I, Konoha's Sage of Life

Upon Entering the Room

"Kyoichi, thank you so much!"

Jiraiya bowed deeply, his expression sincere.

"Lord Jiraiya, there's really no need for this. I just made an offhand comment. I don't even know if it'll be useful in the end..."

Kyoichi was taken aback.

Jiraiya was, after all, his elder. It felt inappropriate for someone of his stature to bow to him so formally. However, Jiraiya remained firm in his stance, unmoved by Kyoichi's protest.

At least they were indoors.

Jiraiya placed the items he brought on the table, and Kyoichi tossed him a cushion.

The two sat down.

The atmosphere was different from their last meeting.

Back at the tavern, Kyoichi had been a junior figure, invited in mostly to let Orochimaru reassess him.

But this time...

"A lot of things, even Orochimaru and Tsunade don't know. For example, why I took in Yahiko and the others as my students."

Jiraiya poured himself a cup of sake and grinned.

It seemed...

He intended to share his secret with Kyoichi.

Kyoichi hesitated.

He considered refusing.

But after some thought, he realized that knowing wouldn't hurt.

After all, Mount Myōboku didn't know him.

Jiraiya began recounting his journey to Mount Myōboku, his encounter with the Great Toad Sage, and everything that followed.

It was almost identical to what Kyoichi had seen in Naruto in his past life.

The only difference was…

In Jiraiya's version of the story, he came across as exceptionally wise and powerful, a natural-born genius whom the Great Toad Sage had begged to sign a contract with Mount Myōboku.

It wasn't hard to figure out who was embellishing the story.

Kyoichi played along, feigning ignorance.

"So, when you chose to stay and train them, beyond just sympathy, you also felt they might be the 'Child of Prophecy'?" Kyoichi asked, continuing the conversation.

"Yeah. And later, it seemed I was right. Nagato is an extraordinary child. He… as Minato once speculated, could very well be a relative of Kushina."

Jiraiya still wasn't telling the whole truth.

The Rinnegan!

The eyes of the Sage of Six Paths—he was deliberately leaving that part out.

Kyoichi simply nodded. "No wonder he's so powerful."

"You of all people have no right to say that!"

Jiraiya was silent for a moment before finally blurting out a complaint.

It was one thing for others to say it.

Nagato was a prodigy, after all. He learned ninjutsu quickly, and with the Rinnegan, he had a latent potential beyond imagination. At the time, even though he had only displayed an ability to repel attacks, both Jiraiya and Yahiko believed his future was limitless.

That was why, rather than investing in all three of them, Jiraiya had primarily focused on Nagato.

But…

The prodigy Jiraiya had set his hopes on had been defeated by Kyoichi, who was three to four years younger. According to Minato, Kyoichi had several chances to kill Nagato but had chosen not to.

"Honestly, I should be thanking you for sparing Nagato. If you hadn't—"

"I was never going to kill him. Those three are clearly leaders of a faction within Amegakure. Killing any of them would have risked igniting a new war against Konoha, and the village can't afford that right now."

Kyoichi's tone was calm.

This was the reasoning he had prepared long ago.

Besides…

It was true. Kyoichi had even considered an extreme approach—killing Nagato, taking the Rinnegan for himself.

But…

That would have been suicidal, practically handing himself over to Black Zetsu and Madara on a silver platter.

A wise man does not stand under a crumbling wall.

Jiraiya, listening to Kyoichi's explanation, didn't doubt him. The fact that Kyoichi understood the broader picture so well proved that he thought in terms of the bigger picture rather than just immediate gain.

"You're right. Still, Yahiko and the others are weak right now. Luckily, your guidance has saved them from taking many wrong turns—possibly even from disaster."

Jiraiya sighed. "As their teacher, I should have been there. But after those three years, I never saw them again."

"With the war and Tsunade leaving the village… it was unavoidable."

Kyoichi understood.

By the time Jiraiya left Konoha again, rumors had already spread that Yahiko had been killed by Hanzō. There was no way he would have gone looking for them after that.

"Yeah..."

Jiraiya downed another cup of sake.

He reminisced about the past, talking at length.

Eventually, he let out a long sigh. "From now on, I have nothing to do with that Hokage seat. Hahaha… not that I ever cared about it."

"Very noble of you."

Kyoichi poured him another drink.

Jiraiya took a sip, then pulled out a scroll.

"This is a technique Minato developed."

Kyoichi glanced at the scroll, then at Jiraiya.

Most likely Rasengan.

But…

What was the point of this?

"In a way, you saved Yahiko and the others. Consider this a token of appreciation. You and Orochimaru are alike—both endlessly curious about unknown jutsu. Take this as a gift. You can decide whether to teach it to others."

Jiraiya smiled.

But soon, his mood darkened. His smile turned forced.

As they continued eating and drinking, he suddenly grew serious.

"By the way, don't misunderstand. If Orochimaru sets his sights on you, don't hold back just because of me or Tsunade."

"It won't come to that. But if it does, I won't."

Kyoichi nodded.

Jiraiya had clearly spoken with the Third Hokage yesterday and learned a lot—probably about the upcoming Jōnin Exams, the candidates, Orochimaru's proposed test, and so on.

With that knowledge, it wasn't hard to guess certain things.

Jiraiya finished speaking, then grabbed his sake bottle and stood up.

"That's enough talking. Knowing too much isn't always a good thing—especially for someone like you, who's both talented and full of ideas. You don't drink, so I'll take the sake, but I'll leave you the meat."

Jiraiya waved dismissively, indicating that Kyoichi didn't need to see him off.

Then…

He stepped outside and vanished in an instant.

Body Flicker Technique!

He was heading toward the village gate.

Jiraiya was leaving.

Of course…

Not permanently like Tsunade. He had been assigned a mission to investigate Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and other northern ninja villages—more accurately, to oversee the operations of Konoha's northern Anbu forces.

Handling intelligence was crucial.

If all northern reports had to be sent back to the Hokage's office for review and response, the enemy could have invaded the Land of Fire before Konoha even reacted.

This had always been Jiraiya's mission.

But what had he talked about with the Third Hokage yesterday?

Clearly…

Jiraiya wasn't happy.

"Whatever. The Third Hokage… not my problem."

Kyoichi shook his head.

He had no strong feelings about the old man—neither particularly good nor bad. But if he had to rate him, he was nowhere near Tobirama Senju's level.

Kyoichi opened the scroll.

As expected…

Written on it was the training method and conceptual framework for Rasengan.

Inspired by the Tailed Beast Ball.

The ultimate goal: incorporating chakra nature transformation.

Unfortunately…

Even Minato hadn't achieved that yet.

Kyoichi already knew how to train for it.

But…

He was still pleased with the scroll.

The jutsu itself wasn't the valuable part.

What mattered was that Minato had meticulously recorded his entire thought process, from inspiration to execution.

That knowledge was more precious than any jutsu.

****************************

Read advanced chapters ahead of everyone else on my P@treon.

p@treon/GodDragcell