"So interesting... A jutsu that manipulates the dead, huh?"
Out of long-standing friendship, Orochimaru at least listened to Jiraiya recount his experience in Amegakure, before being drawn to the matter of Hanzō.
Jiraiya, who had already guessed Orochimaru would be interested in Hanzō, immediately took out a scroll. When the smoke cleared, all the ninja fragments of Hanzō appeared before Orochimaru.
Looking at the once-unstoppable Demi-God of the Shinobi World whom they had struggled so hard to defeat in their youth, Orochimaru once again confirmed his belief—life is fragile. No matter how powerful, even Hanzō couldn't escape the threat of death.
"I'll leave these Hanzō fragments to you for research. But it's not free—you have to transplant a new pair of eyes for my disciple."
Jiraiya smoothly pushed Nagato in front of Orochimaru.
Even without his eyes, Nagato could sense the threat from the person before him.
Just like the oppressive aura the man had given him all those years ago.
"This child is...?"
Orochimaru did not recognize Nagato.
"They're the war orphans from Amegakure back then," Jiraiya kindly explained.
Orochimaru nodded, not particularly interested.
"I see. So they actually survived?"
Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato: That's kind of rude, don't you think?
"In short, just a pair of ordinary eyes, right?"
Orochimaru casually inspected Nagato's wounds.
"What, you can transplant something extraordinary?"
Jiraiya was curious. From Orochimaru's tone, it sounded like he might have something else on hand?
Glancing over his shoulder at Obito standing not far away, Orochimaru revealed a meaningful smile.
Obito: Why do I suddenly feel a chill run down my spine?
"In exchange for these things, I'll let your disciple benefit from my latest research."
Orochimaru turned toward the experimental cabinet behind him.
It was filled with countless scientific achievements.
"In any case, leave this child to me. Hey, Obito, later bring your fellow disciples to where I live. You know where the key is."
At some point, Jiraiya had already slipped to the doorway.
Obito immediately realized what he was about to do and tried to stop him.
"Damn perv, you're going to—"
Before Obito could finish his sentence, Jiraiya had already vanished from the lab using the Body Flicker Technique.
Even Orochimaru was slightly impressed by his speed.
Obito clutched his hair in frustration, regretting that he hadn't seen through Jiraiya's scheme in time.
Yahiko and the others, however, were not surprised. They were already used to Jiraiya's antics, and could only offer a "figured as much" smile.
"Alrighty, Nagato's taken care of, and Obito's been sent back to the village. I can finally focus on living my..."
Jiraiya reappeared in a dim alleyway after leaving the research facility, rubbing his hands together, face full of anticipation.
Traveling with Obito was genuinely boring. The kid was constantly on guard against him gathering material, leaving him with zero motivation to write.
"What are you up to now, student?"
A familiar voice rang out behind him, freezing the expression on his face.
"Sigh... Old man, you..."
As soon as he heard Hiruzen's voice, Jiraiya's face fell.
Even without Hiruzen saying anything, he already knew—his vacation was over before it even began.
Hiruzen didn't waste words. He simply turned around and gestured for him to follow.
"Come with me."
The two made their way to the Hokage Tower, entering the office where Sakumo was stressing over who should take over Minato's assignments.
Minato had been so outstanding that Sakumo had failed to realize his own Anbu division was severely understaffed.
It was only now, after Minato had gone on leave to spend time with Kushina, that Sakumo suddenly realized—he had been pushing this excellent young man way too hard.
Hiruzen had noticed this too. Originally, he had planned to recommend his eldest son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, but with Jiraiya's sudden appearance, he realized he had found a better candidate.
Minato is your student. Now that Minato's position is vacant, it's only right that you, his teacher, fill in for him, no?
"So it was you Obito sensed spying on him..."
Jiraiya muttered under his breath, but it didn't affect Hiruzen's mood at all. Taking advantage of the fact that he could still lift a staff, he decided to personally discipline this unruly disciple.
If Jiraiya refused, well, this former Hokage still knew a thing or two about bo staff techniques.
"I get it, you want me to cover for Minato until Kushina gives birth, right?"
Seeing the unmistakable threat in his teacher's eyes and Sakumo's face full of hope, Jiraiya sighed and gave a reluctant nod.
"This is your choice. I didn't force you," Hiruzen said with a smile as he patted Jiraiya's shoulder, putting away the idea of summoning Enma.
Looking at Hiruzen's radiant, chrysanthemum-like smile, Jiraiya nodded repeatedly.
"Right, right, I volunteered. So, Fourth Hokage, what do you need me to do?"
Seeing Jiraiya get into work mode so quickly, Sakumo was deeply moved. He immediately pulled out a stack of documents nearly half Jiraiya's height from under his desk and placed it on top.
Jiraiya: Is it too late to regret this?
...
Elsewhere, the Akatsuki had been forced into hiding in an unknown location, and a wave of celebration swept through the gambling halls.
It made sense—the Demi-God of the Shinobi World had easily crushed the greenhorn Akatsuki.
But as Tsunade looked at the large pile of money before her, she couldn't shake a strange feeling.
She, who always lost her bets, had actually won this time. Although she'd bet on Hanzō out of genuine respect for his strength...
Still, Tsunade had a nagging sense of foreboding, with no joy on her face despite her winnings.
"It's time to go back to the village."
After packing up the cash in front of her, Tsunade decided that after one last bet, she would head home.
...
Days passed.
Minato took advantage of his rare time off to accompany Kushina around every corner of Konoha.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya had begun his exhausting Anbu life—waking early, sleeping late.
Under such pressure, the final volume of Snow Woman never came to be. Instead, it was replaced by his new work: The Tale of Resolute Endurance.
Minato was full of praise for the book, and even told Jiraiya to his face that he wanted to name his son after the protagonist.
Jiraiya was stunned—after all, the name "Naruto" was just something he randomly came up with while eating ramen.
Wasn't that a bit too careless? And didn't this mean he'd basically become the kid's godfather...?
"Kushina agrees too, right?"
Seeing Jiraiya hesitate, Minato called Kushina over. She smiled and nodded, leaving Jiraiya feeling a little guilty.
Jeez, if I'd known, I would've picked a better name...
"No, I think the reason Kushina-san agreed is because if Minato named the kid himself, the poor thing would probably end up called something like 'Whirling Flash Vortex'..."
Outside the house, Takeshi, who was on duty protecting Kushina, had been eavesdropping the whole time and gave his honest opinion.
After all, this was the man who named the Rasengan something like "Light Wheel Freezing Dessert Balabala!"
A guy whose combo move names were so long, you couldn't even finish saying the first one before the second began!
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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