Jiraiya: Naruto should be living well in Konoha, right?

"Heh, what do you think?"

Feng Yao smiled gently.

"Hey, old man, are you trying to cause trouble for Big Brother Feng Yao? I won't let you!"

Naruto stepped in front of Feng Yao and glared at Jiraiya.

In Naruto's little world, Feng Yao now held an extremely high place in his heart.

Anyone who caused trouble for Feng Yao was causing trouble for him.

Although Sasuke said nothing, a shuriken had found its way into his hand.

Some of the nearby villagers hurried away at the sight.

But others stayed to watch the show.

"The demon fox is here too..."

Jiraiya was still maintaining his appearance with the Transformation Technique, so naturally, even villagers who had seen him before could not recognize him.

The atmosphere instantly grew tense.

The Anbu hiding in the shadows were drenched in sweat.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, was utterly astonished. One look at the black-haired boy told him he belonged to the Uchiha Clan.

But Naruto's behavior truly baffled Jiraiya. This did not look like he was being controlled.

Could it be... there was something else going on that he did not know about?

As a ninja, Jiraiya naturally had good hearing. He knew the villagers had been referring to Naruto when they said "demon fox."

Yet Naruto had not paid it any attention at all.

That left Jiraiya feeling that something was wrong.

Feng Yao pushed Naruto aside. "Don't be nervous, Naruto. This man means no harm."

Naruto looked puzzled. As far as he was concerned, this guy was here to cause trouble.

Hearing Feng Yao say that, Sasuke put his kunai away as well.

Although Sasuke had never personally witnessed Feng Yao's strength, anyone who could defeat his father and his beloved big brother was certainly no weakling.

"Then come along..."

Feng Yao paid Jiraiya no further attention and led Naruto and Sasuke toward Ichiraku Ramen.

"Weird old man..."

Naruto muttered as he left.

Jiraiya remained silent, but eventually followed Feng Yao.

Everyone in the shadows breathed a sigh of relief. That man was Jiraiya.

They had nearly come out to stop them just now. Otherwise, if Jiraiya and Feng Yao started fighting here in Konoha's shopping district, they would have had a difficult situation on their hands.

Fortunately, it had not happened.

Meanwhile, Feng Yao arrived at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

"Haha, Teuchi, I want an extra chicken drumstick!"

"The usual, please..."

Jiraiya found a seat close to Feng Yao and sat down.

"Ichiraku Ramen, huh..."

"Boss..."

Jiraiya had once been a regular at Ichiraku too, but later he had left the village.

Thinking about it now, he had not been here for several years.

The ramen was soon ready and brought to the table.

In a rare display of silence, Jiraiya quietly observed Feng Yao and Naruto.

Throughout the meal, Jiraiya was an outsider.

Naruto and Sasuke were quite talkative, and Feng Yao occasionally chimed in.

Jiraiya was stunned. Naruto certainly did not look... no, he looked nothing at all like someone being controlled.

Watching Naruto's happy expression, Jiraiya thought for a moment. This seemed to be the first time he had seen Naruto so happy.

Soon, they finished their ramen.

"Sasuke, Naruto, you two should head back first today."

"This man and I have something to talk about..."

Feng Yao was somewhat interested in Mount Myōboku.

He wondered whether Mount Myōboku could trigger a check-in from the system, which had been quiet for several days.

After several check-ins, Feng Yao had also figured out how the system's rewards worked.

Feng Yao understood perfectly well the Third Hokage's little schemes in calling Jiraiya back.

But Feng Yao did not care. Jiraiya was still no match for him.

"Ah, Big Brother Feng Yao... all right." Hearing that Feng Yao would not be taking them home this time, Naruto felt a little disappointed.

Then he glared fiercely at Jiraiya.

"Hey, old man, if you dare hurt Big Brother Feng Yao, I swear as the future Hokage that I'll make you pay!"

Sasuke said nothing. Feng Yao was confident that few could match him.

The corner of Jiraiya's mouth twitched. Why did it feel like he was the heinous villain here?!

Feng Yao held back his laughter and waved goodbye.

At last, Sasuke and Naruto disappeared from their sight.

"Why is Naruto so close to you?"

Jiraiya asked.

Indeed, Jiraiya had discovered that Naruto had suddenly become so close to a member of the Uchiha Clan, and had also read in the Third Hokage's letter that Feng Yao was controlling Naruto.

That left Jiraiya with no choice but to approach this cautiously.

"Heh..."

Hearing Jiraiya's words,

Feng Yao sneered.

"Close to me? If you saw what Naruto's life in the village was like, you wouldn't be asking that."

It was laughable, really. A ninja renowned for gathering intelligence did not even know what kind of life his own student's child was living in the village.

Jiraiya frowned. "What do you mean?"

Jiraiya thought back carefully. He had occasionally returned a few times over the years, but each time he had only looked from afar, without paying attention to anything else.

Of course, he did know about some of the Third Hokage's methods.

For example, Naruto was too young as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and they needed to protect him to prevent Kushina's tragedy from happening again.

Certain measures were naturally understandable.

Yet for some reason, Jiraiya instinctively recalled what the villagers had said when they first met...

Demon fox...

Feng Yao shook his head without answering directly. Rather than tell Jiraiya himself, it would be better to let Jiraiya find out on his own.

The result would be the same anyway.

In Feng Yao's view, even if Jiraiya knew that what the Third Hokage had done was wrong, his choice would never change when faced with the village's interests.

"Naruto isn't being controlled by me, so you don't need to worry. As for why he's close to me, investigate it yourself. It's no secret anyway."

Feng Yao's tone was mocking.

Jiraiya fell silent for a moment.

"Feng Yao, I know about you. You were a hero of the village during the Third Shinobi World War too. Why let things come to this?"

"Besides, we're all from the same village. Whatever the problem is, can't we sit down together and talk it through?"

Jiraiya still wanted to salvage the situation.

Several pairs of Mangekyo had appeared in the village. They were all part of Konoha's strength, so why did they have to fight to the death?

"Jiraiya, could you stop being so naive?"

"From beginning to end, we Uchiha have only wanted to survive. But what did we get? We were framed, our businesses were seized, we were forced out of our Ancestral Land, and Shisui died a horrible death..."

"A few days ago, we were even surrounded. If I hadn't possessed the Mangekyo, it's hard to say whether the Uchiha name would even exist now!"

Feng Zhu's tone was utterly icy.

Jiraiya said urgently, "Feng Yao, that was all Danzo's idea. Now that Danzo is dead, I believe the old man will definitely give you an explanation..."

"An explanation? Hahaha, Jiraiya, surely you know what the relationship between the Third Hokage and Danzo was like. Without the Third Hokage's tacit approval, how could Danzo have acted so brazenly!"

Feng Yao looked at Jiraiya as though he were an idiot.

For a moment, Jiraiya was at a loss for words.

His heart was filled with helplessness.

Of course Jiraiya knew. He simply did not want to look too deeply into it, but that did not mean he did not understand.

He also knew a little about the Uchiha Clan's situation.

That was one of the reasons he had left the village.

Jiraiya did not like the way the Third Hokage and the others did things either.