After punishing the Nine-Tails, Naruto felt refreshed. He even looked more kindly upon Sasuke and Sakura, who were still outside "discussing knowledge."
He stretched comfortably, his thoughts returning to the great cause of "fleece-squeezing." His next target: Kakashi Hatake!
With a flash of the Flying Raijin Jutsu, Naruto's figure instantly vanished. The next second, Naruto appeared on a secluded bench by the road. There, Kakashi was leaning back languidly, engrossed in his book, "Icha Icha Paradise," as if lost in some "profound" plot.
Naruto sat down beside Kakashi without a hint of politeness.
"Yo, Kakashi-sensei, studying 'human art'?"
"Ah, Naruto," Kakashi replied, his head still buried in the book.
Seeing this, Naruto got straight to the point. "Sensei, you know that the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, is my biological father, right?"
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
"Hm?"
Kakashi put down his book, his voice tinged with a subtle tension. "Who told you?"
"The Nine-Tails!" Naruto answered matter-of-factly. "The guy in my stomach."
"The Nine-Tails?"
Hearing the name of the legendary monster, Kakashi instinctively tensed up, but then he relaxed as he remembered his student's strength.
But he still asked for confirmation. "You mean the Nine-Tails sealed inside you?"
"Yep, that's the one." Naruto nodded, his expression relaxed. "At first, that guy was stubborn and wouldn't say a thing, but..." He shrugged. "After I beat it up, it became a lot more cooperative and spilled everything."
Kakashi's eye twitched. He looked at Naruto with a complicated expression. To "beat up" the legendary Nine-Tails as if it were a disobedient pet... his student's strength was truly something else. He was suddenly lost in thought, wondering what would have happened if Naruto had been there during the Nine-Tails' attack.
Naruto wasn't idle either, his mind filled with calculations. Confirmed, Kakashi-sensei does know. So, how should he squeeze some fleece out of him?
Ninjutsu? He had already learned all he could. Money? Kakashi's clothes were eternally the same; he might not even be as rich as Naruto, and he also needed to save up to marry that florist, Hana.
And...
Naruto's mind flashed with information about Kakashi-sensei. His father committed suicide, his master and his wife sacrificed themselves, his teammate Obito Uchiha was once thought to be dead and was now a rogue ninja, and he had personally killed his other teammate, Rin.
Remembering this string of tragedies, Naruto took a sharp intake of breath. Kakashi-sensei is even more tragic than me. I never had anything to lose, so there was no pain. But Kakashi lost one loved one after another.Tsk tsk. No wonder I felt like he was already dead the first time we met.
Naruto considered himself a bit of a scoundrel, but at least he was a decent person. He just couldn't bring himself to do it.
Forget it. I won't squeeze his fleece for now. The interest... can wait.
But there was still a question.
Naruto put on a "deeply hurt" expression. "Kakashi-sensei, since you knew all this time, why didn't you tell me?"
Kakashi propped his chin with one hand, answering in his slow, leisurely tone. "Previously, Lord Third believed it was better to keep it a secret for your safety and the village's stability. But you've grown so fast, so strong that even Lord First and Lord Second would... ahem... So I figured it wouldn't hurt to tell you."
"And then?" Naruto leaned in, even more curious. "So why didn't you say anything? You didn't forget, did you?"
"Well..." Kakashi sighed in an unreadable way, then looked at Naruto with sincere eyes. "I think I forgot. I've been quite busy lately."
"..." Naruto's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
Forgot?! I don't believe you! You're a mischievous teacher! You're the only one who can come up with such a fresh and justified excuse for being late every single time! And you forgot? Hah! I don't believe that for a second!
However, when he thought about all of Kakashi's past behavior, it seemed... it might actually be possible? At that thought, Naruto was even more speechless.
Seeing Naruto's expression, Kakashi finally closed his precious book and spoke in a soothing tone. "Well, it was my mistake as your sensei. But telling you now isn't too late, is it?"
"Not—too—late?" Naruto's voice shot up, his face contorted in a look of profound loss. "The damage is too great! I could have become Hokage, but because you told me a day late, I can't anymore! You have to compensate me!"
It was all nonsense, but Naruto's conviction was strong!
Kakashi was silent.
"As punishment," Naruto said, crossing his arms and lifting his chin in a "I'm displeased and need compensation" pose, "I'm fining you to go on a date with Hana-nee right now!"
"A date?" Kakashi was confused.
Naruto gave him a mischievous wink. "I heard that the new blockbuster movie based on Jiraiya-sama's book, 'Icha Icha Paradise,' just came out! It's called 'Icha Icha Tales,' I think? It's a rare opportunity. Aren't you tempted?"
"'Icha Icha Paradise' movie adaptation? Really?" Kakashi's perpetually bored eye widened instantly! His voice carried a rare hint of urgency!
"Of course it's real! It might have already started showing!"
"Ah?" Kakashi suddenly stood up. "Naruto! Something urgent just came up! I have to go now!"
Before he finished speaking, his figure blurred into a streak of silver light!
"Hey, Sensei!" Naruto yelled, half annoyed, half amused, toward the direction where he had disappeared. "Don't forget to take Hana-nee with you!"
Naruto shrugged helplessly at Kakashi's disappearing back. His first "fleece-squeezing" attempt was a failure.
His next target: the Pervy Sage!
Naruto could tell that old man was different from Kakashi-sensei. Jiraiya was not only a pervert but also an unyielding character. If he couldn't fleece him, who could he?
He pinpointed Jiraiya's chakra. With a flash of the Flying Raijin, he appeared in an alleyway. He looked up and saw Jiraiya perched on a wall, peering through a small telescope with gusto.
Smack!
Naruto unceremoniously slapped Jiraiya on the back, nearly knocking him off the wall.
"Who?" Jiraiya cried out, turning his head. Seeing it was Naruto, he immediately struck his signature cool pose. "Oh, it's Naruto! You scared me, my student. This sage is collecting valuable material for his novel!"
Naruto couldn't be bothered to mock the old pervert's excuse and immediately switched to his sob story, his face instantly shifting into a "weak, pitiful, and wronged" expression. "Pervy Sage! You fooled me so badly!"
Jiraiya was confused by Naruto's appearance. "Huh? What did I fool you about?"
"Don't play dumb!" Naruto immediately began his accusation, as if he had suffered an immense injustice. "Kakashi-sensei told me everything! You knew the Fourth Hokage was my dad all along but kept it from me! You made me miss the golden campaign period for the Fifth Hokage! You tell me! Don't you owe your only student and the future Savior an explanation, and compensation?!"
Jiraiya's eye twitched at Naruto's "heartbroken" appearance. Even though they hadn't known each other for long, he knew Naruto's character. So he said dismissively, "Oh, that... yes, that's a bit... But, your master is as poor as a church mouse. All my hard-earned money from writing books goes into traveling to gather material. I have no money to give you!"
"Oh? No money?" A dangerous smile curled on Naruto's lips. He acted with lightning speed, his skills honed to a "master thief" level. In an instant, a passbook appeared in his hand.
He flipped it open and pointed to a long, eye-blinding number that started with a '5' and was followed by a string of zeros. "Hmm? 563 million ryo... and that's just on this one passbook. Pervy Sage, if this is 'as poor as a church mouse,' then there are no rich people in the ninja world! Being the author of the number one best-selling novel in the ninja world sure pays well! You have so much money, but you can't spare a single ryo for your student? You're too stingy!"
Jiraiya's old face turned red. He tried to snatch the passbook back, but Naruto easily dodged him. All he could do was stamp his feet. "You rascal! That... that's the money I've painstakingly saved up for my wife! Don't you understand?!"
"Wife money?" Naruto scoffed, a look of disdain on his face. "What kind of wife needs over 500 million ryo for a down payment?"
Suddenly, he remembered a certain blonde gambling addict from Danzo's memories. He leaned in close to Jiraiya and whispered, "Could it be... you're saving it for Granny Tsunade?"
Jiraiya instantly reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Cough, cough, cough! You little brat! What are you talking about?! Stay out of adult business!"
Such a strong reaction? It must be for Granny Tsunade!
"Alright, alright, I won't get involved in adult business." Naruto changed the subject, returning to his main point. He weighed the passbook in his hand, smiling like a cat that had found a fish. "But you still owe me a disciple's gift, compensation, and emotional damages, right? Since we're master and student, I'll give you a discount. How about a few hundred million ryo?"
"A few hundred million ryo?" Jiraiya nearly choked. "Do you think money grows on trees?! No!"
"Tsk." Naruto's smile vanished, his eyes becoming "profound," and his tone turned "lonely." "Sigh... it seems that a disciple like me isn't worth a few pieces of paper to a 'sage' like you... The master-student bond is broken. What 'Child of Prophecy'? What 'Savior'? My heart is cold. I'm going to find a deep forest and grow mushrooms. I'm never coming back!" He pretended to turn and leave.
"Wait! Wait!" Seeing that Naruto was serious, Jiraiya's head felt like it would explode. If this kid really bailed and disappeared, wouldn't the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage be for nothing?
He gritted his teeth. "Fine! What do you want? I'll buy it all for you!"
Naruto's triumphant smile returned. "My request is simple: 100 Ryoja-gan pills!"
"100 pills?" Jiraiya's eyes widened. His mind, full of lewd thoughts, quickly calculated: 20,000 ryo a pill, so 100 pills equals 2 million ryo. That's not too much. "Buy!"
Ten minutes later, Naruto and Jiraiya left the Mount Myoboku store with the warm farewells of the shopkeeper, Elder Ōgama, whose face was all smiles. As expected of the boss, his business skills are astounding.
Jiraiya, however, was rubbing his wallet with a sullen expression, looking like he had just suffered a huge loss.
Naruto tucked the box into his pocket. Seeing Jiraiya's decisive expression, he figured he could squeeze more fleece. "Pervy Sage, that was just for emotional damages. You haven't given me a disciple's gift yet, have you?"
He pointed to a luxurious small house on a nearby hillside. "I think that house looks great. It's tranquil and elegant, perfect for a poor kid like me, who's 'about to become disillusioned and leave the ninja world,' to cultivate my mind. Pervy Sage... cough, cough... I mean, Jiraiya-sensei, as a master, shouldn't you give your student a thoughtful gift during a low point in his life to motivate him?"
"Wh-what? That house? Paid in full?" Jiraiya nearly jumped. "Kid! Do you know how much that costs?! Do you think I'm a gold mine?!"
"Paid in full? I wouldn't be that greedy," Naruto said, a "sincere" smile finally appearing on his face. "Just the down payment is fine! Think of it as a late 'new official student gift' from you! Otherwise... hehe, I'm off to grow mushrooms~"
Looking at Naruto's determined expression—"If you don't agree, I'll disappear"—and thinking of that darn prophecy, Jiraiya felt his heart bleeding. His vision went black, and he finally squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth. "Fine! Fine! I'll pay the down payment!"
An hour later, in front of a real estate agency.
Naruto was holding the newly minted deed, smiling brightly. The real estate manager was grinning from ear to ear. Only Jiraiya, clutching his visibly lighter wallet and passbook, looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, his heart in so much pain he couldn't breathe!
Looking at the deed, Naruto could hardly believe it. The old man actually bought it? I hereby declare: Jiraiya-sensei, the way you paid just now was incredibly cool!
Naruto was in a great mood and decided to repay Jiraiya properly. He leaned in and asked in a low voice, "By the way, old man, you said 'wife money'... was your goal really Granny Tsunade? Do you want me to help set you up? Look, things are going well between Kakashi and Hana-nee, right? With me, the Ninja World's number one matchmaker, on the job, it's a guaranteed success!"
Jiraiya's eyes flickered. He sighed. "Forget it, you little punk. That's Tsunade we're talking about... Let fate decide, let fate decide." But the look he gave Naruto was different now—this kid was a swindler, but he seemed to have some real, albeit crooked, talent?
"Alright, let's just let things take their course," Naruto shrugged. "Then I'll be going, Jiraiya-sensei."
This time, the "sensei" Naruto said was full of genuine emotion.
He had become Jiraiya's student to use Jiraiya's political resources to become Hokage. Did he have any feelings for Jiraiya? Originally, no. His eyes were only filled with the desire to become Hokage.
But now...
This old man, who had been so stingy with his "wife money," was willing to pay the down payment for a house for a student he had just taken on, even if it broke his heart. This old man... was he actually a bit of a softie? He was willing to spend his wife money for a vague prophecy?
Naruto felt a bit conflicted. He had only planned to squeeze a little fleece... He never expected Jiraiya-sensei to open up his heart and wallet.
Alright! I'll accept you as my sensei. I'll take care of you in your old age.
My next target: The old coot, Lord Third! I won't let him off so easily this time!
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi