In the study,
Rinjin stared directly at the slowly dissipating Sage of Six Paths, his eyes full of frost.
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo didn't dare gamble, but wasn't Rinjin the same?
Just now, Rinjin and the Sage of Six Paths had reached a difficult consensus:
Rinjin would help the reincarnations of Ashura and Indra seal the potentially unsealed Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, while Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo would no longer interfere with Rinjin's use of Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation on Mizuguma.
It seemed like what Rinjin had to do was troublesome, but he could completely do nothing at all.
And Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo's exchange condition also indirectly showed that this old bastard couldn't excessively interfere with the real world.
Of course, this was just Rinjin's speculation.
Maybe the Sage of Six Paths was using this method to lull him into complacency~
When dealing with this kind of old schemer, it was best not to believe a single word he said.
Secretly making up his mind, Rinjin began carefully recalling the entire sequence of events.
The first time he drew that guy's attention should have been when he used Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation to summon Hanzō of the Salamander.
No!
Maybe the old bastard had already been watching him since he gained his immortal body.
If that was the case, then this old bastard definitely knew his personality inside and out.
Thinking of this, a bold idea suddenly appeared in Rinjin's mind:
The Sage of Six Paths had been waiting to pick his persimmon all along?!
Damn! That was way too possible!
...
While lost in wild thoughts, the front door suddenly knocked softly.
Then, the interrupted Rinjin immediately got up and slowly walked to the door to open it.
Outside, a ninja wearing a Hidden Rain headband stood respectfully at the door.
"Daimyō-sama, a message from Tsunade-sama has been sent back to the village."
"Speak."
"Jiraiya has already departed for the Hidden Waterfall Village."
Hearing this, Rinjin nodded slightly, thanked the ANBU member, and returned to his study.
That guy Jiraiya was going to get himself killed!
Sighing, he got up and took a scroll from the drawer, stuffed it into his ninja tool pouch, and left the Hidden Rain Village under cover of night.
...
Outside the Hidden Waterfall Village, Jiraiya, carrying his scroll backpack, encountered Rinjin.
At this moment, Rinjin was sitting barefoot on a large rock by the lake below the waterfall, continuously rotating a large fish with red meat and white fat over the fire in front of him.
"Yo, Jiraiya." He waved in greeting.
Seeing this, the corner of Jiraiya's mouth unconsciously curved up, and he shook his head with a silent laugh.
Tsunade must have leaked his whereabouts to this guy Rinjin.
Well forget it
Being cared about occasionally wasn't bad either!
Muttering to himself, Jiraiya quickly stepped forward and sat down carelessly across from the fire.
"Is the fish done yet? I've been eating dry rations for three days—my mouth has no taste left!"
"If you want to eat, catch your own." Rinjin replied irritably, casually throwing the fishing rod to Jiraiya.
Seeing this, Jiraiya didn't hesitate and took the fishing rod, casting it toward the lake surface.
Catch fish my ass—he wasn't some fishing enthusiast.
Just put on a show, kill some time, and wait for Rinjin's grilled fish to be ready.
...
The sky had started drizzling at some point.
Rinjin and Jiraiya finished off the grilled fish and infiltrated the mysterious Hidden Waterfall Village in the rain.
As an external member of the Akatsuki organization, Rinjin had some understanding of Akatsuki's intelligence.
But he knew Jiraiya's personality very well.
This guy was good in every way—good temper, good personality—except for one thing that was infuriating: stubbornness.
To put it nicely, it was persistence; to put it harshly, he was a donkey~
This guy seemed to have already decided that Naruto was the prophesied child mentioned by the Great Toad Sage who would bring change to the world, so he was very hostile to any existence with ill intentions toward Naruto.
No wonder.
Jiraiya had worked hard most of his life, traveling and wandering, all to train himself!
Only by improving his knowledge and experience could he take on the important task of nurturing the prophesied child.
As for the so-called "research," Jiraiya had something to say about that too.
Through his years of observation, he had discovered a shocking truth:
Any man who wasn't a pervert was definitely a bad guy!
On the contrary, perverted men couldn't be that bad~
And perversion came in several different types.
Like Minato's devoted pervert type—could go either way, easily influenced by various external circumstances!
Like his own widespread pervert type—that was having upright values, definitely a rare good person.
Walking aimlessly through the streets of the Hidden Waterfall Village, Jiraiya shared his theory unreservedly with Rinjin.
In response, Rinjin gave him an extremely reverent look and raised his middle finger.
"The last person who made me this speechless died forty years ago. You're the second!"
"Who was the first? What did he say?" Jiraiya asked curiously.
"My teacher." Rinjin said with a sweat drop:
"That guy invented a theory about understanding one's true nature."
Hearing this, Jiraiya immediately perked up.
His instincts told him that this "understanding one's true nature" theory would definitely open his eyes.
"Quick... tell me about it! What's this theory about?"
Looking at Jiraiya's bright-eyed expression, Rinjin speechlessly scratched his cheek. After a long while, he finally spoke:
"Understanding one's true nature, seeing one's true self.
"That guy believed ninjas should be serious and diligent, perfectly completing missions and earning lots of money.
"Then take that money to the pleasure quarters to have deep exchanges with young ladies, using gentleness to wash away fatigue and..."
At this point, Rinjin paused and couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"And... inner restlessness.
"Just like wiping a mirror, keeping the mirror surface free of dust.
"Then use more... fuller spirits to take on more missions, earn more money, find more young ladies...
"The more money earned, the brighter the mirror gets wiped..."
At this point, Rinjin rubbed his brow with a mix of laughter and tears.
Looking at Jiraiya beside him, his originally parallel steps had stopped, his small eyes full of surprise and wild joy.
He... had found his code of conduct!
Two perverted souls quietly collided across the space between life and death and forty-some years of time.
The sparks of thought were like Toad Oil Flame Bullets, endless and eternal.
Jiraiya had an epiphany...
Standing in place, Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"What a genius! I wish your teacher had been my teacher!"
Although his own teacher Sarutobi Hiruzen was also a kindred spirit, his teacher wasn't even one ten-thousandth as good as Rinjin's teacher.
Look at that guy's teacher—he even had a code of conduct!
Look at his own teacher—not only wouldn't he teach the Telescope Technique, he actually coveted his Transparency Escape Technique. Pathetically weak!
(Note: In the original manga, young Jiraiya clearly stated that his Transparency Escape Technique was quite impressive and had never been discovered.)
Thinking of this, Jiraiya quickly caught up to Rinjin's pace and boldly patted his shoulder:
"Rinjin, I've decided!
"I'm going to write my theory for distinguishing good guys from bad guys into the ninja training manual!"
"Give me a break!" Rinjin immediately rolled his eyes dramatically.
"Do you know why the Hidden Rain Village shut down the pleasure quarter district?"
"Why?" Jiraiya asked foolishly.
"Because they couldn't collect taxes that way, you idiot!
"Isn't it better to find a wife and get married?!
"Even if you handle it yourself, tissues can still stimulate domestic demand!"
Looking at the huffing Rinjin, Jiraiya sheepishly shrank his head and muttered quietly:
"Forgetting your roots—you're a disgrace to your lineage~"
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