Little Jiraiya and little Orochimaru might not even realize how famous they actually are in Konoha Village.
Little Jiraiya was notorious for being a pervert. He would sneak into the women's bathhouse whenever he got the chance and had been caught multiple times.
If it weren't for the fact that his teacher was Sarutobi Hiruzen, he would've probably been beaten to death by the angry women, both young and old.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, was known for his striking appearance and pale skin. With a little makeup, he could easily pass as a beauty.
So, when the two of them stood in front of Kato Dan, even with their faces covered, they were recognized immediately.
"Jiraiya, Orochimaru, what do you two want from me?"
Kato Dan knew they were up to no good, but his proper manners kept him calm as he asked.
"I'm not Jiraiya, you've got the wrong guy. Right, Orochimaru?"
Orochimaru sighed, still covering his face.
If he hadn't been pestered by little Jiraiya to come, he would never have shown up.
"You just gave away my name, idiot."
"Huh? I guess I did. How about we change disguises and come back this afternoon to bother him again?"
Little Jiraiya shook his head, looking embarrassed as he glanced at Orochimaru.
"Can you be any dumber?"
After giving Jiraiya a fierce glare, Orochimaru gave up and took off his mask, revealing his real face.
"Take off your mask. We've already been found out. What's the point of hiding now?"
"Yeah, okay."
Jiraiya followed suit, removing his mask as well.
"Now, can you tell me why you're here?"
Kato Dan asked again.
This time, Jiraiya laughed and replied, "Oh, it's nothing. We just came to either beat you up or get beaten up by you."
"Jiraiya wanted to fight you. I was just dragged along."
Hearing this, Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru, stunned, as if he had just been betrayed.
"Orochimaru, how could you say that?"
Ignoring Jiraiya's reaction, Kato raised an eyebrow and asked, "Jiraiya, are you serious?"
Kato just couldn't understand.
He and Jiraiya had no past grudges, so why did Jiraiya want to fight him?
Was it jealousy over his good looks?
It wasn't his fault for being handsome.
"Kato Dan, do you know what you did wrong?"
After confirming that Orochimaru didn't want to interfere, Jiraiya immediately focused on Kato Dan.
"Oh? Honestly, I really don't know what I did wrong."
"You're wrong because—"
Before he could finish, young Jiraiya launched a sneak attack without any hesitation or morals.
Little Jiraiya's plan was flawless. They were already standing close, so he used his words to distract Kato Dan and then attacked.
Kato Dan didn't expect young Jiraiya to be so sneaky, attacking before he could even finish speaking.
At that moment, Kato Dan panicked and tried to defend himself.
At this point in time, young Jiraiya wasn't very strong.
If they fought seriously with weapons, Jiraiya's chances of beating Kato Dan were only 40 to 60.
But since Jiraiya made the first move with a sneak attack, Kato Dan was caught off guard.
As the saying goes, "He who strikes first gains the upper hand; he who strikes later is controlled by others."
Despite trying to defend for a long time, Kato Dan couldn't manage it perfectly. Jiraiya found an opening and punched him hard in the face.
"Ugh."
Holding his face, Kato Dan looked at Orochimaru with concern.
He wasn't scared of young Jiraiya alone. If Jiraiya hadn't struck first, who knows who would've won that fight.
But if Orochimaru joins in, it'll be bad.
Even though Orochimaru said earlier that Jiraiya dragged him here, didn't he also not say he wouldn't get involved?
Following the mindset of "a hero doesn't suffer unnecessary losses," Kato Dan could only endure the situation.
"Can I leave now?" he asked.
"No, not yet," Jiraiya responded.
"Alright, Jiraiya, that's enough."
It was clear that young Jiraiya wasn't ready to let Kato Dan off so easily.
They had agreed to give him a proper beating—how could he be satisfied with just one punch?
Luckily, young Orochimaru, who had been standing nearby, stepped in and persuaded Jiraiya to end the fight.
"Kato Dan, you can go," Orochimaru said.
After giving Jiraiya a long look, Kato Dan nodded to Orochimaru and left.
"Why'd you let him go so easily, Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked, frustrated.
"What else was there to do? Do you still want to keep fighting? From the brief scuffle just now, it seems to me his strength isn't below yours."
At this point, Orochimaru glanced at the large tree on the right side of the road and continued, "If you two kept going, you'd both get really beaten. If you couldn't resist using ninjutsu, it would cause a big scene."
"Why's that such a big deal? Isn't it normal to use ninjutsu in a fight?"
"Idiot, don't you realize where we are? We're in the village, not on a training ground."
Jiraiya looked around at the nearby houses and a few passersby. He had to admit, Orochimaru was right.
If they used ninjutsu here, they would definitely get in trouble with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Alright, fine. We'll let him go for today. There will be plenty of chances in the future!"
With that, the two of them walked off.
Jiraiya needed to continue practicing his Taijutsu.
Orochimaru was headed to Tobirama's lab for research.
As the two of them left, a familiar figure stepped out from behind the tree Orochimaru had glanced at earlier.
"As expected of my student, such keen senses," said the person.
It was Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Compared to him, Jiraiya... hm? Will he really be worthy of being called one of the three legendary Sannin, alongside Orochimaru and Tsunade, in the future?"
Among his three disciples, the one who gave Sarutobi Hiruzen the biggest headaches was Jiraiya.
Tsunade, being part of the Senju clan, had no lack of resources. When Senju Tobirama was still alive, if she wanted to learn something, she could just go home and ask her second grandfather or find Uzumaki Mito. He never had to worry about her.
As for Orochimaru, there was no doubt he was a genius. He could quickly master any ninjutsu taught to him. He was also calm and thoughtful. Now, with Tobirama as his teacher, there was no need for Hiruzen to get involved.
In comparison, Jiraiya, who came from an civilian family, was very different.
His talent and resources were average, and his impulsive and lustful nature was a constant source of frustration for Hiruzen.
Even after seeing the "spoiler" from the light curtain, he still couldn't understand how Jiraiya would become one of the Legendary Sannin.
In his view, unless something drastic happened in the future, Jiraiya's limit would just be that of a normal jonin.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but feel concerned.
If there was any difference between the future Jiraiya and the current Jiraiya, it was that Jiraiya hadn't gone to Mount Myoboku yet.
"Maybe I should try teaching Jiraiya the summoning technique?"
Since becoming the bodyguard of the daimyo, he hadn't had much time to teach Jiraiya.
This might be a good chance. He could teach Jiraiya the summoning technique and send him to Mount Myoboku, as was his fate. That way, even if Hiruzen couldn't guide him often, someone (the frogs) would be there to teach him.
"I should talk to Tobirama-sensei about this."
Hiruzen knew that Tobirama wasn't pleased with the Great Toad Sage using Jiraiya as a tool to find the Child of Prophecy.
If he didn't consult Tobirama first and sent Jiraiya to Mount Myoboku, there would likely be consequences later.
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