Chapter 61 (Patreon)

“Jiraiya, you cause trouble the moment you return to the village. Can’t you be more careful? With your skills, how do you keep getting caught?”

“That was an accident.” Jiraiya waved the matter aside before asking, “I heard Kushina went to the front lines, drove back Kumogakure’s forces, and even captured one of their jinchūriki as a hostage. Old man, why did you allow her to take such a risk? If something had happened to her, how would you have faced Minato?”

“You have the nerve to ask me that?” Hiruzen snapped. “You refused to return, so I had to send every capable shinobi we could spare. What else was I supposed to do? Besides, Kushina was the one who volunteered to go to the front lines.”

“I couldn’t return at the time. With Shikaku commanding the battlefield and the Uchiha Clan deployed alongside him, they should have been able to hold Kumogakure back until I arrived, shouldn’t they?”

“There’s no point arguing about what has already happened. Now that you’re back, don’t leave again. I’ll write to the Land of Fire’s daimyō and recommend you as the Fifth Hokage. Once that is settled—”

“Stop right there,” Jiraiya interrupted. “Anyone who wants the position can have it. I still haven’t found the Child of Prophecy foretold by the Great Toad Sage. On top of that, Orochimaru actually defected. I need to track that bastard down and demand an explanation. I already have more than enough to do.”

After saying that, Jiraiya casually picked up the teacup sitting in front of Hiruzen, took a satisfied sip, and continued, “Once I’ve visited Kushina and Naruto, I’ll be leaving again.”

“That damned Child of Prophecy again!” Hiruzen’s expression darkened. “If you had been in the village that night, Minato might not have needed to sacrifice himself. You refuse to cherish the people standing right in front of you, yet you place all your hopes in some distant, uncertain prophecy. Even if you eventually find this child, what good will it do if the village is already gone by then?”

Hiruzen’s words left Jiraiya silent.

If he, Minato’s teacher, had been present when Kushina went into labor, perhaps that tragedy could have been prevented.

No matter how powerful the Nine-Tails was, without a jinchūriki to properly wield its strength, it could do little more than rampage like a beast relying entirely on brute force.

However, the tragedy had already occurred. Bringing it up again would not change what had happened.

“I trust you to protect the village, old man. If I fail to find the Child of Prophecy, Konoha won’t be the only thing destroyed. The entire shinobi world will be doomed.”

Remembering the future foretold by the Great Toad Sage, Jiraiya felt as though time was already running out.

Seeing that he remained as stubborn as ever, Hiruzen cursed in frustration, “Get out! I don’t want to see your face anymore!”

Jiraiya was completely unfazed by the outburst. Just before stepping through the door, he suddenly remembered something and said without looking back, “You’ll also need to pay for the roof of the hot spring inn.”

Hiruzen, who was already seething with anger, nearly fainted when he heard that shameless request.

He had no idea what he had done to deserve such troublesome disciples. Each of the three students he had taken under his wing had caused him more trouble than the last.

When it came to choosing students, Minato had fared much better.

Although only one of his three students remained, the other two had died as heroes who sacrificed themselves for the village. The sole survivor, Kakashi Hatake, had also become one of Konoha’s pillars.

In Hiruzen’s mind, no Hokage had ever done a better job of training students than Minato.

Fortunately, Roy, who knew the truth behind everything, could not hear Hiruzen’s thoughts. Otherwise, he might have laughed until he collapsed.

Had Minato never accepted those three students, Konoha might have been spared a great deal of trouble, and Minato himself might not have died so young.

After leaving the Hokage Building, Jiraiya quickly made his way to Minato’s house, only to discover that no one was home.

Left with no other choice, he returned to the Hokage’s office and learned that Kushina had moved into the Senju Clan Compound.

Since arriving in the shinobi world, this was the first time Roy had seen Jiraiya in person. His appearance was almost exactly as Roy remembered.

Waist-length white hair framed his face, and a forehead protector bearing the kanji for “oil” rested above his brow. He wore a sleeveless red haori over his green shinobi attire, with an enormous scroll strapped across his back and his usual carefree expression on his face.

Only when he saw Kushina did that expression soften slightly.

However, when Kaorui, Nonō Yakushi, and Yugito Nii appeared together, he immediately lost any trace of seriousness.

Kushina knew Jiraiya’s personality far too well to be surprised. She had long since grown accustomed to his behavior, so she resisted the urge to throw him out.

“When did you return, Jiraiya-sensei? How long will you be staying in the village this time?”

Jiraiya took a sip of the hot tea Kaorui had brought him before placing the cup back on the table.

“I just returned. The old man originally summoned me back so I could head to the front lines, but the war has already ended. I still need to track down Orochimaru and settle matters with him, and then I’ll continue searching for the Child of Prophecy.”

Kushina had heard him mention the Child of Prophecy many times before, so she paid little attention to it.

Roy, who was standing behind her, immediately turned his gaze toward Naruto in Kushina’s arms.

Wasn’t the Child of Prophecy right here?

Of course, Roy was the only person in the room who knew how the future was supposed to unfold.

For a moment, he considered having Kushina tell Jiraiya that Naruto was the person he had been searching for.

Compared to the original future, the only significant differences were that Naruto’s mother was still alive and that the half of the Nine-Tails sealed inside him was the Yin half rather than the Yang half.

Therefore, Naruto should still be capable of reaching the same heights he had in the original future.

If Jiraiya, a shinobi with such formidable strength, could be persuaded to remain in the village, he would become a valuable ally in Roy’s future plans.

However, after giving it further thought, Roy realized that convincing Jiraiya to stay would not be easy.

Jiraiya had spent years wandering the shinobi world. Even if he believed Naruto was the Child of Prophecy, he would probably still leave to pursue Orochimaru or travel in search of material for his novels.

Konoha currently held no bond strong enough to keep him there.

Perhaps if Tsunade returned as well, she might be able to keep the white-haired wanderer from leaving.

In the end, Roy decided not to have Kushina reveal anything.

Naruto was still an infant. It would not be too late to tell Jiraiya after Naruto graduated from the Academy.

However, since Jiraiya was already there, Roy certainly could not allow him to leave without accomplishing something useful.

Roy had already planned for Kushina to learn senjutsu. To train in senjutsu, one normally needed to enter a Sage Region where natural energy was abundant, and permission from that Sage Region was also required.

Among Konoha’s current shinobi, Jiraiya was the only one with a connection to Mount Myōboku, one of the Three Great Sage Regions.

Whether it involved signing the toads’ summoning contract or obtaining permission to train at Mount Myōboku, neither could be accomplished without Jiraiya’s help.

Therefore, just as Jiraiya was preparing to say farewell, Roy quietly spoke to Kushina, who repeated his request aloud.

“You want to learn senjutsu?”

Jiraiya stared at Kushina in surprise, unable to understand why she had suddenly decided to pursue Sage training.

“Is that not possible, Jiraiya-sensei?”

“It isn’t impossible, but Kushina, you need to understand that learning senjutsu is extremely dangerous, and mastering it is even more difficult. Even when I brought Minato to Mount Myōboku, he didn’t have enough time to remain there and fully master it. You can already control the Nine-Tails’ power, so is there really any need for you to learn senjutsu as well?”

“It’s precisely because I’ve begun mastering the power of the Tailed Beast that I need to learn senjutsu even more.”

Kushina then explained the reasoning Roy had given her.

“To become a perfect jinchūriki, I need to strengthen my body as much as possible. Senjutsu can help me accomplish exactly that.”

“When you put it that way, I suppose it does make sense.”

Persuaded by her explanation, Jiraiya removed the enormous scroll from his back and unfurled it in front of her.

“First, you’ll need to sign the toads’ summoning contract. After that, I’ll speak with Lord Fukasaku and ask him to allow you to train at Mount Myōboku.”

Jiraiya left Konoha after remaining in the village for less than a day, his departure every bit as hurried as his arrival.