At Tsunade's words, Shin paused briefly. He counted the days in his head before replying:
"Yes, he should be back soon. I won't let him miss the Chunin Ninja Exams."
Only then did Tsunade catch on. She looked at Shin and said thoughtfully:
"Come to think of it, you taught Little Naruto quite a lot, even Multiple Shadow Clone and the Rasengan, but you never took him as your disciple. Was that so he could become Jiraiya's disciple?"
Shin Uchiha made no attempt to hide it when Tsunade guessed his intentions. He nodded, then said with a hint of smugness:
"Not only that, I also gave Naruto the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu. I'm guessing that when Jiraiya wants to teach him, Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode will be the only thing he has left worth offering."
Just imagining Jiraiya being stumped made Shin Uchiha rather happy.
Shin Uchiha was fond of Naruto, too. With Kōrei Uzumaki and Karin keeping him company, Naruto had long since stopped being that poor little boy with no one to care for him or lean on.
He wanted to see just how Jiraiya would make it up to Naruto.
Tsunade had also vaguely guessed what Shin was after and gave him a coquettish roll of her eyes.
Shin Uchiha quite enjoyed that look from Tsunade. After chuckling twice, he continued:
"As for Orochimaru, I suspect he's picked up on something. That may be why he's using the Otogakure he founded as a pawn to carry out the Konoha Crush. He wants to confirm a few things."
Shin Uchiha had never underestimated Orochimaru.
Although Orochimaru had no kekkei genkai and was not the strongest fighter, he had used his intelligence to reach the pinnacle of the Shinobi World in another way.