Broken Window

"Jiraiya-senpai, sometimes seeing is believing, isn't it?" Uchiha Yan followed the water pipes up to the third floor.

In the corner of the third-floor wall, one could vaguely make out dark red graffiti—eyesore words like "Demon Fox" and "Go die" scrawled in paint by a mob of unruly villagers.

Seeing this, Jiraiya's expression turned incredibly grim.

Just then, an Anbu wearing a mask blocked Uchiha Yan's path. "Lord Yan."

Seeing the Anbu appear, the dissatisfaction Jiraiya had been harboring finally settled down a bit.

He stepped forward directly and said, "I am the one who wants to see Naruto."

"Lord Jiraiya." The Anbu could sense that Jiraiya's tone was clearly not as firm as it had been moments ago.

Jiraiya patted him on the shoulder and said, "Captain Uchiha Yan and I are just here to show some concern. Is it not allowed for us to check on the living conditions of Konoha's most vital jinchuriki?"

"And what about these words on the wall? Are you people not going to do anything about them?" Jiraiya asked, pointing at the wall.

The Anbu, hearing Jiraiya's words, was just about to offer an explanation when he heard, "Forget it, hurry along."

Hearing Jiraiya's reasoning, the Anbu could only sheepishly step aside.

Jiraiya knocked on the door.

A somewhat childish voice came from within: "Coming! Who is it?"

Naruto, wearing pajamas, rubbed his eyes and pushed the door open.

He glanced at the two men, and upon seeing Uchiha Yan, he pointed at him and said, "You... you're the one who helped me the other day, right?"

Uchiha Yan nodded. "Just doing my duty."

"Huh?" Naruto suddenly froze when he saw Jiraiya.

He leaned in close to Jiraiya's face and began to examine him carefully.

Jiraiya looked at Naruto's familiar face and suddenly went blank.

He prayed silently that Naruto wouldn't recognize him, otherwise, his glorious image in front of his junior, Uchiha Yan, would be ruined.

However, he didn't know that his glorious image had been gone for a long time.

Uchiha Yan had long known that the Sannin of Konoha were just three problematic youths obsessed with gambling, women, and vice.

Naruto finally remembered at this moment, "Aren't you that Pervy Sage?"

Hearing Naruto recognize him, the heart that had been hanging in Jiraiya's chest finally settled.

His legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the floor. Just as he was about to turn back to explain himself to Uchiha Yan, he realized that Uchiha Yan had already vanished from his side without a sound.

When did this guy leave? His strength is likely already on par with mine, Jiraiya muttered to himself in a low voice.

"Pervy Sage, what are you muttering about?" Naruto looked at Jiraiya with a confused expression. "Hey, where did that Uchiha big brother go?"

Jiraiya snapped back to reality, grinned awkwardly at Naruto, and ruffled his hair. "That Uchiha fellow had something urgent to attend to, so he left first. But you, Naruto, why aren't you asleep in the middle of the night?"

Naruto looked at him speechlessly and said, "Pervy Sage, is there any possibility that you guys woke me up by knocking on the door?"

The smile on Jiraiya's face stiffened instantly, and he then forced a smile as he walked into the room.

However, when he truly stepped into this "home" belonging to the son of Namikaze Minato, the shock he had felt on the balcony turned into a suffocating weight.

By the light of the room's dim, old bulb, Jiraiya looked around.

Dusty corners and moldy walls. The wallpaper in the corner had long since peeled away, revealing large patches of blackened mold underneath.

But what Jiraiya found most regrettable was why it was even colder inside Naruto's home than it was outside.

Just then, a bone-chilling gust of wind blew through.

Even Jiraiya, a Jonin, couldn't help but shiver.

He followed the source of the wind that threatened to freeze a person solid.

By the dim light, he finally saw that the window, which should have been fitted with glass, now had several holes in it!

These were definitely not caused by natural wear and tear, for on the windowsill and the wooden floor, there were several sharp, fist-sized rocks scattered about.

Seeing Jiraiya notice this, Naruto hurriedly and awkwardly moved his body to block the view.

"I had already blocked this hole before, but the explosion today knocked it loose again."

Jiraiya gently pushed Naruto aside and crouched down to look at the stones on the floor.

On the stones, there were blurred, scrawled characters: "Demon Fox, go die!"

With Jiraiya's experience, he could naturally tell that Naruto was lying.

However, Jiraiya couldn't bear to expose Naruto's lie and shatter his self-esteem.

He asked curiously, "Does no one look after this? Who did this?"

Naruto recalled for a moment and said, "It was a few drunks, but the Konoha Military Police Force arrived quickly, grabbed them by their wooden batons, beat them up, and dragged them away."

Jiraiya took a deep breath and said, "Aside from the Konoha Military Police Force, does no one else care?"

Naruto asked with a puzzled look, "What do you mean? Isn't this exactly what the Konoha Military Police Force is supposed to be responsible for?"

Hearing his words, Jiraiya felt his blood pressure rise once again.

He walked over to the somewhat dilapidated refrigerator in the room and pulled the door open.

The sight inside the fridge left Jiraiya completely stunned.

There were only a few cartons of milk inside.

Jiraiya picked up a carton and took a look. "This milk is already expired. Doesn't that kid Kakashi ever check?"

However, thinking of Kakashi's circumstances, Jiraiya let out a soft sigh.

Forget it; that kid had it even worse than Naruto. It was a miracle he could even take care of himself.

Besides, given the Third Hokage's personality, he likely wouldn't have told Kakashi about Naruto's true identity.

Holding the expired milk, Jiraiya asked curiously, "Naruto, why are you keeping this milk if it's already expired?"

"Huh? Is it expired?" Naruto leaned in, took the milk from Jiraiya's hand, and examined it closely.

He then looked up. "Pervy Sage, how are you supposed to check the date on this?"

Jiraiya sighed softly. Did the boy lack even the most basic ability to take care of himself?

He then began to patiently explain to Naruto how to check the production date.

Naruto finally had a lightbulb moment. "So that's how it works."

Jiraiya ruffled Naruto's hair, then looked curiously at a somewhat worn-out notebook on the table nearby.

He guessed it was probably some kind of ledger.

When he opened the notebook, he was surprised by the contents.

Tucked into the inside cover was a thick envelope.

Jiraiya took it out, full of curiosity.

He opened it and was astonished to find a stack of brand-new Land of Fire banknotes inside, totaling a significant amount.

"So much money?" Jiraiya was taken aback.

He scanned the records in the ledger; the handwriting started out extremely childish and riddled with typos, but gradually became neater over time.

"Month X, Day X: Grandpa Third Hokage brought this month's living expenses, totaling XX ryo. Grandpa said this money is enough for me to eat meat every day and buy lots of new clothes. Grandpa patted my head and said I'm a good boy."

"Month X, Day X: Grandpa Third Hokage brought money again and reminded me to eat more vegetables. But... I don't think I've even spent much of last month's money yet."

Jiraiya did a rough mental calculation. Between the money in the envelope and the figures recorded in the ledger, the living expenses Sarutobi Hiruzen had been allocating to Naruto every month were not only unskimmed, but far exceeded Konoha's standard pension rates.