The next day.
In the Land of Fire, Konoha Village.
At this moment, beside a clear river, a blond, blue-eyed boy with spiky hair was constantly practicing some ninjutsu.
It was Konoha's Kyubi Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto.
However,
Just as he finished practicing a technique.
Suddenly,
From behind him came a gentle female voice.
"Compared to three years ago, you've really improved a lot, Naruto."
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Naruto was startled and turned to look.
After seeing clearly, a surprised expression immediately appeared on his face, and he subconsciously said:
"Huh?"
"Granny Tsunade?"
That's right.
The visitor was naturally the current Fifth Hokage of Konoha, Tsunade.
But at this moment,
Shizune was not by her side.
She had come alone.
And at this moment,
Unlike usual, Tsunade's brows were slightly furrowed. Although she said that with a smile, her face always seemed to carry a somewhat heavy sorrow.
This was impossible to hide.
But Naruto naturally didn't notice this.
He just scratched his head and asked curiously:
"What's up?"
"As Hokage, Granny Tsunade should be very busy, right? How come you have time to come here?"
As the words fell,
Tsunade had already walked over.
Then, she slowly sat on a large rock beside her, her gaze flickering slightly as she said softly:
"Jiraiya... has been gone for five days now."
"...Eh?"
Tsunade's sudden words startled Naruto.
He didn't expect her to start with that.
And,
Her tone was completely different from usual.
After thinking for a moment,
Naruto also showed a thoughtful expression and nodded:
"Well... that's true."
"Pervy Sage said he would be back in five days, but there's still no news from him..."
Just as he was speaking,
Suddenly, Naruto seemed to realize something and looked at Tsunade, exclaiming in surprise:
"Uh, wait?"
"Granny Tsunade came here, could it be that she's worried about him...?!"
"Hmm."
Contrary to Naruto's expectations,
This time, Tsunade had no intention of joking, but nodded gently, letting out a faint sound.
As the words fell, it was Naruto's turn to be stunned.
He had never seen this hot-tempered Auntie show such a worried and sorrowful expression...
What's going on...
Could it be that Amegakure is really that dangerous...
However,
Just as he was silent,
Tsunade beside him suddenly looked up at the sky, revealing a helpless smile, and said softly:
"Before he left this time,"
"He deliberately made a bet with me, wanting me to... bet that he would die... what an idiot."
"He clearly knows I always lose when I bet..."
"So,"
"He'll definitely come back, right."
Tsunade looked up at the sky, speaking softly,
As if murmuring in a dream.
And at this moment,
Her face also showed an expression never seen before.
At this moment,
Naruto suddenly paused and finally understood.
The reason Tsunade came here,
Was simply because she was worried about Jiraiya's safety.
But,
As Hokage, she couldn't show this fragility in front of others...
Therefore, she specially slipped out alone to confide these words to Naruto.
Thinking of this,
Naruto's heart stirred slightly.
He wanted to find some words to comfort Tsunade.
But,
For some reason,
He also couldn't find any reason to comfort her.
It seemed, in some inexplicable way,
There really was some kind of danger threatening Jiraiya's life...
Even the always confident Naruto couldn't help but fall silent.
The setting sun gradually descended,
Dyeing the sky a deep red, the earth also emitted a dim light.
The two by the river remained silent.
Their shadows slowly lengthened.
The heavy atmosphere in their hearts also began to grow heavier.
However,
Just then, suddenly —
A sound of footsteps slowly arose from the distance.
"Huh?"
Immediately after,
A very familiar voice suddenly sounded in the distance.
"What's going on?"
"Are you two waiting for me to come back—?"
"!"
As the voice fell,
Tsunade and Naruto's pupils suddenly constricted, both shaken!
The next moment,
Almost simultaneously, the two quickly turned their heads and looked forward!
And at this moment,
Under the setting sun ahead,
A white-haired Shinobi figure was slowly walking towards them.
On his forehead was tied a Shinobi forehead protector engraved with the character for "Oil".
On his face was his trademark smile.
At this moment,
Joy surged into the hearts of Naruto and Tsunade almost simultaneously, the frozen expressions on their faces instantly melting, turning into immense joy!
The next moment, they shouted almost simultaneously—
"Pervy Sage!!"
"Jiraiya!?"
The synchronized shouts suddenly rang out by the riverside at dusk,
Even startling the flock of birds in the nearby foliage.
Under the dim yellow sunlight,
The black flock of birds gradually flew away into the distance.
And in the distance,
Jiraiya, while walking this way, revealed a helpless smile on his face and said loudly:
"Ahahaha..."
"Even if I did take a bit longer this time, you two don't need to worry this much, right~"
Jiraiya said with a smile as he strolled over.
And at this moment, Tsunade here was already overjoyed, an uncontrollable excitement appearing on her face. Jiraiya... actually did come back!
It wasn't an illusion!
Just as he had promised before, on this fifth day, he returned on time!
Thinking of this,
Tsunade's tightly suspended heart finally began to settle down.
In fact,
Back when Jiraiya decided to go to Amegakure to investigate in person, a moment of worry had emerged in Tsunade's heart.
After all, that place was Amegakure, highly likely the base of the Akatsuki.
And according to external intelligence, Akatsuki's members all seemed to possess strength above S-Rank Missing-nin. If they really got serious and joined forces against Jiraiya...
Even he might not be able to return easily.
Let alone obtaining results from the investigation.
Therefore,
At that time, Tsunade had opposed Jiraiya going in person.
But it was useless...
However,
Well, thankfully now, he has returned safely.
Tsunade imperceptibly let out a breath.
And Naruto beside her, his eyes lit up directly, and he quickly ran over to Jiraiya.
But just then,
Jiraiya over there suddenly looked at Tsunade, and while walking, smiled and spoke.
"It seems, this bet..."
"As usual, you lost, Tsunade."
Jiraiya said with a smile.
Hearing this,
Tsunade was momentarily stunned, then a faint smile also appeared on her face.
She naturally knew what "bet" Jiraiya was referring to.
However,
Immediately after,
Her expression tightened again, suddenly becoming serious,
Then, after coughing once to clear her throat, she lowered her voice and said:
"Cough."
"Jiraiya, let's not talk about that for now."
"Since you've returned so smoothly... have you already obtained the target intelligence?"
Tsunade asked with a serious expression.
Now that Jiraiya's safety was confirmed,
She naturally returned to her identity as the Fifth Hokage.
And regarding this,
Jiraiya across from her naturally wasn't surprised. He immediately withdrew the smile on his face, then nodded and said:
"..."
"Let's find a suitable place to tell you."
"...Alright."