The Shimura Actually Has Ice Release

"Anyway, let's go back and rest first."

Patting Takeshi's little head, Nonō didn't expect the child to understand her words, but she gestured for him to get up.

Having enjoyed her lap as a pillow, Takeshi sat up reluctantly, cast a sulky glance at Ikku—who was still standing there unmoving—then pouted and headed toward his room.

Peeling off the tattered remains of his clothes, Takeshi endured the pain in his body and put on a fresh set of clothes.

Meanwhile, Nonō showed no concern whatsoever for Ikku, and right in front of him, she sent off the day's intel on Takeshi to Danzō.

"Is that a report for Danzō-sama?"

Ikku, seeing Nonō's actions, asked calmly.

"That's right."

Facing Ikku, Nonō didn't put on the kind face she used with Takeshi. Instead, she looked at him with an even colder expression, clearly showing her disdain.

"..."

Ikku said no more. Instead, he looked through the floor-to-ceiling window, observing the design of the light fixtures inside, nodding slightly in thought.

...

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

"Hehehe… cough… the bathhouse is still doing good business as always."

In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen was squinting pervertedly at the crystal ball in front of him, which was currently displaying the most popular hot spring in Konoha—in parentheses, the women's bath.

Just as he was about to zoom in for a closer look, footsteps outside the office suddenly interrupted him.

In a panic, he yanked over a red cloth he had prepared and threw it over the crystal ball. Before he could do anything else, the door was forcefully flung open by a white-haired man.

"Yo, sensei, what're you up to?"

The man swaggered into the room and gave a curious glance at the red cloth on the desk, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Jiraiya, didn't I, as your teacher, ever teach you to knock before entering a room?"

Hiruzen glared at his unruly student, a mix of embarrassment and irritation on his face. If it weren't for his sharp hearing, his reputation would've been ruined!

Seeing Hiruzen's slightly red cheeks and the obvious sphere-shaped bulge under the red cloth, Jiraiya thought for a moment and instantly understood what had just been happening.

"Hehehe, old man, don't tell me you were..."

Knowing full well what kind of person his teacher was, Jiraiya approached with a cheeky grin.

"Ahem, stop calling me 'old man' all the time. At least show some respect and call me Third, will you?" Hiruzen snapped, whether out of annoyance at Jiraiya's tone or the shame of being caught red-handed, it was hard to say.

"Hahaha, sorry, sorry. It's been so long since I saw my teacher, I got a bit excited." Jiraiya laughed heartily and stepped back to stand in front of Hiruzen.

His expression turned serious.

"So, what happened that made you reach out to me through Minato?"

"Hmph. If my ANBU could find you, I wouldn't have needed to go through Minato..." Seeing Jiraiya's change in demeanor, Hiruzen snorted. He took out his pipe from his pocket and placed it in his mouth. Using the pretense of looking for documents, he quietly put away the crystal ball.

He pulled out the document he wanted from the pile and handed it to Jiraiya before lighting his pipe.

"Take a look. This is Danzō's latest report."

"Danzō, huh?"

Hearing the name, Jiraiya frowned, the image of that ambitious man surfacing in his mind.

As someone directly under Hiruzen, Jiraiya naturally knew what kind of role Danzō played in Konoha.

Taking the document from Hiruzen, Jiraiya skimmed through it and found that it detailed recent attacks and losses at Konoha's borders and nearby villages.

"How long has it been since peace began, and these guys are already getting restless?"

He suddenly closed the file with a thump, both sighing and understanding why Hiruzen had summoned him back.

That was exactly why he had been traveling across the shinobi world, following the Great Toad Sage's prophecy in search of the Child of Prophecy.

"There's no helping it. This is the fate of shinobi. If I could, I'd want eternal peace for the ninja world. Not just me—the First and Second as well..."

Hiruzen spoke wistfully, gazing at the portraits of his predecessors on the wall.

"Speaking of which, there's something in that file that caught my eye, old man." Jiraiya followed his teacher's gaze toward the two portraits.

"Especially this part about Special Jōnin Hatake Sakumo. What happened?"

"Minato didn't mention it to you? Hmm, I suppose by now it's something the village prefers not to speak of." Hearing Jiraiya ask about Sakumo, Hiruzen clasped his hands behind his back. After confirming that nothing too conspicuous was poking out from where he stood, he walked over to the window.

"You've been gone from the village a long time, so you probably don't know what's been happening recently..."

As Hiruzen explained, Jiraiya's expression shifted from solemn, to shocked, and finally to utterly dumbfounded.

"You've got to be kidding me, old man. That Danzō—that Danzō—has a son?!"

Jiraiya's voice was so loud that even the ANBU in the shadows were startled and peeked out curiously.

"What? You can't believe Danzō has a son?" Hiruzen leaned sideways and gave his student a half-amused glance.

He naturally understood why Jiraiya was so shocked. After all, his student was still single to this day.

[This makes no sense. Looks, power—I'm not any worse than that guy. So how come he has a son, and Tsunade still keeps rejecting me?!]

Jiraiya fell into a deep spiral of self-doubt upon hearing the news.

"Anyway, you're not leaving the village for a while. Conveniently, Minato has already been promoted to Jōnin. I plan to assign the two of you to the same squad, with you as the leader. You'll pick two more members with Jōnin-level strength and handle some high-difficulty missions. Think of it as training for your student."

Not giving Jiraiya any time to process, Hiruzen turned around and solemnly announced his decision.

"Your student is exceptional. His talent is rare even by Konoha standards. Only someone like that could be worthy of becoming the husband of a jinchūriki." Hiruzen clearly thought highly of Minato.

"And you, as his teacher, what does it say about you if you're always running off instead of guiding him?"

"Is that so? Promoted to Jōnin already... that kid didn't even tell me." Jiraiya didn't reject the assignment. Instead, he quickly accepted it with a shift in mindset.

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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