Konoha, underground prison.
Footsteps echoed above on the spiral staircase, flames sparking to life one after another.
Inside the cell, Danzo raised his head, catching sight of the old friend who had come to pull him out.
"You finally came, Hiruzen!"
Clutching the prison bars with both arms, Danzo's voice carried a trace of desperation.
"You actually restarted Shodaime-sama's cell research experiment in secret! And even went so far as to transplant them into yourself?"
A freshly ink-stained report was flung into the cell, its white pages scattering through the air.
Danzo didn't even glance at it. After all, until things were put on the scales, it wasn't really a problem.
And besides, he believed Hiruzen understood that everything he did was for Konoha!
'Monkey, you should know me better than this.'
"Shut down all the research immediately. And what else are you hiding from me?"
Hearing his old friend's stern voice, Danzo froze for a moment before answering in a low tone:
"Which matter are you referring to?"
Silence spread inside the cell.
Hiruzen: "…"
With trembling hands, the old man pulled a pipe from his robe, lighting the bitter tobacco.
After several deep drags, he finally managed to steady his lungs that felt like they were about to burst.
"All of it!"
Danzo's lips pressed shut. While he appeared calm on the surface, the bandages on his back were already soaked with cold sweat.
How could he ever tell Hiruzen about some of the filth he'd done? He couldn't, there was no way to open his mouth!
So at this moment, Danzo's brain was working at high speed.
'Think, damn it! Think of something to throw him off!'
'That pink-haired brat…!'
"Cough, Hiruzen, there's something I must report to you!"
Casting aside his usual cold facade without hesitation, Danzo eagerly raised his hand like a tattling child.
"Haruno Sakura, that girl, she knows about my trump card. Her intelligence sources are… irregular! She must have stolen village's secrets! Hiruzen, little monsters like her should be left to me..."
He'd have been better off not mentioning it at all. At the sound of it, Hiruzen's anger only deepened, his dark gaze cutting across Danzo like a blade.
"You think I don't know who was responsible for that child Shisui's death?"
The suicide note, the remains, even the eye Shisui entrusted to Itachi… all of it had been cleaned up by Hiruzen for Danzo's sake!
Not to mention, as Itachi's junior and a direct witness to the Uchiha Incident, how could Sakura not have been warned about the danger coming from Danzo?
"Enough. That child has already been entrusted to Jiraiya. You'd better not even think of laying a hand on her again!"
With a sharp clang, Hiruzen tapped his pipe against the iron bars. In an instant, the metal lattice melted, leaving a gaping hole.
"You and Root will stay put in the village for now. If anything happens again, you'll answer to me… and me alone!"
Leaving yet another heavy warning, who knows how many times now, Hiruzen turned and walked away without looking back.
Danzo remained behind, staring at the Hokage Robe, a sigh escaping his lips, tinged with both longing and ambition.
....
Elsewhere, having refused Jiraiya's offer, Sakura returned home.
The moment she stepped inside, she was greeted by a tuft of white hair and an old face grinning ear to ear.
'Damn it… filth had followed me all the way home!'
"Ara, Sakura, really now. If Jiraiya-sama was coming to visit, you should have told us earlier!"
From the kitchen, Mebuki emerged, carrying hot tea and snacks. She chided Sakura lightly before setting the tray down before Jiraiya, warmly urging him to taste.
"No, madam, it was rude of me to intrude unannounced."
Jiraiya's expression sharpened into one of gallant poise. Taking Mebuki's hand, he bent down to press a courtly kiss upon it.
"Oi, Dad, your wife's about to be swept away right in front of you!"
Expressionless, Sakura tugged at Kizashi, who stood stiffly at her side.
"Don't talk nonsense. This is one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin! He's our village's pride!"
Kizashi's eyes glittered with reverence, and a vividly illustrated book was held in his hand. He's clearly hoping for an autograph...
What she had thought might be salvation turned out to be just another victim. Sakura clutched her forehead in despair.
'Hopeless. These two were too blinded by their fan filters.'
Not that they could be blamed. Back in Year 37 of Konoha Calendar, when the Second Hokage had fallen in battle, the entire Land of Fire had been battered by the combined pressure of the other four great nations, teetering on the brink.
In that era, it was the Sannin's efforts that stabilized the frontlines and safeguarded the Land of Fire.
Their heroic image had sunk deep into the hearts of the young men and women of the village, and Kizashi and Mebuki were surely among them.
But for Sakura… how to put it? It felt like some washed-up idols from her parents' generation had suddenly shown up at her house to freeload.
"Sigh, whatever makes you happy."
Dinner was surprisingly sumptuous, but the bizarre atmosphere at the table had Sakura curling her toes tight against the wooden floor.
'Ugh, I wish I could just escape to the sea right now!'
[Notice: Achievement unlocked: The Woman for Whom Shimura Danzo Sat in Prison. Reward: 40 Achievement Points]
[Current Balance: 40. You can use the crossing function now, so do you want to activate it?]
'No, damn system, you just had to sniff me out, didn't you?!'
[Heh]
'Tch, you shady little-'
Bantering with the system's ever-improving voice helped Sakura endure the ordeal of dinner.
After finishing his meal at the Haruno Residence, Jiraiya bid farewell to Kizashi and Mebuki, vanishing into the night.
Sakura thought that would be the end of it, but as the no. 1 Ninja of surprises in his generation, Jiraiya never played by the rules.
In the days that followed, he popped up every day from the most bizarre of angles-
Shrubbery, back alleys, riverbanks, the Haruno Residence, the training grounds...
In short, this guy is like a lingering ghost that never went away, always, always watching her from the shadows.
"Oi, what the hell are you after, old man!"
In the southern training grounds, Sakura hefted her massive ice sword onto her shoulder, her Boil Release already heating her Chakra.
She just needed the right opening to end the white-haired nuisance with one decisive strike!
"As you said… greed, selfish desires. I want to take you as my disciple."
The man who had walked all his life along the path of prophecy, wandering crossroads of fate, smiled.
"Hah, so you'd even dare use my own tricks against me!"
"Well then, if you're greedy and I'm greedy, let's see today whose spirit burns brighter!"
Conqueror's Haki poured forth, black lightning roared through the air. Sakura raised her weapon in a batter's stance, battle-aura flaring around her.
"Wait, wait! I didn't come here to fight!"
Jiraiya sprawled on the ground in mock defeat, wearing the pitiful look of an old widower about to be bullied.
"Hmph!"
Sakura snorted, amused despite herself, planting her giant sword into the earth before sitting cross-legged.
"So you want to be my teacher? Then tell me… if I want to study Medical Ninjutsu, can you teach me?"
"Uh… well…"
Jiraiya darted his eyes aside, suddenly interested in everything but the question.
"Then let me ask you again. I've got a knack for Genjutsu… can you teach me to counter the Sharingan's Genjutsu?"
"Cough… about that…"
Jiraiya scratched at his head, at a loss for words.
"What I want, you can't give. So let me ask you… how exactly do you expect to be my teacher?"
Sakura shifted into a more relaxed posture, leaning comfortably against the giant sword.
"But I can teach you other things! Fire Release, Wind Release, Sealing Techniques, Summoning Technique… sigh."
Seeing Sakura still unmoved, Jiraiya let out a deep sigh.
A breath as light as a dream seemed to surround him, like the faint taste of ideals!
"Someone once told me a prophecy: my disciple would bring change to the world! And I believe you have that same potential!"
"Whether it's Medical Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, I can help you find the masters you need!"
"So please… come train under me. I want to witness your future!"
Is there anything more moving than a man naively sharing his naive ideals with complete sincerity?
Especially when he wasn't just naive, but someone who had lived his ideals to the end, and died for them.
'Jiraiya… this man truly deserved to be called a hero.'
Sakura pressed her lips together, her expression conflicted.
"All for the sake of a prophecy… is it really worth it?"
"Of course! This is my adventure!"
Sunlight poured down, filling his eyes with the brilliance of starlight.
Jiraiya smiled with such triumph, as if he could make this moment last forever.