On the way home.
"Kin, you look really angry?" Namikaze Minato asked.
After all, slamming the table in class wasn't the behavior of someone in a good mood. Even Inoue Satoru had been startled.
"No, I'm just surprised about graduating early," Kin replied.
His face was smiling, but inside, he was seething—MMP.
"Really?" Minato didn't believe it. Even Kin's smile carried a hint of sarcasm.
Maybe it was just his imagination.
Seeing that Kin had no intention of elaborating, Minato didn't press further.
"I wonder if we'll be assigned to the same team," Kushina chimed in.
"Hopefully," Kin shrugged.
He wasn't holding out much hope. As a member of the Uchiha clan—disliked by many—he wasn't even well-regarded within his own family. Unfortunately, changing his surname wasn't an option for now.
In theory, being on the same team as Kushina would be the safest bet. If possible, he'd gladly take it.
Early on, the village wouldn't let the jinchūriki face danger, so her teammates would naturally be safer.
They'd likely be separated later… but by then, he'd have grown stronger.
"By the way, have you heard about the recent disappearances of ninja?" Minato suddenly brought up.
Some of his neighbors—ninja—had gone missing, and their whereabouts were still unknown. At home, he could occasionally hear their families weeping.
"That's none of our concern," Kin cut off Minato's curiosity.
He remembered now—this was the period when an important event occurred: the Hashirama Cell experiments, conducted to strengthen Konoha's power.
The missing ninja during this time?
He knew exactly what it was—the Hashirama Cell research, the one black mark even Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't deny.
This also explained why the academy was ending so abruptly.
The Hashirama Cell experiments had claimed many lives, and the impact on the front lines was inevitable.
To compensate for the shortage of manpower, academy students became a convenient resource.
"That old bastard," Kin muttered under his breath, gritting his teeth.
One day, he'd deal with him.
"What?" Minato caught Kin's muttering and asked, puzzled.
"Nothing," Kin shook his head. There was no point in voicing such thoughts.
"Look over there!" Uzumaki Kushina suddenly pointed at a distant tree, where a man was perched, peeking at something.
Next to it was… the women's bathhouse.
Kin's face darkened. There was no need to guess—it had to be Jiraiya. The entire village knew he was the only one shameless enough to do such a thing.
"A PERVERT!!" Kushina roared, vanishing on the spot.
Jiraiya, engrossed in his "research," barely had time to react before a fierce kick sent him flying straight into the women's bath.
"Ah!!" "Ah!!" "Ah!!"
Screams erupted.
"You pervert!!"
"It's that bastard Jiraiya again!!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A fireball blasted Jiraiya back out, sending him crashing at Minato and Kin's feet.
The two exchanged glances.
"He's probably dead."
"Let's find a place to bury him."
As they prepared to act—
"Wait!!" Jiraiya weakly raised a hand. "I can still be saved…"
Half his hair singed off, clothes in tatters, and looking utterly disheveled, Jiraiya struggled to sit up.
But Kushina wasn't done.
"You disgusting, perverted PEEKING TOM!!"
Her red hair flared like octopus tentacles, giving her the aura of a demoness. A faint golden glow even emanated from her body as she leaped high, fist raised, and slammed it down on Jiraiya with full force.
BOOM!!
A lump formed on Jiraiya's head as his eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
…
When Jiraiya came to, he found himself tightly bound to a tree.
Facing the three glaring youths, he panicked.
"Wait! I'm not a pervert!! It's research!! Research!! You brats wouldn't understand!!"
Why was he suffering like this?
"I've never heard of 'research' involving peeping in the women's bath," Kushina retorted, eyebrow twitching.
This was unforgivable.
"I'm a man destined to become a famous novelist!!" Jiraiya declared proudly.
Never mind that he hadn't written a single word of his so-called novel.
"You deserve to die a thousand times!!" Kushina raised her fist, ready to punish this shameless man. What kind of "research" required spying on the women's bath!?
Minato quickly intercepted her.
"Kushina, he's still Jiraiya-sama, a jōnin…"
Jiraiya's expression shifted, but he forced a solemn demeanor.
"You brats know who I am? Then untie me at once!"
Kin stepped forward, clicking his tongue.
"Jiraiya-sama, since we all know your identity… why do you think we haven't let you go yet?"
A sly grin spread across his face.
"You wouldn't want your little 'hobby' exposed, would you?"
Jiraiya stiffened. Despite Kin's neutral expression, the smirk at the corner of his lips said it all—this kid was the real danger here.
"What do you want?" Jiraiya asked warily.
"Nothing much," Kin stroked his chin, pretending to ponder. Aside from the Mount Myōboku summoning contract, Jiraiya didn't have anything he particularly wanted.
And the toads of Mount Myōboku—aside from the insufferably cryptic Great Toad Sage—were powerful, but not the kind of summons he desired.
With that thought, he gave Jiraiya a look of sheer disdain.
This guy was practically useless.
"Hey!! What's with that look!?" Jiraiya bristled at being treated like trash.
He was, after all, an elite jōnin who led his own team!
Ignoring him, Kin turned to Minato.
"Let's just hand him over to the Konoha Military Police Force."
Jiraiya paled. Anywhere but there!
"Wait! Let's negotiate!! I can teach you ninjutsu!!"
The Uchiha-run police force was notoriously strict. A fine would be the least of his worries—he could end up jailed!!
Minato was tempted, but his current arsenal was sufficient, and he wasn't as desperate as before.
Better to keep Kushina from beating Jiraiya into oblivion.
"Wait, let's talk this out!"
But the trio wasn't listening.
"I'll notify the Military Police. Minato, you two keep an eye on him," Kin said.
Jiraiya panicked. With a puff of smoke, he substituted himself with a log and vanished.
No way was he sticking around.
These kids were trouble.
"He's fast," Kin remarked dryly.
Kushina clenched her fists, fuming. "I hate disgusting adults like him!"
Minato scratched his head. Well… it wasn't like Jiraiya had actually done anything, right?
…
Hokage's Office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe, reviewing reports. The shinobi world seemed determined to make his life difficult.
Sunagakure and Iwagakure ninja were no longer hiding their incursions into the Land of Fire.
Though no large-scale invasions had occurred yet, skirmishes with Konoha forces were frequent. The numerical disadvantage had allowed enemy squads to raid and pillage, inflicting heavy losses on Fire Country's nobility.
Even the daimyō had lodged complaints.
POOF!
Jiraiya materialized in the office, covered in soot.
"Made contact?" Hiruzen asked without looking up.
Jiraiya's eye twitched as he glanced at his scorched clothes.
"Sort of."
Hiruzen finally looked up and blinked at Jiraiya's charred state.
"Did you… run into an ambush?"
"No," Jiraiya's gaze drifted upward.
The answer was obvious.
Hiruzen sighed. Jiraiya was the disciple who resembled him the most—but did he have to imitate everything?
Headache-inducing.
He changed the subject.
"So, what's your impression?"
"Those brats," Jiraiya's face darkened at the memory. "They're not easy to handle."
Especially that Uchiha Kin. A real handful.
"One's a prodigy, another's a taijutsu specialist, and the last's a jinchūriki," Hiruzen mused.
Kin's taijutsu prowess was well-known, but few were aware of his ninjutsu skills—even Hiruzen didn't know.
The Hokage sighed. These three were key figures the village wanted to nurture, representing three distinct forces:
Minato, the common-born genius; Kin, the clan heir; and Kushina, the jinchūriki.
Konoha's commoners weren't pushovers. Many were descendants of the Senju, their surnames erased to dissolve the clan into the village's fabric—a decision made by the Second Hokage.
This had allowed commoners to flourish, producing many talents. But while potential was one thing, resources were another.
"But, old man, are you really planning to send the jinchūriki on missions?" Jiraiya frowned.
The Nine-Tails' host was a critical strategic asset—and just a young girl. If she went on missions and lost control, the consequences would be dire.
"Kushina hasn't shown instability in a long time," Hiruzen explained.
In the past, traces of the Nine-Tails' chakra would occasionally leak from her. But for the past three months, it had been eerily quiet.
"Observe her for six months. If she remains stable, we can assign her to low-risk missions."
A fully realized jinchūriki would be a valuable asset. With the two villages pressing in, Konoha needed all the strength it could muster.
"Sensei," Jiraiya's tone turned grave, his usual levity gone. "The recent disappearances of ninja in the village—you know what's happening, don't you?"
Hiruzen sighed but said nothing. His silence spoke volumes.
Jiraiya's face hardened.
"Sensei, ninja aren't expendable."
(End of Chapter)