On a scorching summer night, darkness settled in.
Rorin lay alone on an outdoor bench, trying to cool off. The heat these past days had been outrageous, leaving him quite frustrated.
The house he bought was unbearably stuffy at night. Unable to stay inside, Rorin had no choice but to come out and catch the evening breeze.
"Maybe I should learn some Wind Style ninjutsu. Otherwise, it's too hard to stay inside these days," Rorin muttered to himself.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya, who had just finished gathering "research material," happened to pass by. Seeing Rorin drenched in sweat, he smiled slightly and walked off for a moment.
When he returned, Jiraiya approached Rorin. Sensing someone nearby, Rorin slowly opened his eyes and saw Jiraiya standing in front of him, holding a popsicle.
Jiraiya squinted with a grin.
"Hey, bone kid, cooling off out here at night? You look pretty hot. Have a popsicle to cool down. Heh!"
As he spoke, Jiraiya snapped the popsicle in half and handed one to Rorin.
Rorin froze for a moment, then took it with a grin.
"Thanks, greasy old man!"
Jiraiya's face instantly darkened. He knocked Rorin on the back of the head and shouted,
"Can you stop calling me that? Didn't I tell you before? I'm Jiraiya, the Toad Sage!"
After taking the hit, Rorin rubbed his head and muttered,
"Isn't it kind of friendly? Besides, you didn't call me by my name either."
Rorin shifted and sat up, while Jiraiya took the empty spot on the bench. The two of them ate their popsicles together.
Feeling the coolness spread through his body, Rorin finally felt a bit better. Suddenly, he remembered something and communicated with the system.
'System, give me one of those video surveillance things you mentioned last time.'
[Understood, host. This is a miniature video-monitoring parasite. It pairs with the eavesdropping parasite from before. This one can only record video and has no audio.]
A faint light appeared in Rorin's right hand. While calmly eating his popsicle, he observed Jiraiya, thinking about how to get the bug onto him.
It was summer—plenty of insects around.
Just as Rorin noticed a mosquito fly in front of Jiraiya's face, he acted instantly, swinging his hand and slapping Jiraiya across the face.
Smack!
Jiraiya, who had been leisurely enjoying his popsicle, was completely caught off guard. After taking a solid slap, his face turned gloomy as he glared at Rorin.
"What the hell was that, kid? I kindly treated you to a popsicle, and you sneak-attack me for no reason?"
Rorin slowly moved his hand away and opened his palm for Jiraiya to see, then said apologetically,
"Sorry, Jiraiya-san. I saw a mosquito on your face just now."
Jiraiya's mouth twitched. He glanced at the small smear of blood and the crushed mosquito in Rorin's hand and said,
"Couldn't you have just warned me? Why go straight for a slap?"
Rorin scratched his head and smiled.
"Sorry, sorry. I acted on impulse. Won't happen again."
"Hmph!" Jiraiya didn't say more. He turned his head and continued eating his popsicle. He wasn't about to argue with a kid.
After that, the two peacefully finished their popsicles together.
"Say, bone kid… do you think someone who should have died can come back to life?" Jiraiya suddenly asked.
"Hm? Why do you ask?" Rorin replied softly.
Jiraiya rubbed his hair and said lightly, "Forget it. I'm leaving."
As he finished speaking, Jiraiya brushed off the dust behind him and slowly stood up, about to leave when Rorin's voice came from behind.
"Maybe someone who was supposed to die… didn't actually die. So there's no such thing as coming back to life."
Jiraiya paused, then turned to look at Rorin and smiled faintly.
"Maybe. Thanks, Rorin. See you."
He waved goodbye, and his figure gradually disappeared into the night.
...
The next day.
News that Uchiha Sasuke had killed Orochimaru finally reached the Hidden Leaf Village.
Inside the Hokage's office—
Uzumaki Naruto listened to Jiraiya and Tsunade, stunned for a moment before smiling faintly.
"I see… so Sasuke's really okay. Then he should be coming back to the village next, right?"
Jiraiya and Tsunade both wore serious expressions. Jiraiya spoke slowly,
"It doesn't look like he will."
Naruto frowned in confusion. "Why? Orochimaru's gone, so why wouldn't he come back?"
Jiraiya replied calmly, "Sasuke's mind is clouded by hatred. To kill his brother, Uchiha Itachi, he might come into contact with the Akatsuki."
Naruto clenched his teeth and suggested,
"Then let's set out immediately! If we want to find Sasuke as soon as possible, we need to search at maximum efficiency. Our target is Uchiha Itachi!"
Tsunade nodded, then said, "The situation is still very difficult. We don't have much intelligence on the Akatsuki. Although we previously sent teams to capture their members for interrogation…"
"It's still hard. The Akatsuki members are all dangerous individuals. But I thought of someone—Rorin might be able to help us," Kakashi said as he appeared at the office doorway, recalling what Deidara had once mentioned about Rorin capturing one of their members.
Hearing this, Tsunade turned to Shizune, who immediately nodded and was about to leave when Kakashi raised a hand to stop her.
"It's fine. I have a faster way," Kakashi said with a narrowed-eye smile.
He then took out a bone marked with a skull and infused it with chakra.
About three seconds later, Rorin's figure appeared beside Kakashi. He glanced around, frowned slightly, and asked,
"What is it, Kakashi-sensei? You called me over—I thought it was something urgent again."
Kakashi waved at him. "Sorry, Rorin. I called you in a hurry because it is a bit urgent."
Seeing Rorin, Naruto stepped forward.
"Um, Rorin… you were right. Sasuke… he killed Orochimaru."
Rorin gave a perfectly timed look of surprise, then said calmly,
"Is that so? Looks like your friend is pretty strong. That means you don't have to worry so much."
Naruto's expression dimmed.
"But Sasuke is still obsessed with hatred. He refuses to return to the village and might get involved with the Akatsuki to take revenge on his brother, Uchiha Itachi."
Rorin glanced at Kakashi and asked softly, "So? Why did you call me here?"
Kakashi stepped forward and said,
"Rorin, this might be a bit awkward to ask, but I remembered that during our last encounter with the Akatsuki, one of them mentioned that you abducted one of their members. I want to ask… is that true?"