'What should I do?' This sentence kept looping in Jiraiya's mind.
The pain from his buttocks or his disciple's anticipation— which one should he prioritize?
Jiraiya imagined the consequences of telling Tsunade the real reason for not going.
In Jiraiya's mind, a small drama unfolded —
"Hahaha, are you trying to make me die from laughing and then take all of my fortune for yourself? Peeping at the women's bath and ends up bleeding on your ass because of some kid?" Tsunade mercilessly mocked.
"Have you eaten? If not, have a taste of my fist." Immediately after, Tsunade's fist smashed into Jiraiya's abdomen.
"Doing such things as soon as you come back, should I say it's typical of you?"
Thinking of Tsunade's terrifying strength, Jiraiya instantly snapped from his daydream.
Then he decisively replied, "It's nothing, let's go to the Hokage Building together."
He absolutely couldn't let Tsunade know the truth, or he would surely be laughed at and then beaten to death.
Tsunade knew Jiraiya too well. Even though Jiraiya was her good friend, she wouldn't hold back if she got upset. He'd be lying in bed for weeks to recover from her monstrous power.
Moreover, it has been a while since he saw Minato, who has become a Hokage. Thi was a good opportunity to check on him.
Yeah, definitely not because he didn't want to be humiliated and get beaten by Tsunade.
"Well, let's go." Tsunade nodded and didn't ask any further and walked towards Hokage Building with Jiraiya.
On the way, they encountered Orochimaru, who was also heading to the Hokage Building.
"Orochimaru, long time no see." Tsunade greeted Orochimaru.
"Didn't you both live in the village? What do you mean long time no see?" Jiraiya sarcastically said as he was the one who should say that, right?
"Heh." Upon encountering a good friend who fought back to back in the war, Orochimaru smiled for once and said, "Although we both live in the village, if we're not working on the same thing, we usually don't see each other for months."
"You guys really are something..." Jiraiya was somewhat speechless. Even though Tsunade and Orochimaru both lived in the village, it was as if they rarely came back like he did.
"Jiraiya, you never change, do you?" Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya with a meaningful glance.
Jiraiya's heart skipped a beat. Had Orochimaru found out? It couldn't be; Orochimaru didn't have Byakugan.
"Are you hiding something from me?" Watching Jiraiya and Orochimaru's expressions, Tsunade crossed her arms, looking suspiciously at the two.
"Whether I've changed or not, a lot has changed," Jiraiya quickly changed the subject, fearing Tsunade might discover something.
"Heh." Orochimaru chuckled but didn't say anything.
"So, have you encountered the disciple who can change the world that you were looking for?" Tsunade asked casually.
At the end of the war, the three of them stood in front of the graves of their fallen comrades and talked about their future plans.
When Tsunade asked Jiraiya about his plans, Jiraiya mentioned that he intended to continue his journey, believing that this might lead him to encounter a disciple capable of changing the world.
At that time, Orochimaru teased Jiraiya, saying he was just making life harder for himself.
In response, Jiraiya asked whether Orochimaru had no intention to find someone to pass on his skills.
Orochimaru shook his head, telling Jiraiya that he had no interest in things like finding disciples. His only desire was to master all Ninjutsu in the world.
Both Jiraiya and Tsunade thought Orochimaru's obsession with studying Ninjutsu was a bit excessive. Considering how many Ninjutsu out there, it would take forever to master all of it.
Then Orochimaru said that it was hard to achieve with ordinary human lifespan, so he decided to achieve immortality.
This made Jiraiya and Tsunade even more convinced that Orochimaru was abnormal. Even the God of Shinobi couldn't achieve something like immortality, let alone Orochimaru.
"Didn't you already ask that last time we met?" Jiraiya glanced silently at Tsunade, recalling the awkward encounter between him and Tsunade during Tsunade and Nagasawa's journey to Shikkotsu Forest.
"It has been a while since then, right?"
Jiraiya shook his head and said, "Not yet, so I'll set out on my journey again after the Chunin Exams are over."
"So, you're still the same old Jiraiya who makes your life harder." Orochimaru's hoarse voice carried a hint of amusement.
"What about you, Orochimaru? Still dreaming of immortality and mastering all Ninjutsu?" Jiraiya countered.
Being accused of dreaming didn't make Orochimaru irritated or embarrassed. He confidently said, "I'm making a steady progress actually."
Despite being skilled Shinobi, the three continued bantering as they eventually got to Hokage Building.
As they were near the Hokage Building, more Shinobi were spotted in the vicinity.
"Lord Jiraiya is back too. Now, all Sannin are assembled."
"Yeah, since the end of last war, we haven't seen a scene where the Sannin are together. It seems the village attaches great importance to this Chunin Exam. There might be some special purpose behind it."
The Jonin who came to Hokage Building for the meeting started discussing upon seeing Jiraiya and the others walking together.
Seeing the Sannin together naturally surprised them, and some even speculated that their village was planning to make a big move.
Sensing the eyes of those around him, Jiraiya was relieved that he hadn't taken off the gray bathrobe. Otherwise, those Jonin would surely notice something was off from the way he walked.
Jiraiya endured the pain and walked into the meeting room with many other Jonin and sat near Orochimaru and Tsunade.
However, Jiraiya didn't actually sit; he actually lowered his body while supporting himself with his leg.
Given his condition, he couldn't risk sitting. If he sat down, his red robe would be dyed red.
Fortunately, Jiraiya was very skilled in Taijutsu, so maintaining this posture for a few hours was not a problem.
Jiraiya slightly smiled as looked toward the golden figure sitting in the main seat.
The young disciple who always showed a warm, cheerful smile had already become the Hokage. Time sure flew without him noticing.
Minato noticed his teacher that he hadn't seen in a while and greeted him with a smile.
The two exchanged a smile. Jiraiya was pleased to see the young man who had promised to become the Hokage had fulfilled his dream and was doing well. Meanwhile, Minato was delighted to see the teacher that he hadn't seen for a long time.
Then, Jiraiya looked to the Third Hokage, whose hair had turned white.
"Old man, it seems you've really aged, no wonder you decided to step down and pass the torch." Jiraiya sighed as he looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi's now grayish hair.
During the last war, Hiruzen's hari was still black.
The Third took a deep drag from his cigarette, gave Jiraiya a stern look, and said, "You brat, that's the first thing you say to your teacher after not seeing him for years?"
"I'm pretty healthy. Do you want to taste your teacher's stick for once, Jiraiya?" Hiruzen Sarutobi said challengingly.
His three disciples were truly a handful. They all called him old man even though they've gotten somewhat old as well. "I'll pass," Jiraiya quickly declined.
Although Hiruzen Sarutobi's hair was completely gray now, it didn't change the fact that he was once the powerful Third Hokage. Jiraiya didn't want to risk being struck by Sarutobi's Summoning Beast, Enma.
Finally, Jiraiya shifted his gaze to the person sitting to Minato's right—Nagasawa. They had met once before in the Land of Birds' tavern. Despite the awkwardness during that encounter, Nagasawa had left a good impression on Jiraiya.
Similar to Minato, Nagasawa was a skilled Shinobi but well-mannered despite that.
Sensing Jiraiya's gaze, Nagasawa, who was chatting with Minato, smiled at Jiraiya. Jiraiya nodded in response, considering that as a greeting.
When it was about time, Minato felt that the room had quieted down and cleared his throat, signaling everyone to quiet down.
Now, Minato was no longer the inexperienced newcomer he was when he first took the Hokage mantle. Everyone respected him as the Hokage, and the whole room was silent.
"The main purpose of this Jonin meeting is to discuss the Chunin Exams scheduled for the first half of this year," Minato stated the main agenda of the meeting.
The Jonin were not surprised, as it was the most recent major event.
After Minato finished saying everything he needed to, he asked for the others' opinion and ideas for the Chunin Exams.
"Since Tsuchikage, Kazekage, and Raikage are all coming, we can't show any weakness. I think we should have more powerful and well-known individuals serving as examiners," a middle-aged Jonin suggested.
This Chunin Exams were different from previous ones. If they were going big, they needed to showcase the might of Konoha. In the past, having just any Jonin as an examiner was fine, but this time it was necessary to have individuals with both strength and reputation.
Nagasawa thought about it and found the idea good, so he spoke up, "That is an excellent suggestion."
In fact, Nagasawa even thought about organizing a military parade to intimidate the Kage of other villages. After all, Konoha had many skilled Shinobi now.
There were three and a half pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan in Konoha, including Fugaku, Shisui, and Orochimaru with a pair, while Kakashi had one, so half.
Even if Orochimaru didn't use Mangekyo Sharingan, he was still a powerful Kage-level Shinobi, making a total of four Kage-level Shinobi.
Jiraiya, Tsunade, the Third Hokage, Minato, and Kushina made five Kage-level forces.
Even without Nagasawa, he felt that those people would be enough to deter other villages and left them in awe of Konoha's strength.
However, Nagasawa thought it over and decided not to do this. Having one intimidating figure was enough to make other villages wary; adding some more would be unnecessary, and it might lead to adverse reactions.
Of course, the main reason was that Nagasawa didn't want to be bothered with that. Unlike regular armies, shinobi villages didn't have clearly defined units under a particular commander.
If they were to organize a military parade, it would take too much of an effort.
"I think we should prepare a higher level of security to prevent outsiders from stirring up trouble."
...
All the Jonin contributed their wisdom to make sure Konoha was prepared for this unprecedented Chunin Exam.
As one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya also wanted to contribute to Konoha. However, under the intense pain, maintaining a calm expression already took everything he had.
At this moment, he was solely focused on the meeting ending so he could go to Konoha Hospital and received proper treatment for his injured sensitive area.
Jiraiya's abnormal behavior caught Tsunade's attention, so she asked, "Why aren't you saying anything? Aren't you usually fond of giving advice?"
Jiraiya squeezed out a faint smile and said, "I don't have any good ideas."
Tsunade leaned towards Jiraiya, placing her arm on his shoulder, and with a sinister smile, she said, "Jiraiya, you're acting really strange today. Is there something you're not telling me?"
Being harassed all of a sudden, Jiraiya almost lost control and almost sat on the chair, but he managed to keep himself steady in the end.
Trying to appear calm, Jiraiya replied, "Don't overthink it. It must because we haven't seen each other in a while."
"Really?" Tsunade looked at Jiraiya suspiciously, feeling like he was trying to deceive her.
"Well, forget it. I thought there was something interesting happening." Tsunade, feeling bored, patted Jiraiya's shoulder, turned away, and started playing with her fingers in a bored manner.
"!!!" Jiraiya felt like his soul was being torn apart. Tsunade's pat was so strong that it forced him to b sit on the chair completely.
As his buttocks abruptly hit the cold wooden chair, Jiraiya knew it was over. His fight for the past several hours was in vain.
The pain he felt reaffirmed his determination to completely seal that technique.
In the presence of elite ninjas, although Jiraiya had strong endurance and didn't make a sound, his twisted expression betrayed him.
"Lord Jiraiya, are you feeling unwell?" A Jonin who noticed Jiraiya's abnormality asked with concern.
The other Jonin couldn't help but looked at Jiraiya as well, and all of a sudden they saw Jiraiya's twisted face.
Feeling those curious gazes, Jiraiya was really at a loss. Why did you care so much about me when we're in a meeting?
"It's nothing, I met a powerful opponent during my journey. I'm slightly injured when facing him." Jiraiya explained lightly.
"We're in the middle of a meeting now. Focus on the meeting!"
The Jonins finally decided to take their eyes off Jiraiya, and their admiration at Jiraiya became even stronger.
'As expected of Lord Jiraiya, he insists on not interrupting the meeting even if he is injured.'
'That enemy must be very strong to be able to injure Lord Jiraiya.'