"Hmmm. Quite average defenses." Jiraiya commented while looking around, while Ren started to unlock the front door leading to his apartment.
Hearing him, Ren inwardly rolled his eyes at the jab at his seal expertise. "Maybe. But don't try to meddle with them. They are rigged to go off if somebody messes with the setup." He casually admitted, causing Jiraiya's eye to twitch as he took a cautious step back from where he had seen a small, concealed seal on the wall.
Average defenses or not, some of them were still quite deadly, and his curiosity was not enough to risk setting them off on top of him.
Seeing Jiraiya's reaction, Ren chuckled and opened the door.
Honestly, he had already dismantled the better defenses, leaving only very old, barebones defenses, ones still written in Kanji, which showed just how long ago he inscribed them. They were practically from the time when he was still somewhat of a novice.
But they were enough. With his space-time seals, he only needed the seal defenses to prevent people from getting into his house while he slept. These old defenses were good enough to alert him of any intrusion and slow the intruders for a bit. From there, Ren could simply teleport away.
Keeping up better defenses was redundant with his current prowess. The maintenance time necessary for it was simply not worth it. Especially when he didn't even live in this apartment anymore.
Ren and Jiraiya came in, and Ren led him to the living room where Naruto and Karin sat on the floor around a small table full of basic scrolls on sealing from Ren's library.
Ren didn't really need a library. He usually had all his important scrolls sealed on his person. But when Hiruzen did not give Naruto his Uzumaki inheritance even after he became a genin and was already sixteen, Ren decided to build this small library on the basics in his apartment and give Karin access to it.
He had no doubt that through her, a lot of that knowledge would end up with Naruto. It was one of the indirect ways Ren was helping the Ninja Jesus do his Ninja Jesusing.
But even he was a bit surprised when Karin shamelessly asked for access to his library for Naruto this morning.
"Hello, kids." Ren announced himself, causing the two Uzumaki to raise their head from the scrolls.
Naruto instantly lit up. "Oh! You are back, Ren! Save me, please! Karin-chan is torturing me with studying!" He pitifully cried, only to stop in his tracks when he noticed the awkward Jiraiya standing in the door frame, not knowing what to say.
Naruto's eyebrows furrowed, and Karin, realizing who the old man was, started to glare at him.
Deciding to cut to the drama, Ren shrugged and pointed his thumb over his shoulder at Jiraiya. "That's Jiraiya. He wanted to meet you, Naruto."
"Jiraiya!?" Naruto jumped to his feet and looked at Jiraiya in bewilderment. Slowly, his eyes started to tear up.
"He knows he has a godfather." Ren quietly decided to elaborate to Jiraiya to make him understand Naruto's reaction.
Seeing the stricken teenager, Jiraiya stepped forward, tears also welling in his eyes at this tearful reunion.
"Oh... kid." He softly spoke with a wet sniff, and seeing that Naruto started walking toward him with a sorrowful expression, Jiraiya spread his arms in preparation for a hug.
He had no idea how much he had missed!
"I am sorr-"
Naruto's knee suddenly landed right on Jiraiya's jewels, causing his eyes to bulge as he let out a painful wheeze.
"Why?" Jiraiya gasped out, feeling betrayed, as he slowly started collapsing forward and fell on his knees, his hands grabbing his poor, hurt crotch.
"That was for the last sixteen years, you bastard!" Naruto stepped back and furiously screamed while indignantly pointing at Jiraiya. He then crossed his arms on his chest with a huff as he gave Jiraiya a heated but pointed glare.
Unfortunately, this Naruto didn't have a deep mentor/student relationship with Jiraiya when he found out about their connection. And to say he was pissed at being abandoned was understatement.
"Naruto," Karin said as she approached them, "that was rude." She threw him a disapproving frown, making Naruto finally deflate.
"But Karin-chan, didn't you tell me he deserves a good kick in the balls for leaving me alone all this time?" Naruto confusedly asked, making Karin speechless.
It took a few seconds, but Karin eventually stopped being shocked, and her cheeks flushed red from shame. Before she even realized it, her fist landed on Naruto's head, sending him to the ground, as she embarrassedly shouted, "Shut up! I didn't mean it that way!"
"Heh." Jiraiya, who was now sprawled on the floor next to Naruto, released a slightly pained chuckle. "She reminds me of your mother, kid."
Naruto groaned a bit before he glanced at Jiraiya. "Really? How so?" He asked as they both started to stand up, unable to mask his curiosity.
Neither of them was really injured. Naruto was a jinchuuriki, and Jiraiya was an S-rank ninja who survived Tsunade. Even that kick to the balls was just your usual Monday for Jiraiya. Ren had seen that the old man noticed the attack and didn't dodge, letting Naruto hit him to vent his frustration a bit.
In this world of ninja, Jiraiya was the only one with balls of steel!
After all the abuse they regularly go through via various beatings that Jiraiya lets himself be subjected to, Ren wouldn't be surprised if Jiraiya's balls were harder than Onoki's meteor-stopping head by now.
"Yes. She is just as violent as Kushina was." Jiraiya said in a reminiscent tone, and Naruto seriously nodded, absorbed in this new tidbit about his mother.
Unfortunately, both of them forgot that Karin stood next to them.
"I am not violent!" Karin exclaimed, nailing both of them to the head and sending them back, face-first onto the floor, just as Ren seated himself on the sofa while creating a clone to go and make him a cup of hot chocolate.
"Then why are you hitting us again!?" Jiraiya vehemently complained after he rolled over on his back while Naruto started wailing.
"Aaaaah! Karin-chan! You hit me on the head! It hurts!" He exaggeratedly grabbed his head, and Ren almost rolled his eyes at his acting.
It knocked Karin out of her Uzumaki temper, and realizing what she had done, the girl's eyes widened in concern before she quickly kneeled next to Naruto. "I am sorry! Are you alright!? Let me help!" Her hands glowed soft green as she worriedly pressed them against Naruto's head.
"What about my balls?" Jiraiya quietly mumbled under his nose, and fortunately for him, Karin was far too preoccupied to pay his words any attention, but Ren's lips twitched.
"I can feel myself growing dumber! It's your fault! I can't study anymore seals today! We gotta stop our study session!" Naruto tried to sound sullenly aggravated, but he misjudged his tone as it was full of hope that Karin would buy that excuse.
He was like a little kid trying to get out of doing his homework.
Karin's eyebrow twitched, but she didn't have another angry outburst. Instead, she gave Naruto an unamused look that made him cringe as he realized his proposal was silently rejected.
Dejected, Naruto hung his head low.
Watching their antics, Ren couldn't help but smile. He'd never want to be in a relationship with an Uzumaki woman. He could appreciate their beauty, preferably from very far away, but after witnessing how high-maintenance they could be?
Nah. Dodge him with that bullet. Naruto could deal with it. Ren didn't think he had enough EQ to survive such a relationship.