Hokage’s Office.
“How is Minato Namikaze doing?”
Jiraiya leaned against the window frame and stretched.
“He signed the Summoning Contract and was Reverse Summoned to Mount Myoboku by Fukasaku.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned.
“Reverse Summoning?”
Jiraiya shrugged and spread his hands.
“I don’t know why Minato was Reverse Summoned either.”
He was also puzzled by this and had gone to Mount Myoboku to investigate.
There, he learned that Fukasaku had taken Minato to meet the Great Toad Sage.
Hiruzen gave his disciple a deep look.
Ever since returning from his training at Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya had been going on about some “Child of Prophecy” and had even replaced his Konoha forehead protector with a strange “Oil” character.
“If I recall correctly, you previously said you would only consider taking a disciple after Minato graduated?”
Although Hiruzen disliked the mystical, cryptic style of Mount Myoboku, he was pleased to see Jiraiya taking an interest in mentoring.
This was the passing on of the Will of Fire!
He recalled the childhood appearances of Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, a faint smile appearing on his face.
“There’s a kid named Gekko Ryun.
He gave me some inspiration.”
“Oh?
Gekko Ryun?”
Hiruzen’s expression shifted slightly.
Due to Kushina Uzumaki, he remembered this name quite well.
The Anbu had already gathered all information on him from birth until now.
If not for Mito Uzumaki’s indication not to interfere too much…
“What inspiration?”
“He said, ‘Life is short, don’t leave too many regrets.'”
Jiraiya stared blankly outside, his voice low.
“War might not be far off.”
“‘Life is short,’ huh?”
Hiruzen carefully pondered the phrase.
In the prime of his life, he let out a soft sigh.
“Is that why you want to take a disciple early?
To help Minato grow as quickly as possible?”
“Not just Minato.
If possible, I’d like to teach both Kushina and Gekko Ryun at the same time.”
“What did you say?!”
Hiruzen’s eyes widened.
Was this still his usually lazy, unreliable disciple who kept babbling about some Child of Prophecy?
Could a mere sentence have such a profound effect on Jiraiya?
In the past, he had painstakingly urged Jiraiya to take on a disciple.
Now he actively wanted to teach three?
“What’s your opinion, old man?”
“Don’t call me old man,” Hiruzen corrected him, thinking for a moment.
“Your intention is good, but…
no.”
“No?”
Jiraiya crossed his arms, giving him a puzzled look.
“I have other arrangements for them.
You just focus on teaching Minato.”
“What arrangements?
Minato, Gekko Ryun, and Kushina Uzumaki—the three of them would be the most suitable teammates.”
“Enough, let’s not discuss this further.”
Hiruzen refused decisively, without the slightest hesitation.
He could tolerate Mount Myoboku “leading astray” Jiraiya, and perhaps Minato as well.
But the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki…
absolutely not!
This was Konoha’s bottom line.
There was no room for negotiation whatsoever.
Jiraiya opened his mouth, but under Hiruzen’s stern gaze, he swallowed the words he wanted to say.
“Fine, you arrange it then.
I’m leaving.”
Hiruzen tapped the table.
“Wait, isn’t there something else you forgot to tell me?”
Jiraiya stumbled, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.
Forcing a smile, he said guiltily, “What?
If there’s nothing important, I’ll be going.
I still need to bring Minato back.”
“My pipe?”
Hearing this, Jiraiya’s already anxious heart finally sank.
His shoulders slumped as he said helplessly, “Teacher, it was all Biwako’s doing.
She said you smoke too much…”
“Not calling me an old man anymore?” Hiruzen Sarutobi teased.
“Come on, don’t say that.”
“Biwako already told me everything.
Alright, give me back my pipe.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi extended his hand.
Jiraiya inwardly cursed his luck.
The pipe was with Gekko Ryun, and he had already boasted about it yesterday.
With Minato and Kushina as witnesses.
Was he supposed to go knocking on his door now and ask for the “Hokage souvenir” back?
‘No way, absolutely not!’
Just thinking about it made Jiraiya’s face burn with embarrassment.
He couldn’t bear the shame.
After a moment of thought, he chuckled awkwardly, “Well…
I threw it into Mount Myoboku.”
“What?” Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned.
“Why would you throw a pipe into Mount Myoboku?”
He felt a pang of heartache—that pipe had been with him for over a decade.
“When you go to pick up Minato, bring the pipe back.”
“I can’t get it back,” Jiraiya said stubbornly, his neck stiff.
“Mount Myoboku is too big.
I forgot where I threw it.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi: “…”
Knock, knock, knock!
The office door was rapped.
“Come in.”
An Anbu member wearing an animal mask entered and respectfully said, “Lord Hokage, regarding Gekko Ryun…”
Hearing Gekko Ryun’s name, Jiraiya paused his attempt to slip away.
“You’re saying someone named Hayato is publicly challenging Gekko Ryun?”
“Yes, Lord Jiraiya.”
Jiraiya looked puzzled.
“Is such a trivial matter worth reporting?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand, and the Anbu member quietly withdrew.
Leaning back in his chair, he pondered for a moment before taking out a crystal ball the size of a fist.
“Jiraiya, if you have things to do, go ahead.”
Jiraiya decisively shook his head, staring at the crystal ball with interest.
“Teacher, can you give me one of those?”
“No.”
“How stingy!”
Ignoring him, Hiruzen Sarutobi placed his hand on the crystal ball.
A blurry image gradually appeared on its surface, becoming clear within a few breaths.
A training ground, two people standing opposite each other forming Opposing Hand Seals, and a crowd of onlookers.
…
“Gekko Ryun, open your eyes wide and see clearly!
Mourn the fate of never learning Ninjutsu!”
Hayato shouted loudly, veins bulging on his neck.
His hands moved clumsily as he formed hand seals.
Gekko Ryun glanced at Kushina, who was eager to intervene from the sidelines, signaling with his eyes for her not to act impulsively.
If a fireball over ten meters in diameter were to burst out,
Hayato would be lucky to leave a complete corpse.
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
Since Hayato was about to perform Ninjutsu, Gekko Ryun had no intention of drawing his sword and charging forward.
Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger
He swiftly completed the hand seals: “Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!”
His chest swelled high, his index and middle fingers pressed together, his clothes flapping loudly in the wind.
In the next instant, a fireball about one meter in diameter shot out abruptly.
Hayato stared blankly at the fireball almost upon him, the intense heat of the flames scorching his skin.
“How can you also use ninjutsu?
I refuse to accept this!
Earth Style: Heart-Piercing Decapitation Technique!”
“Ugh~”
The technique failed to activate, and blood gushed from Hayato’s nose and mouth.
The teacher’s expression changed instantly.
He appeared behind Hayato in a flash, gripping his shoulder and forcefully throwing him aside.
The next second, a fireball slammed heavily into the ground.
“Boom!”
Accompanied by a violent explosion, the ground was blasted open into a large crater, sending dust and debris flying everywhere.
Some even flew into the half-open mouth of a boy in the front row.
He instinctively closed his mouth and, after realizing what happened, spat several times in disgust.
Only then did the crowd snap out of their daze.
“Ninjutsu?!”
Someone spoke up first, followed by a wave of astonished exclamations from the group.
….
Hokage’s Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand, and the image on the crystal ball vanished.
“I knew I wasn’t wrong about him.
Did he intentionally control the power of the Great Fireball?” Jiraiya rubbed his chin, nodding in satisfaction.
“And he didn’t aim it at his classmates but at the ground.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded inwardly.
For someone of that age to unleash a Great Fireball of such power, he could truly be called a genius.
Of course, compared to that, he valued even more the blazing Will of Fire burning within him.
As for Hayato, he wasn’t worth their attention.
He initiated the challenge; he had no one else to blame.
It was just a case of a technique going out of control.
He’d recover after lying low for a few months.
“Teacher, who do you want to teach Ryūun and Kushina?”