Konoha.
Sarutobi Clan Compound.
"Thud!"
"You little bastard!"
"Do you really think I'm that stupid?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen rolled his eyes.
He slammed his pipe heavily against the table and barked.
Jiraiya froze.
He had never expected the old man to react like this.
"I'm already halfway into the grave."
"What am I supposed to use to fight that monster head-on?"
"My old bones? To fill the belly of that hundreds-of-meters-tall Wood Golem?!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen pointed at Jiraiya's nose.
He had long since stopped wanting to resist.
Ever since Qianye had summoned that terrifying Wood Golem at the Senju Compound.
His lofty ambitions had been crushed to pieces.
"I honestly handed over the family's assets."
"I had the brats in the clan go take missions."
"For the past half month, I've barely even left the house."
"The fact that Qianye didn't wipe out the Sarutobi Clan already means he showed mercy."
"I'm not so ungrateful that I'd go throw my life away."
"But you!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen glared at Jiraiya.
"You've been fooling around outside all day, and you didn't come back even when something this huge happened to the village."
"Now you've come back to lecture me?"
"Get the hell out!"
"Stop bothering me!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen waved him off as if shooing away a fly.
Seeing the old man bristle.
The weight in Jiraiya's heart finally lifted.
He could tell.
The old man had truly let go.
There was no resentment, no hatred.
Only the helplessness and relief of a defeated man.
"Hehe."
Jiraiya returned to his usual unserious self.
He stood up and dusted off his backside.
"As long as you can see the bright side, old man."
"Then I'm off to take a bath."
"I heard a new bathhouse opened in the East Village District, and the proprietress is