Night fell.
As Ryun and Kushina were curled up on the sofa watching TV, Jiraiya, under the Hokage's instruction, knocked on the large iron gate of his house.
Both master and disciple had come visiting. Kushina originally did not want to let them in, but Ryun instructed her to open the door, so even though she was unwilling, she could only obediently comply.
"Rare guests... Brother Jiraiya, what brings you here?" Ryun stood up with a smile, deliberately ignoring a certain old man standing to the side.
"Little brother Ryun, why didn't you notify me when you returned... Making your big brother come find you at your home..." Although Jiraiya's words sounded like a complaint, there was a hard-to-describe smile on his face.
"Sorry... I just returned not long ago and was planning to visit you tomorrow, Brother Jiraiya. I didn't expect you to come over tonight..."
Ryun smiled as he handed tea to both of them. Seeing her man serve tea to that damn old man, Kushina, who was at the side, puffed up her cheeks, clearly a bit angry.
"Haha... You still have a conscience, kid. It wasn't in vain that I taught you my skills for a month in the Land of Rain..." Jiraiya laughed heartily.
"Brother Jiraiya took good care of me on the Land of Rain battlefield many times. I dare not forget..."
Ryun smiled humbly, then actively brought up those unforgettable times.
The two chatted and laughed, occasionally showing emotion on their faces. Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kushina, who were at the side, listened quietly, seemingly with no intention of joining the conversation.
"Back then, you had just graduated from the academy and followed Orochimaru everywhere carrying out high difficulty missions. Almost every day you went out in clean clothes, but returned to camp covered in blood and a soaring murderous aura. At that time, both Tsunade and I thought Orochimaru was crazy. Who teaches their own disciple like that..."
Jiraiya chatted with emotion. When Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was at the side, heard these words, he subconsciously lowered his head.
"At that time, relying on your illustrious military exploits, you actually went from an unknown graduated genin to a famous elite jonin on the Land of Rain battlefield in just half a year."
"You not only broke the undisputed record for the fastest promotion of a wartime ninja, but also became the youngest jonin in Konoha's history..."
Speaking of Ryun's past achievements, Jiraiya sincerely felt a sense of shared honor, as if this renowned young man was also his own disciple.
"Don't boast about past glories, let bygones be bygones..." Ryun lightly brushed past it, then shifted the topic to the trio of Nagato's group.
"I heard Brother Jiraiya took in three disciples in the Land of Rain? Over the years I've been to the Land of Rain a few times and have more or less learned some news about them..."
"You actually know about them!"
Jiraiya's expression showed surprise, as he had kept taking in the trio of Yahiko as disciples very secretively, and very few people knew about it.
"Yes... The three of them created a small organization called 'Akatsuki'. These people are dedicated to maintaining peace and have been doing very well within the Land of Rain..."
"The Akatsuki organization... maintaining peace... I rarely receive news about them anymore. Thank you for telling me this..." Jiraiya thanked him sincerely, appearing very happy.
In his view, this was a great thing, and it wasn't in vain that he taught the three of them for three years.
The ideal deeply buried in Jiraiya's heart has always been to maintain peace in the ninja world. How could he not be happy that his disciples are implementing this ideal and belief?
The two chatted about this and that. When Jiraiya asked about Ryun's recent situation, the answer Ryun gave made a certain someone present break out in a cold sweat.
"I haven't been doing anything major lately. I just went to a certain mountainous area in the Land of Rain, beat up the Five Kage who came prepared to kill me, and conveniently killed a few somewhat capable small fries..."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the room fell into an eerie silence.
Actually, Jiraiya didn't know about this matter yet, so he looked very confused at the moment.
"Tha... that... Ryun... I can explain..." Sarutobi Hiruzen stammered, his face red.
"I'm listening... Lord Hokage, feel free to speak your mind."
Ryun didn't even look at him. After taking a sip of tea, he sat up straight on the sofa. That posture of listening attentively added quite a bit of invisible pressure to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"I should start from when you became an SSS Class Rogue Ninja..." Sarutobi Hiruzen said, lowering his head.
"Right, right, right, I am still Konoha's SSS Class Rogue Ninja... I heard that when a rogue ninja of this level appears within the borders, it must be dealt with by Kage level combat power personally, and if necessary, even the power of a Tailed Beast can be mobilized..."
"Nana, you are now Konoha's Nine Tails Jinchuriki... you can't join Lord Hokage in plotting to murder your own husband..."
The sarcastic words made Sarutobi Hiruzen's face turn red with embarrassment. Kushina, who enjoyed watching the drama and didn't mind it getting bigger, almost laughed out loud.
"Ryun, this matter was forced upon Konoha by the Daimyos of the Five Nations together. Even if sensei disagreed, there was nothing he could do..." Jiraiya quickly spoke up to defuse the situation.
The Konoha higher-ups had indeed done many foolish and outrageous things, but seeing his teacher hanging his head in shame, Jiraiya, as a disciple, ultimately couldn't bear it.
"They threatened Konoha with war, I know about that... After all, our Konoha is the great ninja village that can least withstand threats. What the Konoha higher-ups most like to do has always been sacrificing a small portion of people to preserve the overall situation...
They never care whether doing so is fair to those people, nor do they care whether those sacrificed have contributed to Konoha or been loyal to them. Those loyal to them must die, those disloyal to them must also die. Shedding the last drop of blood for Konoha is considered only natural in the eyes of those higher-ups...
Do you think I'm right? Third Hokage-sama..."
Ryun's words were like knives stabbing straight into Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart, making him hunch over, not daring to straighten his back and meet Ryun's gaze.
It was only after a long while that he finally mustered the courage to say something shocking: "Ninja, are born tools in the hands of the great nations. Ninja, should just endure..."
"Haha... What a 'born to be tools', what a 'ninja should just endure'..."
Ryun couldn't help but clap and laugh. He had truly underestimated this Third Hokage!
"You are very right. It was I, being within (the ninja), who misjudged the ninja profession. Ninja are originally a group that cannot see the light, doing mostly shady killing deeds. For money and power, they can and dare to do all kinds of filthy things..."
"It's not like that! Ninja shouldn't be what you describe!" Jiraiya suddenly stood up and refuted loudly.
"Ninja can indeed endure pain that ordinary people cannot bear, but that does not mean they deserve to be lowly, nor does it mean they are tools!"
Jiraiya's emotions were somewhat agitated. He had never imagined his own teacher would say such cold blooded words. As the leader of the ninja, he viewed ninja as tools, and even said outright 'ninja should just endure'...
"Brother Jiraiya... still don't understand? When it comes down to it, you are also just a tool, and moreover, a very handy, high quality tool willing to endure all pain and injustice..."
Ryun sighed helplessly. Jiraiya was still so naive. Like the current Nagato, he was a typical idealist.
Sarutobi Hiruzen did not refute this statement, because what Ryun said was the truth.
The brainwashing curriculum of the Konoha Ninja Academy was originally like this. Handy 'tools' need to be cultivated from childhood. People like Jiraiya are the most typical 'qualified products'.
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