Sasuke wasn't surprised at all that Jiraiya had come looking for him.
After all, he'd used the man's summoning beast!
Sasuke already had a pretty good impression of Jiraiya.
He was not only a good teacher, but also had a talent for writing dirty books.
Still, Sasuke had no intention of becoming Jiraiya's student.
But with this guy keeping an eye on him,
Orochimaru probably wouldn't risk attacking him again anytime soon.
So, all things considered, this was a good thing.
The next day, Sasuke went to school as usual.
He chatted and laughed with Naruto and Lee as they made their way to the Ninja Academy.
Now there was another pair of eyes watching Sasuke.
Anbu, the Root Organization, the Uchiha... and now Jiraiya, too!
With so many people keeping an eye on him, it seemed Orochimaru wouldn't make a move anytime soon.
Once he'd confirmed that, Sasuke returned to his usual routine.
Who could have guessed that Sasuke, sitting upright in class now, had been attacked by Orochimaru last night?!
Even Jiraiya couldn't help but marvel at how composed Sasuke was.
At the same time, Jiraiya's attention was also fixed on someone else.
Uzumaki Naruto!
That was... Minato's son?!
The only people in the village with the surname Uzumaki belonged to that clan.
And that blond hair and blue eyes... they all revealed Naruto's identity.
But after a quick investigation, Jiraiya's anger flared up again.
He even rushed to the Hokage Building, wanting to confront Hiruzen Sarutobi.
But...
Jiraiya was no longer the hotheaded, reckless young man he'd once been.
Looking at the building that symbolized Konoha's greatest authority, Jiraiya shook his head helplessly and left.
There were some things he no longer had the power to change.
And changing them might even bring Naruto more danger and hardship.
After weighing the pros and cons, Jiraiya decided to stick with his original plan.
As for Naruto, he would leave that matter aside for now.
With Sasuke as a good friend, Naruto's life had clearly improved quite a bit.
For now, Jiraiya didn't need to worry too much about him.
His priority was dealing with the biggest problem at hand—Orochimaru!
After school.
"Sasuke, are we going to keep practicing shuriken?"
"Should we try a different kind of training?"
"Sasuke, what do you think..."
"An adult is here. Don't say anything careless."
As Naruto rambled on, Sasuke sensed a powerful presence approaching.
So he cut Naruto off at once.
"An adult?"
Naruto instinctively looked around.
When he turned back, a huge face appeared right in front of him.
They were barely 0.01 centimeters apart.
"Ah!"
Naruto yelped in fright and stumbled backward.
"Who are you?"
Sasuke, meanwhile, remained calm.
Jiraiya...
He'd known the man would come looking for him, but hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
This guy really was quick to act!
"Dun-dun..."
A theatrical sound came from somewhere.
Jiraiya began his introduction.
"I am the Toad Sage, the one who hides his name from the world—though perhaps I have something to hide."
"White-Haired Boy, Toad Messenger, one of the Legendary Sannin, unrivaled under heaven and ignorant of all directions!"
"The handsome man who can silence even a crying child—I am Lord Jiraiya!"
Jiraiya struck an exaggerated pose and announced his titles.
"Lord Jiraiya, the Toad Sage?"
Sasuke pretended to be curious.
"Ah!"
Naruto suddenly yelled.
He raised a hand and pointed at Jiraiya.
He trembled, letting out a string of "ah, ah, ah"s.
"Naruto, you..."
Sasuke felt awkward.
Had these two already crossed paths in some way he didn't know about?
Could this be the so-called power of the world correcting the story?!
"Sasuke, you don't know."
"This morning, when I was coming to school,"
"I passed by the bathhouse and saw this guy spying inside. He even got caught."
"And he had a bunch of pictures of naked ladies!"
"What he just said must be a lie."
"He's no Toad Sage. He's the Pervy Sage!"
Naruto blurted out everything he knew.
"Ah?!"
"Huh?!"
Sasuke and Jiraiya were both left in an awkward position.
They'd each already worked out how to deal with the other, but Naruto's interruption left them both stunned.
"Hahaha..."
"Naruto, you must've been dreaming, right?"
"Anyway... this is Lord Jiraiya, one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin!"
"He's incredibly strong!"
"If he wanted to, he could even become Hokage!"
Sasuke quickly changed the subject.
They couldn't stay awkward forever, could they?
After all, Jiraiya had come to see him to take care of something.
"Hokage?!"
"Someone this pervy can become Hokage?"
Naruto was stunned.
The Hokage he imagined was a hero who protected the village.
Not a pervert who spied on women in the bathhouse!
"Naruto, everyone has their own way of training."
"We shouldn't look down on an adult's training just because it seems strange."
"All right, go on home."
"I'm heading home to eat, too. I'm starving!"
Sasuke interrupted Naruto's wild train of thought, then parted ways with him.
As Sasuke left, Naruto waved stiffly, still looking confused as he headed home.
Jiraiya wanted to run after him and explain, since Naruto was Minato's son.
But when he thought about what he needed to do next, he decided to talk to Uchiha Sasuke first.
At least for now, if he approached Naruto, he wouldn't be able to give him anything.
He might even put little Naruto in danger.
"Oh!"
"I get it!"
"This... must be an adult's way of training, right?"
Naruto took a book out of his bag.
He quickly found the page about the Transformation Technique.
He recalled the contents of the book that Jiraiya had dropped.
A confident look appeared in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya soon caught up with Sasuke.
Actually, Sasuke had stopped by the lake to wait for him.
"Lord Jiraiya, you came to see me, right?"
"Is it about the summoning beast?"
Sasuke got straight to the point.
There was no need to beat around the bush with Jiraiya.
"Yes."
"Can you tell me how you got this?"
Jiraiya took the Card from his clothes and handed it to Sasuke.
Before you continue