Until leaving the izakaya, Naruto and Jiraiya maintained a strange but perfect tacit understanding—both quietly gathering information while pretending the other didn't exist. It was the ninja version of two spies sitting at the same bar pretending they were just there for the snacks.
Inside the sealed space, Minato Namikaze finally relaxed. He really didn't want to see Naruto and Jiraiya start fighting. If that happened, his chakra clone might collapse—not from injury, but from pure emotional stress. Watching your son punch your teacher is not exactly a pleasant family reunion.
Naruto also began wondering if he had been a bit too suspicious. Jiraiya had no obvious reason to go all the way to the overseas Uzumaki Country.
After all, if the Uchiha Clan really wanted to defect, they would most likely flee to Iwagakure or Kumogakure. Those villages actually had the strength to stand against Konohagakure head-on.
Soon after leaving the izakaya, Naruto returned to the ship bound for the Uzumaki Country.
Shiro, who was carrying a heavy sealing scroll like an overworked delivery boy, whispered with confusion:
"Master Menma… that uncle we saw in the izakaya earlier is also on this ship. Could he be a ninja secretly following us?"
Naruto looked at him in surprise. Then he remembered Shiro's natural ninja instincts and nodded.
"Not bad. Your observation skills aren't trash."
Just like Stand users are attracted to each other—well, ninjas also tend to notice other ninjas. It's practically a law of the universe.
After boarding the ship to the Uzumaki Country, Jiraiya had also noticed Naruto and Shiro.
Back in the izakaya, he suspected the two were Mist ninjas from the Kirigakure carrying out a mission in the Land of Fire. Following the ninja rule of "don't start trouble in someone else's village unless you really want a headache," he didn't investigate further and didn't even use genjutsu to probe them.
But now they were heading to the Uzumaki Country.
That made things… suspicious.
After all, Uzushiogakure had been destroyed decades ago. The current Uzumaki Country was basically a chaotic gathering of rogue ninjas, criminals, and people who owed too much money to the wrong people.
Nothing there should interest Kirigakure.
Jiraiya himself came here for two reasons:
First, to track down Orochimaru.
Second, because there were rumors of Uchiha activity.
So what were the Mist ninjas doing there?
Could Orochimaru be secretly cooperating with Kirigakure?
Or maybe helping the Uchiha defect?
With those doubts in mind, Jiraiya approached Naruto and Shiro. But halfway there, he suddenly stopped.
Standing nearby was Zabuza Momochi.
Among elite jonin across the ninja world, Zabuza was quite famous—not because he was ridiculously strong, but because during his graduation exam he slaughtered every single one of his classmates.
Yes. Every. Single. One.
That incident was so brutal that Kirigakure's leadership immediately changed the exam rules afterward.
Even by ninja standards, that was a little… excessive.
Zabuza had already noticed the sneaky white-haired man staring at them and frowned.
He was about to step forward and yell something like "Oi, old pervert, stop creeping around!" but he glanced at Naruto first. Since Naruto didn't say anything, Zabuza held back.
After several seconds of awkward staring—long enough to make anyone uncomfortable—Jiraiya scratched his head and said awkwardly:
"Ah… sorry. I thought I saw someone I knew. Turns out I recognized the wrong person."
"Recognized the wrong person?"
After getting Naruto's silent permission, Zabuza said coldly:
"If an ordinary person made that mistake, I'd believe it. But a ninja? That's suspicious. Why are you following us?"
Jiraiya choked slightly. His brain began working overtime to invent an excuse.
Before he could respond, Naruto suddenly spoke:
"Relax, Zabuza. We're just traveling to the Uzumaki Country this time. No secret missions."
Traveling?
Zabuza almost rolled his eyes so hard they might fall out.
But he followed Naruto's lead anyway.
"Even if a ninja is traveling, you shouldn't let your guard down," Zabuza said sternly. "What if hostile ninjas attack you halfway through the trip?"
Naruto immediately looked like a scolded kid.
Then he turned to Jiraiya and asked curiously:
"Uncle Ninja, you're a ninja too, right? Are you a genin or a chunin? Are you also going to the Uzumaki Country for tourism?"
"I… should be a chunin."
Jiraiya randomly invented an identity on the spot.
"I'm not traveling though. I'm looking for work. These days the big ninja villages take all the commissions. Small-village ninjas like me can barely survive…"
"Ohhh, so you're from some tiny ninja village."
Zabuza looked down on him immediately.
"I'm a jonin of Kirigakure. If I find out you're lying, your village won't be able to protect you."
Jiraiya nodded rapidly like a student caught cheating.
"Of course, of course! I just want to earn enough money to eat. If I disturb you, I'll leave immediately."
His acting was actually pretty impressive.
Naruto also joined the performance, turning to Zabuza:
"Senior Zabuza, this uncle is still a chunin at his age. He's clearly not a threat. Don't bully him anymore."
Zabuza snorted.
"Suit yourself. But if you keep being this naive, you'll suffer sooner or later."
With that, Zabuza left the deck with Shiro.
Honestly, he was worried that if he kept playing the strict senior role, Naruto might eventually hate him and make his life miserable.
And besides…
Would a ninja who caught Menma-sama's attention really be some random chunin?
If anyone believed that, they might as well cut their own cock and donate it to medical research.
After Zabuza left, Naruto fully committed to acting like an inexperienced rookie ninja.
He looked at Jiraiya with bright curiosity.
"Uncle Ninja, how long have you been a ninja? Did you have any exciting adventures?"
The barrage of questions left Jiraiya speechless.
However, he also confirmed something important:
The boy in front of him looked like a rookie who had just become a ninja. His understanding of the ninja world was still naive and innocent.
In other words—
The perfect target for gathering information.
After chatting about several fake missions to gain Naruto's trust, Jiraiya casually asked:
"Menma… are you really just traveling to the Uzumaki Country?"
Naruto immediately looked suspicious.
"Of course it's just tourism. Don't try to steal information. I'm a professional ninja."
Jiraiya forced a laugh.
"What a shame. I was hoping I could help and earn some money. Ninjas my age don't get many commissions these days…"
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"Don't lie. My senior already told me that old slippery guys like you are the least trustworthy."
"If you want to know why we're going to the Uzumaki Country, you tell me your reason first."
Jiraiya helplessly repeated his story:
"I told you already. I'm going there to see if there are any commissions. If not, maybe I'll join a wandering ninja group. A man has to eat, after all."
Naruto finally relaxed.
Then he looked at Jiraiya with pure disdain.
"When I reach your age, I'll already be a jonin in my village. I definitely won't end up this pathetic."
Jiraiya felt like an invisible kunai had stabbed his heart.
"Alright," Naruto said, standing up. "Your ninja stories were boring anyway. I'm going back to deal with Senior Zabuza."
After watching Naruto disappear across the deck, Jiraiya sighed with emotion.
"Ah… youth."
"Back then, Minato and Orochimaru were idiots just like that too."
He paused.
Then muttered quietly:
"…Actually, Minato was a lot smarter."
And Orochimaru?
Well.
Orochimaru was the kind of genius who might smile politely while secretly planning to dissect you.
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