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The uproar over Sakumo Hatake eventually died down.
Once Danzō realized he couldn't push Sakumo into suicide, he stepped in to play the good guy. He made a public show of punishing several reporters for publishing lies, twisting the facts, and slandering a hero.
The reporters couldn't believe it. Wasn't this exactly what Danzō had told them to write? How the hell were they the ones getting punished?
..............
At a barbecue restaurant in Konoha, Jiraiya grinned and draped an arm over Sakumo's shoulder.
"Sakumo, I heard you've had a rough time lately."
Sakumo took a drink and nodded. "Yeah. Manji stopped me in time. If he hadn't… I might've done something stupid."
Even now, Sakumo couldn't explain why he'd wanted to die that day. Once he'd come to his senses, all he could feel was gratitude that Manji had stopped him. What would've happened to his wife and Kakashi if he'd gone through with it?
"You two haven't changed at all," Jiraiya said, looking across the table at Manji and Tsunade. "All these years, and you still look the same. Married life's been treating you pretty damn well, huh?"
"Of course we're happy. What, jealous?" Tsunade nestled closer to Manji, looking smug and thoroughly spoiled. He said nothing, just glanced down at her and slipped an arm around her waist.
Jiraiya's smile faltered.
His years on the road had given him plenty of time to accept that he and Tsunade would've been a terrible match. He liked peeping on women and visiting brothels. She would never put up with a boyfriend who pulled that kind of crap.
He'd gradually let his feelings for her fade. Still, seeing her in a simple kimono, relaxed in another man's arms as his wife, brought back an ache he'd never quite managed to get rid of.
He remembered getting the news of their marriage while teaching Nagato and the other two children to form hand seals. They'd been in that leaky house in Amegakure, with rain pounding on the roof.
Jiraiya had turned his back on the three bewildered kids and cried.
Rain in Amegakure? More like his tears.
Then his imagination wandered to what Tsunade and Manji might've done on their wedding night, and he felt even worse. He shook his head, trying to get those stupid thoughts out of it.
It was fine. Maybe they had one of those platonic marriages. You never knew.
..............
"How are your students doing?" Manji asked.
"They said they wanted to save Amegakure. I don't know where they are now, but I hope they're safe." Jiraiya took another drink, thinking of Nagato—the boy with the Rinnegan.
He hoped Nagato would grow into someone like the hero of his novels, someone who could change a world caught in one war after another.
"You shouldn't have stayed there," Tsunade said. "Manji, Sakumo, and Orochimaru all hold high positions in Konoha now. If you'd come back, you could've been right there with them."
"I wouldn't have taken a position even if I'd come back," Jiraiya said with a rueful smile. "I don't like being tied down. I like drinking, writing, and dropping by a few—"
He caught himself before finishing.
"Ugh. Jiraiya, you've really gone downhill." Tsunade looked disgusted.
Manji didn't see what the fuss was about. Jiraiya being a regular at the brothels was hardly news. Now, if someone told him the guy was still a virgin, that would be weird.
"What are your plans while you're here?" Manji asked, taking a drink of milk.
"Nothing much. I wanted to see you guys, Sensei, and Orochimaru." Jiraiya shook his head. "Danzō's Hokage now, and there's no way we'd get along. I'll probably leave again in a few days."
"I still can't believe Sensei gave up the job without even putting up a fight."
"..." At the next table, a Root operative dressed as a civilian stopped with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth. Were they talking politics? The mention of the Hokage had caught his attention. He got up and approached their table.
"Hey, you young shinobi. What are you talking about?"
Then he recognized them. Oh, crap. It was them. He'd thought they were ordinary villagers.
"Get lost. We'll talk about whatever we want," Tsunade snapped.
She'd recognized one of Danzō's lapdogs at a glance. Jiraiya went quiet, while Sakumo only smiled. He'd seen enough of this sort of thing lately.
"Nothing important. Jiraiya was just saying he wants to be Hokage next year…" Manji said with a laugh.
"Asshole! Manji, don't get me killed!"
Tsunade and Sakumo burst out laughing. Just like that, Manji's joke broke the tension.
"Sorry for the interruption. Please enjoy your meal. The bill's on me." The Root operative forced a nervous smile and made himself scarce.
"Is Danzō that paranoid already?" Jiraiya asked, taking another drink. "He's got shinobi in plain clothes spying on regular people?"
"Danzō wants a war," Manji said. "He's checking what the public thinks before he makes his move."
"That old man's control issues are insane," Tsunade said, folding her arms.
"Danzō's a damn bastard," Sakumo said coldly.
"Konoha really isn't what it used to be." Jiraiya sighed, then got to his feet. "You guys keep eating. I'm heading out. Where's Orochimaru? I want to see him."
No matter how many years passed, he still worried about Orochimaru.
"He's working with Danzō these days. He won't be easy to find," Manji said.
"I see."
Orochimaru had left him a summoning technique. If he needed to get in touch, he could send a messenger toad.
The two of them had grown up together after his adoptive father and Uncle Kakuzu took them in. Even after years of traveling, Jiraiya still missed those days.
Come to think of it, Manji did look a little like his adoptive father…
Could those two be…?
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