Naruto: The Nine-Tails' Legacy

"Hm? Who the hell are you, kid? Taking the side of a filthy pervert like this?"

The burly man glared fiercely.

He tried to shake off the masked man who was interfering, only to discover that the seemingly lean figure's grip was like iron.

His expression immediately changed.

"What are you trying to do? This bastard peeked at my wife and daughter—"

"That's right!"

"Not just that! I saw him sneaking into the women's changing area and stealing underwear!"

"There's more! He deliberately tripped into girls who had just come out of the bath!"

The surrounding crowd immediately erupted with accusations.

[Has Jiraiya-sama really fallen this far? Impossible... Was he drunk?]

Even Kakashi, as a fellow Konoha shinobi, felt embarrassed.

After releasing the man's wrist, he quickly tried to calm everyone down.

"Everyone, please don't be angry."

"How about this? I'll compensate everyone for the emotional distress."

"Please let him go."

"He's an elder from my family... his mind may not be functioning properly."

"Compensation?"

The burly man rubbed his aching wrist and looked at the money Kakashi handed over.

"Hmph. You think—"

Kakashi produced another stack.

"The issue isn't—"

Another stack appeared.

The man's expression instantly changed.

A bright smile appeared on his face.

"Haha! Every family has a relative suffering from dementia."

"Take him home."

"But make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Thank you for your understanding."

Kakashi sighed.

Then he turned toward the man lying on the ground and extended a hand.

"Let's get out of here first, Jiraiya-sa—"

"Yes! Yes! Let's go!"

"Thank you for saving me!"

The bruised and swollen white-haired man burst into tears as he grabbed Kakashi's hand.

Only after getting a clear look at him did Kakashi freeze.

"...Who are you?"

At almost the exact same moment, a hearty voice filled with amusement sounded behind him.

"Yo, isn't this Hatake Kakashi?"

"I've been waiting for you for days."

"What exactly are you doing?"

Kakashi turned around.

A white-haired man wearing a forehead protector marked with the kanji for "Oil" stood there with one arm around a voluptuous woman.

His expression was carefree and completely shameless.

The newcomer was none other than one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin—

Jiraiya.

Kakashi stared blankly at Jiraiya.

Then at the white-haired man still thanking him.

Then back at Jiraiya.

A vein twitched on his forehead.

Thunk.

A hand chop landed directly on the impostor's head.

The man rolled his eyes and collapsed unconscious.

"It's been a while, Jiraiya-sama."

"I happened to be helping the locals catch a pervert."

Kakashi smiled pleasantly.

"Really? Really?"

Jiraiya grinned.

"That guy was actually exposed by me."

"I spotted him sneaking around outside the women's bath and stealing clothes."

"So I kicked him."

Without hesitation, Kakashi sent the unconscious pervert flying with a kick.

"I knew there was something off about him."

"We really do think alike, Jiraiya-sama."

Seeing Jiraiya preparing to tease him further, Kakashi quickly interrupted.

"Jiraiya-sama, let's discuss business."

"Otherwise I'll have to ask why you were in a position to witness a peeping tom outside the women's bath."

"Oh?"

"Business?"

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes.

After reluctantly saying goodbye to the woman he had been chatting up, he led Kakashi to a secluded location.

"Let me make one thing clear first."

"I'm not interested in troublesome jobs."

"If the old man wants me back as some advisor or consultant, forget it."

"Have someone else do it."

Jiraiya spoke bluntly.

"You already know?"

Kakashi asked.

"I'm still a Konoha shinobi."

"How could I not know after such a huge incident?"

"Danzō being arrested is one thing."

"But even his old companions ended up imprisoned..."

Jiraiya took a sip of sake.

His expression became somewhat complicated.

"That old man spent his entire life compromising."

"And now, at his age, he's suddenly doing something like this."

"Clearly, he's trying to accomplish something before it's too late."

"Hokage-sama likely hopes that either you or Tsunade-sama will become the Fifth Hokage."

"Tch."

"Tell him to keep sitting in the Hokage's seat for a few more years."

"...Wait."

"Tsunade?"

"You're looking for her too?"

At the mention of Tsunade's name, Jiraiya immediately became interested.

"We tried."

"But we haven't found her yet."

"Naturally."

"You're probably never going to find her."

"Leave her alone."

"She hates the title of Hokage even more than I do."

Based on his understanding of Tsunade, Jiraiya waved dismissively.

"Jiraiya-sama, there's something else."

"Orochimaru appeared near Konoha recently."

"...Him."

Jiraiya clearly wasn't eager to discuss Orochimaru.

He had already heard reports of Orochimaru's appearance and had even investigated personally.

Just as slippery as ever.

No useful clues.

"Not only that."

"Later, our team discovered one of Orochimaru's bases near Konoha."

"According to the intelligence we've gathered, he was once connected to an organization called Akatsuki..."

"Orochimaru and Akatsuki?"

Jiraiya's expression instantly darkened.

"You've encountered Akatsuki?"

"You know about them too, Jiraiya-sama?"

"...Tell me everything."

Realizing how much attention Jiraiya paid to the name Akatsuki, Kakashi summarized the situation.

"I see..."

Jiraiya fell into deep thought.

He seemed to recall something.

Then he carefully examined Kakashi.

Suddenly, a grin appeared on his face.

"You know..."

"You look a lot healthier than you did back when you served under Minato."

The abrupt shift in topic left Kakashi confused.

"How about becoming the Fifth Hokage?"

Jiraiya suddenly said.

"...Please don't joke around, Jiraiya-sama."

"I'm not joking."

"Right now, the old man basically has complete authority."

"Nobody would care about your age."

"Hmm... Actually, your credentials aren't bad either."

"How old were you when you became a jōnin again?"

"And all those major responsibilities the old man keeps assigning to you..."

"That's succession training."

"He's obviously treating you like a future successor."

The more Jiraiya thought about it, the more convinced he became.

Before he could continue, Kakashi hurriedly waved his hands.

"No, no, Jiraiya-sama."

"What do you mean no?"

"Are you seriously trying to tell me the old man gives you all those responsibilities just because you're willing to work?"

Jiraiya laughed.

With his experience, he had already guessed most of the truth simply from the missions Kakashi had described.

"That's not what I meant."

Kakashi shook his head.

"What I'm trying to say is..."

"Because of how much trust Hokage-sama has placed in me..."

"I've developed a theory."

"A theory?"

"Yes."

"And lately, because of one of my students..."

"I'm becoming more and more convinced that it might actually be true."

Kakashi looked directly at Jiraiya.

Then he finally voiced the thought that had been growing in his heart.

"I think..."

"Minato-sensei might still be alive."

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