Chapter 342: Smart
As the damp floor beneath Jiraiya's sandals mushed, he kept his senses up. It had only been one night, and he had already made it to the first potential hideout.
Suddenly, a faint, almost imperceptible chakra signature registered in his senses. It was quite familiar, so his stride quickened.
The roar of a waterfall grew louder as he approached. And there, at the edge of the cliff face, stood a solitary figure: Sasuke Uchiha.
"I thought I sensed Orochimaru's chakra," Jiraiya admitted with a confident smile as he reached the cliff edge.
Sasuke slowly turned. His face showed frustration, yet Jiraiya couldn't quite read it. There was a tightness around the boy's eyes and a tension in his jaw.
"Mind if I ask what Orochimaru has you doing here?" Jiraiya asked.
Sasuke ignored the question and asked, "You're that other Sannin, right? How about you go back to the Leaf Village to deliver a message to Naruto for me?"
To think the Uchiha was attempting to make demands before a Legendary Sannin. Jiraiya, of course, was not at all deterred; he knew he could demolish Sasuke in the blink of an eye.
Before Jiraiya could even formulate a response, an orange blur shot past him.
"You can tell me right here!" Naruto declared after landing between the two.
Both Jiraiya and Sasuke were caught completely off guard. Naruto's sudden appearance was the last thing either of them expected.