At the same time—on top of the Hokage Rock.
Minato stood alone, gazing out over the entirety of Konoha.
"So this is where you've been." A familiar voice came from behind him.
Minato turned. "Jiraiya-sensei? What brings you here?"
"Just checking in on my student." Jiraiya waved it off casually, then dropped down cross-legged beside him, following his line of sight toward the village below.
After a moment, he asked, puzzled, "What exactly are you looking at?"
"…Honestly? I'm not even sure."
"You don't know, and you're still staring this seriously?!"
Minato smiled faintly. "Shimizu comes here often. I was just curious… what he sees from this spot."
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, scanning the distance carefully—
Then suddenly shot to his feet, eyes lighting up.
"You can see the women's bathhouse from here?!"
"…What?!"
"Unbelievable—absolutely unbelievable! Shimizu kept something this important to himself?!" Jiraiya's nostrils flared as he breathed heavily, a suspicious grin creeping onto his face.
"Sensei… from this distance, can you even see anything?" Minato asked, confused.
He turned—
…and immediately facepalmed.
Jiraiya already had a telescope out.
"HAHAHA! This angle is perfect—crystal clear!!"
"This one's got a great figure… that one has amazing skin… and that one—wow, that's—"
"...Sensei, I'm leaving," Minato said flatly, turning to go.
Jiraiya snapped back to normal in an instant. He cleared his throat, adopting a solemn expression.
"Minato. Let me ask you something. With your new position… do you feel pressure?"
"Of course I do. The Hokage has entrusted me with something incredibly important."
"And do you think you can handle it?"
"…It won't be easy."
"Then let your teacher give you a hand." Jiraiya said simply. "I'll be joining you in the campaign against Iwagakure."
"…Huh?" Minato blinked, startled. Wasn't that… a bit too much favoritism?
"The old man didn't assign me anything. That's basically his way of saying it."
Minato froze for a moment—then understood.
So that was it.
The Hokage hadn't given Jiraiya a formal role… precisely so he could assist freely.
If it had been an official order, it would've looked like blatant favoritism.
But if Jiraiya chose to help his student of his own accord?
That was just a teacher looking out for his disciple.
Perfectly reasonable.
After all, as Hokage, one had to appear fair—even if certain things were handled quietly behind the scenes.
Becoming the Fourth Hokage required strength…
…but also a spotless reputation.
"Then… I'll be counting on you again, Sensei," Minato said, scratching his head awkwardly.
"Becoming Hokage is your dream," Jiraiya replied. "Helping my student achieve that? That's nothing."
He paused, then chuckled.
"Speaking of which… that Uchiha kid, Obito—he wants to become Hokage too, doesn't he? The one who just awakened his Sharingan?"
"Yeah. He's completely changed. Working harder than ever."
"Some talent, sure—but not enough." Jiraiya shrugged. Compared to Obito, he had far higher expectations for the steady and disciplined Kakashi. "What about Kakashi?"
"He's improved a lot these past six months. At this rate, he'll probably make jonin within a year."
"An eleven-year-old jonin…" Jiraiya muttered. "Now that's a genius."
Then, almost as an afterthought, he added:
"Come to think of it… Shimizu's a genius too."
Less than three years since becoming a jonin—
…and already showing signs of surpassing Minato.
Late bloomer? Or something else entirely?
"Shimizu…" Minato's expression grew thoughtful. "I can't even gauge his strength anymore."
"Oh?"
"Ever since that near-death experience… he's changed. He's gotten much stronger."
Jiraiya knew exactly why.
Madara's intervention.
Hashirama's cells.
A surge in chakra… and a terrifying leap in Earth Release talent.
Shimizu wasn't just growing stronger—
He was evolving into something entirely unpredictable.
What a ridiculous stroke of fortune.
Of course… it had cost him his life first.
But that was something Jiraiya couldn't tell Minato.
"Anyway," Minato continued, "his wind-nature chakra blade arrived today. He's probably working on Wind Release right now."
"…That guy is loaded?!" Jiraiya's jaw nearly hit the ground.
"He said it's savings from over ten years," Minato explained. "Shimizu has completed far more missions than most of us—especially B-rank and above. When you add it all up, it makes sense."
"After all… he was already active as a chunin during the Second Great Ninja War at ten years old."
Jiraiya fell silent.
"…How did he even live through all that?"
Minato thought for a moment.
"…Ichiraku Ramen?"
"Cough—" Jiraiya cleared his throat awkwardly, then grinned. "Shimizu's impressive, sure. But Minato—you'll surpass him."
He flashed a confident smile, full of pride.
"You're the man who's going to become Hokage."
Minato smiled back, calm and resolute. "Just watch me, Sensei."
...
Shimizu, meanwhile, walked out of the Hokage's office with a heavy heart.
Orochimaru…
That damn snake just wouldn't leave him alone.
"Konoha's future."
"Worth cultivating."
Nice words.
But who knew what that man was really thinking?
Even the Third Hokage couldn't see through him—and had warned Shimizu to stay on guard.
How could he take this lightly?
"…Looks like I need to prepare for a fight."
He paused, then corrected himself.
"…No. A life-and-death battle."
If it were an open, straightforward duel, Shimizu had the confidence to face Orochimaru.
He wasn't without cards of his own.
But the problem was—
Orochimaru wasn't the type to fight fair.
That snake would lurk in the shadows, strike when least expected… and inject lethal poison before you even realized what happened.
Completely impossible to guard against.
The Hokage's assignment… was a nightmare.
Accepting it had already pushed Shimizu to his limit.
But what worried him even more wasn't Orochimaru targeting him—
It was the fact that Orochimaru had taken on disciples.
Hyuga Hayakumo… fine. He didn't know him well.
But Megumi?
What was that girl thinking, getting involved in something like this?!
From what Shimizu remembered, before the original storyline began, Orochimaru had only taken one disciple—Anko.
So what was this?
A deviation?
Or the beginning of something worse?
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became.
Without slowing down, Shimizu sped toward the Uchiha district.
He needed answers.
He had to ask her face-to-face what exactly was going on in that head of hers.
As a senior—
No, more than that—
As someone who had promised to look after her…
He couldn't just stand by and watch her walk straight into a snake's jaws.
Because if there was one thing he knew for certain—
With the Sharingan involved…
Orochimaru would definitely be interested.
...
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