As senior figures in Konoha, both Shikaku Nara and Kakashi Hatake were renowned throughout the Shinobi World.
There was no doubt about that.
Relatively speaking, however, Jiraiya carried more weight in the eyes of the older generation of ninja.
In their minds, Shikaku and Kakashi were merely juniors.
Regardless of the relative strength of their villages, that was indeed how they saw them.
So although Dianbingwei and Yunshui were listening to Shikaku's introduction, their eyes went to Jiraiya first.
Dianbingwei stared at Jiraiya, his voice somewhat low. "Jiraiya, it's been over twenty years, and you're still the same as ever."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, his tone almost excessively casual. "Yo, old man Dianbingwei. You're still alive too, huh? I thought you'd been buried long ago."
Before he had finished speaking, Yunshui's gaze suddenly sharpened, and the air seemed to freeze for an instant.
Shikaku inwardly cursed and was about to smooth things over when Dianbingwei suddenly threw back his head and laughed.
"Hahaha, you're still just as you were."
"Back on the battlefield, you always liked saying things that begged for a beating."
Dianbingwei's laughter rang out, only stopping after a good while.
In the space of two exchanges, most of the tense atmosphere had dissipated.
Shikaku secretly breathed a sigh of relief, growing a little more wary of this elder from Kumogakure.
Yet those few words alone revealed the man's character and ability. He could bend or stand firm as needed, tightening or relaxing his approach at will. That was the hardest type to deal with.
"Please, come in." He stepped aside to clear the way. "Konoha is ready to receive you both."
Dianbingwei and Yunshui exchanged a glance but did not enter Konoha right away.
It seemed they still had something left to say.
"Please, come in," Jiraiya