Why did one of the Legendary Sannin—Jiraiya—end up falling into the hands of ordinary Konoha civilians the moment he returned to the village?
The truth has long since been buried in the river of history and can no longer be verified.
However, according to the testimony of a certain individual who claimed to have witnessed the entire incident—but firmly refused to reveal their identity—Jiraiya-sama had, at the time, willingly allowed himself to be beaten senseless by a group of scantily clad beauties…
As a result, for quite some time afterward, a rumor circulated among a small group of ill-intentioned people:
"Jiraiya-sama might actually be an M."
In reality, Jiraiya's return to Konoha was indeed for official business—and not just any business, but a matter of great importance, one that concerned the village's long-term stability and future.
Hagoromo's earlier guess was partially correct. The trigger for this matter was Tsunade's departure—but what followed was no longer directly about Tsunade herself.
Tsunade leaving Konoha dealt the Third Hokage a heavy blow.
Although he had tried to persuade her to stay, he ultimately failed.
His reluctance was not merely because of Tsunade's immense contribution during the war—truthfully, that reason came second. More importantly, Tsunade was his most cherished disciple. To the Third Hokage, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade were far more than just students.
After all, no matter how much ninjas were taught to suppress emotions, humans could never truly abandon them. Otherwise, how could the Third Hokage have once allowed Orochimaru—who had committed unforgivable crimes—to escape?
Tsunade's departure filled the Third Hokage with profound grief.
And when she bade him farewell, he felt an overwhelming premonition: this was not merely a goodbye—it was a final parting.
It was not sorrow.
It was great sorrow.
And indeed, from that day onward, the two never met again.
This incident triggered a chain of deeper thoughts within the Third Hokage. The helplessness he felt over losing his disciple gradually transformed into a psychological sense of powerlessness.
Then, suddenly, a thought surfaced:
Am I… old now?
Thinking it over, that did seem to be the case. He was already past fifty.
And so another realization followed—perhaps it was time to choose a successor.
After three Great Ninja Wars, he was still Konoha's pillar, but the village would eventually need a new Hokage—someone he could trust to carry it forward.
He had considered this before, but never had the thought been this strong.
And thus, he thought of Jiraiya.
In the Third Hokage's heart, Jiraiya was the primary candidate for the position of Fourth Hokage.
Among his three most prized disciples, Tsunade—granddaughter of both the First and Second Hokage—was, by lineage alone, perfectly suited to inherit the title. But now that she had left the village, she was no longer an option.
That left two.
Jiraiya, on matters of right and wrong, was reliable—but his personality was far too carefree.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, was gloomy and obsessively devoted to ninjutsu, with a clear tendency toward extremism.
Compared to him, Jiraiya was the better choice.
The Third Hokage believed that Jiraiya had truly inherited his will—what was known as the Will of Fire.
Of course, judging purely by personality, strength, achievements, and loyalty to the village, Minato Namikaze was even more suitable.
But in the Hokage's view, he himself was the first generation, Jiraiya and the others were the second, and Minato belonged to the third.
Minato would become Hokage eventually—but likely the Fifth, not the Fourth.
Though Minato was extraordinarily talented, highly accomplished in war, and immensely powerful, he was still too young to fully command authority—especially among senior advisors and elders.
Jiraiya, however, would not face such issues.
As for his flaws?
Those could be corrected.
…The Third Hokage clearly underestimated the situation.
After all, perversion wasn't a bad habit—it was something written directly into Jiraiya's DNA.
If that could be changed, then pigs would be climbing trees.
Naturally, Hagoromo knew nothing about these behind-the-scenes deliberations.
After performing a good deed for the day, he strolled leisurely toward Kushina's house in an excellent mood.
When he arrived and pushed the door open, he discovered that three people were already inside.
At that moment, he realized something was off.
Not only had Jiraiya returned from the front lines—Minato was back as well.
Was something major about to happen in Konoha?
The thought passed in an instant.
He didn't ask.
Hagoromo had no habit of prying into matters he wasn't meant to know. Speculating was fine—questioning was not.
At the moment, Jiraiya was sporting a swollen black eye, with several scratch marks across his face.
Kushina was treating his wounds.
Very roughly.
Hagoromo now understood something important:
Jiraiya had made a terrible life choice.
He had three options:
Treat his wounds himself.
Let his disciple Minato handle it.
Absolutely never let Uzumaki Kushina handle it.
One wrong step led to another.
Judging by his expression, it was hard to tell whether he was being healed… or being further injured.
Jiraiya's mood was foul.
Partly because he had been ambushed by an unknown bastard that evening.
Partly because Kushina's "treatment jutsu" was downright violent.
Treatment was probably the wrong word.
"Cooking" felt more accurate.
Even worse were the occasional interactions between Kushina and Minato.
Those casual, intimate exchanges were dealing devastating emotional damage to a man who had been single for thirty years—and was steadily advancing toward forty.
Did those two have any idea how much psychological trauma they were inflicting?
"Kushina-sensei. Minato-senpai," Hagoromo greeted.
"You're back, Hagoromo?" Kushina replied without turning around—she was busy with the final step of treatment.
Minato and Jiraiya both looked toward him.
At the same time, Kushina slapped a black, paste-like substance directly onto Jiraiya's face with a loud smack.
The sound alone hurt.
To be fair, Jiraiya's injuries weren't serious at all—just a few scratches from angry civilians.
But right now, he strongly suspected something had gone very wrong.
Kushina examined her work, nodded in satisfaction, and clapped her hands.
Treatment complete.
"Kushina-sensei, this uncle is…?" Hagoromo began, pretending not to recognize Jiraiya.
He didn't get to finish.
Jiraiya exploded to his feet.
Hagoromo realized—too late—that he had underestimated the situation.
He assumed Jiraiya hadn't seen his face earlier.
But voices, unfortunately, were memorable.
A miscalculation.
Doing good deeds still required caution.
Sometimes, karma struck back.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789