"Recently, there've been more and more unfamiliar faces around the village."
Just as Terumi Mei had noticed Kakashi's group, Naruto and the others also realized that more and more outsiders were gathering inside the village.
"Ah, come to think of it, you guys still don't know, right? The Chūnin..."
Kakashi suddenly remembered something. He stopped walking, ready to explain about the Chūnin Exams in his usual absent-minded tone.
But before he could finish, the sound of hurried footsteps interrupted him.
A small figure came sprinting toward Naruto and wrapped its arms tightly around his waist from behind.
"Naruto!"
"Huh? Konohamaru?!"
The grip around his waist wasn't strong, but Naruto instantly recognized the voice of the one hugging him.
"Hehe, that's right, it's me! Konohamaru at your service!"
Konohamaru grinned as he released Naruto, placing his hands on his hips and showing off proudly.
"Naruto, I've already mastered my shuriken throwing technique! Next time we spar, I won't lose to you!"
Having been raised close to the Third Hokage, Konohamaru had met Naruto's group early on, and their bond was naturally strong.
"Oh yeah? I'll be looking forward to that, Konohamaru."
Naruto laughed and reached out to ruffle the boy's hair. Konohamaru didn't shy away; instead, he seemed to enjoy it.
"Oh, right, Naruto, Grandpa said Konoha's about to host the next Chūnin Exams! Are you gonna join?"
Konohamaru suddenly remembered something and quickly asked.
"Chūnin Exams? I didn't know about that."
Naruto blinked, then turned to Kakashi.
"Well, I was just about to tell you," Kakashi said with a shrug, almost instinctively reaching into his vest for Icha Icha Paradise.
Good thing he stopped himself—there were Police Force members nearby.
He silently thanked his own muscle memory for being interrupted.
Not far away, those same Police Force officers were glaring at him, waiting for a chance to score points by catching him doing something questionable.
Seriously… where is Jiraiya-sama anyway? If he were in the village, he'd be their main target instead of me.
...
Meanwhile, the very man Kakashi was thinking about—Jiraiya—was crouched in a small tavern located in one of the newly opened outer districts of Konoha, thoroughly enjoying being surrounded by young women.
"Hahaha! I am none other than the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku, one of the legendary Sannin—Jiraiya-sama!"
After a few drinks, Jiraiya started boasting about his strength under the warm haze of alcohol.
"Oh my, so it's Jiraiya-sama, one of the Three Legendary Sannin?"
A faintly cold voice cut through the lively air, and for a moment, the atmosphere in the tavern turned oddly quiet.
Jiraiya squinted his eyes, trying to make out who had spoken. Before he could, a pale hand reached out, picked up a cup from the table, and—under his blurred gaze—poured him another drink.
"Since you're the legendary hero himself, please allow me to offer you this cup of sake."
The woman's face remained unseen as she spoke.
"Ah..."
Jiraiya wanted to refuse. Even in his drunken state, his shinobi instincts were still there—something about this woman felt dangerous, yet strangely familiar.
But somehow, he still accepted the cup and drank it all in one go.
The next thing he knew, his vision went black.
...
When Jiraiya opened his eyes again, the first thing he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.
"Where… am I?"
He rubbed his eyes, confused about how he'd ended up there.
As his consciousness cleared, realization struck him. He shot up from the bed, glancing around the room. It looked like an inn.
A small wooden table.
A steaming cup of water.
A small pile of cash beside it.
And a blanket over his body…
A blanket? Cash?
Jiraiya froze, then threw the blanket aside—only to find his upper body completely bare.
His face turned crimson as he frantically searched for his clothes.
After some struggle, he finally found his shirt and threw it on, still reeling from the shock.
No way... could it be that he, the great Jiraiya, the man who'd roamed countless brothels yet never crossed the line—had actually been...?!
Jiraiya slapped himself hard, staring at the cash on the table with a mixture of emotions.
Judging by the thickness, it was quite a hefty sum.
But why… why was he the one who got paid?!
Did she look down on the great Sannin of Konoha or something?!
Fuming inside, Jiraiya felt both the humiliation of being "sold" and the insult of being on the receiving end of payment.
No matter how you look at it, he's the one who's supposed to pay, right?!
"Damn it!"
He cursed, storming to the door, gripping the handle, and about to rush out to confront the innkeeper for the woman's identity—but then he stopped, turned back, grabbed the cash, and carefully counted it.
He stuffed it into his chest pocket.
Don't get the wrong idea—he just wanted to know exactly how much it was, so that when he found the woman, he could throw it right back in her face.
...
Once he left the room, he realized he'd been staying on the inn's second floor.
Storming down the stairs, Jiraiya stomped toward the front desk, face full of rage.
The receptionist blinked in confusion as he demanded to know who the woman staying with him was.
"I'm terribly sorry, but I didn't get a clear look at her face," the receptionist explained, "Only that she was a very fair-skinned beauty..."
The moment she realized that Jiraiya didn't even know who he'd shared a room with, the receptionist's imagination went wild.
A drunken man picked up by a mysterious woman… what followed could only be an adult-rated story.
Holding back a laugh, the receptionist tried carefully to recall the face of the person who had rented the room, only to realize that the only impression she had left was the pale complexion.
With nothing more to glean, Jiraiya left the inn in a daze.
He had intended to settle the room fee, but found that the other person hadn't even given him the chance.
Failure.
No, wait—the little tavern from yesterday!
Jiraiya's spirits lifted. He suddenly remembered that his encounter with the other person had started at that small tavern, and immediately activated his Body Flicker Technique, rushing toward it.
However, when he reached the area near the shop, he saw a familiar figure directing Konoha ninja to surround the entire building.
"Fugaku?"
"Hm? Jiraiya-sama." Hearing the voice, Fugaku turned and saw Jiraiya.
He sized Jiraiya up and frowned, asking, "Jiraiya-sama, are you here to visit this shop?"
Seeing this formation, Jiraiya realized that if he agreed, then he'd be confirmed as the one.
He hastily shook his head, denying the suggestion.
"No, no, someone as upright as me would never come to such a filthy place. No, not at all."
"Oh? But I never said this shop was that kind of place."
Fugaku's frown deepened.
"No, no, no… uh, right, you're here to inspect the shop, aren't you?" Jiraiya quickly switched the topic, realizing that prolonging this conversation would only make things worse.
Fugaku considered pressing further, but since this wasn't the first time the other had done such things, the end result would likely just be a few days in jail and a fine, after which it wouldn't be pursued.
"Yes. Someone reported that there were illicit activities here, so we came to investigate."
"Ah, I must say, you guys… as shinobi, especially adult ones, we need a way to vent, don't we? But that Hokage…"
Jiraiya was very dissatisfied with Takeshi's policies.
"Jiraiya-sama, the Fifth Hokage's policies are only for within the village. If you truly want to experience the company of beauties, you may go to towns outside the village."
Fugaku cut Jiraiya off sternly.
Being a life winner with wife and children, he was far beyond Jiraiya, the eternal bachelor.
So Jiraiya's remark wouldn't resonate; it would only draw reprimand.
"I misspoke. Well, you must be busy. I'll return to the village."
Jiraiya laughed awkwardly and hurriedly took his leave.
Well, that's that—the shop was gone, and he'd probably never know who the other person really was.
Jiraiya sulked, still upset at being caught up in such a situation.
"Sigh, I need someone to have a drink with. I wonder if that Orochimaru fellow has time."
At times like this, a man wants someone to confide in.
But such matters couldn't be discussed with Minato or Tsunade, so after some thought, Jiraiya decided to turn to Orochimaru.
At this moment, Orochimaru, on Jiraiya's mind, had already received notice from the village and had left the Land of Grass, hurrying back to the research bureau.
"Orochimaru, you arrived a day later than expected. Was there an issue?"
Hiruko asked respectfully, inquiring about his journey.
"Hm, just handled some personal matters."
Orochimaru waved his hand, glancing at Sakumo and the others standing nearby.
"I didn't expect the Fourth to be here, oh, and you're here too, sensei."
Next to Hiruko stood Hatake Sakumo, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Aburame Tatsuma, Shimura Danzō, Namikaze Minato, Nara Shikaku, and a few others.
Danzō, displeased that Orochimaru hadn't greeted him, remained silent.
Aburame Tatsuma said nothing either. He was close to Orochimaru but had arrived in the village the previous afternoon with Black Zetsu.
"So this is the Black Zetsu mentioned by the Fifth."
Inside a transparent space filled with various jutsu, Black Zetsu lay listlessly on the ground, utterly despondent.
He, the formidable Black Zetsu, manipulator of hearts, trickster who made Uchiha Madara believe in Infinite Tsukuyomi, had been captured by a group of small children.
What humiliation.
Even the Sage of Six Paths hadn't traced his movements—why, why had it come to this?
Black Zetsu was at a loss. Even more despairing, the level of shinobi had far exceeded his expectations; the prison they had set was enough to prevent him from merging into the earth.
The prison had been developed by Danzō with the Root Research Department to detain Ōtsutsuki, with each sealing jutsu designed to seal a single target.
Later, Hiruko improved it, incorporating Ōtsutsuki power so it could imprison Black Zetsu.
"That fellow can wait. Let's check the Rinnegan first."
Danzō, clearly more interested in the eyes, urged Orochimaru to examine the Rinnegan.
"Danzō, don't rush."
Sarutobi Hiruzen instinctively scolded Danzō.
"I'm the head of the ANBU training division, Hiruzen!"
"I'm the Third Hokage, Danzō!"
"I'm still the Hokage's father!"
"I'll—"
Their bickering predictably involved some physical contact.
The others nearby were unbothered. Since stepping down as Hokage, the Third had relaxed completely, losing all his previous composure.
Orochimaru ignored them, using instruments to examine the Rinnegan's parameters.
"Fourth-sama, the Kirigakure emissary Terumi requested that Konoha send people to assist them in building their research bureau."
Taking advantage of the Third and Danzō's scuffle and Orochimaru and Hiruko's focus on the Rinnegan, Nara Shikaku quietly informed Sakumo of Kirigakure's request.
"It seems the Fifth had agreed to this during the Five Kage Summit," Shikaku added.
Sakumo nodded. "I understand. Then we'll have Hiruko make the trip to guide them."
To show Konoha's sincerity, Sakumo decided to send Hiruko.
"Yes. Regarding the nobles' arrangements during the Chūnin Exams…"
"They can go to the Grand Hotel, built on the Fifth's orders. It was originally for accommodating nobles."