Master and Disciple, and an Invitation

"Yo, Yueshu, how have you been lately?"

After a long time apart, Minato Namikaze appeared before Yueshu once again.

"Eh? Minato, weren't you off on a mission?"

School had just let out, and Yueshu was wandering the streets out of boredom when he ran into Minato Namikaze.

"I just got back. There haven't been as many missions lately, so I finally have some free time."

Minato Namikaze was the same as ever, wearing a warm smile.

"How are things, Genin?"

"Not bad, though the missions are still the simple kind. There are so many tasks like finding lost items."

"Well, everything has to start with the small things."

"That's a good point."

"Haha, come to think of it, who is your Jonin instructor? Since you graduated early, you shouldn't have joined a standard graduating squad."

As soon as Yueshu finished speaking, Minato Namikaze's eyes brightened a little.

"Speaking of that, you'll never guess who my Jonin instructor is."

"Oh?"

Yueshu became curious; it was rare to see Minato Namikaze this excited.

"You know about the Second Great Ninja War, right? During that war, Konoha produced three great ninjas—the Sannin."

Minato Namikaze spoke slowly, and the more Yueshu listened, the more he felt something was off.

"My Jonin instructor is one of those Sannin."

"Jiraiya?"

Yueshu was taken aback and cast a sidelong glance at Minato Namikaze.

"How did you know?"

"Well."

Yueshu was speechless.

He hadn't expected it to actually be Jiraiya; this really caught Yueshu off guard.

Jiraiya shouldn't even be in Konoha at this point in time.

"So, where is he now?"

Yueshu asked.

"Master Jiraiya? He was just with me a moment ago, but as we were walking, he suddenly disappeared."

Minato Namikaze scratched his hair, looking just as confused.

"Ahhh!"

A shrill cry rang out, immediately drawing the attention of both Yueshu and Minato Namikaze.

"There's a pervert!"

It certainly sounded like there was a pervert on the loose.

"..."

Yueshu already knew what was going on. Jiraiya was back, and someone was shouting about a pervert; anyone who had watched Naruto would immediately connect the two.

Jiraiya's image wasn't that of a legendary Sannin, but rather that of the Perverted Hermit.

"Let's go take a look."

Filled with a sense of justice, Minato Namikaze wasn't about to just stand there after hearing about a pervert, and as soon as the shouting died down, he prepared to head toward the source of the noise.

"Although I don't think I should let you go, I'll tag along."

Yueshu looked at Minato Namikaze, his eyes full of sympathy.

This silly kid still didn't know that the great Sannin he admired was actually a total creep.

"Sss, that hurts. Those young ladies don't know how to go easy on a guy. It was just a few peeks, that's all."

On the other side, a man with long, spiky white hair crouched on the ground, gently rubbing his cheek.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

Hearing someone call out from behind him, Jiraiya turned his head instinctively.

"It's you. Are you the pervert from just now?"

Even though he already knew, Yueshu still played along.

"Master Jiraiya, why are you here? Yueshu couldn't possibly be right, could he?"

"I—"

Jiraiya couldn't come up with any excuse for a moment.

Tsuki watched Jiraiya from the side; his face, which had been decent enough before, was now somewhat swollen, making him look like a pig's head.

"Speaking of which, Minato, why are you here? And that person over there—aren't you that kid from back then? How is it going? Is life in Konoha treating you well?"

Jiraiya coughed, stood up, and straightened his posture, attempting to change the subject.

"I was just wandering around over there and happened to run into Tsuki on the way."

Minato Namikaze was still simple-minded and was immediately swayed by Jiraiya's change of topic.

"Is that so? What a coincidence, same here."

Jiraiya smoothed over the conversation immediately while Tsuki watched quietly from the side.

"Himeshima Tsuki, right? So, how is Konoha? It's not bad, is it?"

"Yeah, not bad. Thanks for the help back then."

"That's great to hear! Don't thank me, though. I am the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, Ji—rai—ya."

"Mm, Perverted Hermit."

Tsuki nodded, and Jiraiya, who had been striking a pose, naturally collapsed to the ground.

"Not Perverted Hermit! It's Toad Sage!"

"Sorry."

"That was way too casual!"

Tsuki's expression remained very calm, while Jiraiya kept grumbling on the side.

"Haha, Master Jiraiya and Tsuki really have a great relationship."

"That's an illusion."

Tsuki replied immediately.

"Without even a moment's hesitation?"

Jiraiya clutched his chest, looking heartbroken.

"Heh."

Minato Namikaze chuckled; he felt that the way Jiraiya and Tsuki interacted was actually quite nice.

Just past noon, near the Konoha bathhouse, Tsuki and the master-disciple duo of Jiraiya happened to run into each other.

"Come to think of it, I really didn't expect Tsunade to take you in."

The three of them sat in a dango shop, where Jiraiya, acting as their senior, insisted on treating Tsuki and Minato to dango.

The Five-Color Dango was a long-standing shop in Konoha, the favorite snack of Anko Mitarashi in the original story.

"Is that so? I think Lady Tsunade is a very kind person."

Minato Namikaze took a bite of dango and chimed in.

"That's not what I meant. It's just that Tsunade's status doesn't exactly allow her to take in just anyone."

Jiraiya also took a bite of dango; master and disciple were still master and disciple, and they shared quite a few similarities after all.

"I don't know about that, but regardless, I am very grateful to Tsunade."

Tsuki also ate a piece of the dango, the very snack so beloved by Anko Mitarashi in the original story.

It was sweet, slightly sticky, and overall quite excellent. It was no wonder it was one of Konoha's veteran shops; the flavor was top-notch, and the price was cheap.

"Speaking of which, you won your duel against Minato earlier. How about it? Have you thought about graduating early?"

Jiraiya stopped talking about Tsunade and steered the conversation toward Tsuki.

"That is correct."

Tsuki glanced at Jiraiya, and Jiraiya looked back at him.

"How about it? If you graduate early, I can be your Jonin instructor. I'm only leading Minato right now anyway."

"This is a very rare opportunity, you know."

"How rare?"

"The Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku can be your Jonin instructor. It's a very rare opportunity."

"Indeed, having the Perverted Hermit as a Jonin instructor is certainly rare."

"Hey, hey! Change that nickname already!"

"No."

"Tch, what an unlovable brat."

"You should graduate early too, Tsuki."

Minato Namikaze said softly.

"Being on the same team, going on missions together, the three of us with Master Jiraiya—it sounds like it would be great."

As Minato Namikaze spoke, Yueshu, standing to the side, also pictured the scene in his mind.

It had to be said that this was truly a brilliant idea. Both Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze were figures tied to the original story, and both were top-tier powerhouses, dozens of times stronger than anyone at the academy. Any normal person would likely choose this path without a moment's hesitation.

"I'll think about it."

Since Minato Namikaze had put it that way, even Yueshu did not refuse as bluntly as he had before.

Academy life was boring, and being a genin was actually not bad; if one wanted to slack off, there were plenty of opportunities to do so.

"Mm."

Minato Namikaze smiled. To him, Yueshu was his best friend and his only male friend. If they could be on the same team, he would be incredibly happy.

"Alright."

Jiraiya suddenly stood up, and both Yueshu and Minato Namikaze looked at him.

"Let's go, Minato. The next mission is about to begin."

"Understood."

Minato Namikaze finished the dumpling in his hand in one go and was ready in an instant.

"See you next time, Yueshu."

"See you next time, kid. Regardless of anything else, I'm quite looking forward to you joining us."

"Mm, see you next time."

Jiraiya strode forward, with Minato Namikaze following close behind.

Their figures were not particularly tall, yet these two backs somehow made Yueshu feel they were a little bit cool.

In the world of the Hokage, Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze were well-known men of character, the kind who stood tall and upright. One was a gallant hero, the other a Hokage; the lives of this master and student were both tragic and heroic.

Watching the backs of Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya slowly fade into the distance, Yueshu did not know why, but his hand clutching the dumpling tightened involuntarily.

He gripped it very, very tightly.