After all the commotion, the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku managed to make his escape.
Meanwhile, Naruto and Karin had already slipped away from the crowd and found another bathhouse to wash up.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing here, kid?"
Just as the two had finished bathing and sat down at a hot spring-themed barbecue restaurant, Jiraiya popped out of nowhere.
Seeing this scene, Karin subconsciously wanted to use the Adamantine Sealing Chains that she had just mastered to deal with the pervert in front of her.
Fortunately, Naruto stopped her in time.
After all, even for an Uzumaki Clan's member, frequent use of the Adamantine Sealing Chains would take a toll, not to mention that Karin is still in the recovery period.
"Don't worry, Karin. He's one of us."
After reassuring her, Naruto turned to Jiraiya, who had already taken a seat and picked up a pair of chopsticks.
"Jiraiya-sensei, what brings you here?"
"Collecting materials, collecting materials..."
Jiraiya waved a hand, stuffing a freshly grilled piece of meat into his mouth before countering, "But you, why are you here in the Land of Hot Springs with a young girl… Hm?"
At first, Jiraiya had been nudging Naruto's shoulder with a teasing grin, but when he caught sight of Karin's fiery red hair, his expression shifted slightly.
"I'm actually on a mission. Unlike some people who sneak out for fun."
Naruto casually pulled out the mission scroll issued by Konoha and waved it in front of Jiraiya.
But Jiraiya wasn't focused on the mission details, as his attention had fully shifted to Karin.
Karin squirmed under his stare.
"Really looks like her… that same hair color as Kushina."
Hearing Jiraiya's muttering, Naruto also glanced at Karin across the table.
After a moment of thought, he explained her background and origins to Jiraiya.
"We were originally planning to visit the ruins of Uzushiogakure to see if there were any other survivors, but we got lost and ended up here."
After hearing that, Jiraiya just waved his hand and said, "There's nothing left there. Just ruins."
"…We still have to go. At least to see our true homeland."
The conversation took a somber turn, and even Karin fell silent, pressing her lips together.
"Fair enough."
Jiraiya couldn't say anything to persuade them about this. After all, what's wrong with people tracing their roots?
"But you should be careful lately. I've heard rumors that someone's put a bounty on you."
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Jiraiya lowered his voice and whispered mysteriously.
Having witnessed Naruto's strength firsthand, he wasn't too worried about his safety.
Jiraiya knew that even if Naruto couldn't win a fight, very few in the Ninja World could stop him from escaping if he wanted to.
As he was speaking, his eyes flicked at Karin sitting opposite him, the meaning was self-evident.
'You can run, but what about her?'
Naruto understood the implication and suddenly spoke up, "Speaking of which, there's something I wanted to ask you."
"What is it?"
Rather than discussing it in the restaurant, Naruto waited until after the meal, and then after letting Jiraiya paid the bill with great pain, he took him back to the inn where they were staying.
Here, there were no outsiders around.
"To be honest, you must have wondered how I gained this level of strength, right?"
At these words, Jiraiya's expression shifted slightly.
Of course he had questions, but out of trust in Naruto, he had never asked.
Naruto didn't beat around the bush. In front of Karin and Jiraiya, he recounted his childhood 'crossing worlds' experience once more.
If even Kakashi could know, then there was no reason to hide it from Jiraiya and Karin.
Besides, Naruto had never been too concerned about keeping it a secret.
What did it matter if others knew? Those who wanted to hunt him down would do so regardless.
For Karin, this was the first time she had heard about Naruto's incredible past.
Jiraiya, on the other hand, was even more astonished.
Given his strength and experience, he had heard plenty of the Ninja World's secrets… even from the toads of Mount Myōboku.
The concept of 'other dimensions' was not unfamiliar to him.
But those were minor, attached spaces, like Mount Myoboku or Ryuchi Cave, which are essentially small pocket realms connected to the Ninja World.
As for a completely different, fully independent world like the one Naruto described… That was something Jiraiya had never heard of before.
Once the two had digested the information, Naruto finally made his request.
"Originally, I planned to go to Uzushiogakure first, then visit that other world to find ways for Karin to quickly gain the power to protect herself."
"But since we've run into you, I was thinking…"
Before Naruto could finish, Jiraiya immediately shook his head.
"No, no, I have no experience taking care of little girls…"
Karin, standing to the side, looked conflicted. She clearly wasn't thrilled about being left alone with the pervert who had been peeping on women's baths earlier.
Even with Naruto's repeated assurances that Jiraiya was trustworthy, she still wasn't convinced.
Naruto was about to press further when suddenly, his expression changed. In an instant, he drew the Kusanagi Sword from his waist.
Jiraiya was stunned.
'Wait, we're just talking… there's no need to pull out a sword over a disagreement, right?'
Naruto had never seemed this violent before.
But Naruto wasn't drawing his sword to attack anyone.
Instead, he flipped the sword upside down, gripping the hilt, and plucked the jewel embedded in its hilt.
As the other two in the room watched in confusion, the emerald-green gem began to wriggle… as if alive.
Then, an extremely slender snake slithered out from within.
Turns out, the 'jewel' had actually been a strangely shaped snake egg.
Jiraiya also recognized the sword at this moment, 'Isn't that the Kusanagi Sword carried by Orochimaru?'
Naruto immediately pinched the snake's neck, ready to crush it.
"Wait a moment, Naruto-kun."
The little snake stared at Naruto with its cold eyes and opened its mouth, from which came Orochimaru's sinister voice.
"Perhaps we can make a deal."
"Not interested."
Naruto's response was blunt. His opinion of Orochimaru could be summed up in one word:
Schemer.
This guy always thought ten steps ahead. The moment Naruto agreed to anything, he'd probably already be walking into a trap.
He had no idea how much this snake had overheard while hidden in the Kusanagi Sword.
If it hadn't suddenly 'activated', even Naruto's heightened senses might have missed this living eavesdropping device.
Clearly, Orochimaru had prepared this the moment he left the sword with Naruto.
"What if I told you I could revive your parents?"
"No thanks."
Naruto also remembered the Impure World Reincarnation that the other party had once used.
However, in his opinion, that was nothing more than a desecration of the dead.
Just as Naruto was about to finish off the snake, Orochimaru hastily threw out another lure.
"Wait! Don't you want to know who really killed your parents?"
This time, Naruto's hands stopped.