Phew—
"I almost died. That was too close..."
Seeing Naruto return with a bewildered expression, Jiraiya—covered in blood—finally breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't some game character or the monstrous, masked figure who could instantly kill with a Hanya mask. He couldn't handle even half the power of the Nine-Tails; he was lucky to be alive.
The giant Gamaken beside him looked at the injured Jiraiya and hung his head dejectedly. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault..."
"It's not your fault. I was just too slow," Jiraiya weakly waved his hand. "Thanks for the help. You can go back now."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gamaken vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Ah!" Naruto shouted. "You big pervert, what happened to you? Did you get caught peeping and beaten up badly? Hahaha!"
Naruto saw Jiraiya's miserable state. Instead of showing concern, he laughed unusually happily, his expression full of utter disapproval, as if to say, You're a sly, silent pervert who deserves what you got!
Beside him, Sakura—her face flushed—and Sasuke, looking uneasy, approached Naruto's side. Just as Naruto had recovered, Sasuke recovered as well. So Sakura went from hugging the toad to hugging Sasuke. In short, the scene became awkward.
To break the tension, a beaming Sakura deliberately steered the conversation toward Naruto. "This pervert wasn't caught and beaten for peeping; he attacked you two, and then Menma came out and beat him half to death!"
Hearing this, Sasuke sneered. "Serves him right. I warned this disgusting pervert."
Jiraiya: "..."
Calling him a pervert one minute and "serves him right" the next—Jiraiya felt his reputation was completely ruined! He shouldn't have made the same mistake again, peeping through the corner!
"I already said I'm not a pervert, and I meant no harm," Jiraiya's voice was strained. "It really is the old man—the Third Hokage—who found a teacher for Naruto."
As if afraid the others wouldn't believe him, Jiraiya produced the book Make-Out Paradise and letters exchanged with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"I was just gathering inspiration for my art to defeat my artistic nemesis who's been suppressing me lately. These letters were also written to me personally by the Third."
Jiraiya had been willing to return so quickly and take Naruto as his student because Hiruzen said Naruto's alternate personality possessed the Nine-Tails' power. Now he felt he'd made the right decision! Such immense power could completely overturn the balance of power in the ninja world, bringing either lasting peace or destruction.
Plus, with the name Naruto, perhaps the child of prophecy he'd been searching for was right before his eyes! And the circumstances seemed to fit perfectly! Kind-hearted Naruto, with this power, would surely bring peace. And violent Menma, with this power, would surely overturn the ninja world! Wasn't this the great transformation the Great Toad Sage spoke of?
Ahead, the three looked at what Jiraiya had taken out, their gazes all turning to Make-Out Paradise. Then they turned and looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Naruto, he also writes about the Little Prince! And that nemesis who suppressed his art—could it be Menma?"
Sakura voiced her guess, and Sasuke nodded slightly in agreement.
"Menma... Naruto Uzumaki, Uzumaki Menma!?"
Jiraiya, overhearing their conversation, exclaimed after repeating Menma and Naruto's names several times. He swallowed hard before cautiously asking, "That 'Young Aming'—could it be written by Naruto's alternate personality, Menma?"
"That's right! It was written by Menma!" Naruto proudly promised.
"And the stories in it... were all adapted from your own experiences?"
Jiraiya's face twisted more and more as he spoke, his initial joy at finding the prophesied child turning into jealousy.
"How could that be! I'm still just a child!" Naruto sulked, giving him a look that seemed to say, Are you out of your mind?
"Hahaha! That's good, that's good!" Jiraiya's expression relaxed, and he laughed. "It's so good it's not real; otherwise, his immersion in the story would be completely ruined!"
Seeing Jiraiya so happy after learning it wasn't his own experience that had been altered, Naruto felt a surge of anger. He pointed at the Sannin, shouting furiously, "You're writing about the Little Prince just like Menma, and you still say you're not a pervert!"
Putting himself in Menma's shoes, Naruto believed that Menma's excellent writing was largely due to his long-term habit of sneaking into women's bathhouses. And Jiraiya's equally impressive writing clearly indicated that he, like Menma, had been spying on people for a long time!
"Only kids my age can call it a prank! But you, at your age—spying is a crime! I'm going to report you! I'll expose your evil deeds!"
"No, please! We're all artists. Please forgive me... cough, cough, cough!" Jiraiya coughed up blood in his distress. The wound, which had been barely stopped bleeding with chakra, began to bleed profusely again.
Just as Jiraiya was at his wit's end, the long-awaited ANBU finally arrived.
"Lord Jiraiya?!"
"So it was you fighting that ancestor!"
The ANBU in the lead, wearing a mask and hood, was none other than Zō, who had previously guided Naruto and the others to the exam hall. He quickly approached Jiraiya and then beckoned to the back.
"Quickly, someone come and heal Lord Jiraiya and stop the bleeding!"
A shinobi skilled in medical ninjutsu quickly stepped forward, his palm glowing with the green chakra of the Mystical Palm Technique.
"Thank you for your trouble," Jiraiya said with a kind smile. Then, pointing to Naruto and the other two, he added, "Explain to them. They don't believe me."
"Who wants to believe you, you big pervert!" Naruto glared angrily at Jiraiya.
Sasuke and Sakura, standing nearby, nodded in agreement, their faces full of disdain.
Zō: "..."
Zō was speechless; he had already guessed what Jiraiya had done. Inwardly, he cheered for Menma's actions, but outwardly, he obediently explained.
"Naruto Uzumaki, Jiraiya-sama is indeed the teacher the Hokage found for you—the teacher who can help you use the Nine-Tails' power..."
With Zō's praise and recounting of Jiraiya's past achievements, the three finally changed their minds.
"This pervert... this lecherous sage is actually so powerful!"
Upon hearing that he could help Naruto master the Nine-Tails' power, Naruto's address immediately changed to "sage."
Jiraiya nodded proudly. "Of course!"
"Come with me later. I'll check on you during lunchtime."
Sasuke, seeing this, hesitated for a moment before stepping forward. "Toad Sage Master, please train with me too. I don't need you to be too involved—just a little guidance will suffice."
"The last bloodline of the Uchiha?" Jiraiya scrutinized Sasuke. After a moment, he shook his head. "I don't know much about the Uchiha Sharingan. You'd better consult Kakashi."
Jiraiya only took on students to find the children of prophecy; he had no interest in irrelevant individuals.
With that, without waiting for the ANBU to continue treatment, he grabbed Naruto and left.
Watching Naruto walk away, Sasuke clenched his fists tightly, a flicker of jealousy and resentment in his eyes. Then, with a grim face, he quickly left without a word.
"Sasuke..."
Sakura was caught off guard by this sudden turn of events. She had a strange premonition that Sasuke would soon be parting ways with them...
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