In the shadows, Orochimaru's golden, slit-like pupils flickered faintly. His voice was indifferent as he continued his report, "That idiot took in three orphaned Ame shinobi. He stayed in the Land of Rain to teach them. He said he hopes to use these brats to influence Amegakure in the future, to ease their hatred toward Konoha."
Before Hiruzen could respond through the curling smoke of his pipe, Koharu sharply interjected, "Jiraiya is completely out of control! Hiruzen, look at the kind of students you raised! No respect for elders, no regard for rules!"
Beside her, Homura adjusted his glasses, voice calm but full of caution and criticism. "That idea is far too naive. The hatred of Amegakure cannot be resolved by just a few children."
Hiruzen felt a throbbing pain at his temples.
He took a deep drag from his pipe. His exhaustion was laced with helplessness.
Jiraiya, that troublesome brat, was always like this. Should he brand him a rogue ninja?
Impossible. He was one of the Legendary Sannin and a top combat asset of Konoha.
Frustrated, Hiruzen rubbed his brow.
In the end, he could only pick up a pen and draw out a blank mission scroll. "Forget it. Assign him a long-term intelligence gathering mission. The reason... just write: 'Infiltrating the Land of Rain to monitor the post-war situation and track Hanzō's movements.'"
As he wrote, he muttered to himself.
That troublemaker is always causing problems.
What vexed him even more was that Jiraiya had abandoned his own talented student, Namikaze Minato, and run off to train some orphans from Ame instead.
What kind of sensei behaves like that?
Hiruzen finished the final character, put the pen down, and handed the scroll to an ANBU beside him. "File it immediately."
He then turned to the shadows, his tone softening a little. "Orochimaru, you fought on the front lines throughout the Land of Rain campaign."
Looking at this student who had contributed greatly and was also the one he was most satisfied with, Hiruzen pondered. The war had just ended, and most important positions were already filled. There wasn't an appropriate reward or role he could immediately assign to match Orochimaru's efforts. It required careful consideration.
"Alright," he paused and made a decision. "I'll approve one month of leave for you. Take time to rest. As for your reward, I'll give it careful thought. I promise it will be satisfactory."
"Thank you, Sensei," Orochimaru accepted the arrangement calmly, nodded slightly, and left the Hokage building.
The office quieted down again, leaving only the faint sound of tobacco burning and the lingering anger of the two elder advisors.
Leaning back in his wide chair, Hiruzen's gaze inadvertently drifted to the mountain of post-war compensation documents piled at the edge of the desk. A certain youth's name suddenly came to mind.
Namikaze Minato... the student Jiraiya had seemingly forgotten in the village.
Hiruzen remembered that about a year ago, Jiraiya had specially asked Nawaki to use his own accumulated mission merit points to exchange for the Second Hokage's S-rank Forbidden Jutsu—Flying Thunder God—for Minato.
Back then, even Tsunade had complained that Jiraiya was being reckless.
Now, a year had passed. Without a mentor, how far had that golden-haired boy gotten in studying the Flying Thunder God? That complex space-time ninjutsu...
Jiraiya was completely unreliable as a teacher.
Hiruzen sighed.
Since the sensei was being irresponsible, he, as the grand-sensei, had to take better care of the grandstudent. It would be a form of compensation.
He cleared his throat. "Someone, come in."
An ANBU silently appeared.
"Call Namikaze Minato here."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Not long after, a soft knock came at the door.
A blond youth stood quietly at the entrance. Sunlight seemed to favor him, casting a gentle glow that made his features appear warm and handsome. His blue eyes were clear and bright.
"Hokage-sama, you called for me?" Namikaze Minato's voice, like the person himself, was gentle and polite.
"Ah, Minato, come in." Hiruzen gave a kind smile and gestured him closer.
He set down his pipe, choosing his words carefully.
To tell him directly that Jiraiya was out teaching other students? That would be too harsh and would shatter the image of his teacher in the boy's heart. Better to... cover it up a bit. Jiraiya, you idiot!
"Yes, it's about your teacher, Jiraiya," Hiruzen said with the perfect balance of concern and helplessness. "He's currently out handling... some long-term, very important missions. He likely won't be back in the village anytime soon. He asked me to look after you in the meantime." He tactfully avoided the truth. "Are you facing any difficulties in your training alone?"
A flicker of subtle disappointment passed through Minato's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by calm. "Thank you for your concern, Hokage-sama. I've been training on my own and making steady progress."
"That's good." Hiruzen nodded, smoothly shifting to the topic he had planned. "Minato, I remember that Jiraiya used his merit points to get you the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God scroll. It's been a while now. How is your research going? Have you made any breakthroughs, or are you stuck at a bottleneck?"
At the mention of Flying Thunder God, Minato's expression grew serious, with a hint of frustration. "Reporting to Hokage-sama, I've thoroughly studied the scroll's contents. I've basically grasped the fundamentals of spatial sensing and chakra structure. After more than a year of experimentation, I've... barely reached the entry level. However..."
He furrowed his brow slightly. "The core of Flying Thunder God lies in the technique's formulaic seal, which requires extremely advanced Fuinjutsu expertise to inscribe and stabilize. My foundation in Fuinjutsu... is quite limited, and that's where I've encountered the greatest obstacles."
"Fuinjutsu..." Hiruzen repeated thoughtfully, his gaze falling on Minato's warm and handsome face.
He vaguely remembered Jiraiya mentioning something before... and suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.
Kamiyama Ryo and Uzumaki Kushina. One a terrifying powerhouse known as Konoha's Asura, the other a Jinchūriki who held the Nine-Tails' power. The two had grown far too close. That closeness weighed heavily on Hiruzen's mind like a stone.
But what if... Minato and Kushina had more contact?
Minato had a crush on Kushina. Wasn't this the perfect opening?
Using Fuinjutsu guidance as a pretext, he could create opportunities for Minato to interact with Kushina more.
When young people spent enough time together, emotions were bound to blossom.
If Minato could, through his own charm, win Kushina's heart and make her fall for him instead, then the dangerously close bond between Ryo and Kushina would naturally break apart.
Even if Minato failed to win her over, at least Hiruzen had helped his grandstudent pursue happiness. At the same time, he would've arranged an excellent teacher for Minato and found a chance to monitor Kushina's mental state.
Whichever way he looked at it, it was a win-win.
This plan to drive a wedge between them might actually work.
The key was whether Minato could seize the opportunity.
Having made up his mind, Hiruzen maintained a grandfatherly concern on his face. "I see. Fuinjutsu is indeed the cornerstone of Flying Thunder God. In that case," his tone became relaxed and natural, "I'll assign you a Fuinjutsu expert to guide you. With proper instruction, I believe your issues will be resolved."
Minato's eyes lit up and he bowed gratefully. "Thank you, Hokage-sama!"
"Good." Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction, then gave a quiet order to another ANBU. "Go and bring Uzumaki Kushina to the Hokage office."
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)