Chapter 164
2-in-1-chapter
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Hearing his younger sister's complaint, Rēn had nothing to say in response.
It seemed that he was the one who had taught Fujika to practice shuriken-jutsu with sharpened blades, and now his sister disliked the classes at the Academy, calling them boring. Perhaps this was a kind of retribution. Still, it was of little concern—graduating from the Academy ahead of schedule was not impossible.
"Fujika, Naruto, you want to go look for Yakumo, don't you? If you want to go, then go. I have something I need to discuss with Jiraiya-senpai."
Fujika muttered a few more complaints at her brother before leaving swiftly with Naruto, like the wind.
Jiraiya's eyelids twitched as he watched Naruto's figure recede into the distance. After some hesitation, he chose to remain silent. There was no need to rush things. Based on his observations these past two days, Naruto's current life was quite good. There was no need to force change upon him too hastily. Rather than imposing it, it was better to let things unfold naturally.
"Jiraiya-senpai, did you want to say something to Naruto?"
"You noticed?"
"Yes. Senpai, your concern for Naruto is obvious to anyone who isn't blind or witless."
"If I recall correctly, Rēn, you aren't old enough to drink yet, are you?"
"Haha. Then allow me to shamelessly boast—I am not an ordinary person." Rēn's face was bright with a lighthearted smile. Though it was his first time conversing with Jiraiya, he spoke with remarkable ease and freedom. This witty old man truly did possess a unique charm.
"Rēn, you are indeed no ordinary person."
Jiraiya naturally changed the way he addressed him. Looking Rēn up and down, he asked, "With someone like you as clan head of the Uchiha, it's no wonder that my teacher Sarutobi-sensei lost. But enough idle chatter. Rēn, what business do you have with me? For the head of the Police Division to come to me personally—surely it isn't to send me to Konoha Prison for the way I collect material for my writings?"
After circling around for a while, Jiraiya took the initiative to touch upon the matter, joking as he inquired into Rēn's purpose.
At that moment, Uchiha Itachi, standing at the side, felt extremely uneasy.
With his sharp mind, he naturally understood that the clan head and Jiraiya-sama had important matters to discuss. By proper etiquette, he should withdraw as far as possible. But he had no chance to excuse himself, nor could he leave without a word. And so he was left standing there awkwardly.
How troublesome.
If he had known the clan head would also be here, he wouldn't have followed.
"Since you asked me so directly, Jiraiya-senpai, I won't circle around either. My reason for seeking you out is very simple. The Fifth Hokage—are you interested? If possible, I would like a clear answer now. This has already been delayed far too long. Konoha needs a proper Hokage, not an acting leader who could step down at any moment."
Rēn spoke plainly, without glancing at Itachi or Kimimaro. After all, there was nothing that needed to be hidden.
"The Fifth, huh?"
Jiraiya raised his brows, not the least bit surprised.
This was a question he had expected. When asked by Nara Shikaku and Hyūga Hiashi before, he had evaded it, focused instead on investigating Naruto. One delay had followed another, and now the matter had dragged on to this point. He had thought it would be Shikaku who came to press the issue, but instead it was the Uchiha clan head himself, which meant that the Uchiha's relationship with the Hokage's office had grown closer.
Still, it didn't matter who came. What mattered was the message they brought.
"Sorry, Rēn. My aspirations do not lie within the village." Jiraiya slowly shook his head, declining. "I apologize for the long delay, but I truly cannot remain to take on the title of Fifth Hokage. Compared to me, there are surely others in the village far more suitable."
"I see. What a pity."
Rēn sighed aloud, yet Jiraiya could clearly see that the young clan head's face betrayed no real regret. It was as if he had already anticipated this outcome before speaking.
"But with this, there are even fewer who could succeed as the Fifth. Tsunade-senpai would have been the most fitting, but she shows no intent to return to the village. The ANBU sent to track her have not even managed to glimpse her shadow. It seems the acting Hokage-sama will have to shoulder the burden a while longer."
"Still no sign of Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked.
"Not a trace. The ANBU searching for her have nearly run their legs to twigs. Every gambling den in the Land of Fire has been checked, but Tsunade-senpai seems determined not to show herself, playing a game of hide-and-seek with the ANBU."
"So that's how it is."
Jiraiya let out a soft sigh.
It seemed that even after all these years, Tsunade had not shaken off the shadows of the past. If she had no wish to return, then so be it. Torifu might be getting frail, but he could probably hold on a few more years. The next generation of Konoha was already growing strong. A wanderer like himself had no right to meddle in the village's affairs.
"The new generation, hm?"
The Toad Sage's gaze drifted across Rēn, then to Itachi and Kimimaro. These young faces made him feel deeply the reality that Konoha's new era had already risen. Compared to them, he himself was already a relic of the past.
"Rēn, I heard you encountered Orochimaru in the Land of Water?" Jiraiya chose not to speak further on the matter of the Fifth Hokage and instead shifted the topic to something else weighing heavily on him.
These past years, his travels had had two purposes: one, to search for the Child of Prophecy—a long and endless journey; the other, to track Orochimaru's whereabouts. His classmate and comrade's betrayal was something he still could not let go.
"That's right."
Rēn nodded. "But it wasn't me who fought him. It was Shisui. They clashed, and the result was that Shisui was injured while Orochimaru escaped alone. Kimimaro—that white-haired boy—was a child deceived and manipulated by Orochimaru. Shisui saved him."
"According to Shisui's report, Orochimaru's pursuit of an immortality jutsu left his soul flawed. That weakness was why Shisui was able to repel him."
All this information had already been compiled into reports for the village.
Given Jiraiya's status, he must have read them. Rēn was merely repeating what was already known.
"Uchiha Shisui… to think he repelled the Two-Tails Jinchūriki single-handedly as well. The Uchiha truly have talent in abundance. To imagine that Orochimaru suffered a setback—it makes me want to see the bastard's humiliated face. He betrayed the village for immortality, and in the end his forbidden research damaged his own soul first." Jiraiya's voice was half curse, half sigh. Even Kimimaro, standing nearby, could hear the complexity of emotion in his words.
"The Land of Water… perhaps I should take a look myself."
Jiraiya murmured to himself.
Orochimaru likely wasn't still there, but with someone like him, one could never be sure. His mind was too different from ordinary people's. Orochimaru's intentions could not be measured by common logic.
"If you want to go to the Land of Water, that won't be a problem. We are allied with the Mist now. But… Jiraiya-senpai, I thought you would remain in the village to look after Naruto."
"I've grown accustomed to wandering the world. Staying in the village for this long, I can hardly suppress my restless heart that longs for travel."
Jiraiya smiled with his usual carefree ease. "As for Naruto, I had originally thought that if things didn't work out, I would simply take him away from Konoha to travel with me. But now it seems better for him to stay here. Compared with following an old man on the road, what Naruto really needs are friends of his own age… Still, I'll come back from time to time to visit him."
A lesson learned from bitter experience—having once been misled by his teacher Hiruzen, Jiraiya had clearly taken this to heart. His last sentence carried a hidden warning. Deep down, he still harbored worries that the Uchiha's closeness to Naruto was a ploy to seek the power of the Nine-Tails.
"Please don't worry. Naruto is my sister's friend, and in a sense half my disciple. No matter what, his life won't be worse than it was under the Third's rule." Rēn answered with a smile, his words a quiet rebuke. Before threatening others, Jiraiya should first reflect on whose fault it was that Naruto suffered so much in the past.
Hearing this, Jiraiya's smile faltered.
This was a wound he had never been able to reconcile. Some of Hiruzen's decisions were things he could not accept, and yet the man was gone. Whatever resentment remained could only be bottled up inside, with no outlet, and even when stung by such words, he could do nothing but endure.
"Half a disciple? That drawing technique—was it you who taught Naruto?"
With little ground to stand on, Jiraiya could only change the subject.
"Super Beast Imitating Drawing, a Yin Release secret art. It suits Naruto very well. He isn't only the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki; he also inherited the blood of the Uzumaki clan. A Yin Release technique like this can truly shine in his hands." Rēn did not press further. One jab had been enough, and he carried on the conversation as though nothing had happened.
"Then why not just take Naruto as your disciple outright?"
"First, to avoid suspicion."
Rēn answered plainly. "The Uchiha clan has that history, after all. Both Shisui and I, strictly speaking, possess the ability to control tailed beasts. If I were to take Naruto as my disciple, who knows how many whispers and rumors would spread through the village. It would only hinder our clan's efforts to integrate back into Konoha."
"And second, Naruto isn't suited to be my disciple. Most of the Uchiha's strength lies in our eyes. There isn't much I can teach him. Even Super Beast Imitating Drawing, I learned from one of Danzō's subordinates. Even if not from me, Naruto could still acquire it through other channels in the village. Besides, isn't Jiraiya-senpai here yourself? There's no need for me to overstep."
The two of them walked along the street outside the park, with Uchiha Itachi and Kimimaro following some distance behind.
"Jiraiya-senpai, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. I need to report to the Hokage about your decision not to stand for the Fifth." At the roadside, Rēn stopped and took his leave.
"Please convey to Torifu-senpai my apologies for the delay."
Jiraiya spoke with courtesy.
Rēn gave a faint smile and was about to depart, when he noticed an unexpected figure approaching. Among the steady flow of pedestrians, an ANBU wearing a fox-faced mask knelt on one knee before him.
"Lord Rēn, there's an emergency. You are requested to proceed to the Hokage's Office immediately."
An emergency?
The sudden change left Rēn momentarily puzzled. Could it be that the war in the north had shifted? With this thought in mind, he said aloud, "Understood. I'll go at once."
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