"Okay, what's the plan? Konan's actually serious about this." Inside the Spirit Pearl, Kushina let out a long sigh. "Rina already handed in her self-criticism essay."
"I told you not to mess around in the office," Mikoto shot back, exasperated. "But you never listen."
"How was I supposed to know she'd go full law-and-order on us?!" Kushina retorted, scrunching up her face. "She's really not cutting us any slack!"
"She's an advisor to the Security Division, Kushina. That's literally her job," Mikoto reminded her, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You don't commit a crime right in front of a cop and expect a free pass."
"Well, you're wanted now, too."
"Thanks to you!"
"Hey, you seemed pretty into shredding that outfit earlier! Don't put this all on me now."
"Only because you were being a terrible influence, you weirdo!"
"Tch. Keep talking and I'll drag you down to the station with me. A couple nights in a cell would shut you right up."
"Fine by me. We can be cellmates."
The two of them bickered back and forth, neither willing to back down. Meanwhile, Yuto finished writing his own self-criticism essay with a calm expression and handed it to Rina.
"Could you please give this to Sister Konan for me?"
"But, Lord Yuto, this really wasn't your fault…" Rina said, looking genuinely guilty.
"I didn't stop them. In fact, I was enjoying the show. That makes me an accomplice," Yuto said with a light chuckle. "Oh, and could you take care of Black Zetsu's paperwork? Get him enrolled in Naruto's class."
Rina's eyes went wide. "Wait, you were serious about that 'ancestor enrollment' thing?!"
Yuto didn't elaborate, just gave a simple nod.
Rina sucked in a sharp breath, her face full of stunned admiration. "As expected of you, Lord Yuto."
"It was… really more of a coincidence," Yuto replied, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. His usual Aizen like composure tended to slip a little around his own people.
Rina just winked. "No explanation needed. I totally get it." With that, she turned and headed out of the office.
"See? She gets it," Kushina said, her voice bubbling with mischief from within the spirit pearl.
"Big sis, maybe we should just… avoid playing those games in the office from now on," Yuto sighed.
"So it's fine if we do it at home?" Kushina's tone instantly perked up.
"You're impossible…" Mikoto groaned.
"At home… we'll see. If it's too out there, you'll need to run it by me first," Yuto muttered.
"Run it by you? Where's the fun in that?" Kushina pouted. "Anyway, when are you planning to bring that Shizune girl over? Tsunade's been moping around lately."
"When the time is right," Yuto said softly.
"Ooh, so you're waiting for a big, dramatic moment?" Kushina's grin was audible. "Nice. Let's give the Allied Shinobi Forces a show they'll never forget."
"Hm… looks like we have an interesting visitor," Yuto remarked, his eyes shifting to the monitor on the wall.
The screen showed a man with distinct, spiky silver-gray hair walking through the streets of the Land of Waves.
"Jiraiya-sensei?" Kushina's voice was tinged with a complicated mix of emotions.
"Is he… reading a manga? And—wait a second—is that Magical Girl Uchiha Madara?" Mikoto blinked, then slowly turned her gaze toward her best friend.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kushina frowned.
"Because it's your series! And he's a published author too. Doesn't that make him your… colleague?" Mikoto said, pausing on the last word.
"You've got to be kidding me…" Kushina's face fell, a flush of embarrassment creeping up her neck.
Out on the street, Jiraiya was indeed completely absorbed—though internally, he was equal parts impressed and bewildered.
'Magical Girl Uchiha Madara??'
'Why Madara, of all people? If they'd just given her a proper feminine name, this could have been a masterpiece!'
The art was delicate, the character emotions were on point, and the villains radiated serious menace… Just who was this mysterious creator "Shinana"? How had he never heard of them before?
With a deeply conflicted sigh, Jiraiya fished out 400 ryō and bought the volume.
The moment he stepped out of the bookstore, he froze.
'Wait… I'm here on a spy mission. What am I doing buying manga?!'
Clutching "Magical Girl Uchiha Madara," his expression grew more and more tangled. It was too late to return it, so he just shoved it into his backpack and kept walking.
'But seriously… this place has changed a lot.'
The last time he was here, the roads were little more than dirt paths for hauling carts. Now, paved highways stretched everywhere, and the houses lining the streets looked clean and well-built, they llooked genuinely comfortable to live in.
"All thanks to the Leader?"
That's all he'd been hearing. That defector from Konoha, Hayashi Yuto, was being hailed as the savior of the Land of Waves.
If the man really had single-handedly built this thriving nation from the backwater village it used to be, calling him a "savior" wasn't an exaggeration. Not at all.
But then… how could that same man be responsible for some of the darkest crimes against Konoha? What was the real story? And… was his late student's child still alive out here somewhere?
"I'm not going!"
A furious shout ripped Jiraiya from his thoughts. He turned to see a bizarre, pitch-black creature being forcefully dragged down the street by two uniformed guards.
"Let me go, you fools!" Black Zetsu shrieked, struggling uselessly.
"Stop resisting. This is the Leader's direct order."
"It's just school registration. Why are you making such a scene?"
"Do you imbeciles have any idea how old I am?! And you want me to sit in a classroom?! That bastard Hayashi Yuto has no shame—this is humiliating!"
The guards ignored his protests and kept marching him straight toward the Academy building.
"Huh? Isn't that Black Zetsu?"
A spiky-headed blond boy came into view, catching Jiraiya's attention.
"What's going on with him?" the boy asked.
"Looks like they're taking him to the Academy," his black-haired boy beside him replied coolly.
"The Academy? Don't tell me he's enrolling, too?"
"Idiot. Did you forget what the teacher said before class ended yesterday? 'Tomorrow we're getting a 'very special' new student'."
"Wait… you mean him?!"
"Obviously."
"Hey! You just called me an idiot again, stupid Sasuke!"
"If the name fits, Naruto."
"That's it! If we weren't in the middle of the street, I'd kick your butt right now!"
"Will you two knock it off?" a red-haired girl with glasses stepped between them, grabbing each by the collar. "When are you going to start acting mature, like the Leader?"
'Naruto?!'
Jiraiya's eyes locked onto the blond boy. His heart hammered in his chest, and before he even realized it, his feet were moving, following them down the street.
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