"Anyway, go get some rest for now."
Yakushi Nonō patted Feng Bai's little head, not expecting him to truly understand her words, and signaled that he could get up.
Having enjoyed the lap pillow, Feng Bai reluctantly sat up, shot a petulant glance at Shimura Ikku who remained standing motionless in place, and walked toward his room with a pout.
Stripping off his shirt that had been whipped into tattered rags, Feng Bai gritted his teeth against the pain covering his body and changed into fresh clothes.
Meanwhile, Nonō paid no heed to Ikku's presence beside her, openly sending Danzo her daily intelligence report on Feng Bai right in front of him.
"Is that communication for Lord Danzo?"
Ikku observed Nonō's actions and inquired with his usual composed expression.
"That's correct."
Facing Ikku, Nonō didn't display the same pleasant demeanor she showed Feng Bai. She met his gaze with a much colder expression, making no effort to conceal her disdain.
"..."
Ikku said nothing more, instead observing the lamp fixtures inside through the floor-to-ceiling windows, nodding thoughtfully.
...
Time flew by, and a month had passed.
"Hehehe, cough, the bathhouse business is as thriving as ever today."
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen leered at the crystal ball before him, which displayed Konoha's largest and most popular bathhouse—specifically, the women's section.
Just as Hiruzen, focused on admiring the scenery, was about to zoom in for a closer look, sudden footsteps from outside interrupted his activities.
He hastily grabbed the red cloth he'd prepared and covered the crystal ball. Before Hiruzen could take further action, a white-haired man had already forcefully pushed open the office door.
"Yo, old man, what are you up to?"
The man strode boldly up to Hiruzen, curiously glanced at the red cloth on the desk, and thoughtfully stroked his chin.
"Jiraiya, didn't I teach you as your teacher that you should knock before entering?"
Hiruzen looked somewhat indignantly at his unreliable disciple. If his hearing hadn't been sharp enough, his lifelong reputation would have been ruined in an instant!
Seeing Hiruzen's slightly flushed cheeks and the obviously spherical outline beneath the red cloth, Jiraiya quickly deduced what Hiruzen had just been doing.
"Hehehe, old man, you weren't just..." Knowing full well what kind of person his master was, Jiraiya approached with a mischievous grin.
"Cough, calling me 'old man' repeatedly—you should at least address me as Third Hokage!" Whether it was dissatisfaction with Jiraiya's attitude or embarrassment at being caught, Hiruzen's tone was unusually irritated.
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry. Seeing my teacher after so long got me a bit excited." Jiraiya laughed heartily, then returned to stand before Hiruzen.
His expression grew serious as Jiraiya became more formal: "So, what exactly happened that made you contact me through Minato?"
"Hmph, if my ANBU could find you, I wouldn't have needed to go through Minato..." Seeing Jiraiya get serious, Hiruzen snorted coldly, pulled out his pipe to hold between his teeth, and used the pretense of searching for documents to stash the crystal ball aside.
Drawing the desired file from a stack of documents, Hiruzen handed it to Jiraiya after lighting his pipe: "Take a look—this is Danzo's recent report."
"Danzo, huh?"
Hearing that name, Jiraiya frowned, his mind conjuring the image of that man whose eyes were always filled with ambition.
As Hiruzen's direct disciple, Jiraiya naturally understood what kind of role Danzo played within Konoha Village.
Taking the file from Hiruzen, Jiraiya skimmed through it, finding records of recent attacks and losses suffered by Konoha's borders and surrounding villages.
"How many years has this peace lasted, and these guys already can't contain themselves?"
Slamming the file shut, Jiraiya sighed while understanding Hiruzen's reason for recalling him.
This was precisely why he'd been traveling throughout the ninja world according to the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, searching for the legendary Child of Prophecy.
"There's no helping it—this is a ninja's fate. If possible, I too would want the ninja world to remain peaceful forever. Not just me, even the First and Second Hokage..."
Gazing at the portraits of his two predecessors on the wall, Hiruzen spoke wistfully.
"Speaking of which, this location in the file really caught my attention, old man." Jiraiya followed his teacher's gaze to the photographs of the previous Hokage: "Especially Special Jōnin Sakumo Hatake—what's that about?"
"Minato didn't tell you? That's right, this matter has already been forgotten by the villagers." Hearing Jiraiya ask about Sakumo, Hiruzen clasped his hands behind his back, confirmed that nothing would protrude awkwardly when he stood, then rose and walked to the window: "Having been away from the village for so long, you probably don't know about the things that have happened here..."
Under Hiruzen's narration, Jiraiya's expression gradually shifted from initial gravity to surprise, and finally to complete bewilderment.
"You're not joking, old man—that Danzo, that Danzo actually has a son?!"
Jiraiya's voice was so loud it even startled the ANBU, who curiously poked their heads out from the shadows.
"What, is Danzo having a son such a difficult thing for you to accept?" Glancing sideways at his disciple, Hiruzen's tone carried a hint of teasing.
He naturally knew why Jiraiya was so shocked—after all, his disciple was still single.
[This doesn't make sense. In terms of appearance and strength, I'm not inferior to that guy. Why does he already have a son while Tsunade keeps rejecting my confessions?]
Hearing this news, Jiraiya fell into deep self-doubt.
"In any case, don't leave the village during this period. Minato has already been promoted to Jōnin, so I'm planning to assign you and him to the same squad with you as captain. We'll select two more members with Jōnin-level strength to execute some high-difficulty missions—consider it training for you as a teacher."
Without giving Jiraiya sufficient time to process this, Hiruzen turned around and announced his appointment with a serious expression.
"Your disciple is excellent—his talent is rare even throughout all of Konoha. Only someone like him could become a jinchūriki's husband." Hiruzen held Minato in high regard: "And you, as his teacher, constantly running around instead of properly guiding him—what kind of behavior is that?"
"Is that so? Promoted to Jōnin already? That kid didn't even tell me." Hearing the appointment, Jiraiya didn't refuse but quickly adjusted his mindset and accepted the assignment.
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