared at Yuehua Ai in disbelief. Under his disciple's condescending gaze, he felt that his dignity as a teacher had never been so thoroughly trampled.