Hearing Jiro Kinoshita's words, Kakashi's expression didn't change, but his gaze slid to Tazuna beside him.
"This gentleman named Jiro was injured not long ago, so he's been recuperating at our home. He's helped us a lot," Tazuna's daughter said as she walked over.
"I see," Kakashi murmured, lids drooping.
Remembering the conversation he'd overheard upon waking, Kakashi glanced at his three students. Aside from Sasuke's caution, Naruto and Sakura seemed to have let their guard down around the man.
"You're a shinobi, aren't you?"
Kakashi's calm voice froze the room.
Sasuke, standing at Kakashi's side, blinked, then yanked a kunai from his pouch, fixing a wary stare on Jiro Kinoshita.
Naruto and Sakura, startled by Sasuke's reaction, also slipped into fighting stances.
With Kakashi unable to move, an enemy ninja attack would be dangerous.
"No need to tense up, shinobi from Konoha. If I meant you harm, I would have acted earlier," Jiro said with a gentle shake of his head.
Kakashi dipped his chin. He knew that much—otherwise he wouldn't have called the man out so directly.
Jiro kept his mild smile, though inwardly he knew Kakashi would never fully trust him.
Still, getting these three kids to trust him? That, he figured he could manage.
With that, Jiro pulled open his shirt, revealing the injuries marring his torso.
"This is…"
Sasuke's pupils tightened; shock crossed his face.
Naruto's eyes went wide as well, and Sakura clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a cry.
Jiro's body was covered in scars large and small—scorched burns from fire techniques and wounds left by other jutsu.
That he'd survived such trauma bordered on a miracle.
"If Miss Tsunami hadn't saved me, I'd be dead," Jiro said, buttoning up and glancing gratefully at Tazuna's daughter.
"No need to thank me. I was about to bury you when you woke up on your own. And your injuries aren't healed—if you push yourself and collapse again, I won't help," she replied flatly.
Jiro scratched his head, apologetic.
"Jiro-san, were you attacked by shinobi too?" Naruto asked, eyes full of curiosity.
"Naruto! Some questions you can't just ask," Sakura hissed, tugging his sleeve.
Jiro only smiled without answering. He needed their goodwill, but the play couldn't be overacted. If he said everything, he'd lose the mystery.
"Jiro-san, which village are you from?" Sasuke asked, curiosity in his gaze.
As he spoke, the others looked over too.
"Now? I suppose I'm a wandering shinobi," Jiro said with a light smile, tinged with faint sorrow.
"What's a wandering shinobi?" Naruto blinked.
"Idiot," Sasuke said, giving him a withering look.
"Bastard Sasuke! Who're you calling an idiot?!" Naruto jumped up, glaring.
"Enough, don't start," Kakashi sighed, palm to face.
"If you'd paid attention in the Academy… A wandering shinobi is a ninja who lost their village for some reason—or has no fixed village and travels from place to place," Sakura explained, yanking Naruto back while thinking: you really are an idiot.
Jiro chuckled softly and raked a hand through his hair. "I know you're here on a mission, but I still want to ask—besides that, do you have any other purpose for coming?"
Sasuke's mouth twitched. Being suspected like this?
And to ask them to their faces—who would admit anything even if they did have another aim?
A vein throbbed on Sakura's forehead. She looked from Jiro's mild smile to the vacant look on Naruto's face.
Why do these two both seem so dense?
"Don't worry, old man—we've got no other purpose. Oh, I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I'm gonna be Hokage one day!" Naruto thumped his chest, grinning.
"Uzumaki? That's a truly great surname."
At the word "Uzumaki," surprise flickered across Jiro's face, along with a faint, elusive sadness.
A great surname?
Sakura glanced at Naruto, puzzled; she'd never thought there was anything special about it.
Sasuke also looked at Naruto, curious. He'd assumed "Uzumaki" was a small clan name, but maybe it wasn't so simple.
Off to the side, Kakashi spared Jiro a small, measuring look, but said nothing.
"Old man! Do you know something?" Naruto's voice suddenly trembled with excitement, eyes shining like never before.
No one had ever told him what the name "Uzumaki" meant. He'd even thought it was just any old surname.
But now, someone had called it great. How could he not be stirred? Maybe he'd learn something about his parents.
Seeing Naruto's expression, Jiro feigned confusion. "No one told you?"
He lifted a finger and pointed to Kakashi's flak jacket.
"All your jonin and upper ranks in Konoha wear the Uzumaki clan crest. It symbolizes the friendship between the Uzumaki and Konoha."
"Back then, the clan head of the Land of Whirlpools—Uzushio Village, Uzumaki Ashina, signed a pact of friendship with Hashirama, the First Hokage. It's a famous chapter in shinobi history."
Jiro sighed as he finished.
Sasuke and Sakura traded looks. As Konoha shinobi, how had they never heard this?
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