My head hurts. Since things have come to this, let's eat first.
Satoshi rubbed his rumbling stomach. "Let's go get something to eat first, I'm starving."
—
Satoshi, Kakashi and Tenzo arrived at Ichiraku Ramen.
"Three bowls of ramen, please."
"Please wait a moment."
Ayame's eyes narrowed into slits. "Long time no see, Satoshi."
Ichiraku Ramen is a very mysterious place, it seems no one ever causes trouble there. Every customer who eats there is also well-behaved.
Satoshi said, "I've been a bit busy lately, performing missions with Kakashi-senpai."
Ayame hummed, knowing this involved classified information, so she couldn't ask further.
While the three waited for their noodles, they suddenly heard a gasp of surprise from behind them.
"Wow! Satoshi-sensei, I didn't expect to run into you here."
Naruto took a few quick steps to the counter and grandly pulled out his round, little toad wallet.
"Today I'm treating you to ramen. Give Satoshi-sensei extra char siu, and no bamboo shoots."
Ayame looked at Naruto with a smile. "Alright. Naruto is treating today."
"Hehe."
Naruto was very proud. "Today I went fishing by the river and caught a few big fish. On the way back, I ran into some fierce-looking strange uncles."
"I originally thought they wanted to steal my fish, but I didn't expect them to give me a lot of money and buy my fish."
"Hmm..."
Naruto pointed at the clan emblem on Satoshi's shoulder and said, "They also had this on them, so maybe they're Satoshi-sensei's friends."
After speaking, Naruto bounced over and sat next to Satoshi.
He counted on his fingers and said, "If that's the case, I can sell fish for pocket money in the future, and then I can buy more limited edition instant noodles. It seems a special edition just came out recently..."
Satoshi listened from the side, his brain aching.
Please don't buy any more, you little troublemaker. How much salary do I have to withstand your spending?
But there was also good news.
From his condition, it seemed that the previous guys attacking Naruto hadn't caused him any harm. Or perhaps, he had been attacked so many times that his antibodies had strengthened.
Naruto asked curiously, "Satoshi-sensei, can you teach me Ninjutsu today?"
"No, I can't."
Satoshi pointed to Tenzo and Kakashi. "I have to go on a secret mission with these two senpai."
"Oh, okay then."
Naruto was a little dejected.
Soon, the noodles arrived.
Naruto and Satoshi's bowls had more ingredients than noodles, while Kakashi and Tenzo's bowls, in comparison, looked... very plain.
"I'm going to eat."
Satoshi looked at his two companions awkwardly. "Then I'm going to eat too."
As soon as Satoshi picked up his chopsticks, he heard a series of piercing screams.
"Ahhhhh!"
It startled him so much he almost fell off his stool.
Initially, Satoshi didn't pay it any mind, thinking it was just some roughhousing between young women. But then the screams grew louder and louder.
Listening closely, there was also the sound of people grabbing weapons.
"Peeping tom! Sisters, let's kill him!"
"Don't run! I'm not letting him off without ripping off his junk!"
"Hit him! Hit him until he dies! Hokage-sama will do us justice."
Then came the wails and footsteps and the man's pleas for help.
Satoshi's expression instantly became very interesting.
Don't tell me that old pervert is back in the village.
Satoshi said, "You guys eat first, I'll be right back."
As soon as he finished speaking, his figure instantly vanished from the spot.
"Wow, that's so cool. Next time, I want Satoshi-sensei to teach me that." Naruto exclaimed, then pulled Satoshi's bowl of noodles closer to himself.
The strange white-haired man and the man with the square face next to him kept staring at the bowl, so he absolutely couldn't let them steal any.
On the other side, Satoshi had already stopped the fleeing peeping tom.
Facing the suddenly appearing Satoshi, Jiraiya didn't take him seriously.
"Get out of the way, kid."
Seeing Satoshi actually clear a path, Jiraiya chuckled.
He would soon be rid of this fierce-looking...
Wait.
Jiraiya was suddenly surrounded by a swirling water hurricane, which then contracted into a sphere, like a Water Prison, trapping Jiraiya within it.
Inside the Water Prison, streams of water transformed into chains, binding Jiraiya tightly.
Jiraiya's eyes were filled with disbelief. He was careless, he actually got trapped by such a technique.
Satoshi shouted, "How dare you! In broad daylight, in this clear world, you dare to peep at respectable women."
Jiraiya struggled. "Art... Gurgle... Gurgle... let me out..."
"Say whatever you have to say at the Konoha Military Police Force." Satoshi had a righteous expression.
[As Hokage, one must ensure equality before the law for all.]
[Tobirama has once again personally proven that his protection of the villagers is not just empty words.]
[Mission Reward: Forbidden Jutsu: Mutually Multiplying Ezplosive Tags Technique]
At this moment, the victims of the peeping arrived.
"Hiss..." Satoshi gasped, taking a deep breath.
He couldn't take it anymore. They were swaying, oh, he was dizzy.
A blonde girl tightened her bathrobe and angrily pointed at Jiraiya. "He was the one peeping at us bathing, and he kept chuckling to himself. If this gets out, how are we going to get married?"
"Yeah, yeah."
The girls surrounded Satoshi. "Ninja-sama, you must do us justice."
Satoshi's face flushed.
Stop rubbing, I can't take it anymore.
Jiraiya in the Water Prison was filled with hatred.
I watched you bathe, and you chased me, wanting to kill me. Now you're out here in bathrobes, hollow inside, and sticking so closely to this white-haired kid.
Now you're not afraid of not getting married?
Pfft, looks-obsessed!
"Alright, you all go back first. I'll take this peeping tom to the Konoha Military Police Force right away."
Only after Satoshi said this did they reluctantly turn back.
That look in their eyes...
That longing, that infatuation, that reluctance to part.
Later, Jiraiya couldn't even bear to watch, it was unbearable.
Satoshi clapped his hands, dispelling the Water Prison.
Jiraiya fell to the ground with a thud. "Kid, you're really heavy-handed."
As he spoke, several figures appeared with a whoosh.
"Say whatever you have to say when you come back with us to Konoha Military Police Force."
As they spoke, they tied Jiraiya up.
The group escorted Jiraiya and threw him into the interrogation room of the Konoha Military Police Force.
"Jiraiya-sama, can't you find a different hobby?" Satoshi glanced at Jiraiya and untied his ropes.
He knew these things were useless against Jiraiya, one of the Sannin. If he got serious, even the Water Prison couldn't hold him.
"Kid, you know me?"
"The famous Sannin, the direct disciple of Hokage-sama, the Pervy Sage Jiraiya, who doesn't know you?"
Jiraiya's face broke into a smile. Since he knew him, it would be easy to handle.
"Kid, just go through the motions. I'll give you a book, and you let me go."
"Alright, alright." Satoshi interrupted Jiraiya.
"It's your books that have made Kakashi-senpai so weak. I'm so young, don't ruin me."
"That just shows how good my books are..."
"Shut up! Behave yourself. This is the police, not your backyard."
Jiraiya looked up at Satoshi. Hey, this white-haired kid looked young, but he had a very righteous demeanor.
In the past, he was often caught, but they usually just went through the motions and let him go. The only ninja who dared to punch him hard were him and Tsunade.
Satoshi threw Jiraiya paper and a pen and said, "Write: what you did, why you did it, who is behind you, and what your objective is."
He was so annoyed, his noodles were still waiting over there.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Kakashi walked in, carrying a bowl.
Satoshi asked, "Kakashi-senpai, what is this?"
Kakashi answered, "Naruto said you hadn't eaten lunch yet and wanted me to bring it to you. He also repeatedly warned me not to steal any, or he'd stab my butt hard with a kunai."
Satoshi struggled not to laugh. He noticed the word 'resentment' written all over Kakashi's face.
Come to think of it, their relationship was clearly closer, but even now, Naruto didn't know Kakashi's relationship with his father.
Satoshi asked, "What about Naruto then?"
Kakashi replied, "Tenzo took him home. After what happened last time, Hokage-sama has increased protective measures for Naruto, so you can rest assured."
As the two talked, Jiraiya's eyes widened.
"The Naruto you mentioned, is he that blonde kid?"
"Who else could it be..."
Kakashi looked in the direction of the voice and saw a tall, white-haired man looking at them curiously.
"Jiraiya-sama! Why are you here?"
"Wait a minute! The peeping tom Satoshi mentioned wouldn't be you, would it?"
Jiraiya's face flushed, and he gestured for Kakashi to be quiet.
Any louder, and the Hokage would hear them.
Kakashi couldn't help but smile wryly.
Who would have thought that the famous Jiraiya-sama would be detained by Satoshi for peeping?
"I just took a look..."
Jiraiya spread his hands helplessly. He should have left long ago, but a few days ago, he heard that a new bathhouse had opened with many beautiful young women. So he stayed for a few days.
He asked again, "Were you just talking about Naruto?"
Kakashi nodded. "Yes, Jiraiya-sama. Satoshi is currently Naruto's teacher."
"What?!"
A thunderclap rang in Jiraiya's head.
As an idealist, he had no prejudice against the Uchiha. But he knew that the village's attitude towards the Uchiha had always been poor, otherwise, they wouldn't have been moved to the outskirts to be security guards a few years ago.
So, the question arose.
Satoshi had become the teacher of Minato's son, and the current Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, Naruto?
Was this reasonable?
How much sake did the old man drink to do something like this?
Satoshi looked up at Jiraiya and said, "Hokage-sama didn't object. Perhaps he thought that with an Uchiha like me around, at least Naruto could experience what it feels like to be cared for."
Upon hearing this, Kakashi and Jiraiya both fell silent. Theoretically, they were the two people closest to Naruto, but neither of them had taken care of Naruto.
Satoshi was practically slapping them in the face.
After a while, Kakashi broke the silence. "Hurry and eat. After we finish, we still have to continue investigating that Wood Release ninja."
"Got it."
Satoshi slurped his noodles.
Kakashi sat nearby, muttering softly, "I just re-organized my thoughts. Besides Danzo, we also need to consider Orochimaru."
Satoshi nodded. "But Orochimaru's whereabouts are erratic. Where do we even begin to look for him?"
Kakashi sighed.
If he had to say who was the most difficult to deal with in the Ninja World, he would definitely vote for Orochimaru. He had been a rogue for several years, and not only had Konoha been pursuing him, but they had also issued a bounty.
Anyone who could provide information about Orochimaru would receive a substantial reward. Even so, no one had been able to find his whereabouts.
Although Satoshi knew Orochimaru wasn't the instigator, if he eliminated him, he would definitely receive a reward from the system.
As for Danzo, he would mess with him from time to time.
So he didn't object.
Soon, Satoshi finished his noodles.
He wiped his mouth and walked over to Jiraiya. "Hurry up and write. Don't delay us from finding Orochima..."
Satoshi suddenly stopped.
If they were looking for Orochimaru, why not ask Jiraiya?
In the Ninja World, if anyone understood Orochimaru best, it would definitely be Jiraiya.
Jiraiya looked up and asked, "Kid, who did you just say?"
"Jiraiya-sama, there are some matters we need to confirm with Orochimaru."
Don't let Jiraiya's usual carefree demeanor fool you. As soon as Orochimaru was mentioned, he instantly seemed like a different person.
He narrowed his eyes and listened carefully to the whole story.
Jiraiya asked, "Is Orochimaru still continuing that dangerous experiment? That's why he fled Konoha back then."
"It's not certain yet if it's Orochimaru's doing, it's just a possibility."
Jiraiya shook his head, easily breaking open the bars, and walked in front of Satoshi.
"Whether it's true or not, I need to find Orochimaru in person and get to the bottom of it."
Kakashi asked curiously, "But Orochimaru is so elusive, where do we even find him?"
Jiraiya performed a few hand signs. As the dust cleared, a huge map appeared on the table. He slowly unfolded the map, pointing to the circled areas on it.
"These past few years, I've been searching for Orochimaru, destroying countless of his secret bases."
"Based on my understanding of him, Orochimaru likes to hide at the junctions of several countries, where there are many people and it's complicated, also involving the territorial issues of different great nations."
"Starting from these places, the chances of success will be very high."
The three white-haired men gathered around the table, seriously analyzing their next course of action.
"I'll make a copy of the map for you. We'll split up and act separately. This time, we must catch Orochimaru and question him face-to-face."
"Then thank you, Jiraiya-sama."
Jiraiya waved his hand, indicating that it was all as it should be.
Saying that, he rolled up the scroll and started to leave. "I'm going. I'll come find you after I've organized the materials."
Satoshi stopped him. "Wait, who said you could leave?"
Jiraiya: ?
"One thing at a time. According to Konoha Military Police Force regulations, ninja Jiraiya is hereby detained for seven days and fined thirty thousand ryo."