Having killed members of Root, Jiraiya found the situation incredibly troublesome. One misstep, and this incident could severely damage the political alliance between his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Danzo.
If it were anyone else, he would simply arrest them. But Saiki? Putting aside his relationship with Tsunade, Saiki's sheer power—looking at the bisected mountain range and the wounded Minato—made Jiraiya seriously doubt he could take the boy down himself.
He wanted to curse. At Saiki's age, Jiraiya had been struggling to learn basic Ninjutsu. If it weren't for the lucky accident of a Reverse Summoning leading him to Mount Myoboku, he likely would have amounted to nothing.
And this brat standing before him? His face looked calm, but Jiraiya could practically feel the boy's arrogant, "I-am-above-everything" attitude. Yet, there was nothing he could do. To possess such terrifying power at such a young age... Jiraiya truly couldn't fathom what kind of monster this boy would grow into.
With a heavy sigh, Jiraiya finally said, "Saiki, once we get back, write down a full, detailed report of what happened. As for how this incident will be handled, we will wait for Lord Hokage's orders."
There really wasn't much to say, but figuring he shouldn't completely disrespect Jiraiya, Saiki nodded in agreement.
An entire mountain peak had been cleaved in half, and the ensuing inferno had vaporized all evidence. Whatever hidden motives or secrets were involved, Jiraiya had no way of verifying them. He could only hope Saiki would be honest, otherwise, he had no idea how he was going to write his own command report.
But ideals are beautiful, and reality is cruel.
Back at the Leaf command tent.
"Is this it?" Looking at the report consisting of only a few brief sentences on the desk, Jiraiya frowned at Saiki.
Although he hadn't forced Saiki to disarm or remove his gear for the meeting, seeing Saiki still holding his sword, radiating a total lack of trust toward them, gave Jiraiya a massive headache.
"That's it. They contacted me, I refused their offer, they attacked, and I killed them all. If you want the technical details of the fight, I can describe the jutsu I used," Saiki said flatly.
"You brat, you better explain yourself clearly," Tsunade chided him, also rubbing her temples in frustration.
Tsunade remembered that while the old Saiki was somewhat rebellious, he was always very low-key. How had he transformed into this arrogant, defiant punk after she had only been gone for half a month?
Saiki had actually always been like this—a slacker with zero desire for political or social advancement, which was exactly why he always failed his "Will of Fire" exams. Back then, however, he simply hadn't possessed the power to back up his attitude, so he endured it out of a need for safety.
Seeing Tsunade's frustrated expression, Saiki frowned slightly and replied seriously, "Danzo has been trying to get his hands on the orphanage for a long time. You know that. He and I don't get along. This time, he failed to recruit me, so he tried to have me killed. What more do you want me to explain?"
Since he put it that way, Tsunade and Jiraiya had no choice but to believe him.
"Jiraiya, just send this report to Lord Hokage as it is! Let him decide how to handle it," Tsunade stated decisively, making the final call.
By saying this, Tsunade was telling Jiraiya to handle it strictly by the book, without worrying about her feelings. As for whether Saiki would accept whatever punishment was handed down... looking at the boy's defiant stance, Tsunade felt another headache coming on.
"Let's go, brat!" With that, Tsunade stood up and walked out of the tent.
Saiki moved to follow her, but before exiting the tent, he turned back to Jiraiya. "Lord Jiraiya, please do not send anyone to follow me. If I genuinely wanted to run, no one in this camp could stop me."
With that, Saiki turned and left.
Watching Saiki and Tsunade disappear into the night, even a man as boisterous and easygoing as Jiraiya felt a flash of genuine anger. The boy was simply too arrogant.
Arrogant?
Not quite.
Saiki was actually doing him a massive favor. Saiki had far too many secrets—his relationship with Tsume, his relationship with Tsunade... any of which could be disastrous if discovered. Sending Anbu to tail him wouldn't be surveillance; it would be forcing Saiki to slaughter Leaf ninja.
Sighing heavily, Jiraiya conceded that while Saiki was arrogant, he was ultimately still a child. He needed to carefully consider how he was going to phrase his report to Hiruzen.
Naturally, Jiraiya couldn't entirely trust Saiki's brief report. To get a better understanding of the situation, he went to visit Minato, who had returned to his quarters to rest.
He gathered some general information, but Minato couldn't provide much context regarding the root cause of the conflict. However, the specific details of their brief combat exchange deeply alarmed Jiraiya.
"Are you saying the jutsu he used possessed the signature of Senjutsu (Sage Art) chakra?" Jiraiya asked, his voice laced with disbelief.
Minato nodded. "Yes, Sensei. Furthermore, the defensive jutsu utilizing that small white cloud is terrifying. Not only does it possess absolute defensive properties, but it seems to warp spacetime itself. My Flying Thunder God was severely disrupted, which is why I was unable to dodge his attack."
Saying this, Minato inevitably felt a pang of bruised pride. As a recognized genius, admitting defeat to someone so much younger was a bitter pill to swallow.
But defeat is defeat. Minato wasn't shameless enough to deny the reality of what happened.
Receiving Minato's confirmation again, Jiraiya still found it hard to accept. He had begun learning Sage Arts at Saiki's exact age, yet even now, decades later, he still hadn't fully mastered it. To be told that a ten-year-old child had mastered Senjutsu... it was like being told his entire life of training was a joke. How could he accept that?
But then he thought about Saiki's unique characteristics—that perfectly restrained aura. Even with Jiraiya's formidable sensory abilities, Saiki just felt like a completely normal child.
Previously, he hadn't thought much of it, but now, thinking it over, it was glaringly obvious. A ten-year-old boy who slaughtered Jonin like dogs and fought the Eight-Tails to a standstill on the battlefield—no matter how young he was, his aura and chakra signature should be terrifyingly massive and oppressive.
But upon closer inspection, beneath that "ordinary" aura, Saiki gave off a distinct feeling of being perfectly one with nature. If Saiki stood perfectly still in a forest, and you couldn't see him with your physical eyes, you wouldn't even be able to sense his presence.
And at Saiki's young age, only a massive, exponential enhancement like Senjutsu could possibly grant him that level of absurd, god-like power.
After his conversation with Minato, Jiraiya finally knew exactly how to write his report.
Leaving the tent, Saiki followed closely behind Tsunade. Although he tried his hardest to control himself, his eyes kept inevitably drifting to a spot just below Tsunade's waist.
Unfortunately, Tsunade's loose, olive-green haori concealed far too much of the scenery. He could only catch a tantalizing glimpse of the silhouette when she took a step and her hips swayed.
As she walked, Tsunade felt a sudden, ominous premonition. She immediately snapped her head around to look at Saiki, only to be met by a pair of sparkling, perfectly pure eyes staring back at her in confusion.
"Sister Tsunade, is something wrong?" Saiki asked, looking like the picture of an innocent, well-behaved child.
She let out a sharp "Hmph!" and ordered, "Walk in front of me."
"Why?" Saiki wasn't about to obediently comply.
Due to the incident with Root, Saiki was on high alert. He had already confirmed via his perception that the path back to the rest camp was completely clear of anyone else.
Her beautiful brows furrowing, Tsunade shouted, "I told you to walk in front, so walk in front! Why are you asking so many questions? Are you a woman?!"
Seeing Tsunade acting like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Saiki realized she hadn't lowered her guard around him in the slightest. With a sigh, Saiki obediently moved to walk in front of her.
He didn't even bother firing back with a cheeky, "You know better than anyone whether I'm a man or not."
Even though Tsunade had returned and was willing to see him, she clearly hadn't forgotten that night. Even though she had initiated it to save him, she was still maintaining a high level of vigilance around him.
The road ahead was long and difficult. Saiki knew that conquering Tsunade's heart might happen in a flash, but it could also take a very, very long time.