"Huh?!"
Kyusei, who had been spectating like an innocent bystander, stared blankly at Kaoru after she suddenly surrendered.
"That doesn't count!"
"You white-haired geezer, you're already this old and you still dragged things out just to drain Kaoru's chakra?!"
"Do you have any shame?!"
Jiraiya had originally felt a bit guilty about winning purely through superior chakra reserves, but seeing the red-haired brat jumping up and down in outrage, he immediately straightened his back and adopted the dignified air of a seasoned veteran.
"Ninja battles are about using everything at your disposal. There's no such thing as fairness," he said righteously.
"Didn't Kaoru also use Flying Thunder God—something I don't even know how to use?"
The sheer lack of shame on Jiraiya's face made Kyusei's teeth itch.
Kaoru watched the boy standing up for her, her eyes curving into gentle crescents.
Only then did Jiraiya suddenly realize something. He looked past Kyusei and toward Kaoru, his expression puzzled.
"By the way… Kaoru, how exactly did you learn Flying Thunder God?"
The blonde girl was just about to answer when Kyusei abruptly clapped a hand over her mouth. Kaoru blinked in confusion.
Kyusei, however, shot Jiraiya a provocative look and said in a mockingly serious tone,
"Ninja combat is also a battle of intelligence. If we just hand over information like that, wouldn't that be a massive loss?"
Oh, so now even I, her teacher, have to be on guard too?
"You little punk," Jiraiya said irritably. "Fine. What do you want before you'll talk?"
"Actually, it's okay to tell Jiraiya-sensei," Kaoru said with a smile, gently pressing Kyusei's hand down.
Sometimes she felt Kyusei was like a child who never grew up—always jumping around, always stirring trouble.
And somehow… she liked that about him.
If only he'd act like that just for her, it'd be even better.
"No, it's not okay. Not okay at all!"
Kyusei said earnestly, turning to Kaoru with the seriousness of someone imparting great wisdom.
"Think about it—this white-haired pervert just took you as a disciple and then immediately ran off."
"The war ended and he still didn't come back."
"And he was gone for three whole years."
"He definitely found some little vixen outside!"
Jiraiya stared speechlessly at the red-haired menace who was openly sabotaging his teacher-disciple relationship right in front of him.
The Great Toad Sage had once prophesied that Jiraiya's disciple would be the Child of Prophecy—the one who would change the world.
At first, Jiraiya had believed that child was Kaoru.
But then, in the Land of Rain, he encountered a boy with eyes identical to those of the legendary Sage of Six Paths.
The Rinnegan.
That child—Nagato—was clearly the true Child of Prophecy.
Jiraiya had spent three years teaching him, along with his two companions.
That was the real reason he hadn't returned.
By Kyusei's logic, Nagato had somehow turned into the "little vixen" who stole him away for three years.
In just three short years…
Not only had his gentle, polite, kind, innocent, beautiful disciple been "taken"—
Even Tsunade had fallen in love.
Jiraiya felt both heartbroken and overwhelmed by the passage of time.
Kaoru quietly closed her mouth.
Truth be told, she was curious about what her teacher had been doing all these years.
It couldn't have been missions—half a year ago, Jiraiya had written saying he'd be back soon.
And deep down, she did feel a tiny bit wronged.
Who takes in a disciple and then disappears for three years straight?
Seeing how easily his beautiful disciple was being swayed by a few words from this red-haired brat, Jiraiya twitched at the corner of his mouth.
But Nagato's existence was far too important.
He hadn't even told Hiruzen about it—there was no way he'd tell these two kids.
His thoughts spun rapidly, and soon, a story he deemed absolutely flawless formed in his mind.
"Well… since you two want to know so badly, I suppose I have no choice but to tell you."
A heavy expression suddenly appeared on Jiraiya's face.
—Commencing child-friendly storytelling mode—
"I-I see… so that's how it was…"
Kaoru looked at Jiraiya with eyes full of emotion. She never imagined her teacher had done something so noble.
Kyusei, meanwhile, stared at the white-haired liar with a completely blank expression.
"So you're saying," Kyusei began flatly,
"that on your way back, you met a girl searching for her father?"
"Yes. That's right," Jiraiya nodded seriously.
"And she turned out to be the illegitimate daughter of a country's daimyō?"
"Mm-hmm. Correct."
Jiraiya was secretly proud of how perfect his story sounded.
"But because she trusted the wrong people, the token proving her identity was stolen, and someone else took her place as the princess?"
A vein popped on Kyusei's forehead.
"Exactly!"
"That poor child… I went through so much trouble just to bring her before the daimyō."
"I thought the imposter was greedy and heartless, but it turned out she'd only become the princess by accident."
Jiraiya gazed at the sky, sighing with emotion.
"And in the end, with your help, the real daughter was reunited with her father, while the girl who should've been a commoner was adopted as a goddaughter?"
Kyusei stared at the man who could lie this smoothly without blinking.
No wonder this guy became a novelist later—he really could make nonsense sound convincing.
"Yes! Yes! Exactly!"
Jiraiya nodded enthusiastically, pleased beyond measure.
"As expected of me, Jiraiya-sama. Dealing with two kids is easy."
"How about I name this story for you?" Kyusei asked calmly.
"Let's call it My Fair Princess."
"We could even make a second and third part later."
Feeling smug and carried away, Jiraiya answered without thinking,
"Good, good! That's a great name. We can even continue the story afterward—"
Halfway through his sentence, he noticed Kyusei's expression.
Then, stiffly, he turned his gaze toward his beloved disciple.
Kaoru had realized it too.
Her teacher was lying to children.
Her face went completely blank.
She grabbed Kyusei's hand and said coldly,
"If you don't want to say it, then don't."
"Kyusei, let's go."
Without giving Jiraiya any chance to respond, she dragged Kyusei away.
"Eh?!"
"Wait—Kaoru, listen to me—!"
Jiraiya instinctively reached out, then froze, his hand hanging awkwardly in midair.
"Explain my ass!"
Kaoru's angry voice carried back on the cold night wind.
Heh. Serves you right~
Kyusei, being dragged away, turned back and made a face at Jiraiya.
That damn brat!
If it weren't for him, I would've gotten away with it!
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