— — — — — —
"Luckily I had the knowledge from those before me—and a tiny bit of talent—so it wasn't too hard to learn. Honestly, Jiraiya, with Minato's experience to guide you, maybe you could learn it too!"
Renzo said with a playful smile on his face.
What he said might've sounded modest, but the vibe was full-blown 'I'm built different'.
"Heh…"
Jiraiya let out a helpless laugh and shook his head. "Don't mess with me, kid. I've studied that jutsu—I know how ridiculously hard it is."
"That thing? If you don't have talent, forget it. And even with talent, you still need insane comprehension and willpower just to grasp it!"
"Minato was right—you're one of those rare geniuses, huh."
Jiraiya had long accepted that talent was pure luck of the draw.
Back in the day, he was always the underdog. No matter how hard he tried, he could never catch up to Orochimaru. Talent made all the difference.
Of course, Jiraiya would never admit he wasn't that talented, or that Orochimaru was better than him.
Just admitting Renzo had the talent for Flying Thunder God was already his limit.
(Not like Orochimaru ever had talent in space-time jutsu either, so that's it.)
"Here! This is for you, Jiraiya!"
Renzo casually tossed him a communications wristband, already prepped and ready. "Minato-nii can show you how to use it—or just ask Red Queen."
"Whoa! Careful, brat! Don't just throw it like this!"
Jiraiya scrambled to catch it and shot Renzo a fake glare before raising an eyebrow. "Say, I've been wondering—who the heck is this Red Queen? Why does her voice sound like Tsunade when she was a kid?"
"...Eh?"
Renzo paused for a second, surprised.
You actually picked that up?! Damn it!!
He had deliberately modulated the voice using Tsunade's current voice as a reference, then adjusted it to sound more youthful—not Tsunade's actual childhood voice.
How sharp are this guy's ears?! Wait, no — this has nothing to do with ears!
Kinda scary, honestly.
"Really? Let her say something again—I wanna double-check!"
Jiraiya now sounded unsure of himself.
"Sure thing."
Renzo nodded, then spoke into Jiraiya's wristband. "Red Queen, did you hear that? Say hi to Jiraiya!"
A moment later, Red Queen's voice came through the wristband: "Yes, Master! Hello, Jiraiya-sama!"
Yep—perfectly adjusted voice.
Renzo gave a silent thumbs-up in his head. 'Nice work! She picked up on my meaning immediately!'
"Huh… maybe I was just imagining things? Doesn't sound exactly like her…"
Jiraiya chuckled and strapped the wristband onto his left arm. Then he looked at Renzo again. "But seriously, who is Red Queen?"
"Hmm… how should I explain it…"
Renzo rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Strictly speaking, she's not a real person. She's a program—basically a virtual intelligence that exists in computers and networks."
Jiraiya: "???"
What the hell are you talking about?!
He understood some words individually—but put together? Not a clue.
"Ahem!"
Trying to save face and cover up the fact he was totally lost, Jiraiya cleared his throat and suddenly put on a serious face. "I see..."
"Let's get to the point. I asked Minato to call you over because I wanted to ask—why do you want to support Minato becoming Hokage?"
"What are your plans for the future?"
He locked his eyes on Renzo, watching every expression and movement.
He wanted to see through him completely.
"Oh?"
Renzo chuckled knowingly. "So that's what this is about, huh?"
"Well, it's simple really. Minato-nii and I are close, and I know him well. He's someone who truly wants what's best for the village. I believe he'll be a great Hokage—someone who'll actually help fix the Uchiha's awkward situation. And he's willing to change things."
But, the main reason was their good relationship. And Minato actually listens to him.
That made Minato the perfect tool for now.
"That's it?"
Jiraiya blinked, a little taken aback.
But… he could tell this kid wasn't lying.
So why did both Renzo and Minato seem so genuinely pure and sincere?
"And as for my future plans?"
Renzo just continued: "Eh, the usual. Do some research, train a bit, flirt with pretty girls here and there. Help Uchiha and Konoha grow stronger, more prosperous—and hopefully turn the village into a more fun and exciting place!"
"Yeah, that's about it. Of course, if the timing's right in the future, making the ninja world truly peaceful would be a nice bonus."
Yep. His plans for the future were simple, honest, and colorful.
"You…"
Jiraiya looked at him, utterly speechless. "Why does it feel like you're completely lacking motivation? Like a laid-back slacker! Can't you show a little more passion? Add some fire to your goals or something?!"
"But—I'll give you credit for one thing!"
"I think on this particular point, you and I are very much alike… Let's pee—"
"Ahem, ahem!!" Before Jiraiya could finish, Minato couldn't hold it in anymore and coughed loudly. "Jiraiya-sensei, could you not lead the kid astray?"
"Huh?!"
Jiraiya whipped around, indignant. "Minato, what the hell are you talking about? 'Lead the kid astray'? This was his idea in the first place!"
"If you ask me, he's already a little flirt even without my help! And you're blaming your teacher for corrupting him? Don't you feel guilty at all?!"
Minato: "..."
Teacher, please...
"Hmph!" Jiraiya huffed and turned away from his ungrateful student, refusing to even look at him.
He turned back to Renzo and continued, "You probably don't even have a girlfriend yet, huh? Bet you don't understand how wonderful women can—"
Before he could finish, Renzo raised his hand and interrupted with a calm smile, "Actually, Jiraiya-ossan, I do have a girlfriend. We've known each other since we were kids."
Jiraiya: "…"
This punk just delivered a critical hit right to his heart.
Here I am, trying to kindly share some of my wisdom about women… and you throw that in my face? That's a betrayal! That's a slap to my soul!
Jiraiya's face froze as he slowly turned to Minato, dead serious.
"You see, Minato? I was right. You really can't trust this Uchiha brat!"
"Sensei! C'mon!" Minato looked helpless, caught between laughter and exasperation.
Jiraiya-sensei really hasn't changed a bit. Still the same ridiculous old man.
"Hmph!"
Jiraiya crossed his arms with a huff, looking away again. "Fine! I'll admit it! This brat's not half bad! Pretty trustworthy overall."
"Buuut… he's got no respect for his elders, and his mouth is way too sharp!"
"Oh, and another thing!"
He turned back and glared at Renzo with mock severity. "You're way too young to be dating already! That's not okay! You—!"
"I heard that back when you were in school," Renzo cut in, smirking, "you used to sneak into bookstores to peek at those kinds of magazines. Isn't that right?"
He gave Jiraiya a knowing side glance.
Who are you trying to fool, old man? Everyone knows what kind of guy you are.
You're the last person who gets to lecture me about early romance. Tsk, if only you knew what kinds of names Naruto fans gave you.
"WHAT?!"
"W-Who told you that?! That's slander! Defamation! I'll make you swallow a thousand senbons for spreading lies!"
Jiraiya looked like his hair was about to catch fire.
"Oh, that? Orochimaru told me," Renzo replied with an innocent grin, casually tossing the blame.
Boom.
"Of course it was that damn snake! Next time I see him, he's dead! Acting like my mother, seriously!"
Jiraiya was fuming.
"Well, that's between you and him," Renzo waved it off, then glanced at the time. "If there's nothing else, I'm off! I promised my girl we'd go shopping. Later!"
He gave Jiraiya a lazy wave, nodded at Minato, and vanished from sight with Flying Thunder God.
"…That brat. What did he mean by that last part? Was that a jab at me?" Jiraiya muttered, feeling even more annoyed.
"Jiraiya-sensei!" Minato sighed, almost at his limit. "Are you sure you came here to talk business?"
"Heh heh…"
Seeing Minato's exasperated expression, Jiraiya finally let out a sheepish chuckle. "Alright, alright! I was just messing with the kid a bit."
"But seriously—I've got no doubts now. He's solid. Everything he said was true."
"Well, except maybe being a playboy at this age. Maybe he has more than one girlfriend."
"Minato—don't take after him in that area, alright? You've already got a girlfriend who loves you!"
Unbelievable.
This guy had the nerve to scold Renzo while trying to "educate" Minato with a straight face.
.
.
.