Sixteen Years Old, The Fourth Generation of Mizukage

When Jiraiya, who had taken a good walk around the streets and alleys of Kirigakure and collected a lot of information that interested him, returned to the training hall where Konoha and his friends lived, night was already approaching. It's night time.

What surprised him was that after he listened to a chat between Konoha students who went to Kirigakure Ninja School to take the entrance test, he learned a little bit about the differences in teaching methods and concepts between Kirigakure Ninja School and Konoha Ninja School. Differently, when he was about to go back to his room to sort out today's receipts, when he went upstairs, he was blocked by Uchiha Itachi who was waiting here specially.

"What's going on, Itachi? Did you encounter any trouble?"

Seeing Uchiha Itachi standing hesitantly in front of him holding something like a registration form, Jiraiya squatted down patiently, looked at the other person's somewhat evasive eyes, and asked.

"Trouble, not really..."

Uchiha Itachi hesitated for a while, and finally decided to trust the uncle in front of him who had taken the initiative to protect him. He took a deep breath, handed the light piece of paper in his hand to Jiraiya, and whispered:

"Well, because I got good results in the entrance test of the Ninja School, a teacher named Kabuto Yakushi told me about the special courses in the Kirigakure Ninja School, and also said that I could choose several comparison courses. For the courses you are interested in, try to pass the assessment of those courses..."

"Well, isn't this pretty good?" Jiraiya casually took the paper handed over by Uchiha Itachi, somewhat unsure of what the Uchiha child in front of him was struggling with, "Why, I don't know. Do you want to come to me for consultation as to what course you should choose?"

"No, I have actually passed the assessment of a special course that I am more interested in, but..."

Itachi Uchiha touched his temples awkwardly, then pointed to a line of words on the application form, and said almost in a whisper:

"However, I am worried that if I choose this course, you and other people in the village will have some unfavorable impressions of our Uchiha clan."

"Ah? What can this mean..."

Jiraiya subconsciously looked at where Uchiha Itachi was pointing, and then, the words of relief that were already on his lips were immediately pushed back with great force because of the not-so-long text. .

Restoration and research of the history of the ninja world, mentor: Rei Kaguya.

Those who pass the assessment will be given the necessary qualifications to participate in this course. For specific course arrangements, please contact the instructor himself.

"...You did it on purpose, right, Uchiha Itachi?"

After being silent for a while, Jiraiya forced out what he thought was a kind expression and looked at Uchiha Itachi, who was awkwardly holding the hem of his clothes with both hands, thinking about how to defend himself.

"I, I'm just curious..."

"I'm curious how Uchiha Shisui became like this?" Jiraiya knocked Uchiha Itachi on the head angrily, "Or are you Uchiha clan ready to completely fall to Kirigakure? ?Sending an older star of tomorrow doesn’t feel like enough, so why don’t you plan to package and send you, a younger one too!? But, even if you really plan to do this, don’t do it like this Isn’t that blatant!?”

"No...it's not."

Uchiha Itachi covered his head, mustered up his courage, and whispered to Jiraiya, who didn't really think so:

"I just want to know... what is the purpose of a course that allows someone like the Fourth Mizukage to set such a high bar, and at the same time does not seem to involve ninjutsu or personal strength improvement."

"Is this the reason why you sent it to your door yourself and gave it to you for free?"

Jiraiya raised his eyebrows. His emotions were no longer as agitated as before, and he showed some of the demeanor of a famous teacher. He squatted in front of Uchiha Itachi and put his hand on his shoulder seriously. , said earnestly:

"I know that you Uchiha people like to set a goal and never look back. The more talented the Uchiha is, the more they have something they insist on... But after all, you are only a six-year-old child, aren't you? "

"I can understand your desire to get close to and understand Kaguya Rei, but for you who are still very young and lacking in life experience and knowledge accumulation, he is too mature and too dangerous. Your will is He is like a firefly and a scorching sun in front of him. There is no comparison. Even before his own thoughts are born, he will be completely changed by his ideas and become an ideological puppet."

"This kind of thing is a tragedy for you, and it may not be a good thing for Kaguya Rei... If you are someone who can make him care, then he must not want you to become a person who only cares about you. You can recite his ideas and don’t have the tools to think on your own, what do you think, Uchiha Itachi?”

"Then, what should I do, Jiraiya-sama?"

Uchiha Itachi, who was obviously convinced by Jiraiya's speech, showed a confused expression, "If I am not mature enough to maintain my own ideas in front of that person... I came to Kirigakure, and What should we do?"

"And if I pass the exam but don't take the course, how will Mizukage-sama feel?"

"...Well, let me explain to him on your behalf." Jiraiya rubbed Uchiha Itachi's head and said gently: "After all, this happened because of my interference. It's up to me. It should be settled as it should be."

"Eh? But... won't this make it difficult for you, Jiraiya-sama?"

"It doesn't matter, I am Jiraiya, the leader of the Konoha Exchange Group, and it is my responsibility to protect the members! Itachi just needs to wait for the result of the negotiation between me and Lord Mizukage with peace of mind, and enjoy his time in Kirigakure. good."

After an impassioned speech, Uchiha Itachi was grateful to Jiraiya and obediently returned to the room to rest. Jiraiya also let out a long sigh of relief after watching Uchiha Itachi leave. Then he turned around with the application form that Itachi Uchiha left with him, and looked helplessly at Hatake Kakashi, who had been in a dilemma for a long time.

"If you have something to say, just come here and say it directly, Kakashi...I'm sorry for letting you stand there for so long."

"No, the one who should apologize is me, Jiraiya-sama."

Kakashi Hatake came down the stairs and said in a depressed tone:

"Originally, before you found out, I could have left early and stopped eavesdropping on your conversation... But I don't know why, I couldn't convince myself to leave, and then I kept giving away the conversation that should only belong to the two of you. After listening, I am very sorry. When I go back, I will also explain the matter to Itachi and apologize."

"Oh, there's no need for an apology or anything," Jiraiya sighed. Looking at Kakashi's listless expression, he raised the application form in his hand and said in a complicated tone: "You can't help but want to hear it all. The conversation I had with Itachi was just because you had some thoughts on this, right?"

"As expected of you."

A very apologetic expression appeared on Kakashi Hatake's face. He looked at the application form in Jiraiya's hand and said in a faint tone.

"Did what happened with Uchiha Obito hurt you that much?"

"maybe."

Kakashi Hatake sighed and said with tired and bitter eyes:

"I originally thought that as long as I aimed to protect my companions in Konoha and fought hard, I would be able to comfort Obito and Lin's spirits in the sky and give me a reason to continue living."

"But Obito told me that he is still alive. Not only that, he will destroy Konoha and the entire hypocritical world."

"Then I couldn't see the future anymore."

"I don't know what else I can continue to fight for. For the village? For my companions? Or for the so-called tomorrow?"

"But if the future can't give me an answer, maybe the past can give me a reason to continue fighting."

In the end, there are a little more than a hundred words left unfinished. You can refresh and read again.