Hokage: Ryo's Path

Kushina’s action made Jiraiya stunned. It took a while before he finally recovered. “Kushina... aren’t you mad at me?”

She shook her head. “Jiraiya sensei, back then, you did your best. Why should I blame you? Raising Naruto is my responsibility. We’re happy to have you here. Minato once said he already considered you as a father, so do I. So... welcome home, Jiraiya, sensei!”

Jiraiya felt his eyes damp because Kushina’s words touched him. Naruto also said. “Come in, Ero Sennin! Don’t think too much.”

Kushina laughed when she heard how Naruto called him. “Ero Sennin? Hahaha... that name suits you well, Sensei!”

Jiraiya’s touching moment disappeared instantly. He coldly snorted and went in with a straight face.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw a middle-aged man with red hair on the sofa. At first, he thought he was Kushina’s clan member.

So, he didn’t think about it much, but then, the man accidentally did something weird, which made Jiraiya’s expression change.

After a moment of hesitation, he went to the kitchen and asked Kushina. “Kushina, who’s that red-haired man? Is he your clan member?”

“Red hair? You mean Kurama?”

“Kurama? That man is Kyuubi’s overcast at that time?”

Kushina nodded. “Yeah, what about it?”

Jiraiya was about to say that it’s trouble, but then he remembered that their relationship is good. After some hesitation, Jiraiya shook his head. “No,... nothing! I’m just curious.”

“Oh, just talk to him yourself!” Kushina kicked Jiraiya out of the kitchen.

After learning the red-haired man was Kyuubi, Jiraiya felt uncomfortable. The thought of sitting next to the strongest Bijuu made him uncomfortable.

Reading Jiraiya’s thoughts, Kurama coldly snorted. “Is Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin, so timid?”

Jiraiya glanced at Kyuubi. “I’m just not used to getting along with Bijuu.”

“Hmph! Us Bijuu is much better than you humans in a way. At least we will never turn our back on some things. And we don’t make that much trouble. I think humans have more words than us!”

Jiraiya didn’t expect Kyuubi to say those words. He wanted to refute, but he was speechless.

Then he realized Kurama was speaking the truth. Having lived in this world for decades, he saw that personal problems often resulted in wars.

Once war broke out, there will be misery over victories. And the trust between humans disappeared.

After a while, Jiraiya sighed. “Maybe you’re right. But this world will change sooner or later. People have to learn to understand each other, not making war over trivial things.”

“Haha! Jiraiya! Why are you so naive like Rikudou? People understanding each other? Don’t make me laugh. I’ve lived for nearly a thousand years and have never seen such a thing.”

Against Kyuubi’s mockery, Jiraiya firmly said. “I believe that day will come!”

Naruto, on his side, also nodded. “Well, although I don’t know what you’re talking about, I think the world Ero Sennin said is worth fighting for.”

Hearing this, Jiraiya was surprised to see the change in Naruto’s eyes.

Kyuubi snorted coldly at Naruto’s words and turned his head to ignore the two of them.

After a while, Kushina finally finished making lunch.

Jiraiya was surprised when he saw the number of dishes on the table. “Kushina, I didn’t know you could cook?”

Kushina laughed and said. “Well, I’m a mother now. I have to learn how to cook.”

After dinner, Jiraiya left.

After he left, Kushina spoke with Naruto in a serious tone. “Naruto, you will have to respect him and the future and treat him as your grandfather. Understood?”

Naruto nodded.

Kushina was satisfied with Naruto’s response. She talked about Jiraiya’s greatest achievement while she cleaned the table.

“Oh, right! There’s one more thing!” While talking, she suddenly remembered something and said to Naruto very seriously. “In addition to respecting him, you should never follow his bad habit!”

“That Ero Sennin, does he have a bad habit?”

Kushina nodded and said. “Jiraiya sensei is a good man, excellent Ninja. But he’s Ero, especially. He likes to peep at Sento. You should never follow him in this way.”

........

The next day, Naruto got up early and went to the Chunin Exam site after having breakfast.

The other promoted Ninja had also arrived. Soon, Genin from other Ninja Villages also arrived.

After all the exam candidates arrived, the Hokage, Hatake Sakumo; Tsuchikage, Oniki; and Kazekage, Rasa, all stood up together on the stand.

Asuma glanced at the three figures with a serious expression. “I didn’t expect Kazekage to come here. Except on the battlefield, this is the first time I saw the three Kage gathering together.”

Kakashi squinted his eyes and saw the three figures. The usual lazy manner disappeared. “Yeah, Kazekage actually came here. His arrival made me even more anxious. The Chunin Exam this time may lead to a major event!”

“Aren’t we and Suna allies? What are you talking about, Kakashi?” Kurenai whispered.

Kakashi shook his head. “If it was Pakura, I believe she would never harm Konoha. But it’s not the case with Rasa. As a Kage, he was responsible for the rise and fall of their village. For them, the village’s interest mattered. There’s no permanent friend, only permanent interest.”

“Kakashi is right. Rasa’s arrival is not a good thing for us. And look at Kirigakure. The man is wearing yukata beside Ao.” Asuma pointed at Yugao.

Kakashi turned his head and casually glanced at her. “What’s wrong with her? Doesn’t she look normal?”

“Yeah, she does look normal now. But just now, I saw Ao being polite to her. Either she’s stronger than him, or her status is so much higher than him. Ao is the assistant of Kirigakure’s Mizukage; he’s supposed to be the second most respected person in that village. If he’s polite with her, then that means she’s above him.” Asuma spoke out his speculation.