"Toad Boss!"
Naruto, soaking in the hot spring, suddenly shouted at Jiraiya—who was peeking into the women's bath—and asked discontentedly,
"Where exactly are we going?"
"Quiet, quiet!~"
Jiraiya turned his head, glared at Naruto in annoyance, and asked,
"How much money do you have left?"
"Not much left."
Naruto calculated his savings in his head, then said with a bitter expression, "It's probably only enough to cover today's lodging."
They had been away from Konoha for a week, and every day—aside from traveling—they would always check into a hot spring inn before nightfall. And every single time, Naruto paid.
Naruto's small wallet was almost empty.
"Is that so?"
When Jiraiya heard this, he smiled as if he had expected it. "In that case, I can find something for you to do tomorrow."
"What is it?" Naruto's eyes lit up immediately.
"Of course, something meaningful!"
Jiraiya replied righteously. Then, turning his gaze back to the gap in the women's bath, he added without looking back, "Once you're done soaking, go back and sleep well. Starting tomorrow, you won't have time to rest."
"Oh!~"
Naruto nodded, stood up, dried himself off, ignored Jiraiya—who was still peeking—and went straight back to sleep.
Naruto had already grown used to Jiraiya peeking into the women's bath whenever they stayed at a hot spring inn. After all, Jiraiya himself admitted he was a super pervert.
Still, Naruto found it completely incomprehensible why Jiraiya enjoyed doing this so much. He truly couldn't understand what was so appealing about the women's bath.
"Hm?"
As Naruto left, Jiraiya's expression suddenly turned serious. He abruptly turned around and looked into the bath behind him.
A small snake emerged from the water. Its human-like vertical pupils met Jiraiya's gaze for a brief moment before it spoke:
"Long time no see, Jiraiya."
"Orochimaru!"
Jiraiya stared at the small snake with a complex expression and said disdainfully,
"I didn't expect you wouldn't even dare to show your true body in front of me now. Are you really that afraid of me?"
"…"
A human-like look of exasperation appeared in the snake's eyes. "You're still as annoying as ever… If you want to see me, then follow me."
After speaking, the small snake swam out of the bath and quickly headed away from the inn.
Jiraiya hesitated for a moment, then followed.
He tracked the snake into a forest several kilometers away from the inn, where he finally saw that familiar figure.
"Long time no see, Jiraiya."
Orochimaru smiled as he repeated the same words. The small snake slithered back to his feet, the intelligence in its eyes fading as it looked around in confusion before disappearing into the grass.
"Orochimaru…"
Jiraiya stared at him for a moment, then said, "I didn't expect you to appear before me on your own. Are you plotting something again?"
"Hoh hoh hoh, what a hurtful attitude."
Orochimaru chuckled softly, then said directly,
"I'm here to warn you. The news of you leaving Konoha with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has spread, and an organization that's extremely interested in Tailed Beasts has already set its sights on you."
"An organization interested in Tailed Beasts?"
Jiraiya's expression immediately hardened.
"What organization? How do you know this? And why are you warning me?"
"Heh heh, you still can't keep your composure."
Orochimaru chuckled. "I can't tell you the name of the organization. I can only say that every one of its members is no weaker than me—some are even stronger. If they target you, even you would have a hard time. If you're careless, you might even die."
"As for how I know…" he smiled thinly. "It's because I've joined them."
"Orochimaru—"
Jiraiya's expression changed sharply, but Orochimaru interrupted him.
"That's enough for today."
He turned away. "They'll come for you soon. Don't die, Jiraiya."
With that, Orochimaru left.
Jiraiya watched his retreating back, fists clenched, his expression conflicted. In the end, he didn't pursue him. He only sighed and turned back toward the inn.
"Hm?"
As he neared the hotel, the sound of fighting reached his ears. Jiraiya's expression instantly changed, and he rushed forward.
He saw Naruto fighting a ninja wearing a beast mask.
Seeing that Naruto wasn't at a disadvantage, Jiraiya didn't reveal himself immediately. Instead, he hid and observed.
"That bastard Orochimaru deliberately led me away earlier, didn't he?" Jiraiya muttered grimly.
He had only been gone for a short time, yet Naruto had already been attacked. There was no way this was a coincidence.
This made Jiraiya begin to doubt Orochimaru's earlier warning.
The attacker's mask resembled that of Konoha's Anbu.
Who sent him? The Hokage? Or someone else?
Why send someone to attack Naruto?
The questions piled up, making Jiraiya's head ache.
"Ninjutsu: Super Beast Imitation Drawing!"
The masked ninja unrolled a scroll and rapidly sketched several animals. The ink creatures leapt from the scroll and charged at Naruto.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto immediately created hundreds of shadow clones. Rasengan spun wildly as the clones overwhelmed the ink beasts, then swarmed the masked ninja in an instant.
"Ninjutsu—A—!"
The masked ninja tried to form another technique, but his body suddenly froze. He violently spat out a mouthful of blood.
The sudden change caused Naruto's clones to halt.
"What's going on?"
Surrounded by clones, Naruto asked curiously, "Hey, who are you? Why did you attack me? And why did you suddenly spit blood?"
Naruto was certain he hadn't landed a hit.
Yet the man had coughed up blood.
More strangely, Naruto hadn't sensed any emotion from him before—but now, he clearly felt relief.
The situation left Naruto completely baffled.
For a moment, he didn't know what to do.
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