As the shadowed figures of the ANBU surged toward the village gates, Minato watched their backs with a pang of feeling.
"Jiraiya-sensei, if you were here…"
"Would you feel, as I do, that the Child of the Prophecy who will change the world is Hakken?"
Gazing at the shrinking silhouettes, Minato murmured to himself.
"Well, that still needs proof."
Swish.
A figure dropped beside him—a tall man in geta, unruly hair flowing around a forehead protector glossed with oil.
Jiraiya, one of the Sannin.
Minato Namikaze's teacher.
He had returned to the village.
"You're back, Jiraiya-sensei!"
The surprise was so sudden that Minato looked his mentor up and down. He hadn't changed much; that easy, carefree air still surrounded him. It was exactly the aura Hakken gave off when relaxed. But once he turned serious, that fight-to-the-death resolve was strikingly similar to Jiraiya-sensei's as well.
Thankfully, though Hakken was technically Jiraiya's disciple's disciple, the two hadn't had much contact. Otherwise, Jiraiya might have led him astray. As Hakken's teacher, failing to instill the three shinobi prohibitions had already left Hakken with a taste for alcohol. If, at this age, he lost his head and let Jiraiya drag him to those pleasure houses, he might veer off the right path altogether.
"Yeah. Between chasing Orochimaru and the village's safety, the latter clearly comes first." Jiraiya stretched lazily, but a glint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Konoha had changed.
Beyond the Wall of Honor in the center of the village, and the faint bloodstains on the Pillar of Shame, there was a fervor like rebirth that felt new even to Jiraiya.
What had happened here while he was away?
On his travels, he'd heard rumors about Konoha's Kenpachi. At first, he hadn't realized that Kenpachi was the very brat he'd once run into. Only after seeing the name and deeds engraved on the Wall of Honor did he feel truly stunned.
The brat who'd blocked his "research" had grown this far, this fast—it was almost unnerving.
He was good at analysis. Only someone adept at analysis could write books that made readers blush. After watching Hakken closely, he realized how the boy's relationship with Konoha had shifted—from cold indifference at the start to genuine belonging now. The reason lay with his own student.
Yet Hakken Yoru's temperament was completely different from the Child of the Prophecy he had imagined. To his own people, he was a warm breeze; to his enemies, he was ruthlessly decisive. He killed without hesitation. He resembled the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, more than anyone.
Konoha had changed. Even the people he knew had changed.
His teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, now spent his days peacefully fishing and sipping tea, strolling the village on occasion to glance up at the Wall of Honor and the Hokage Rock. Minato had become more resolute—more like a Hokage.
What pleased him most was still Konoha itself. The smile on his face, rising from the heart, couldn't be faked.
As long as he stood here, would Konoha remain the foremost Hidden Village?
What immense confidence.
"Forget it. I want to have a proper talk with him."
"We can put Orochimaru on hold for now. I'm still not entirely sure whether he's the Child of the Prophecy who will change the ninja world."
Shaking his head, Jiraiya gave chase.
His reason for returning had begun to shift the moment he saw that boy. At first, he'd only been worried about Konoha—rumor had it the village had just been attacked, and even the Nine-Tails had appeared. His heart was with Konoha, so of course he came back.
But once he learned the one changing everything was a child, his interest was sharply piqued. The Great Toad Sage had said that among his disciples, one would be the Child of the Prophecy, the key to changing the ninja world. The disciple of his disciple was still his disciple. There was nothing wrong with that.
Observe him. Ask him what he thinks of a ninja world steeped in war. After all, guiding the Child of the Prophecy's growth was his mission.
As he sprinted on, faces of his pupils flashed through Jiraiya's mind—from the earliest, Nagato Uzumaki, Konan, and Yahiko, to Minato now, and the newly emerged Hakken Yoru. These were all of his disciples to date.
Come to think of it, I even gave him an unreleased, uncensored Icha Icha Paradise.
He scratched his head. That one hadn't passed review for being too explicit.
Huh?
His steps halted. Up ahead, a youth with a katana was leaning against a tree, waiting for him.
Spotted again?
Back when he'd been peeking, he'd noticed something off. Concealing his presence wasn't difficult for him; he'd been good at this kind of peeping since he was a kid, and it almost never failed. Yet now, he'd been discovered a second time.
Such powerful perception.
Dropping down in front of him, Jiraiya offered an awkward smile.
"Need something?"
Hakken held out his gourd with practiced ease and asked calmly.
The destination for the two hundred ANBU had been set, and their assignments distributed. Once they reached the designated point, they would spread out to gather intel and select targets to strike, so for the moment he didn't need to stay glued to the unit.
Sensing he'd been followed, he'd stopped to take a look.
This was his second meeting with Jiraiya. The first time, the man had shared his sake—acquaintance made.
"You're barely old enough to drink. Mind the three shinobi taboos."
Leaning against the same tree, Jiraiya repeated what he'd said the first time they met.
"That's not your place to say, Mr. Porn."
Hakken curled his lip. As for the shinobi prohibitions, this connoisseur of clubhouses had probably broken all three by the time he was ten.
Another baffling title. Last time, this kid had called him "Mr. Pervert." Now it was "Mr. Porn." His stock of strange knowledge was growing.
This kid.
Tilting his head, Jiraiya took the gourd from Hakken and took a swig.
"I heard Minato took you as his disciple."
"And that you became Naruto's older brother."
Curiosity stirred, Jiraiya pressed on.
"If you think I'm the Child of the Prophecy, this tailing job is going to disappoint you."
The only thing that could capture Jiraiya's attention was the Child of the Prophecy. Minato had mentioned it to him too, and even he'd once thought he was the Child of the Prophecy.
"You've got the wrong person."
"I don't have the legendary-level escape technique a Child of the Prophecy should have—that verbal manipulation that surpasses every Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Mōra. I don't have the sunshine a Child of the Prophecy is supposed to carry, either."
"So please leave. I have a mission."
Shouldering his Zanpakutō, Hakken dashed forward.
The Child of the Prophecy?
Just a trick Gamamaru used to fool people.
Hakken didn't believe in prophecies. He only trusted his blade.
"Tch. You say you're not, and that makes it so?"
Jiraiya arched a brow and gave chase again.