The night was dark as ink, the cold moon hanging like frost.
The tall man stood before a door, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
So this is Kaoru's new place…
Looks surprisingly nice.
Having finally dealt with Sarutobi Hiruzen, Jiraiya immediately went asking around for his disciple's address.
Truth be told, with the way Jiraiya had disappeared without a word, Hiruzen could've easily treated him as a missing-nin.
But that was Jiraiya.
Among Hiruzen's three students, the one most like him was—without question—Jiraiya.
Tsunade was the disciple he doted on most.
Orochimaru was the one he admired the most.
But Jiraiya? Jiraiya was the one who resembled him the most.
That was why Hiruzen's tolerance for him had always been absurdly high.
Not just in personality—
even their interests were eerily similar.
Ahem.
Yeah.
Men, right?
Heh.
Peering through the window and seeing the interior dark, Jiraiya sighed inwardly.
Already asleep at this hour?
As expected of Kaoru—so disciplined…
Just as he raised his hand to knock, the door next door suddenly opened, warm yellow light spilling out into the night.
"Eh—?!!"
"WHITE-HAIRED PERVERT!!!"
Kyusei stared at the man before him in utter shock, instantly assuming a defensive stance.
"!!!"
"RED-HAIRED LITTLE BRAT!!!"
Jiraiya froze as well, staring back just as incredulously.
"You—what are you doing here?!" ×2
"I asked you first!" ×2
"Why are you copying me?!" ×2
"Damn it!" ×2
"Stop copying me!!!" ×2
The two of them eyed each other warily, their thought processes lining up with uncanny synchronization.
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Jiraiya hastily made a time-out gesture, glaring at the red-haired menace with open disgust.
"Why are you here?!"
Kyusei returned the look with equal contempt.
"If I'm not in my own house, where else would I be?!"
"More importantly—where the hell have you been for the last three years?!"
Back when Kyusei first woke up in Konoha, this was the bastard who clashed with him at every turn.
Not only that—this guy had gone behind his back and told Tsunade things like:
'If a kid's too mischievous, he's probably beyond saving. Just beat him once.'
'If that doesn't work, beat him twice.'
And the worst part?
Tsunade had actually believed him.
In the end, Kyusei couldn't take Tsunade's earth-shattering beatings anymore and fled the Senju compound overnight with his luggage.
That trauma alone explained his lifelong fear of Tsunade.
"What? What?!"
"This is your house?!"
Jiraiya instantly latched onto the most horrifying detail in Kyusei's words.
If this brat lived next door…
then Kaoru would be seeing him every day!
Which meant his gentle, polite, kind, innocent, beautiful disciple would definitely be led astray by this little demon!
Unacceptable!
Absolutely unacceptable!
For Kaoru's future, she had to move away!
Just as Jiraiya was mentally drafting relocation plans for his beloved disciple—
The door behind Kyusei opened again.
A familiar figure stepped out.
Jiraiya felt as if he'd been struck by lightning.
Why…
Why…
WHY WAS KAORU IN Kyusei'S HOUSE?!
If it were just being influenced, maybe—maybe—he could still pull her back.
But if—
"Eh?!"
"Jiraiya-sensei!"
"You're back!"
Kaoru looked at him in delight, her face lighting up.
Heaven knew—Jiraiya had taken her in as a disciple for less than a year before heading off to war. Then, for two and a half years, not a single word.
The most recent news had been half a year ago—a letter that seemed to remember, belatedly, that he still had a disciple in Konoha.
"Kaoru!"
"Why are you here?!"
Jiraiya stared at her, his soul practically cracking in half.
"Huh?"
"Today Kyusei and I passed our ninja academy graduation exam. He cooked dinner and invited me over."
Kaoru tilted her head, puzzled by her teacher's increasingly gloomy aura.
Hearing this, a flicker of hope ignited in Jiraiya's eyes.
If it's just that…
If it's only that…
But then—
His gaze drifted downward.
To Kaoru's hand.
Her soft, fair hand—
Was being held by a detestable pig's trotter.
And what was worse—
His gentle, polite, kind, innocent, beautiful disciple didn't seem to think there was anything wrong at all.
Meanwhile, that cursed red-haired brat was grinning smugly at him.
DAMN IT!!!
He left for a while and his house got robbed!!!
His precious cabbage—
Got rooted up by a pig!!!
Three years…
Just three years…
Okay, fine—three years is a long time…
But that's still not an excuse!
Jiraiya glared darkly at the brat who was smiling at him so provocatively, his voice dripping with menace.
"Kid. Let go—"
"Huh?"
"Say that louder, I'm hard of hearing!"
Kyusei cupped a hand to his ear and leaned closer, his face full of shameless provocation.
Jiraiya snapped.
He stepped forward and grabbed Kyusei by the collar.
"Eh?!"
"Jiraiya-sensei, what are you doing?!"
Kaoru panicked and immediately stepped between them, shielding Kyusei.
"Kaoru, you actually—"
Jiraiya looked like he was about to cry.
Not only had his cabbage been stolen—
She was protecting the pig.
At that moment, a faint green glow caught Jiraiya's eye.
From beneath Kyusei's collar.
That necklace—
"Kid."
"Where did you get that necklace?"
Jiraiya stared at the First Hokage's necklace hanging around Kyusei's neck, his voice turning serious.
"Oh, this?"
Kyusei slapped Jiraiya's hand away and pointed smugly at the necklace.
"Tsunade-nee gave it to me."
"Tsunade would give that to you?!"
Jiraiya clearly didn't believe a single word.
"Believe it or not."
"Oh, right, I've got some news for you."
Kyusei looked at him with unmistakable malicious delight.
"Tsunade-nee—she's in love now~"
"The guy's a really outstanding ninja from the village."
"His name's Katō Dan~"
W-What…?
Jiraiya froze on the spot.
Went out on a trip—
Not only did his cabbage get stolen—
Even his goddess was taken by someone else—
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