In the past, whenever he returned to the village, Jiraiya would head straight to the bathhouse to relax and relieve stress. At the same time, he would "collect material" for his novels—his self-declared reward after surviving yet another dangerous mission.
But this time, Jiraiya had no mood for relaxation.
His mind was completely occupied with one problem—
How the hell was he supposed to find Naruto?
According to the information the old man had given him, Naruto's activity range after leaving Konoha was ridiculously wide—almost half of the Land of Fire. On top of that, he was proficient in the Transformation Technique and Shadow Clone Technique.
Finding him would not be easy.
Of course, for Jiraiya, tracking someone down wasn't the hardest part. Ninja always leave traces, and he had carried out countless S-rank missions over the years.
The real problem was this—
Even if he found Naruto… how was he supposed to convince him to stay?
If Naruto returned unwillingly, he would just run away again. And Jiraiya couldn't babysit him twenty-four hours a day.
As for following Danzo's suggestion—placing a cursed seal on Naruto and restricting his movements—
Jiraiya never even considered it.
Naruto was Minato's son. His godson. The inheritor of the Will of Fire.
And beyond that—
Even ordinary ninjas in the village were not tools to be shackled and discarded. Treating someone like that violated everything Jiraiya believed in.
Flipping through the intelligence scroll again, Jiraiya spotted a familiar name among the dense text—
Kakashi.
Minato's student.
For years, Kakashi had been assigned to watch over Naruto as a jōnin. He was one of the few people relatively close to him.
If anyone knew why Naruto left—
It would be him.
A few minutes later, Jiraiya arrived at the edge of the village, where the Hatake Clan estate stood near a small grove.
Compared to more than ten years ago, the mansion hadn't changed much.
Only the master of the house had.
From the legendary White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo, whose name once terrified enemy nations—
To Kakashi, the infamous "Copy Ninja" of today.
Fortunately, Kakashi wasn't out on a mission.
He was lying lazily on a tatami mat, reading Make-Out Paradise—written by the illustrious Sannin hero, Jiraiya himself.
After hearing footsteps, Kakashi frowned.
A ninja must always remain vigilant. Enemies could approach at any moment.
But the footsteps were slow. Relaxed.
And the chakra signature… familiar.
"Kakashi!" Jiraiya declared proudly as he stepped inside. "I didn't expect you to have such refined taste. This novel balances elegance and popularity perfectly. It records the customs of the ninja world—truly a rare masterpiece."
Kakashi's face reddened slightly.
Refined?
Literary value?
This book was colorful, shameless, and absolutely not something you'd show to children.
But after recognizing Jiraiya, Kakashi swallowed his sarcasm and stood up.
"Master Jiraiya… I assume you didn't come here to host a fan meeting."
Jiraiya coughed and immediately turned serious.
"I came for Naruto. The old man wants me to find him and bring him back. But before I leave… I need to understand why he left in the first place."
"Dragging him back by force will only make him run again."
Kakashi put the book down and looked at Jiraiya carefully.
"Master Jiraiya… I don't think you can bring Naruto back. His departure wasn't a whim."
Jiraiya wasn't surprised. That was exactly why he had come.
Kakashi didn't hold back.
He told Jiraiya everything about Naruto's experiences over the years.
As he listened, Jiraiya's expression grew darker and darker, until it ended in a heavy sigh.
As a child, Naruto had been discriminated against as the "demon fox."
To survive, he had to act tough just to secure basic necessities.
And yet—
Even in those circumstances, he had stood up for Hinata Hyūga, protecting her from bullies.
The seed of the Will of Fire had clearly existed within him.
But that seed hadn't been allowed to grow.
It had nearly drowned in a tide of malice.
Even some of Minato's former subordinates had directed their frustration at a child.
And through it all, the Third Hokage had still refused to reveal Naruto's parentage.
Jiraiya understood the reasoning.
At Naruto's age, learning the truth too early might have shattered him completely. Better to let him grow gradually in peace—
Or so they thought.
Kakashi saw through Jiraiya's silence.
"Master Jiraiya, before Naruto left, he told me he already knew. He knew he was a jinchūriki. He knew he was the Fourth Hokage's son."
Jiraiya's eyes widened slightly.
"I suspect he was waiting for the truth. Waiting for someone to tell him. But after waiting too long… he lost patience."
"That's why he left."
"And choosing the day of the Uchiha incident? I think he sympathized with them."
Jiraiya nodded slowly.
So the core of this entire situation—
Was the Third Hokage.
The deception. The indifference.
A crack had formed.
And once a mirror is shattered, it is hard to restore.
"Master Jiraiya," Kakashi continued, "if you want more answers, you could talk to Naruto's friends. They may be young, but you shouldn't underestimate them."
Jiraiya shook his head.
"No need. I know enough."
It was time to move.
After Jiraiya left, Kakashi picked up Make-Out Paradise, covered his face with it, and closed his eyes.
Since that day, he had lost the motivation to work seriously.
He had no desire to return to ANBU.
He had slipped back into laziness.
Partly because of Naruto.
Partly because of the Uchiha.
The higher-ups claimed the clan had been wiped out by Itachi alone.
Kakashi didn't buy it.
He had worked with Itachi. He knew his strength—but wiping out the entire clan so cleanly?
And the higher-ups just "didn't notice"?
That was bullshit.
So what was the truth?
More importantly—
Naruto had been certain that learning the truth would make him leave.
That reminded Kakashi of his father.
Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang.
Officially, Sakumo committed suicide because he abandoned a mission to save his comrades and was condemned by the village.
For years, Kakashi believed that was the truth.
Later, Obito taught him that comrades and missions were equally important.
But now—
What if the truth about his father had also been concealed?
What had the higher-ups hidden?
What truly caused his father's death?
The thought lingered like a shadow.
Maybe… finding Naruto meant finding answers.
But even Kakashi didn't know what he truly wanted.
Jiraiya stayed in Konoha for less than half a day.
After speaking with the Third Hokage and gathering information from Kakashi, he prepared to leave.
Before departing, he left a letter for the Hokage.
Soon, it landed on the Hokage's desk.
The letter began with casual greetings, rambling for half a page as usual, before finally reaching the point.
Jiraiya believed Naruto should not continue being raised in the village.
After finding him, Jiraiya intended to take Naruto traveling across the ninja world to train.
Let him gain experience.
Let time soften the villagers' prejudice.
Let people forget the "demon fox" and remember only the mischievous boy.
Perhaps one day, Naruto could accept the village again.
The Third Hokage sighed after reading it.
Letting the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki wander outside long-term…
Danzo and the two elders would definitely lose their minds.
But—
He himself was no longer suitable to face Naruto.
The crack between them was real.
After some thought, he agreed.
At least Jiraiya was his student.
Not someone lurking in the shadows like Danzo.
And with Jiraiya, Naruto wouldn't grow crooked.
Meanwhile, he would begin preparing a new successor.
Meanwhile—
In the Land of Whirlpools.
In the ruins of Uzushiogakure, awaiting reconstruction.
A month had passed.
The surviving Uchiha had gradually adapted to life there.
They had lost the authority and prestige of being Konoha's Military Police.
But they had gained something else—
Freedom.
No more high-level suppression.
No more suspicious stares from villagers.
Only an abandoned village that needed rebuilding from scratch.
It would take months—maybe half a year—to restore any semblance of prosperity.
But compared to being massacred?
This outcome was acceptable.
Most of the clan were ordinary civilians anyway. Not everyone awakened the Sharingan. Many simply wanted peaceful lives.
Naruto—disguised as a "numb-faced doctor"—wandered through the village, enjoying the sight of reconstruction.
Watching roads and docks take shape filled him with a quiet sense of accomplishment.
Maybe, deep down, he hated decay.
Maybe he liked watching something new rise from ruins.
Even the Nine-Tails seemed unusually calm, sleeping comfortably inside the seal.
As Naruto approached the temporary village office, he heard arguing inside.
Uchiha Homura and Uchiha Shisui were locked in debate.
One advocated prioritizing foreign trade ports.
The other insisted on building a ninja academy and mission center first.
Development direction.
Endless arguing.
The moment they saw Naruto, both stopped immediately.
In Uzushiogakure, Naruto was the backbone.
Whether in strategy or raw power, neither of them matched this Uzumaki senior.
The only reason they dared to rebuild at all—
Was because Naruto stood behind them.
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