"By the way, Tian Yuan, these spoils are yours. I only need these secret letters." Minato Namikaze handed Tian Yuan several ninja tools and coins.
In the ninja world, spoils go to the victor—naturally.
"Thank you, Lord Minato." Tian Yuan accepted them gratefully.
Among the spoils were some explosive tags—valuable tools. It seemed the Sand Ninja had no time to use them before Tian Yuan struck.
"Haha, Tian Yuan, you're amazing—on par with Kakashi. But don't be like him, all icy and aloof." Uchiha Obito recovered from his earlier shock.
"Obito." Tian Yuan suddenly addressed him.
"Yes?" Obito replied.
"After killing three Sand Ninja, I'm exhausted. Could you loosen your grip a bit? A stranger might think you're about to kill me." Tian Yuan joked.
Obito's hand on his shoulder was still crushing.
"Well, I'm a genius Chunin—powerful, right?" Obito boasted.
"Oh, I just killed three Chunin myself." Tian Yuan dryly pointed out.
"Whoa." Obito's jaw dropped again. "You're tougher than Kakashi."
"Obito, mind your own business." Kakashi interjected.
"All right, everyone, let's head back to Konoha." Minato Namikaze called.
"Okay!" Obito cheered. On lengthy missions, Konoha teams might spend months away.
Tian Yuan returned to Konoha with Minato's squad.
"See you, Tian Yuan!" Obito and the others bid farewell.
"Time to go home." Tian Yuan glanced at the sky. Today's fight had drained him heavily, though his gains were greater.
On his way back, he encountered a frail white-haired man—Jiraiya's sunken eyes startled him. Had Jiraiya been lost in those books all these days?
"This is living on the edge." Tian Yuan admired Jiraiya's dedication—if Jiraiya knew his thought, he'd chop him down. Fortunately, Jiraiya would never know.
"Lecherous Sage, what's up?" Tian Yuan asked.
"I've got something to show you." Jiraiya grabbed Tian Yuan and led him off without waiting for a response.
Soon they arrived at a building. Jiraiya opened the door and ushered Tian Yuan inside—his home.
"Lecherous Sage, why bring me here?" Tian Yuan wondered, fearing Jiraiya might expect him to… He was only eight and not fully mature.
"Look over there." Jiraiya pointed at scattered books. A few were the same adult magazines Tian Yuan had extracted. Others had wildly different styles. Jiraiya had absorbed the best traits and created his own works.
"Impressive—these are my creations from the past days." Jiraiya beamed with pride.
"Very impressive." Tian Yuan praised sincerely. Jiraiya's artwork was vivid and perfectly suited to the Hokage world—every man's essential reading.
"So you weren't… that." Tian Yuan muttered, relieved he had misjudged Jiraiya's intentions.
"What do you mean?" Jiraiya asked.
"Nothing—I meant praise, Lecherous Sage." Tian Yuan gave a thumbs-up.
"Nice—I'm a genius, but call me Jiraiya big brother." Jiraiya laughed. Recognized achievement made him happiest.
"Still, Tian Yuan, thank you. Without you, these works wouldn't exist." Jiraiya roared with laughter.
"Jiraiya, what are you two doing?" A melodious voice interrupted—Tsunade, her porcelain face and clear eyes flashing.
Jiraiya's laughter cut off. Tian Yuan froze, sensing impending trouble—a brewing storm.
Moments later, Tsunade's furious roar filled the room: "Jiraiya, Tian Yuan, how dare you sneak around doing this! I was worried something happened to you, Jiraiya!"
"It was Jiraiya big brother who brought me here—I didn't know."
"Tian Yuan, these belong to you."
"Jiraiya, don't blame Tian Yuan—it must be you."
Poor Jiraiya could only endure.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office:
"You say we have a list of Sand Ninja spies?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked Minato Namikaze.
"Yes, Lord Hokage." Minato replied. "These letters were recovered from the Sand Ninja."
"I see." Hiruzen nodded, scanning the documents. "Not detailed, but it gives us direction."
"Lord Hokage, do you know Tian Yuan?" Minato asked suddenly.
"Tian Yuan?" Hiruzen frowned. "Konoha has such an ninja?"
"He's a student at the Ninja Academy."
"A Ninja Academy student?" Hiruzen's eyes brightened. "I've heard of him—called the Academy's strongest student recently."
"That's him. He killed these Sand Ninja." Minato explained.
After a moment, Hiruzen nodded. "Remarkable—he's as gifted as Kakashi."
"Yes, and he said he'll soon take the Academy graduation exam, so his mentor…" Minato hesitated.
"I understand." Hiruzen agreed. A genius needs a guide—like Kakashi had.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。