Konoha Hospital.
Rinjin, carrying Anko Mitarashi on his shoulder, was just about to enter when a tall figure barreled into him, nearly knocking him off balance.
Taking a closer look... it was his old acquaintance Jiraiya.
At the same time, Jiraiya spotted Rinjin. The next second, the guy launched three feet into the air like his ass had caught fire, then pointed accusingly at Rinjin and bellowed:
"Rinjin, you bastard's having an affair!"
His shout echoed through the bustling hospital entrance, plunging the area into dead silence. Most passersby didn't recognize Rinjin, but Jiraiya was legendary throughout Konoha.
Instinctively, everyone's gaze locked onto the tall man carrying the provocatively dressed woman—some condemning, others envious. Meanwhile, Anko on Rinjin's shoulder covered her face in mortification.
So humiliating!
On the other side, watching Jiraiya bounce around threatening to tattle to Tsunade, Rinjin rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"Jiraiya, you're still a pathetic bachelor yourself—worry about your own problems first!"
"Hah?! So what if I'm single?! At least I don't cheat!" Jiraiya declared arrogantly.
Hearing this, Rinjin sighed deeply and spoke mysteriously.
"Have you ever heard this song?"
"What song?" Jiraiya asked reflexively.
"The Single Person's Blues!"
Clearing his throat, Rinjin began crooning in his mature baritone:
"Love gets stronger through heartbreak, love demands unwavering devotion Every single person deserves beheading If you want love, don't fear the pain~"
His gravelly voice echoed through the entrance, and Jiraiya's face instantly darkened!
What the hell kind of lyrics are those?! Single people deserve beheading? Go screw yourself!
While Jiraiya cursed internally, Rinjin playfully waggled his eyebrows, patted Jiraiya's shoulder with a lecherous grin, and sauntered into the hospital.
Casually pushing open a treatment room, he found an empty bed and deposited Anko onto it, then grabbed a passing young nurse.
"Anko Mitarashi, chief examiner for the second Chunin Exam round. She had an... incident in the Forest of Death."
"What's your relationship to the patient?" the young nurse inquired.
"Uh... I'm her father. Name's Mitarashi Magma!"
After delivering this ridiculous lie, Rinjin spun around and exited the treatment room.
Outside, Jiraiya stood with arms crossed, leaning against the wall.
"Why are you still lurking here?"
"I'm buying you drinks." Jiraiya grinned and slung his arm around Rinjin's shoulder, completely abandoning his earlier theatrical outrage.
While Jiraiya dragged Rinjin toward a tavern, atop the Hokage building in the village center, Hiruzen Sarutobi gazed seriously into the distance.
Behind him, Itachi—wearing a large cat mask—knelt on one knee, methodically reporting his gathered intelligence.
"Lord Hokage, Orochimaru infiltrated the Forest of Death and attacked Team 7. First, he used the Five Elements Seal to reinforce Uzumaki Naruto's containment seal. Subsequently, he assaulted Uchiha Sasuke, implanting an unknown curse mark on his shoulder."
After his words concluded, prolonged silence stretched between them.
After an indeterminate period, Hiruzen finally spoke slowly.
"What about Sakumo Rinjin? Did he intervene?"
Hearing this, Itachi replied calmly:
"When Orochimaru attacked Team 7, Rinjin-sensei didn't intervene directly."
He avoided using Rinjin's name casually—after all, Rinjin was essentially his father's father, practically his grandfather. But he also refrained from calling him grandfather or the Daimyo of Rain Country. As ANBU, such familiar address might displease the Third Hokage.
The report continued:
"However, after Orochimaru's departure, Rinjin-sensei ordered the Rain Village squad participating in the Chunin Exams to secretly protect Team 7."
Hearing this, Hiruzen sighed internally.
One Orochimaru, one Sakumo Rinjin...
Regarding threat assessment, Orochimaru lurking in shadows plotting unknown schemes posed far less danger than Rinjin. That wayward student lacked cunning—his revenge plots were predictably straightforward.
But Rinjin was entirely different! This man excelled at long-term scheming, planting strategic landmines throughout Konoha during every visit. Most terrifyingly, he maintained a completely harmless exterior while cultivating relationships with the village's veteran establishment.
There are wolves among the sheep!
Contemplating this, Hiruzen felt waves of helplessness crash over him.
After all these years, he'd gradually deciphered the pattern. Rinjin appeared casual in every action, but possessed incredible patience—his schemes often spanned ten to twenty years.
Consider that insurance company he'd orchestrated over twenty years ago. All major clans held shares, generating substantial annual profits. Yet twelve years ago, during the Nine-Tails incident, this bastard actually profited enormously through astronomical property damage insurance and strategically positioned real estate throughout Konoha—essentially draining every penny the major clans had accumulated over decades.
It perfectly embodied that otherworldly principle: "You take the blame, you go die too!"
Most infuriatingly, his so-called "Konoha Unlimited Irresponsible Company" construction crews had the audacity to openly contract the village reconstruction work afterward. Absolutely inhuman!
Reflecting on this, Hiruzen felt like someone had force-fed him a mouthful of dog excrement—disgusting enough to trigger violent nausea.
That wasn't even the worst aspect. This guy always maintained plausible restraint, making open confrontation feel unworthy of the effort.
It resembled having a voluptuous beauty neighbor who visited daily—either her bathtub malfunctioned or her electric blanket failed. Yet she'd consistently depart with his razor after bathing or borrow his air conditioning blanket indefinitely.
After several years, his household had been systematically stripped bare. Beyond occasionally touching her silky hands and enjoying her enchanting glances, he'd gained absolutely nothing—except his right arm had grown remarkably strong...
Contemplating this scenario, Hiruzen felt donkey ears sprouting from his skull, with "IDIOT" emblazoned across his forehead in massive letters.
Death by a thousand cuts, painfully slow realization—it hurts too damn much!
Time flowed onward, and five days passed swiftly. The second round of Chunin Exams approached its conclusion.
Numerous candidates who'd successfully collected both Heaven and Earth scrolls now faced their ultimate evaluation: one-on-one elimination matches.
As a Konoha jonin, Rinjin naturally infiltrated the instructor observation area.
Along the railings, Rinjin casually hooked his arm around Kakashi's neck. Being a powerfully built man from Hidden Cloud Village, his sturdy frame towered a full head above the six-foot Kakashi.
"Time flies so incredibly fast! In what feels like an instant, this kid's grown up completely! I still vividly remember when you wore split-crotch pants and went swimming in my fish pond, getting your little [censored] pinched by that crab~ Such precious memories!"
Nearby, Kakashi stared at the ceiling with dead fish eyes, desperately wanting to disappear.
While everything he's saying is technically true, could you please not share these stories in front of my students?
Damn it, I want to die!
Close by, Team 7's three members displayed obvious fascination with Kakashi's embarrassing past. Even the perpetually aloof Sasuke's eyes sparkled with gossip-hungry anticipation.
The straightforward Naruto ignored all social considerations, excitedly sidling up to Rinjin and shouting:
"Uncle Rinjin! Did Kakashi-sensei wear his mask when he was little?"
Hearing this, Rinjin completely ignored Kakashi's warning glare, scratched his head thoughtfully, and pondered aloud:
"I believe he started wearing it after entering the Ninja Academy... This kid was absolutely gorgeous. His father mentioned that all the girls in his class adored him. Plus, since he enrolled at age four, those older female students would bully him specifically to capture his attention. Isn't that right?"
While speaking, Rinjin grinned and patted Kakashi's shoulder affectionately.
The utterly defeated Kakashi possessed no defense against this thick-skinned monster of a stepfather and rolled his eyes in speechless resignation.
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