After a bout of chaos and commotion, the Toad Sage from Mount Myōboku still managed to escape successfully.
Meanwhile, Naruto and Karin had long since slipped away from the crowd and finished washing up at another bathhouse.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing here, kid?"
Just as the two had finished bathing and sat down at a hot spring specialty barbecue restaurant, Jiraiya's figure emerged from some unknown corner.
Seeing this scene, Karin instinctively wanted to use the Adamantine Sealing Chains she had just mastered against this pervert.
Fortunately, Naruto stopped her in time.
After all, even for the Uzumaki clan, frequent use of Adamantine Sealing Chains would cause some physical burden.
Not to mention Karin's body was still in recovery.
"Don't be nervous, Karin. He's one of us."
After reassuring her, Naruto turned to face Jiraiya, who had already sat down and picked up chopsticks.
"Jiraiya-sensei, how did you end up here?"
"Research, research..."
Jiraiya waved his hand dismissively and put a piece of freshly grilled meat in his mouth before questioning Naruto in return.
"But what about you? How did you end up bringing a little girl to the Land of Hot Water... hmm?"
Originally, Jiraiya had been nudging Naruto's shoulder with his elbow in an improper manner, but when he saw Karin's fiery red hair, doubt immediately arose in his heart.
"I'm on a mission. I'm not like certain people who would sneak out secretly."
Naruto simply pulled out the mission commission issued by Konoha and waved it in front of Jiraiya.
But Jiraiya didn't continue asking about the mission content. Instead, he focused all his attention on Karin.
His intense stare made Karin feel uncomfortable.
"She really looks like her... the same hair color as Kushina."
Hearing Jiraiya's murmur, Naruto also looked at Karin across the table.
After pondering for a moment, he told Jiraiya about her origins and identity.
"We originally planned to return to Uzushiogakure first to see if there were any clues about other survivors there, but we got lost and ended up here."
Jiraiya immediately waved his hand and said: "There's nothing left there, just ruins."
"We still need to make the journey, at least once, to see our true homeland."
The topic became somewhat heavy at this point. Even Karin sensed this and pressed her lips together without speaking.
"That's fine too."
Jiraiya couldn't say anything to dissuade them. You couldn't exactly tell people they were wrong for seeking their roots and homeland.
"But you should be careful lately. I've heard rumors that someone has put a bounty on you."
Suddenly, Jiraiya seemed to remember something and spoke mysteriously in a low voice.
Having witnessed Naruto's strength firsthand, he wasn't very worried about Naruto's safety.
Jiraiya understood that even if he couldn't win, as long as Naruto wanted to escape, probably no one in the entire ninja world could stop him.
But as he spoke, his eyes gently gestured toward Karin across from them, the meaning clear.
You can run, but what about this little girl?
Naruto understood Jiraiya's meaning and suddenly spoke up.
"Speaking of which, there's something I'd like to ask of you."
"What is it?"
Naruto chose not to speak directly in the restaurant. Instead, after finishing their meal and having Jiraiya painfully pay the bill, he brought him back to their lodging inn.
Here, there weren't many outsiders present.
"Actually, you must have been curious about how I acquired all this strength, right?"
After saying this, Jiraiya's expression changed.
He was naturally puzzled, but out of trust in Naruto, he hadn't asked.
Naruto didn't beat around the bush. In front of Karin and Jiraiya, he once again recounted his childhood "time travel" experience.
Even Kakashi could know about it, so there was no reason to hide it from Jiraiya and Karin.
Besides, Naruto didn't really care about this secret anyway.
So what if others knew? So what if they didn't? Those who would hunt him would still hunt him regardless.
This was also Karin's first time learning that Naruto-san had such a miraculous experience.
Jiraiya was even more surprised.
With his strength, he had naturally heard quite a few secrets of the ninja world from the toads of Mount Myōboku.
He had naturally heard of "alternate dimensions" before.
But those were all "mini" attached spaces like Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave.
Essentially, they were more like small secret realms attached to the ninja world.
A completely different, complete world like what Naruto described was unheard of to Jiraiya.
After the two had digested this information, Naruto finally stated his request.
"Originally, I wanted to wait until after Uzushiogakure to go to that world and find some means for Karin to quickly gain self-protection abilities."
"But since we've run into you, how about..."
Before Naruto could finish, Jiraiya immediately shook his head.
"No, no, I have no experience taking care of little girls..."
Karin hesitated to speak on the side, looking like she didn't want to spend time with this strange uncle who had been peeping at the women's bathhouse from rooftops earlier.
Even though Naruto repeatedly assured her that Jiraiya-sensei's character was trustworthy, she still couldn't quite accept it.
Naruto was about to continue speaking when his expression suddenly changed, and he instantly drew the Kusanagi Sword from his waist.
Jiraiya was stunned.
There's no need to draw a sword over a disagreement, right?
Naruto hadn't shown such ferocity before.
But Naruto's sword wasn't drawn to attack anyone.
Instead, he held the hilt in reverse and reached out to remove the magatama embedded in the Kusanagi Sword's guard.
Just as the other two in the room looked confused, the green jewel suddenly began writhing as if it had life.
Then, an extremely small snake emerged from within.
That magatama had actually been a peculiarly shaped snake egg.
Jiraiya now recognized this sword. Wasn't this the Kusanagi Sword that his old friend Orochimaru always carried?
Naruto directly grabbed the small snake by its vital point, about to apply force.
"Wait a moment, Naruto-kun."
The small snake stared at Naruto with cold serpentine eyes, opened its mouth, and Orochimaru's sinister voice emerged from within.
"Perhaps we can make a trade."
"Not interested."
Naruto's answer was simple and direct. His evaluation of Orochimaru could be summed up in one word: Schemer.
Such people loved to think three steps ahead with every move. The moment he agreed to the opponent's terms, he might already have fallen into a trap.
He didn't know how much this little snake had heard while in the Kusanagi Sword.
If it hadn't actively "activated" just now, even with Naruto's perception, he would have overlooked this living wiretap.
It seemed the opponent had been prepared ever since leaving the sword with him.
"What if I said I could resurrect your parents?"
"No need."
Naruto recalled the Reanimation Jutsu the opponent had used before.
However, such behavior was nothing more than pure desecration of the dead in his view.
Seeing Naruto about to strike the snake again, Orochimaru hurriedly threw out another lure.
"Wait! Don't you want to know who actually killed your parents with their own hands?"
This time, Naruto's hand stopped.