33 Chap.31 The secret of the frogs

--Jiraiya VOP–

Those damn council elders almost tricked me into becoming Hokage!

It was already a big shock for me sensei's death at the hands of Orochimaru and I've been a bit nervous ever since I met Naruto. But not for a second would he accept that position. Not only do I know he wouldn't make a good Hokage, I refuse to be buried in paper and not have more time for my "research".

It is too much responsibility and too many consequences for a single mistake.

So it immediately occurred to me to suggest that Tsunade take the position in my place. He has been out of the village for too long and I think he should be able to convince her somehow.

He is much more responsible than me and he has a lot of experience in leading, but I don't know if he is over what happened back then.

I'll take Naruto with me. He bears a certain resemblance to Tsunade's little brother and I think he can be of help. He keeps talking about wanting to become Hokage. The boy tries hard, but he doesn't seem as talented as Minato. Although he loves ramen like Kushina, but I think that's because of the Uzumaki genes.

I met Naruto at the gate of the village ready to leave, when suddenly two children approach me as if they had been waiting for me. I admit I was a bit surprised when I saw the red-haired girl.

I don't remember my informants notifying me of the arrival of someone from the Uzumaki clan in the village.

Is it the backup plan in case something happens to Naruto?

The boy next to the Uzumaki brings me out of my thoughts when he hands me a scroll that he says is from sensei. After reading the content and verifying that it is genuine, I can't help but look twice at the child.

I remember that the Akimichi clan adopted a child out of nowhere and by the looks of him, it must be Tony, the one who faced the jinchuriki from the arena in the finals of the exam before he got out of control. That shows that he has some talent, maybe he could give him some advice so that he feels more attached to the village.

I'm already going to have to go with a brat, so taking two more doesn't make a difference and I don't have good reason to refuse since sensei authorized it. Also, I know the look on the boy's face, even if I refuse they'll probably leave on his own.

That being the case, better keep them in sight.

–VOP MC–

Karin and I waited at the entrance and it didn't take long to see Jiraiya and Naruto. I walked over to talk to him and hand him the Sarutobi document while Karin and Naruto talked amongst themselves.

I never liked Jiraiya.

His perversion and lack of respect for people's privacy aside, he didn't return to the village to take up his responsibilities to Naruto when Minato and Kushina died. Mind you, he didn't mind spending time with three orphans in the rain country. He didn't even send him any subsistence money, which he urgently needed and I know for a fact he doesn't lack. He made Tsunade suffer in the past for his reckless decisions. He is an idiot who believes in the will of fire so much that he threatened to kill Tsunade if he betrayed the village, to this day I still don't understand how Tsunade didn't try to kill him after hearing his threat. Not to mention that he is like a puppet before the prophecies of an old toad, with insanity and ulterior motives. And that is only part of the whole.

Honestly, he considered Orochimaru a better person.

Luckily for us, it seems that he is willing to accept the will of his sensei and instead of letting us go alone, he agrees to let us accompany him and Naruto.

We traveled pretty fast, but it still took us a few days to reach Tsunade's whereabouts.

During the drive, Karin and I have spent most of the time talking to each other and to Naruto. Jiraiya barely said a few words from time to time and he seems to prefer to listen, probably to try and get to know us better and gather information from us.

During the first night we rested outdoors, he was completely stunned when I took a couple of watermelon-sized field stones and cut them in half with one of my knives, revealing freshly prepared ramen inside.

It turns out that when I ate at Ichiraku Ramen, a hidden System achievement was fulfilled that rewarded me with the ability to recreate that and more types of ramen. I have no intention of using this skill for my business, as Tenzin is a valued customer and we get along well. Also, I remember that he had a daughter who depended on him.

I handed over the stone bowls to the Uzumaki duo to fill their stomachs and I created some chocolate frogs to eat my favorite way: by biting off the heads.

I offered some to Jiraiya out of courtesy which he accepted, but while we ate I think I try to figure out why the frogs seem alive instead of eating them.

The next morning when we woke up, we could see from the bags under his eyes that Jiraiya hadn't slept all night trying to get the secret out of the frogs. He perhaps believed that since it was something he could do as a chunin, he could easily unravel and replicate the trick.

My mood improved a lot for some reason and I gave him a few drops of lemon, in the purest Dumbledore style, so that he would forget about the matter and we resumed the trip.

Every meal I made with my ability baffled him, I acted like it was nothing, but made sure every transformation was shocking. He also did not understand why the others were not surprised with what he was doing, they even asked for specific dishes.

Naruto was already used to my "magic tricks" since the academy and had no interest in knowing how he did it as long as he could take advantage and eat. Karin knew this was my ability because I told her about it, but she was tactful and didn't ask for specific details.

I think she considered it something of a secret between brothers.

Jiraiya was too proud to ask me for food so he could only eat his rations in silence as he talked about the ninja way and acted like he knew what he was talking about.

I think he didn't realize that those present were too excited about the food to pay attention to him.

When we arrived at the right place, the first thing we did was rent two rooms. One for Jiraiya and one for the others, before he ran off to the first restaurant he found.

I think he got a craving for something other than rations?

Anyway, Naruto decided to wait for Jiraiya while he took a nap. For my part, I called Karin and told her to go for a walk. Not only to see if we could find the slimy old lady, but also so Karin could see more of the world.

After all, she had only seen two villages in her entire life and it was the first time that she had been able to wander around a village without a care in the world. I let her pick the trails, we shopped and saw a few sights before heading back.

And just on our return, we could see two women who seemed very familiar to me.