Naruto: The Immortal Sage

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"You're not worried about any of this, are you?" Sakumo gave Manji a resigned look.

Both were considered Konoha's top young talents. Sakumo stood out for his sword skills, while Manji was known throughout the shinobi world for his mastery of elemental ninjutsu.

Manji was one of the only shinobi in Konoha—apart from Hiruzen Sarutobi—to master all five basic chakra natures!!

........

After finishing their training for the day, they walked through the streets of Konoha together.

"Want to grab a bowl at Ichiraku? My treat." Sakumo waved two coupons for free ramen with a smug grin.

"Sure." Manji felt a bit nostalgic.

He figured it was time to see how Teuchi was running the shop.

When they reached the entrance, they spotted Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade sitting by the window.

"HEY, LOOK WHO'S HERE!" Sakumo called out as he and Manji opened the door and walked in, both smiling.

All three turned to look. Tsunade and Orochimaru greeted them with smiles, but Jiraiya just blinked in confusion.

"Well, if it isn't Manji and Sakumo. What brings Konoha's two prodigies here?" Tsunade nodded at Manji, greeting him like an old friend.

Orochimaru smiled too. "Have a seat. Join us."

"You three come here a lot." Sakumo pulled up a chair and sat down. "I heard your adoptive father owned this place. Is that true?"

Orochimaru nodded and gave a rare, wistful smile. "Yes. That's why we've kept coming here all these years. We never go anywhere else for ramen."

"Two bowls of ramen, with an extra serving of pork!" Manji called to Teuchi behind the counter.

"Manji! Sakumo! You two keep getting taller. It's been a while! Coming right up." Teuchi grinned and nodded, as if he had known Manji for years.

Soon, the four of them were chatting like old friends, talking about tricky techniques and sharing funny stories from recent missions.

"...?" Jiraiya stared at Manji like he'd seen a ghost, his chopsticks frozen in midair.

Who... the hell... is this guy?

He searched his memory, thinking of every Konoha ninja he'd known since childhood and every young prodigy he'd ever heard of. He went over the list again and again.

Nothing... He couldn't remember this man at all!!

Manji? I've never even heard that name before. When did Konoha get another prodigy who could rival Sakumo? Tsunade and Orochimaru seem to know him, so why don't I? I know everyone they know!

Jiraiya felt alarm bells go off in his head, and cold sweat formed at his temples. He was sure his memory was fine—Konoha had never had a ninja named Manji.

Manji noticed Jiraiya's odd behavior and looked down, pushing a slice of pork around his bowl with his chopsticks.

His eyes darkened for a moment as he remembered what had happened...

When Manji cast the [Yatagarasu Illusion] to change the village's memories, Jiraiya was on Mount Myōboku, training with Fukasaku.

The genjutsu never reached him!

Manji wasn't worried. He had only missed one person, and that was it.

"Who are you?" Jiraiya asked, staring straight at him. His voice was cold.

Everyone paused.

Then Tsunade burst out laughing and clapped Jiraiya on the shoulder. "You idiot! Did all that training in the summoning realm scramble your brain? It's Manji! We've been on plenty of missions together. He even saved your life in the Land of Rain, remember?"

Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru for confirmation.

Orochimaru gave him a strange look, then nodded.

"She's right. Stop fooling around, Jiraiya." Orochimaru figured Jiraiya was just pretending for a laugh.

"You must have forgotten... We started at the Academy around the same time, remember?" Manji smiled at him.

Jiraiya still couldn't remember anything about him. But Tsunade and Orochimaru seemed so at ease with Manji that he kept his questions to himself and forced a laugh.

"Ha! Come on, I'm just messing with you! Don't take it personally, Manji." He put an arm around Manji's shoulder, trying his best to play along.

Manji chuckled. "No worries. We're all friends here."

Tsunade spent most of the meal talking with Manji, eagerly catching him up on everything that had happened over the past few years. Whenever her attention drifted back to him, the fondness on her face made her feelings hard to miss.

Manji gave short replies, his smile becoming more forced.

Something wasn't right... Why was Tsunade looking at him the same way Kaguya once had?

It didn't take long for the answer to click. His memory-altering genjutsu had caused a side effect he hadn't considered. The technique could rewrite someone's memories, but it couldn't change who they were or force them to feel a certain way.

He had filled Tsunade's past with memories of fighting beside him and being saved by him. Now those false memories had given rise to something real.

She had fallen for him.

The memories were fabricated, but her feelings weren't.

Jiraiya watched Tsunade smiling and chatting with Manji, feeling a bit resentful. He knew he had to figure out what was going on.

When Manji finished eating, he cleared his throat and wiped his mouth. "Well, I'm heading out. You guys enjoy your food."

He wanted to leave before things with Tsunade got more complicated.

Tsunade wasn't ready to end their conversation. "Wait, Manji! I'll come with you. Jiraiya, Orochimaru, I'm off. Don't forget our mission tomorrow!"

She followed Manji outside. Jiraiya and Orochimaru left the shop a bit later.

........

On the way home, Jiraiya finally asked again. "Orochimaru, seriously. Do you actually know that Manji guy?"

Orochimaru frowned. Was Jiraiya really still going with this? How long did he plan to keep pretending he didn't know the answer?

"Drop the act, Jiraiya. You knew him well enough when you asked him to buy you dirty books."

Jiraiya stopped in his tracks, his face turning red. "I did?"

"Idiot." Orochimaru walked into the courtyard, and Jiraiya followed him in.

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