Bab 61: Chapter 61: Jiraiya and Minato's Reputation Issue
Jiraiya quickly arrived at a secluded place and gazed from a distance at a figure training. The golden hair, reminiscent of Minato, softened Jiraiya's expression as memories of Minato's life flooded back to him.
Watching Naruto train brought a smile to Jiraiya's face. It seemed like Minato had left behind a promising heir.
After watching for a while, Jiraiya quietly left. He noticed the ANBU hiding in the shadows but chose not to comment. After all, even Kushina had ANBU escorts when she was not yet strong enough, so it made sense that Naruto would have them now.
Jiraiya made sure to check that the ANBU were directly under his teacher's command, which gave him some reassurance.
However, Jiraiya didn't know that apart from these ANBU, others were stationed elsewhere to prevent people from approaching. This was done to ensure that Jiraiya wouldn't witness any bullying of Naruto. Even after Jiraiya left, these guards stayed in place, as they had not yet received orders from the Third Hokage to leave. They couldn't afford to risk Jiraiya doubling back.
Jiraiya had no intention of doubling back, though. Instead, he wandered through the former Uchiha clan grounds. Seeing the nearly deserted area, Jiraiya felt a pang of regret.
Initially, he didn't believe the rumors about the Uchiha clan's massacre, but as time passed and the event became a settled fact, he had no choice but to accept it.
Even now, Jiraiya didn't fully understand it, but he didn't dwell on it for long. After all, the Uchiha weren't closely connected to him; he was just there to see it with his own eyes.
Jiraiya's main concern now was how to train Natsuro in the future. Taking him along on his travels was out of the question, as he was still laying the foundation of his skills. Jiraiya, being a wanderer, would have to settle down somewhere to avoid hindering his progress.
But if he had to settle down, why leave Konoha at all? Moreover, aside from gathering material, Jiraiya also infiltrated various places for information, something that would be inconvenient to bring Natsuro with him.
However, even if he couldn't bring Natsuro along, that didn't mean he couldn't teach him. And if he couldn't teach him personally, the Hokage was still around.
As he reflected on his time with Natsuro that day, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was too mature for his age. He acted nothing like a typical seven-year-old.
Jiraiya began to contemplate this further.
...
Meanwhile, Natsuro had returned home and opened the scroll Jiraiya had given him. As expected, as soon as he opened it, a large number of other scrolls appeared. He quickly started browsing through them.
Most of the scrolls covered sealing techniques, and there was one dedicated to the Flying Thunder God technique, including Minato's personal notes. The remaining scrolls dealt with summoning techniques.
Seeing so many scrolls made him feel overwhelmed, reminiscent of his high school days in his past life. Deciding that he would need to learn the summoning technique soon, he prioritized that. The summoning technique differed slightly from the tool-summoning technique he was familiar with, but they were similar enough to make it easier to learn. Once that was done, he would focus on the sealing techniques. As for the Flying Thunder God, there was no point in studying it until he had mastered the basics.
So, he buried himself in the scrolls until Shinai came home from work.
"Mom, today I became a student of one of the legendary Sannin," Natsuro eagerly shared the news with Shinai.
"Huh? The Sannin?!" Her eyes widened in surprise, and she immediately asked, "Is it Lady Tsunade? Has she returned to the village?"
"Uh... no."
"Then... Jiraiya?" Shinai's expression shifted, still surprised but with some other emotions mixed in.
"Yes," He nodded.
The atmosphere grew a bit awkward. Just as Natsuro was starting to feel confused, Shinai finally spoke.
"Well, Natsuro, while it's great that you're learning from Lord Jiraiya, you should remember that you already have Ino," She said seriously.
Natsuro couldn't help but let his composure slip. Just how widespread was his new sensei's perverted reputation?
Actually, Jiraiya's reputation among the ninja community and men wasn't too bad. But unfortunately, in Konoha's women's circles, Jiraiya's reputation had long preceded him...
"Ahem." He cleared his throat and quickly changed the topic, telling her about his acquisition of the Flying Thunder God technique, emphasizing that it was the Fourth Hokage's signature jutsu.
Shinai's reaction changed completely at the mention of the Fourth Hokage...
Her eyes lit up as she urged him to work hard on mastering the Flying Thunder God technique and not tarnish the Fourth Hokage's legacy.
At that moment, he realized that his mother was probably a big fan of Minato in her youth.
He couldn't help but feel some sympathy for his father, even though they had never met. But at least his family circumstances meant there was no need to worry about any awkward connections with Minato. After all, Minato, as the Fourth Hokage, was likely the ideal man for many women of that time, though Kushina had claimed him early and fiercely.
He hadn't expected to learn so much about his mother's past in such a roundabout way. It had been hard to tell before now.
After dinner, he returned to his scrolls. He had already finished the summoning scroll. Though the summoning technique differed from the tool-summoning he had previously mastered, it shared many similarities. He felt confident he could learn it quickly; the only question was what level of toad he could summon with his chakra capacity.
Now, he was diving into the intimidating amount of scrolls on sealing techniques, which were genuinely extensive and required him to start from scratch.
The sea of knowledge was endless!
...
In the following days, Natsuro used every spare moment to study the sealing technique scrolls. However, he was puzzled that Jiraiya seemed disinterested in checking his progress with the summoning technique. Although Jiraiya demonstrated the summoning technique to him, it was clear that his purpose lay elsewhere...
Even so, Jiraiya's demonstration of the summoning technique was very detailed. He showed him each hand sign, making the flow of chakra visible from the outside so he could observe every detail.
But instead of focusing on jutsu, Jiraiya took him to various places to have fun, though they weren't the kind of places one might expect. They were more like playgrounds or amusement parks in the shinobi world, which made him a bit uncomfortable.
Finally, one day, he couldn't hold back any longer.
"Sensei, there's no need for you to take me to these places." Natsuro said, looking directly at Jiraiya with a serious expression.
"Oh? Really? I thought you might enjoy these places since you might not have had the chance to come here before. I figured it would make you happy." Jiraiya scratched his head, explaining that he had thought long and hard about it, ultimately deciding that he might lack these experiences.
If he were a normal child, Jiraiya's reasoning might have been correct. However, Natsuro was not an ordinary kid; he had never been interested in such things.
"Sensei, I appreciate your intentions, but I'm more drawn to the feeling of getting stronger through my own efforts. The sensation of gradually improving is what I find most exhilarating and satisfying. I've seen these other things, but I don't really desire them." Natsuro said earnestly.
To be honest, he was touched by Jiraiya's efforts. The man seemed genuinely concerned about him, thinking that his behavior was unusual for a child in peacetime. It was as if he had lost his childhood, so Jiraiya wanted to make up for that.
But, he genuinely didn't need it. Besides, every time they went out, he had to train extra hard afterward to make up for lost time...
Hearing his words, Jiraiya stared at him for a moment before finally nodding.
"Alright then, let's test how much you've learned with the summoning technique today." Jiraiya suggested.
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