Chapter 21 — Kaguya, You're Not Lying to Me, Right?
Hokage Office
"Hehehe…"
The Third Hokage stared at the image inside the crystal ball, a rather lewd smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
The scene reflected in the crystal… was a bathhouse.
Bang!!
"Old Man Third, I—"
The door was suddenly flung open, and a figure walked in.
Jiraiya froze on the spot.
So did the Third Hokage.
The two stared at each other, wide-eyed, and the atmosphere instantly became unbearably awkward.
"Ahem… you're back!" Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed twice and hurriedly changed the image without missing a beat.
Today, he had truly embarrassed himself completely.
Jiraiya gave the old man a teasing look before calmly saying, "You've really gotten old. Last time I saw you, you didn't have this much white hair."
At the same time, he let out a quiet sigh inside.
"There are too many troublesome matters to deal with. Besides, I'm old now. Naturally, my hair has turned white. You should already know why I called you back," Hiruzen said calmly.
After handing the title of Hokage over to the Fourth, he should have been able to live out his later years in peace.
But who could have expected the Nine-Tails to break free and attack Konoha? Not long after, the Fourth Hokage and his wife died heroically sealing it away…
As the former Third Hokage, the aging Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to step back in and take up the role again.
And all the mess left behind after the Fourth's death…
It ended up being carried by Hiruzen, an old man with one foot already in the grave.
"Old man… these past few years… I'm really sorry," Jiraiya said, a trace of pain flashing through his eyes.
If he had been the one left to clean up that disaster, he probably would have gone completely insane.
It was all pressure.
"Saying things like that is useless. If you really mean it, then stay and help this old man lighten the load," Hiruzen complained.
"You know I don't like those old geezers," Jiraiya said with a bitter smile. Then he continued, "Don't worry. I won't be leaving anytime soon."
"Is that so…" Hiruzen's tightly furrowed brows relaxed a little.
Jiraiya nodded, then looked around the room. In the end, his gaze stopped on the wall nearby, where the portraits of the past Hokage were hanging.
He looked at the figure with golden hair and sighed inwardly.
"I saw that kid. He really doesn't respect his elders at all."
Jiraiya suddenly said this, recalling Naruto Uzumaki's face and immediately starting to complain.
"Naruto, huh? What do you think of that child?" Hiruzen murmured, thinking of the loud and carefree boy.
"He didn't inherit any of his father's good points. But he sure got plenty of Kushina's bad temper," Jiraiya said, and just thinking of Naruto's face made him think of Kushina.
"But… I kind of like that about him," he added.
"Is that so? Then I'm relieved," the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, said.
"Leave that kid to me," Jiraiya said.
...…
The next day.
Jiraiya arrived outside Naruto Uzumaki's window early in the morning. He pulled open the curtain—
—and instantly froze.
In front of him, a woman in pajamas was leaning over the boy, bracing herself with both hands as she bit hard into his neck, greedily drawing chakra from his body.
Kaguya seemed to sense something. Bathed in the sudden light, she turned her head—
—and froze as well.
For a moment, all three of them stared at each other.
Awkwardness filled the room.
Jiraiya stood there stiffly.
Had he come at the wrong time?
And besides… what kind of posture was that supposed to be?
And those bite marks on that kid's neck…
Wuwuwuwu…
It really made him jealous.
Why was there no girl willing to do something like that for him?
Tsunade, when exactly will you finally…
With a stiff smile, he quietly closed the curtain again and let out a sigh. His envy and jealousy were practically overflowing.
Everyone else already had someone by their side, so why was he still alone?
Single people really had no human rights!!!
As the curtain fell shut again, Kaguya and Naruto looked at each other. Seeing that the intruder had left, Kaguya moved as if to continue, only to be mercilessly stopped by Naruto.
She wore an innocent expression, silently cursing that troublesome guy who had shown up earlier.
"Kaguya, calm down a little. You've already taken so much," Naruto said helplessly.
For some reason, Kaguya had been getting more and more bold lately. Before, she only took a little each time. Now she was taking more and more aggressively.
Was she really injured?
Naruto couldn't help but doubt it. Every time she absorbed chakra, she used that same excuse, but after spending these past few days with her, it really didn't seem that way.
"But I still feel a little uncomfortable. Just a bit more and I'll be fine," Kaguya said.
"But you look pretty energetic to me… Are you really not recovered yet? You're not lying to me, are you?" Naruto asked suspiciously.
At those words, Kaguya panicked inwardly.
This is bad, this is bad—did he figure it out?
These past few days, she had gone a little too far. She shouldn't have been in such a rush.
"No, of course I'm not lying to you. I'm really injured. You have to believe me," Kaguya said seriously.
"But… but it really doesn't look like it," Naruto muttered.
"You have to believe me. Even though you smell really good—ah, no—that is, because my injury is very serious. It damaged my foundation, so you can't tell from the outside. I have to keep absorbing chakra over a long period to recover. Otherwise, I'll…" Kaguya improvised wildly, then put on a weak and fragile expression as if her old injury were flaring up again.
That delicate, pitiful look successfully fooled Naruto.
Naruto immediately looked guilty and said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you."
"It's fine. We're friends," Kaguya said with a small smile.
"Then is your injury serious? Do you still need chakra? It's okay if you take a little more," Naruto asked.
Hearing that, Kaguya was delighted. Just as she was about to lean down and continue, the curtain was pulled open again—
"I'm saying, could you two hurry up and get dressed? I've got something to—uh…"
Jiraiya looked at what they were doing, and his words got stuck in his throat.
Once again, the three of them stared at each other.
Utterly awkward.
Jiraiya forced a stiff smile onto his face, while Kaguya's expression turned cold. Being interrupted over and over again had irritated her to the point where she wanted to beat him up.
"I know now—it's you, that Peeping Sage?!" Naruto suddenly shouted as he remembered.
"What do you mean Peeping Sage? I'm the Toad Sage!" Jiraiya said speechlessly.
Kaguya stood up, and under Jiraiya's gaze, she slammed the curtain shut again.
Then, while Naruto was still stunned, she climbed back on top of him and bit into his neck once more.
"Wuaaah, Kaguya, what's wrong with you?! It hurts, it hurts—be gentler!!"
Outside, hearing Naruto's cries, Jiraiya felt so jealous he could have cried.
Wuwuwuwu…
This is abuse against single people!