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Without a source of intelligence, how could I possibly open an All-Purpose Shop here?" Shinji said with a smile.
"Regarding this matter, among those who know, you must be among the very first," Jiraiya raised his teacup and looked at Shinji, his eyes already filled with apprehension. This level of intelligence source was simply too powerful.
"That, I wouldn't know. But... Lord Jiraiya, where do you plan to travel next?" Shinji chuckled lightly. Believing this news was too significant, Jiraiya mainly needed to return and report to Hiruzen Sarutobi, then continue his journey.
"Haven't decided yet. But... Amegakure? I'm somewhat interested in going there," Jiraiya seemed to have reverted to his Gallant persona, laughing heartily.
"The Akatsuki organization... If Lord Jiraiya goes alone, something might happen," Shinji looked at the tattoo near Jiraiya's eye corner. Previously, Jiraiya died precisely because he went alone to the Land of Rain to investigate Pain's information.
"What? Boss Shinji doesn't believe in my strength? I am one of the Sannin of Konoha..." Jiraiya's words suddenly stopped short. Yes, he was one of the Sannin of Konoha, but how did this title come about? Wasn't it bestowed by Hanzō of the Salamander, the demigod of Amegakure? Yet, even someone as strong as Hanzō couldn't defeat Akatsuki. This? Seemed like?
"Moreover, the members of this Akatsuki organization are acquaintances of Lord Jiraiya," Shinji swirled the tea in his cup, looking at the full moon outside the window.
"Acquaintances? My acquaintances? Who?" Jiraiya suddenly became surprised. Members of Akatsuki were actually his acquaintances? This? Who exactly?
"Lord Jiraiya, aren't you going to see Naruto?" Shinji directly changed the subject. He had already laid the groundwork; whatever decision Jiraiya made, Shinji wouldn't interfere further.
"Naruto?" Jiraiya calmed down. Shinji's behavior clearly indicated he didn't intend to tell him certain truths.
"Yes, Naruto. Minato Namikaze and Kushina's son, the new Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails. Does Lord Jiraiya really not plan to go see him?" Shinji recalled the place Naruto lived before. The large nursery, due to Naruto's presence, had been deemed unsuitable for approach by the Konoha villagers. For a time, due to Naruto's arrival, the nursery owner was practically on the verge of bankruptcy.
If it weren't for some subsidies from Hiruzen Sarutobi, the nursery owner might have gone bankrupt directly. Therefore, due to this situation, the treatment Naruto received from the nursery owner and staff was predictable. Eating adulterated food, drinking expired milk.
Although the current Naruto was only a few months old, he received no sympathy from the Konoha villagers. Instead, the nursery's name was mockingly dubbed by the villagers: Konoha Demon Fox Research Institute. Of course, Shinji didn't interfere with this outcome. His contract with Minato only ensured Naruto would grow up. Other matters, Shinji wouldn't meddle in.
"Naruto... I..." Jiraiya fell silent. He really wanted to go see Naruto. But he had previously received a letter from Hiruzen Sarutobi stating: Naruto's current situation was being handled by dedicated personnel. The implied meaning was: Naruto didn't need Jiraiya's involvement, nor did he need him to visit.
"What, you don't even plan to visit your disciple's son?" Shinji smiled. In his impression, Jiraiya wasn't such an 'obedient' person.
"How could that be? Give me the address. I'll drop by on the way," Jiraiya thought for a moment and ultimately decided to go see Naruto. Shinji was right. As the only son of his disciple Minato Namikaze, wasn't it normal for him, the grand-teacher, to visit?
"Hehe, here's the address. I believe after Lord Jiraiya sees it... perhaps you'll have some other thoughts," Shinji took a piece of paper and wrote down Naruto's location.
"I understand. That's all for today. I'll take my leave first," Jiraiya stood up, intending to depart.
"Take care. But... the payment, you know. Today was a total of three questions, meaning you need to leave me three payments," Shinji looked at the standing Jiraiya and offered a friendly reminder.
"Anything is acceptable as payment?" Jiraiya looked at the All-Purpose Shop rules on the sign, asking somewhat doubtfully.
"Anything is fine."
"I understand," Jiraiya came to the cash box, placed three items inside, hesitated slightly when putting in the last one, but ultimately put it in.
"And the meal cost," Shinji suddenly spoke up. After all, he had said before that staying for dinner incurred an extra charge. Of course, Shinji also felt this was reasonable. Didn't you see Orochimaru also had to pay when eating here?
"Ahem, I know!" Jiraiya said somewhat awkwardly. He had originally intended to sneakily avoid paying for the meal.
"Meals are a separate charge. You can give it to Karin," Shinji pointed to Karin, who had just finished washing the dishes and walked over.
"Here, little sister Karin, this is the meal money," Jiraiya took out some banknotes from his wallet and placed them in Karin's hand. This was outside the rules of the All-Purpose Shop, and it wasn't money Shinji received himself, so it technically complied with Zhongli's principles. After paying for the meal, Jiraiya turned and left directly.
Watching Jiraiya's retreating figure, Shinji thoughtfully approached the cash box. Reaching inside, he took out the three items Jiraiya had just given. Seeing the three items, Shinji's expression immediately soured somewhat.
"Icha Icha Paradise Vol. 1 - Autographed Edition"
"Icha Icha Paradise Vol. 2 - Autographed Edition"
"Icha Icha Paradise Vol. 3 - Manuscript"
??? Shinji was a bit stunned. This? What kind of stuff did you give? The first two volumes aside, what was this final manuscript? But... Shinji calmed down and thought. If it were a true fan, they would probably be willing to pay a high price for this manuscript, right? For example...
An image suddenly appeared in Shinji's mind: someone constantly showing dead fish eyes, and also wearing a mask that hid whether he had buck teeth or something else underneath. Hatake Kakashi! Believing Kakashi would see Jiraiya's manuscript for "Icha Icha Paradise Vol. 3", he should be very happy to acquire it at a high price?
After leaving the All-Purpose Shop, the smile on Jiraiya's face vanished. How could he not understand the meaning behind Shinji's words just now? Combined with the content of Hiruzen Sarutobi's previous letter, he could determine: Naruto definitely wasn't receiving good treatment in Konoha.
Walking on the road, Jiraiya looked at the Hokage building not far away, then looked at the note Shinji had just given him in his palm. As if having made some decision in his heart, he directly intended to head towards Naruto's nursery first. But...
"Lord Jiraiya, Lord Hokage is looking for you." An ANBU member suddenly appeared beside Jiraiya and spoke respectfully. For Konoha ninja, Jiraiya was an admirable ninja, standing at the pinnacle, naturally garnering more admiration.
"Now?" Jiraiya turned his head and looked at the ANBU ninja.
"Yes, Lord Hokage is already waiting for you in the Hokage's office."
"Sigh... I understand. Let's go," Jiraiya glanced towards Naruto's nursery, then sighed and sped towards the Hokage's office.
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi held his pipe, taking occasional puffs. Watching Jiraiya approaching from afar, a grave look flashed in his eyes.
Knock knock knock. "Lord Hokage, Lord Jiraiya has arrived," the ANBU ninja from before knocked on the door and entered to report.
"Understood. You may leave. Jiraiya, long time no see," Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his head. Jiraiya was already standing in the Hokage's office.
"Teacher Hiruzen, long time no see indeed. What, peeping again just now... ah no, concerned about Konoha's safety?" Jiraiya habitually pulled up a chair and sat down. Looking at the covered crystal ball on the desk, a lewd expression appeared on Jiraiya's face. He knew Hiruzen Sarutobi had such a good item. Although he had always coveted it, Hiruzen Sarutobi had never agreed to teach him this Telescope Technique.
"Ahem, I was just concerned about Konoha's safety! Jiraiya, how are things with Orochimaru?" Hiruzen Sarutobi saw Jiraiya didn't bring anyone back and knew: the mission he gave Jiraiya regarding Orochimaru had definitely failed.
"Couldn't intercept him. You know, Teacher Hiruzen, Orochimaru himself is a ninja on my level. And capturing Orochimaru alive, no matter how you think about it, is impossible, right?" Jiraiya said bluntly. Orochimaru himself was extremely skilled at escaping. If he didn't have Sage Mode, even finding him would be difficult? Moreover, although the current Jiraiya with Sage Mode was indeed a notch stronger than Orochimaru in combat, defeating and capturing alive were entirely different matters.
"Indeed. But..." Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, smoke quickly filling the entire Hokage office.
"And... what exactly did Orochimaru do? Why was he declared an S-rank missing-nin externally?" Jiraiya looked into Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes and asked seriously.
"He conducted human experiments in the village! This is the data from that time," Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to have known what questions Jiraiya would ask, directly placing a stack of documents in front of Jiraiya. Flipping through page by page, Jiraiya's expression grew increasingly ugly. These human experiment materials had always been strictly forbidden items in Konoha. But according to Hiruzen Sarutobi's character, if it were truly just because of this... It wouldn't be enough... to directly force Orochimaru out of the village, right? So, what Shinji said... was highly likely?
"I understand. I will continue to pursue this mission. But I also have a few things to report."
"Speak." Next, Jiraiya reported everything he encountered outside during this period, both big and small.
"Meaning, Hanzō of the Salamander from Amegakure is dead?" Hearing this news, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was still quite shocked. After all, the Demigod of the Shinobi World died so quietly?
"Yes. I heard this news in the Land of Rain. The current Land of Rain is completely controlled by an organization called Akatsuki," Jiraiya thought for a moment but still didn't mention Shinji's involvement.
"That is indeed big news. I will send ANBU members over to confirm. You just focus on following up on Orochimaru's matter," Hiruzen Sarutobi thought for a moment and ultimately decided Orochimaru's matter was more important. After all, they were still currently fighting Kumogakure. If a major figure like Jiraiya rashly entered the Land of Rain, it could cause unnecessary trouble. It would be more appropriate to let the ANBU already lurking in the Land of Rain follow up.
"Understood. Then I'll leave first," Jiraiya stood up, intending to depart.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to see Naruto," Jiraiya stood up, looking calmly at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Naruto... he is doing well now. There's no need for you to go see him," Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up. He naturally knew Naruto's current situation. Moreover, he knew how deep the bond between Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze was. Letting him contact Naruto at this time was clearly not a good time.
"No, no. Minato's son, I still need to go see him. Does Teacher Hiruzen have some concerns?" Jiraiya looked scrutinizingly at his teacher. Normally, he wouldn't speak to Hiruzen Sarutobi like this. But now, judging from Shinji's previous words and Hiruzen Sarutobi's performance, Naruto's situation was definitely not good. So...
"Jiraiya, I said, the current Naruto is not someone you can contact!" Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up, looking fearlessly at Jiraiya.
"I just want to take a look. Alright, Teacher Hiruzen, I'm leaving first."
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> Check my: [email protected]/ShixT9 for extra 60 Chapters
> Each 50 Spirit Stones I will release an extra chapter
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