Land of Hot Water, the Hot Spring Village.
Although it was already his third month in the Land of Hot Water, Jiraiya didn't feel bored at all. Here, there was a wealth of material waiting for him to discover every day, from noble ladies on vacation to sharp-tongued neighborhood aunties, all of whom could bring Jiraiya endless creative inspiration.
In just three months, four volumes of Icha Icha Paradise have been released, which is incredible for Jiraiya and the readers. Kakashi, far away in Konoha, even managed to snag the latest volume of Icha Icha Paradise every time it was released and read it all night long.
While routinely gathering writing material and inspiration, Jiraiya, who was perched on the wall, sensed danger approaching. Based on his hundreds of past experiences of being chased and beaten as a peeping tom, Jiraiya didn't panic and run away. Instead, he quietly climbed down the wall, muttering to himself:
"Where did it go? I remember putting it right here..."
Jiraiya, relying on his poor acting skills, stealthily planned to escape the scene. That way, even if he were caught, he could choose to deny everything. When it comes to shamelessness, the dignified hermit of Mount Myōboku, Jiraiya, has never been inferior to anyone.
But Jiraiya had clearly miscalculated this time, because the person who discovered him was all too familiar with this sneaky peeping tom.
" Jiraiya, it's been a long time."
The familiar voice instantly stirred Jiraiya's memories; he hadn't heard that voice in over a decade.
Jiraiya's body trembled uncontrollably, but he ultimately did not choose to turn around and look at his old friends.
" Orochimaru, you shouldn't have shown up. I don't want to personally capture you and bring you back to Konoha. You should leave."
Orochimaru's lips curled up as he thought of Jiraiya from the past, but he still spoke with a sarcastic tone:
" Jiraiya, you're still so blindly confident. I really hope you can stay that way."
Hearing that familiar tone from the depths of his memory, Jiraiya could no longer hold back. He turned around and punched Orochimaru in the face, sending Orochimaru flying several meters and even crashing into a wall.
The commotion outside also alerted the female customers soaking in the hot spring. They rushed out wrapped in towels, or barely covering their private parts. Jiraiya had no interest in appreciating such a sensual scene.
Orochimaru, who had been knocked down, crawled out of the ruins. Apart from his clothes being a little dirty and messy, there wasn't a single scratch on his face. Jiraiya, who had been worried that he had hit too hard, was instantly dumbfounded.
Orochimaru is indeed very strong, but surely not to this extent. To take a punch head-on and be completely unharmed—only the Raikage throughout history seems capable of that...
Orochimaru clearly had no time to explain Jiraiya's so-called " Soft Physique Modification." He brushed the dust off his clothes and said with a smile:
"Do you feel better now?"
Jiraiya didn't respond, silently sitting down next to Orochimaru. In this situation, Jiraiya inexplicably wanted to light a cigarette to relieve his inner frustration, but unfortunately, he never had the habit of smoking.
After a moment of silence, Jiraiya uttered something startling:
Orochimaru, this body of yours isn't really your own, is it?
His tone was very certain, clearly not Jiraiya's unfounded guess. Orochimaru didn't admit it, but instead asked in return:
How did you know?
Jiraiya chuckled, revealing his lewd nature, and said mysteriously:
"Because your body is that of a woman. I've seen countless women, and I could easily tell from the feel of your body and the scent on your skin."
As expected of Jiraiya, he almost broke his leg the moment they met... Orochimaru quietly distanced Jiraiya. With such a freakish ability, who knows what Jiraiya do?
Snakes have an extremely keen sense of smell, Orochimaru had anticipated that his scent would give him away, so he used a special method to remove his body odor. Who knows what Jiraiya smelled...
" Jiraiya, you're still as eccentric as ever."
Faced with Orochimaru's 'praise', Jiraiya smiled 'humbly'. Although he found it somewhat difficult to say, it was indeed the result of the sage of Mount Myōboku's 'diligent' training.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Orochimaru steered the conversation to the main topic:
" Jiraiya, after traveling the Shinobi World for so many years, have you found the Child of Destiny you speak of?"
Mentioning this, Jiraiya's mood unusually soured, and he said with some regret:
"I once thought I had found him. It was the child named Yahiko that I adopted during the Second Shinobi World War. Although he couldn't compare to you in terms of talent, I saw a ray of hope shining on those around him. Unfortunately, I later heard that he died on the battlefield in Amegakure..."
"And then there's Nagato with the Rinnegan, Konan who's an expert at origami... the Child of Destiny... maybe the Toad Sage was just out of his mind."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, memorizing Nagato's name Rinnegan, one of the three great Dōjutsu alongside the Sharingan Byakugan, hadn't appeared in the Shinobi World for so many years, yet he and Jiraiya discovered a pair. How could it be such a coincidence? The Akatsuki leader's Rinnegan was definitely suspicious...
Burying the problem in his heart, Orochimaru looked at the dejected Jiraiya and said:
"Although you haven't found the Child of Destiny, I have found someone powerful enough to shake the Shinobi World. He's in Konoha now. Shall we go back and take a look?"
"No interest." Jiraiya refused decisively, adding, " Konoha has the old man, that's enough. Why would we go back and cause him trouble? I'd rather write my book and, while I'm at it, look for the Child of Destiny."
Writing a book? You probably can't bear to miss the opportunity to collect materials freely. There are quite a few powerful female ninjas in Konoha, and it would be easy to get caught and beaten up if you just spied on them. Even the status of the Sannin couldn't protect Jiraiya.
Orochimaru knew his old teammate all too well—a hot-blooded lecher who was easily impulsive.
"But what if Konoha is in danger soon? I'm missing-nin and it's inconvenient for me to go back. You're the only one left who can protect Konoha..."
Jiraiya's mood was no longer lighthearted. Although the Old Man Third was very strong when he was young, it was hard to say how much strength he still possessed now that he was older.
" The Fourth's son is about to graduate from the Ninja Academy, don't you want to go back and see him?"
Orochimaru has hit Jiraiya's weak spot perfectly. Minato Namikaze was practically trained by Jiraiya, and even his name was inspired by the protagonist of Jiraiya's novel...
Having achieved his goal, Orochimaru sank into the ground. Besides Jiraiya, there were still many places he needed to go...
Because the plan had inadvertently gone too far, Orochimaru worried that Konoha might not be able to handle it. Therefore, he planned to trick Jiraiya returning to serve as a henchman. At the very least, Jiraiya was a strongman on par with the Five Kage, Naoki Senju should find him quite useful...