A day had passed since Reiji and Jiraiya's fight.
That day, Reiji received a 50 million ryo reward from Kirigakure, and Tsunade and the others successfully escorted the kidnapped children back to Uzushiogakure.
As for the missing-nin from Kirigakure, they were all knocked unconscious. The three men each carried one, preparing to return to the village and report the mission.
Soon, the four of them began their journey back.
As they moved through the forest, Tsunade watched Reiji and Jiraiya walking ahead, arms around each other's shoulders, laughing and goofing off. She felt a headache coming on.
Those two were beyond saving.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru stared thoughtfully at Reiji's back.
His first impression of Reiji was strength—overwhelming Taijutsu and terrifying speed.
The second was his cunning. Despite his carefree demeanor, Orochimaru sensed something oddly familiar in him.
It was the presence of Tobirama Senju.
Behind that laid-back façade hid a mind of strict strategy and planning.
This mission might have looked like a simple hostage rescue, but Reiji had made two moves that Orochimaru couldn't figure out.
The first was back in Uzushiogakure. With Reiji's speed and power, rescuing the kidnapped child would've been easy, yet he let the kidnappers go.
That could be explained as prioritizing the safety of all the children—but Orochimaru felt there was more to it.
Second, why did he capture Uzushiogakure's village head and threaten him?
To Orochimaru, that seemed pointless.
The man had no value and only ran his mouth. Was someone of Reiji's caliber supposed to waste his time on that?
Absolutely not!
The third was letting the Third Mizukage go—for 50 million ryo.
He could've wiped out all the enemies, played dumb, and carried on with the mission.
But Reiji still chose to release the Third Mizukage. Orochimaru couldn't understand why.
Still, he was certain—it wasn't for the money.
Orochimaru's sharp instincts told him Reiji was plotting something. Something big.
And that same Reiji was now wildly boasting to Jiraiya.
"Bro, I'm telling you, Uzushiogakure is totally underrated!"
Jiraiya scoffed and shook his head. "No way. Yugakure is the GOAT! Hot springs, sake, and a little action on the side... Hehe, that's the real deal!"
"Hmph~" Reiji sneered and flipped him off.
"You're so clueless. Listen, the Uzumaki clan is seriously underestimated!
And Yugakure? Washed up. Just look at all the daimyō and rich merchants—none of them go to the Land of Hot Water anymore.
The trend now is the Land of Snow!
Open-air hot springs with steam rising, snow falling thick outside, and the wind howling. Now that's atmosphere!"
Jiraiya curled his lip and muttered, "You talk like you've actually been there."
"Hey!" Reiji gave a meaningful smile but stayed silent.
Jiraiya's eyes went wide. He grabbed Reiji by the neck and whispered, shocked,
"You really went?"
"Hey~" Reiji just smiled without answering.
Jiraiya felt the sting instantly.
He'd only ever been to the Land of Hot Water on missions—he didn't even know where the entrance to the red light district was.
Reiji, who'd been a bottom-of-the-class slacker just like him in school...
And now? "Well-traveled," to say the least.
The thought made envy leak from the corner of Jiraiya's mouth. He glanced around, then scooted closer to Reiji.
"Reiji, we're good buddies, right?"
At that, Reiji nodded with a blank, innocent look.
"Great! So, do you have any secrets? You know... the kind that make girls like you?"
"What kind of girls? The ones in Kabuki..." Before Reiji could finish, Jiraiya quickly clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Yes, yes, those ones!"
"No way. Girls like that will never fall for someone—they only love money!" Reiji said flatly.
Jiraiya paused, staring at him doubtfully. "Seriously? But that Kabuki Photo Album you sent me was full of stories about songstresses turning their lives around for love!"
"Heh. Would you marry them? If you would, maybe they'd love you back."
Jiraiya shrank his neck a little, chuckling awkwardly. "Yeah... no thanks. I'm not planning on getting married."
"No marriage? Then what are you even doing?" Reiji's eyes sparkled as he asked, seemingly casual.
"Uh... the Great Toad Sage prophesied that my future disciple will be the savior of the world.
So I've decided to train hard and raise that disciple right."
Watching Jiraiya speak with such reverence, Reiji silently rubbed his teeth in exasperation.
This guy's totally brainwashed by Gamamaru!
Reiji let out a long sigh, unwilling to give up as he tried to talk some sense into him.
"Are you really going to let your life be chained to some vague prophecy?"
Jiraiya's eyes flickered with a rare trace of doubt, and his steps through the brush slowed.
"I... I don't know.
I used to want to be Hokage. I wanted recognition.
But then I saw how exhausted Lord Hiruzen was every day—pushing through it all just to teach us ninjutsu.
After that, my desire to be Hokage didn't feel so strong anymore.
Later, I wanted to get stronger to prove myself to Tsunade.
But sometimes, I'd catch her staring off into space with a bloody kunai in her hand... uh, I mean, daydreaming.
That's when I knew—there was already someone in her heart."
Reiji blinked, genuinely curious for a moment.
Was it the kunai that killed Dan Katō, or the one that killed Nawaki?
No... the timeline doesn't match.
As he pondered, Jiraiya kept talking.
"Then I realized... being free actually feels pretty good. At least I'm not lonely. And besides, I still want to be that cool guy from the Great Toad Sage's prophecy—the one who teaches the savior of the world."
Hearing that, Reiji couldn't help but roll his eyes.
This guy was making it sound all noble—freedom, cool mentor...
More like vanishing into Dongguan and ghosting after too much partying!
That thought made Reiji pat Jiraiya on the shoulder.
"Why don't you just write a little... censored book? I'll pay you for the manuscript, you can go do some... fieldwork, and I'll handle publishing. We'll split the profits fifty-fifty!"
Jiraiya's eyes lit up, and he immediately threw an arm around Reiji's neck.
"Seriously?!"
Seeing his excitement, Reiji nodded earnestly.
"Of course!
And hey, if you can draw, even better! Illustrated ones sell way more!"