That evening, the Third Hokage was startled when he saw Jiraiya looking somewhat half-dead in the office. He had never seen Jiraiya like this before. Ever since he was young, Jiraiya had always been full of energy.
"Jiraiya, what happened?" There was a trace of concern in the Third Hokage's voice.
Then, Jiraiya began pouring out his grievances to the Third Hokage, complaining about how Ayato, his disciple, had been squeezing his teacher dry.
The Third Hokage found it somewhat amusing and could not help saying, "Now you know the benefits of studying seriously, right? If you had studied properly before, how could you not even be able to teach your own disciple?"
"I have more than enough ability to teach disciples. It's only because I'm teaching Ayato that I've run into this situation," Jiraiya replied.
The Third Hokage did not refute him this time. After all, Jiraiya was telling the truth. He had not expected Ayato to learn things so quickly.
"How about I teach him?" the Third Hokage suddenly said. If he learned that quickly, would he not be perfect for inheriting his legacy? Though he was innately suited only for Wind and Lightning, it was not as if the other natures could not be cultivated later.
"That could work, but Ayato is still my disciple." Jiraiya looked at the Third Hokage and spoke. Teaching him had exhausted him mentally and physically, but he would have to be an idiot to hand over such a genius disciple.
The Third Hokage smiled and said nothing more.
After a long while, the Third Hokage spoke again.
"Jiraiya, when are you leaving?"
"Probably within the next few days. My itinerary has already been delayed for quite some time," Jiraiya said after calculating the time.
"Then what about Ayato?" the Third Hokage