Jiraiya Was Refused When He Tried to Take Naruto Away!

"Save it! I'm not interested in that."

Hearing this, Jiraiya hurriedly put on a pleading expression. "Stop talking. I was wrong. Call me a bastard—I shouldn't have provoked you."

Naruto, meanwhile, found the whole thing rather strange.

Glancing at the two strange people beside him, Naruto finished his ramen as quickly as possible, draining every last drop of broth. Only then did he pat his belly in satisfaction and leave cheerfully.

After Naruto left, Jiraiya's flushed face, reeking of alcohol, fell.

Everything about him showed that he was in a terrible mood.

Though he spent his days looking for fun, Jiraiya still cared deeply about his disciple's only child.

Yet after making some inquiries, what he learned disappointed him.

Naruto had been living badly.

The Third Hokage had failed to keep his promise to take good care of Naruto.

Compared to the Third Hokage's own children, Naruto was no different from the other orphans. In fact, his situation was even more difficult.

Compared to the other orphans, Naruto only had two advantages: he was protected, and he was not quite as short on money.

Unfortunately, money was useless, because no one in Konoha was willing to sell Naruto anything.

Naruto's circumstances made even Jiraiya, this lecherous tough guy, redden his eyes.

"Can we talk?"

Yan guessed that Jiraiya's red-rimmed eyes had something to do with Naruto.

However, none of that was Yan's business. He had been planning to go home and rest, but unexpectedly, Jiraiya wanted to talk to him.

After considering it for a moment, Yan sat back down, ready to be a spectator.

"The noodles are ready."

Teuchi placed the cooked noodles before Jiraiya. Shaking his head with a sigh, he closed up the shop and left as well, leaving the place to the two of them.

"Thanks for the meal."

With a smile uglier than crying, Jiraiya clapped his hands together, picked up his chopsticks, and began wolfing down the noodles. As he ate, he said:

"I never imagined Naruto's life was like this. Before Minato left, the old man promised him that he would take good care of Naruto."

"I wasn't a good teacher. I left Konoha on my own, yet I never came back to visit Naruto."

Yan listened quietly.

"The old man always told me Naruto was safe, that he was living well, and that he was a little troublemaker..."

Yan inwardly scoffed. What a pitiful fool the Third Hokage had completely strung along.

Didn't you know what kind of person your teacher was?

While you were wandering around outside, did you really think he would tell you the truth?

If Jiraiya had truly known Naruto was living like this, he would have rushed back immediately.

Instead, the Third Hokage had fooled him for years.

That was pretty impressive. Yan admired the Third Hokage's skill and methods at deceiving people.

His disciple? He would deceive him all the same.

"I've been wondering what exactly I've been doing these past few years."

Having lost his appetite, Jiraiya put down his chopsticks. He seemed to be mocking himself, laughing at his own ignorance and stupidity.

"At least Naruto has been growing up healthy, even if he's a bit mischievous..."

That was the only thing Jiraiya found comforting.

Yan's mouth twitched twice, and he could not help saying:

"If drinking expired milk, having to rush into stores like a thief to take things while leaving money behind, and being rejected everywhere counts as living well, then yes, he's living very well."

"..."

The ugly smile on Jiraiya's face froze instantly.

He had not spent enough time asking about Naruto to learn the more specific details.

He had thought the situation was not too bad, but after hearing Yan, he realized that growing up healthy was bullshit!!!

"If he got to eat a meal of grilled meat, he might swallow his tongue along with it."

"Lies and deception have always existed. You just couldn't see them. Stop putting on an act. It makes me sick."

"Sorry. I accidentally said a few things that were on my mind."

Waving a hand, Yan pulled open the door and left, leaving Jiraiya standing there dumbfounded, like a wooden stake nailed inside the ramen shop.

So it went: the Third Hokage was good, the Third Hokage was great, and the Third Hokage never kept his promises.

When someone had lived behind a mask for too long, they would realize they no longer had a face to lose.

Night fell.

Naruto's window was pushed open. Jiraiya made a circuit around the room, and the house's utter mess, as chaotic as a garbage dump, left him unable to recover for a long time.

Naruto, who had spent the whole day running wild, was sleeping soundly. Completely unaware that someone had entered his home, he lay there as Jiraiya stood quietly beside his bed, looking at him and sinking into deep self-reproach.

Jiraiya sat beside Naruto's bed for the entire night.

Early the next morning, Jiraiya, who had not slept all night and whose eyes were bloodshot, arrived at the Hokage Office Building and got straight to the point.

"I can go find Tsunade and do everything I can to persuade her to return, but I want to take Naruto with me. From now on, I'll raise Naruto by my side."

"No!!!"

The Third Hokage refused decisively.

The first half of Jiraiya's words had made him happy, but the latter half was unacceptable.

Too much had happened in the village lately. Already exhausted in body and mind, the Third Hokage did not want to worry about Naruto anymore.

Yet after refusing, the Third Hokage himself froze.

Because he had already formed a habit when it came to matters like this.

Looking at his teacher in disappointment, Jiraiya gave a bitter smile.

"Teacher, I'm very disappointed in you. Do you really not know what kind of life Naruto has been living?"

"But Naruto is the village's jinchuriki. He cannot leave Konoha so easily."

The Third Hokage knew he had disappointed Jiraiya. He wanted to persuade Jiraiya, as he had before, to abandon the idea.

Naruto was safest staying in the village.

Shaking his head, Jiraiya, who had completely given up, sighed. "Fine. Then I'll stay in the village too, and stay with Naruto as he grows up. But you'll need to give the mission of finding Tsunade to someone else."

"Old man, to me, Naruto is more important than anything."

If this matter cannot be resolved, I suggest sending Danzo to the Daimyo's Mansion and letting the daimyo deal with him.

Jiraiya kept those words to himself. If he actually said them, the Third Hokage would definitely fly into a rage.

Since they could not reach an agreement, he chose to compromise.

But as for the mission, he could do nothing about it.

This was the only choice Jiraiya could make, and the only way he had to resist the Third Hokage.

He did not want to tear their relationship apart, nor did he want things to turn ugly. For Naruto and for the village, he could only use a soft threat as a warning.

Faced with Jiraiya's threat, the Third Hokage did not relent. He merely darkened his expression.

Jiraiya knew this would not be easy.

He did not force the Third Hokage. He simply left the Hokage Office Building and went to the shopping district, where he bought a great deal of furniture, clothing, and brand-new household supplies.

He replaced everything inside and outside Naruto's home.

Whether or not the Third Hokage agreed to let him take Naruto away, he needed to do something for Naruto.

To make up for the years he had failed Naruto.

Everything he owed, everything his teacher owed, even everything the village owed—he would make it all up to him.

"Captain, that perverted sir from yesterday is looking for you."

Izumi pushed open the office door and called out.

"Perverted sir?"

Yan was baffled. What perverted sir... could it be Jiraiya?

What did that guy want with him?