Jiraiya's Insistence

"Chiba has talent, and he's fairly easygoing, too."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, agreeing to Jiraiya's suggestion.

During his earlier assessment, he had already seen that Chiba wasn't bad at heart.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have maintained such a good relationship with Naruto.

"In that case, let him stay in Konoha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi continued, "I'll make sure to look after him."

A flicker of delight crossed Jiraiya's eyes.

With Hiruzen Sarutobi's promise, he could set some of his worries aside.

Once he had helped Chiba settle in properly, he would resume his travels through the shinobi world.

Konoha's atmosphere didn't suit him.

Hokage Rock.

Naruto Uzumaki wore a sour expression, brimming with indignation.

"Why doesn't Chiba have to scrub anything?"

"Why am I the only one getting the short end of the stick?"

Standing on the observation platform below, Chiba replied lazily:

"Because some people don't have what they're supposed to inside that thing sitting on their neck."

After half a day of getting acquainted, the two had gone from strangers to friends.

Naruto Uzumaki was only grumbling, anyway. He didn't actually resent Chiba.

Once he had scrubbed away all the messy graffiti, his work was done.

Then it was Chiba's turn to take the stage.

The accomplishments of the Third and Fourth didn't require much thought.

He had long since committed them to memory.

"Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Ninjutsu Professor!"

"Lifetime achievements: trained the Konoha Sannin, preserved peace in Konoha, improved the education system..."

"Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash!"

"Lifetime achievements: rose to fame during the Shinobi World War, quelled the Nine-Tails' Rampage..."

As Chiba wrote about the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, he couldn't help glancing instinctively at Naruto Uzumaki.

Unaware of his own origins, Naruto was still living a life of misery.

For the son of a hero to receive such treatment was truly unfair.

Chiba sighed and added another line beneath Minato Namikaze's lifetime achievements.

"A great Hokage, an inadequate father!"

From an outsider's perspective, Naruto's childhood might have seemed utterly tragic.

That had a great deal to do with the Nine-Tails inside him.

Yet the Fourth's far-sighted plans had his son's interests at heart at every turn.

Whatever else could be said, he seemed to have no flaws apart from being terrible at naming things.

Jiraiya arrived at Hokage Rock just as Chiba finished his final stroke.

He was rather surprised to see Chiba's assessment of Minato Namikaze.

The boy he had brought back to Konoha seemed to know a great deal.

Jiraiya was certain he had never told Chiba any of this.

As for where he had learned it, that was unclear.

"Chiba, are you finished?"

Jiraiya stood on the observation platform and looked up as he asked.

Chiba put away his tools and leaped down from the rock face.

Jiraiya had long since grown accustomed to the talent Chiba displayed as a ninja.

He had already mastered Sage Mode. A little fine chakra control was nothing.

"All done."

Chiba nodded, looking at Jiraiya without a trace of unease.

Chiba held Jiraiya in considerable admiration.

He had managed to change the entire shinobi world single-handedly.

There wasn't another person like him in the whole world.

His own ending was just a little tragic.

Looking back over Jiraiya's life, it had been bleak from beginning to end.

He had seemingly accomplished nothing, yet only after his death did his efforts bear fruit.

Sadly, Jiraiya would never get to see it.

"Come on! To welcome you here, I'll treat you to Konoha's specialty ramen!"

Jiraiya was a clever man. More precisely, he possessed wisdom that ordinary people lacked.

He hadn't probed too deeply into Chiba's origins.

Since the Great Toad Sage had already given him instructions, all he needed to do was follow them.

Influence the shinobi world?

Jiraiya glanced at Chiba beside him. He might have been a little precocious, but he was still a child, after all!

A smile curled at the corners of his mouth, and he put those worries out of his mind.

Ichiraku Ramen!

As the most iconic ramen shop in Naruto, it appeared more often than even some supporting characters.

It was already quite late.

There were still plenty of customers in the ramen shop.

"Three bowls of ramen!"

Jiraiya called into the shop.

Before long, the ramen was served.

Bright green chopped scallions and fragrant slices of chashu pork topped the clear, gleaming broth.

The snowy-white, springy noodles soon disappeared beneath their chopsticks.

Only then did Naruto, who had been wolfing down his food, remember something.

He had no idea who the white-haired man in front of him actually was.

"Hey, mister, who are you, anyway?"

"I've never seen you in the village before!"

Jiraiya cleared his throat and spoke solemnly, his expression serious:

"Ahem! I am none other than Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, one of the Sannin renowned in every corner of the world!"

Chiba set down his chopsticks and added a perfectly timed remark.

"The Pervy Sage, for short!"

Still basking in his own introduction, Jiraiya nearly choked to death on his saliva.

"How did you learn that name?"

Chiba gave Jiraiya a strange look, raised an eyebrow, and asked:

"Are you sure you want to know?"

Jiraiya nodded with utmost seriousness.

His reputation in front of the younger generation was at stake.

Chiba's gaze filled with sympathy as he looked at Jiraiya.

Why did he have to keep pressing the issue?