Jiraiya's return

This left the Third Hokage frantic.

During that time, he secretly met Naruto and told him that Feng Yao had approached him with an ulterior motive.

But Naruto couldn't care less about any of that. He only knew who treated him well.

In any case, Naruto didn't know what Feng Yao wanted from him, nor did he care. He only wanted to hold on to this hard-won warmth...

In the end, the Third Hokage had no choice but to pin his hopes on Jiraiya returning to the village soon.

As Konoha stood now, it probably could hardly stand against Uchiha Fengyao.

"Big brother Feng Yao, can we really master it this way? Why don't you just teach me ninjutsu?"

Naruto tried to wheedle his way out of it.

Feng Yao covered his face helplessly.

"Don't rush. You have to eat one bite at a time. It's only been a few days, and you already want to get fat?"

"Keep practicing. I promised to teach you secret techniques, and I absolutely won't go back on my word."

"But first, you have to be able to control the chakra inside you. If you can't even do that, you won't be able to learn them even if I teach you..."

"It's like laying a foundation for a house. If the foundation isn't solid, even if you finish the house, it'll still be useless once the wind blows and the rain falls."

Sasuke and Naruto only half understood, but as they listened to Feng Yao, his words did seem quite reasonable.

It seemed they really had been too impatient.

"Fine, I'll definitely be the first to finish!"

Naruto gave Sasuke a challenging look, then went back to controlling his chakra to walk on water.

"Hmph, a dead last like you? Keep dreaming!"

Sasuke mocked Naruto too.

"Argh, you stuck-up Sasuke!"

Hearing Sasuke call him dead last again, Naruto got so angry that he lost control of his chakra and accidentally fell into the water.

Feng Yao covered his face. "Tsk, I can't watch this."

The secret techniques Feng Yao planned to teach them were precisely the ninjutsu they would excel at in the future-Rasengan and Chidori.

Feng Yao couldn't help feeling a little anticipation. Naruto and Sasuke were only about seven now.

If they mastered Chidori and Rasengan ahead of time, they would surpass their peers.

"But speaking of which, I haven't made a move against those Akatsuki guys yet. I'm getting restless with nothing to do, and the system hasn't made a peep lately either..."

Outside Konoha, a white-haired man sneaked back into the village through a side gate.

Konoha's two great gate guardians, Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane, who were guarding the main gate, noticed nothing unusual at all.

"Haha, it's been ages since I came back to the village. Time to gather some material properly..."

This white-haired man was none other than Jiraiya, one of the Sannin...

"Ah..."

"A pervert! Catch him!"

That day, Konoha's bathhouse erupted into an uproar!

When the Third Hokage received the news, he immediately knew Jiraiya had returned.

"That Jiraiya! He comes back to the village and doesn't come see me first thing. Doesn't he know how tense things are in the village right now?"

"Honestly, who even taught him..."

The Third Hokage felt helpless. Of his three students, one had defected, one had left the village to gamble, and one was off gathering some sort of material. What a shitty life this was.

"Hmph, what disgraceful behavior..."

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were speechless. They were helpless when it came to Jiraiya too. He was clearly quite capable, yet he had no interest in becoming Hokage.

"Kakashi..."

A dark figure appeared with a swish. It was Kakashi, dressed in an Anbu uniform and wearing a dog mask.

The short blade on his back was the White Fang Short Sword, which had once cut down Sand ninja youngsters with a single slash apiece.

"Sorry for the trouble, Kakashi. Have Jiraiya come see me..."

"Yes..."

Kakashi then used the Body Flicker Technique and left the Hokage Building.

Konoha's shopping street.

"Where did he run off to?"

"He must be over there. Girls, after him..."

Having transformed into a passerby, Jiraiya watched them leave and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He wiped the cold sweat seeping from his temples.

"Whew, good thing I have the Transformation Technique..."

Jiraiya failed to notice that someone had seen through all his disguises.

"Jiraiya?"

Feng Yao was taking Naruto and Sasuke to Ichiraku Ramen for a meal.

Everything Jiraiya had just done had been caught by his Kaleidoscope Sharingan.

Feng Yao didn't even need to guess to know that the Third Hokage had sent someone to summon Jiraiya back.

The purpose was probably to keep him in check, while also using the Hokage's name to prevent the Uchiha Clan from competing for the Hokage position.

In the original story, Jiraiya would never have returned at this point.

So Feng Yao understood after giving it a little thought.

The Third Hokage and the others had simply gotten the wrong idea.

He didn't care about the Hokage position at all.

Besides, there were a great many conflicts between the villagers and the Uchiha, accumulated over many years.

Perhaps in a little while, the Uchiha would no longer be Konoha's Uchiha.

At that moment, Jiraiya also noticed Feng Yao's gaze.

It couldn't be helped. In the entire crowd, this boy alone was staring at him meaningfully. It was hard not to notice.

"That's a boy from the Uchiha Clan... and that blond one... could he be..."

Jiraiya had seen Naruto just after he was born and knew that, like his student Minato, Naruto had bright blond hair.

Jiraiya had returned a few times afterward too, but each time he had only looked at him from afar.

Seeing that Naruto was doing fairly well, he had left to continue searching for the Child of Destiny foretold by the Great Toad Sage, gathering material along the way to improve his work.

Naruto...

Even Jiraiya, slow as he was, began to catch on.

He had heard something of what had happened in the village even while he was away.

The Third Hokage's letter to him had said a great deal about the conflicts between the village and the Uchiha.

Naturally, that included the fact that the Uchiha Clan Head, Uchiha Fengyao, possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.

And that he had taken control of Naruto, making him oppose the village.

Jiraiya dropped his earlier frivolous manner.

He was someone who placed great importance on the bigger picture. In other words, he would never allow anyone to harm the village's interests.

Jiraiya immediately walked over to Feng Yao. "Hello, are you Uchiha Fengyao?"

Sasuke and Naruto, who were fooling around behind him, naturally noticed Jiraiya.

"Sasuke, who's this old guy? Is he here to pick a fight?"

Naruto whispered to Sasuke.

"No idea..."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. He had never seen this man in Konoha before.

"That's me."

Hearing Feng Yao admit it, Jiraiya's expression immediately changed, but he was also somewhat puzzled. Judging by Naruto's appearance, he didn't seem to be under the Sharingan's control.

"Is there something you need, Lord Jiraiya? If not, I'm taking these two little fellows to eat."

Feng Yao spoke casually.

Jiraiya fell silent for a moment. He wasn't particularly surprised that Feng Yao recognized him.

During the Third Shinobi World War, Feng Yao had also enjoyed a certain reputation as an Uchiha genius second only to Shisui and Itachi.

It was perfectly normal for them to have met at the end of the war.

He looked at Feng Yao, then at Naruto.

Naruto looked utterly bewildered, wondering to himself if he had ever even met this old guy.

"Feng Yao, you should know what I mean..."

Jiraiya frowned. There were too many people around watching and listening, and Naruto was right there beside them. It wasn't yet appropriate to tell Naruto about the Jinchūriki.