Chapter 229: Jiraiya's Return

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At the door of the dango shop stood a tall, middle-aged man with long white hair reaching down to his waist. He had red markings beneath his eyes, wore a red haori, and wooden sandals. Who else could it be but Jiraiya?

"A false alarm."

Under the surprised gaze of everyone in the shop, Jiraiya scanned the table full of dango, walked over to Obito, and shamelessly grabbed a plate of dango right from in front of him. He tossed the dango into his mouth, biting down on all three at once. As he chewed, he said, "No sake, huh? But this is perfect, I'm starving."

"Ah! You jerk, that was my dango!" Obito shouted, his eyes burning with fury as he reached out to reclaim the remaining dango on his plate. But before he could, Jiraiya placed a hand on Obito's head, holding him in place while Obito waved his arms helplessly, unable to reach the food.

"Don't be so stingy! Think of it as treating me for all my hard work for the village," Jiraiya laughed as he grabbed another skewer of dango.

Everyone else quickly pulled their plates away and retreated a few steps, eating their dango in a hurry.

Kakashi, watching the scene unfold, rubbed his temples, thinking, So this is Sensei's teacher?

In no time, Jiraiya had devoured all the remaining dango on Obito's plate. He finally let go of Obito's head and stretched, saying, "Thanks, the dango was great!"

Before anyone could react, Jiraiya bolted towards the door, clearly intending to make a quick getaway.

Everyone in the shop was left speechless.

Just as Jiraiya thought he had escaped unscathed, a fist came out of nowhere, striking him on the head with a loud thud.

Bang!

The impact knocked Jiraiya to the ground, and a lump quickly began to form where the punch had landed.

"This feeling..." Jiraiya muttered, his mouth twitching.

"You're still the same as ever, Jiraiya," Tsunade said with disdain, standing over him with her fist still raised. "Stealing dango from kids. How low can you go?"

Beside her, Kushina also looked exasperated.

Although the incident with Ye Zi had created some initial tension between her and Tsunade, they had always gotten along well as teacher and student. In the end, it hadn't affected their relationship.

"You're just as violent as always, Tsunade. It was just a few skewers of dango," Jiraiya grumbled as he got back to his feet, apparently used to being hit by Tsunade even in front of the younger generation.

"You couldn't afford a few skewers of dango?" Tsunade shot him a glare.

Jiraiya laughed awkwardly. In truth, he was broke. He had poured everything he had into gathering intelligence for the village.

"Kushina-sensei! That jerk stole my dango!" Obito stormed out of the shop, pointing accusingly at Jiraiya.

The group of young shinobi followed him out of the dango shop, watching the scene unfold.

Kushina glanced at Jiraiya, unimpressed, and then seriously said to Obito, "Then beat him up."

"Huh?" Obito's anger immediately vanished, replaced by confusion. How could he possibly beat up Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin?

Hearing Kushina's comment, Kakashi and Rin both dropped sweat from their foreheads in disbelief.

"Ha! That's right, Uchiha brat, come at me!" Jiraiya laughed heartily at Kushina's suggestion, clearly finding the whole thing amusing.

Tsunade reflexively punched Jiraiya again, cutting his laughter short and leaving him looking resentful.

"Forget it, Obito. You can have some of mine." Rin smiled and handed him two skewers of dango.

Obito was visibly moved. "Rin, you're the best!" he said, eagerly accepting the dango and stuffing them into his mouth, his cheeks puffing out.

Rin smiled warmly at Obito's antics.

"What an idiot," Kakashi muttered, looking away.

"You're just jealous!" Obito retorted, glancing smugly at Kakashi. In the past, such a comment would have sparked a full-blown argument between them.

But Kakashi, his face blank as usual, silently pulled out eight skewers of dango from behind him, holding four in each hand. "Being a Jōnin has its perks," he said coolly.

Obito's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the dango. To make things worse, Kakashi dashed back into the shop and returned with a full plate of at least ten more skewers.

Just as Obito opened his mouth to say something, a green blur streaked past them.

"Kakashi! You can't possibly eat all that dango. Let me help!" Guy snatched the plate from Kakashi's hands, grinning as he shamelessly began eating.

"Serves you right!" Obito laughed, pointing mockingly at Kakashi.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and looked at Guy. That shouldn't have been so easy for him to take... Is Guy's strength growing even faster than I thought?

Watching Guy steal Kakashi's dango, Kurenai walked over, hands on her hips, and scolded, "Guy, you can't just take Kakashi's dango like that."

"Want some?" Guy held the plate out to Kurenai.

"Sure!" Kurenai said cheerfully, taking some of the dango. She was particularly fond of three-color dango.

Looking at Jiraiya, who still had two lumps on his head, and at Kurenai happily eating the stolen dango, Kakashi silently decided to keep quiet about the whole thing.

Asuma and Genma approached Kakashi, slinging their arms around his shoulders. "Kakashi, there's no way you can eat all those skewers, right?"

Kakashi sighed, rolling his eyes.

Off to the side, Hayate quietly watched the group, his drooping eyes betraying his weak health. Eating too much dango wasn't good for him.

"Shizune, there's plenty of dango. Why don't you have another skewer?" Guy called, waving a few skewers toward Shizune, who was standing by the door.

"No thanks, I'm full," Shizune replied with a gentle smile.

Kotoe leaned against the doorframe, watching the playful chaos unfold.

Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged glances, both feeling the same sentiment at that moment: Youth is a wonderful thing.

"This is the future of the village," Jiraiya said with a sigh of admiration.

Tsunade and Kushina both nodded in agreement.

"By the way, Jiraiya, how's the intelligence gathering going?" Tsunade suddenly asked, her expression turning serious.

Jiraiya stroked his chin and replied, "I've mostly figured out the Akatsuki's objectives and whereabouts, but as for Ye Zi... Let's go see Minato. It's too complicated to explain here."

Halfway through his sentence, Jiraiya realized the weight of his words and abruptly stopped. After all, Ye Zi's students were present.

The atmosphere suddenly shifted.

Guy and Kurenai stopped what they were doing, their eyes fixed on Jiraiya.

Kotoe lowered her gaze slightly, concealing a flicker of emotion.

Kakashi also turned his attention to Jiraiya. Everyone here knew the name Ye Zi all too well.

Feeling the weight of their stares, Jiraiya awkwardly scratched his head and laughed, "What? Am I really that interesting?"

"…"

The mood fell flat.

Hearing the mention of Ye Zi, Kushina remained outwardly calm, though her emotions beneath the surface were far more complex.

"Alright, kids, carry on." Tsunade glanced at Kushina's composed expression, then grabbed Jiraiya by the collar and began dragging him toward the Hokage's office.

Kushina smiled at the group. "You all continue," she said, before turning to follow Tsunade. As she walked away, the smile on her face quickly disappeared.

Guy and Kurenai watched the trio leave, suddenly losing their appetite for dango.

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Currently on Chapter 280 - The "What If" Between Us