"Of course I’m willing!"

  Minato’s bright blue eyes shimmered with ripples of joy. For some reason, he felt inexplicably happy in this moment.

  He had never met Jiraiya more than a handful of times, yet there was a special feeling toward him—something he couldn’t quite expin before.

  But now, he understood it.

  That feeling—it was like a teacher... or even a father!

  Without hesitation, Minato knelt down, bowing in respect, his heart brimming with gratitude.

  Jiraiya smiled warmly, a hint of pride lighting up his face. From this day on, he would be someone’s master.

  It was in this very pce, many years ago, that he had become the Third Hokage’s disciple.

  This was what they called inheritance.

  Jiraiya reached out to help Minato up, his gaze softening slightly as he spoke: "From today on, I’ll guide your training. You don’t have to go all the way to the back mountain anymore. I’ve made arrangements—this training ground is open to you whenever you want."

  Minato was now fully qualified as a true shinobi and had earned his right to train here at the Seventh Training Ground.

  "Yes, Jiraiya-sensei!" Minato replied eagerly, unable to contain his excitement. His tone rose slightly, betraying his joy.

  Jiraiya looked at Minato with a small chuckle, his eyes lifting to the sky. The night had already fallen, and the atmosphere was growing darker. "It’s already evening, and you’ve had a long day at the ninja academy. Let’s put training aside for now. We’ll resume tomorrow."

  A mischievous smile briefly crossed Jiraiya’s face, but Minato didn’t notice. He just nodded obediently.

  "Now, let’s go do something more important than training," Jiraiya’s tone grew serious all of a sudden, making Minato’s expression change to one of curiosity. What could be more important than training?

  With that, the two of them left the Seventh Training Ground in a hurry.

  They swiftly passed through several streets, Jiraiya’s pace quickening. However, it was still within Minato’s ability to keep up.

  When they finally arrived at their destination, Minato was left standing dumbfounded in front of the entrance.

  They had arrived at Konoha’s hot springs.

  "Jiraiya-sensei, this…?" Minato was perplexed. Was this the "more important thing" Jiraiya had spoken of?

  Jiraiya cpped Minato on the shoulder and grinned. "Shinobi need to rex too, you know? After a long day, nothing beats soaking in a warm bath to lift your spirits!"

  With that, Jiraiya tugged Minato inside.

  Although Minato didn’t fully understand Jiraiya’s reasoning, he trusted his teacher completely and followed along.

  After neatly folding his clothes and pcing them in the basket, Minato noticed that Jiraiya had already disappeared. His clothes, meanwhile, were scattered messily in the basket, some even strewn on the floor.

  Minato, puzzled, tidied up Jiraiya’s things before stepping into the hot spring.

  Since it was a holiday, the bath wasn’t too crowded. There were even some kids around Minato’s age, though none of them were his cssmates.

  "Minato, what took you so long?" A voice, full of impatience, called out. Minato looked up to see Jiraiya leaning against the side of the bath, a wooden tray next to him with a sake bottle and a cup.

  "Sorry, Jiraiya-sensei," Minato apologized as he jogged over.

  Jiraiya’s face was slightly flushed, a cup in his hand filled with a liquid that had a somewhat sharp, pungent smell.

  "It’s fine, you’re too polite," Jiraiya waved it off, then quickly downed the contents of his cup.

  A few moments ter, Jiraiya wobbled to his feet and gnced at Minato. "I’ll be right back."

  "Jiraiya-sensei, are you alright?" Minato asked with concern, noticing Jiraiya’s unsteady stance.

  "It’s nothing!" Jiraiya dismissed him with a wave, shaking off the slight drunkenness and moving with surprising speed as he left.

  Minato didn’t know what Jiraiya was up to, but it felt nice to rex in the hot spring. He closed his eyes slightly, letting the warmth envelop him.

  However, after some time, Jiraiya still hadn’t returned. Minato, growing a bit worried, put on his robe and went searching for his teacher.

  He searched the entire bathhouse, but couldn’t find Jiraiya. When he returned to the changing area, Jiraiya’s clothes were gone from the basket.

  Minato assumed his teacher must have had an urgent matter to attend to, so he didn’t find it strange.

  "Maybe Jiraiya-sensei had something important to take care of," Minato thought to himself. After changing, he prepared to leave the bathhouse.

  "Not bad, not bad…" Minato heard a murmuring voice.

  His hearing was sharper than most, due to his long hours of training. He lifted his head and saw a figure crouching on the roof of the hot spring building in the shadows of the night.

  It was Jiraiya.

  "Jiraiya-sensei?"

  Minato called out twice, but Jiraiya didn’t respond. He was too focused on something else, not even noticing Minato’s calls.

  The bathhouse was mostly empty, so no one had noticed this unusual sight.

  Curious, Minato quietly found an unnoticed spot and jumped onto the roof, quickly reaching Jiraiya’s side.

  "Jiraiya—" Just as Minato was about to call out, Jiraiya suddenly pressed his finger to Minato’s lips with an almost unnatural speed.

  "Shh, don’t say anything…" Jiraiya’s finger was pced firmly over Minato’s mouth as he gave him a pyful yet strange look.

  Minato followed Jiraiya’s gaze toward the source of his attention.

  "Jiraiya-sensei, is this what you meant by something more important than training?"

  Minato’s face instantly turned bright red, and he quickly turned his face away.

  From Jiraiya’s vantage point, he was clearly peering into the women’s bath.

  In his panic, Minato’s voice rose a little too high, and his movements became somewhat clumsy, causing a bit of a racket.

  Someone in the women’s bath noticed the disturbance and, upon looking up, caught sight of the lecherous gaze from above.

  "Ah!" A piercing scream rang out, causing a commotion outside the bathhouse as well.

  "Uh-oh, we need to get out of here!" Jiraiya cursed under his breath, swiftly grabbing Minato and, in the blink of an eye, they vanished from the roof like a blur of speed.

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