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Time ticked by, and instead of waiting for the person Kazuki was expecting, an unexpected guest arrived.
"The moonlight is nice tonight."
"It is quite nice."
Of course, it had to be Jiraiya—sharp-eyed as ever. Even the Anbu ninjas hadn't noticed, yet Jiraiya spotted him instantly.
Kazuki gave him a blank stare.
'Do you think I'm an idiot? Moonlight is nice, my ass!' If it weren't for his official duties, he wouldn't be sitting out here in the cold night air. A hot bath and a good meal at home sounded far more appealing.
Jiraiya silently sat beside Kazuki, observing the surroundings and making sure his presence didn't interfere with Kazuki's mission. Then he quietly asked, "A mission?"
Kazuki nodded without saying much and simply pointed to the ground at his feet.
Jiraiya understood immediately. Kazuki was staking out.
'Well then, I'll leave you to it. You keep waiting.'
Jiraiya made a few hand signals and quickly left. He had been busy all day, but despite all his efforts, he hadn't uncovered anything of value. In fact, it was a mess—he even got Asuma involved. They'd spent half the day analyzing things in the Hokage's office but reached no conclusion.
Since Jiraiya still had to get home and take care of Naruto, he had no choice but to retreat for now. Who would have thought he'd run into Kazuki on a stakeout while on his way home?
Better make a quick exit!
Kazuki waved him off in annoyance. Jiraiya chuckled silently and left swiftly.
'He's really become a proper caretaker. Kazuki still found it hard to believe that due to some unforeseen circumstances, Jiraiya had returned to the village earlier than expected. Not only had he stayed, but he'd also taken on the role of both father and mother, looking after and accompanying Naruto.
Even though Jiraiya wasn't always the most reliable, at least when it came to taking care of a kid, he was quite experienced. After all, he had spent several years in the Rain Country looking after Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.
Poor Minato, though—his sensei went off to war and vanished without a trace. By the time the war ended, Jiraiya hadn't returned to the village.
Still, Minato did benefit from this in some way.
If it weren't for Jiraiya feeling guilty about neglecting his disciple and recognizing Minato's potential, he wouldn't have helped him learn the Flying Thunder God technique. Left to his own devices, who knows when Minato would have mastered such an incredible jutsu?
The Scroll of Seals wasn't something just anyone could read or use to learn and copy jutsu.
Without Jiraiya as his teacher, it would have been a long, long time before Minato could access the Flying Thunder God technique.
To this, Kazuki could only think: having connections is great. It's like getting a backdoor pass. Unlike the Uchiha, who could shed as much blood and earn as much glory as they wanted, but they'd never get even a glance at that scroll.
A tense figure moved cautiously through the dark alleys of Konoha.
"Who's there!?"
Someone had entered through the kitchen window, and Kurenai, who had been on high alert, noticed immediately.
"Kurenai, it's me."
Covered in mud, with bloodstains on his clothes, Makino emerged from the kitchen.
"Kurenai, I need your help. Please, you have to help me. Without you, I can't escape the village."
"You want me to help you escape the village and become a rogue ninja? Do you even know what you're saying, Makino?!" Kurenai shouted angrily, "Do you know what you've done? The police came looking for me this afternoon!"
'The police?' Hearing those words, Makino's eyes widened in fear, and he instinctively turned to run. For the past day, he'd been hiding from the police, terrified of being caught.
He had attacked a fellow ninja from the village and struck with enough force to kill them—a serious crime. Even if he wasn't sentenced to death, he'd probably never get out of Konoha's prison.
"Kurenai, please, you have to help me. I didn't mean for this to happen. That jerk provoked me on purpose, and who knew he was so weak?"
Makino was panicking, running in circles. After the incident, he'd fled the scene immediately, not even daring to approach the village gates for fear of being caught.
He'd been hiding ever since, and only after nightfall did he dare sneak over to Kurenai's house for help. He was hoping that Kurenai would help him escape from Konoha.
"Absolutely not!"
Kurenai firmly rejected him. "Makino, you've already made a mistake. You can't keep making things worse. Listen to me—go to the police and turn yourself in."
"Why? Why won't you help me?"
Makino's nerves, already frayed from evading capture all day, snapped when he heard Kurenai tell him to surrender. His emotions spiraled out of control.
"You said the police already came? Are you planning to help them catch me? Ha! Is that it?"
"Makino, don't make this worse. I don't want to have to fight you." Kurenai tried to reason with him, hoping he would listen and choose not to run. The consequences would be dire if he got caught—possibly even execution on the spot.
At least in Konoha's prison, his life would be spared.
"Ha! So you are with them! You're all in on this together!" Makino, hysterical, shouted as he backed toward the kitchen window, already planning his escape.
Kurenai wasn't going to help him.
She might even be in league with the police, ready to trap him.
"Makino, I really don't want to fight you." Kurenai could see that Makino didn't trust her and was planning to flee. She wanted to subdue him and take him to the police herself, but she was deeply conflicted.
Makino's family had cared for her after her father's death during the Nine-Tails attack. She owed them a lot. Now that Makino had committed a crime, if Kurenai turned him in, she wouldn't be able to face his family ever again.
"Kurenai Yuhi, I misjudged you!"
Makino, already at the window, feared Kurenai might change her mind and stop him. So, he quickly jumped out the same window he had come in through.
He escaped Kurenai's house, and she ultimately couldn't bring herself to stop him. Makino landed safely on the grass outside, glaring back at the house with hatred. He prepared to make his escape under the cover of darkness.
But as he turned around, he realized someone was standing in front of him. The person was holding a brick and smiling.
"I've been waiting for you."
*BAM!*
The brick shattered as Makino, unable to react in time, was knocked out cold and fell to the ground without a sound.
"No matter how skilled you are, you're no match for a well-placed brick to the head."
The brick had been picked up from Kurenai's backyard, and Kazuki had been waiting here for quite some time, just for Makino to deliver himself into his hands.
Makino didn't disappoint.
Like a fool, he jumped out and immediately turned to look behind him instead of checking his surroundings.