Naruto widened his eyes, looking in disbelief at the scenery of Konoha in front of him, which seemed unchanged even after decades.
He was about to say something but was interrupted by Obito.
Obito urged anxiously, "Minato-sensei, Naruto, hurry up! I can't hold on for too long."
"The others, wait here. Rin, you must keep Anrokuzan alive."
Rin nodded with tears in her eyes and quickly began performing medical ninjutsu on Anrokuzan.
Obito was the first to step into the passage and waved at Minato and Naruto.
Minato sighed. Since the passage had already been opened and Obito had paid the price, he couldn't let Obito's kindness go to waste.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the still-shocked Naruto and, with a Flying Thunder God, instantly appeared beside Obito.
In the next moment, Obito closed his Mangekyō, and the space-time passage disappeared.
The three of them appeared at an uninhabited cliffside in Konoha.
Obito panted heavily. Opening such a long-distance space-time passage at once was too much of a burden for him.
In just that short moment, he clearly felt his vision deteriorate severely.
Minato walked forward with concern, handing him a piece of paper towel and asking, "Obito, are you alright?"
Obito shook his head, wiped the blood tears from his eyes with the tissue, and rested for a while before regaining some strength.
He smiled and said, "The price is within an acceptable range. My body can hold on. Although my vision has declined, once I transplant Hashirama's cells, it'll be fine."
Minato let out a breath of relief. That was good.
At this moment, Naruto snapped out of his shock, staring blankly at Obito, "Obito, that technique you just used... was Kamui?"
"How do you have the same eyes as Kakashi-sensei?"
Obito snorted unconsciously, "First of all, don't call me a kid. Strictly speaking, I'm much older than you."
"Second, have you ever considered the possibility that Kakashi's Sharingan was originally mine? Do you think Kakashi's Kamui is as smooth as mine?"
Naruto was first enlightened, then immediately showed a disdainful expression, "Tch, you're still the same as Kakashi-sensei, panting heavily after using it once."
Obito: …
Naruto's expression then turned serious. Looking at Obito, he spoke emotionally, "I don't know how to express my gratitude. Just for me to see Pervy Sage one last time, you've sacrificed too much."
Obito shook his head, "This is how it should be. You never need to thank me."
"Alright, there's no time to waste. Let's find Jiraiya-sama as soon as possible."
Naruto came back to his senses, looking toward the distant Hokage Rock with emotion.
"It really is Konoha... To think we traveled from Roran to here in just an instant, it's unbelievable."
"Right now, there are only three faces on the Hokage Rock. Haha, in my time, there are already five."
"Speaking of which, where is Pervy Sage now?"
Minato looked at Naruto seriously, "Naruto, although I allowed you to see Jiraiya-sensei, you must not reveal any information about yourself. You must not say who you are. Can you do that?"
Naruto nodded, "Dad, just seeing Pervy Sage is enough for me."
Minato nodded, "Then let's go."
———
The sun gradually set, and night fell.
The afterglow of the setting sun illuminated the signboard of Ichiraku Ramen. Teuchi watched the last customer leave and couldn't help but sigh in relief.
Today was the grand opening, and there were simply too many customers. Although he was still a young and energetic man, he was utterly exhausted.
He wiped his sweat, collected the leftover bowls, and started wiping the tables.
Just then, a white-haired figure walked in, "Boss, one bowl of ramen."
Teuchi turned his head and looked, his expression slightly surprised, "Jiraiya-sama is here to try my ramen too?"
Jiraiya smiled, "Since Boss Teuchi has inherited the legendary ramen recipe, I've been wanting to try it for a long time. But there were too many people in the morning, and I couldn't squeeze in."
Teuchi laughed, "Receiving Jiraiya-sama's recognition is my honor. Please wait a moment, I'll make it right away. The taste won't disappoint you."
After saying that, he quickly finished wiping the table and went into the kitchen to prepare the ramen.
Jiraiya found a seat and sat down. His heart felt empty. He picked up the sake he had just bought and took a sip.
This morning, he had just mastered the Rasengan and wanted to show it off to his most prized disciple, only to find that Minato had left in a hurry for a classified mission.
In the afternoon, Tsunade had packed up her belongings, taking her newly accepted disciple, Shizune, and said she was going on a journey.
He tried his best to persuade her to stay, but in the end, it was useless… Before she left, he confessed to her once again, and once again, he was rejected.
'Sigh, who knows how long it will be before she comes back this time…', Thinking of this, Jiraiya felt depressed and couldn't help drinking one mouthful after another. Before long, he had finished an entire bottle of sake.
As he was getting tipsy, a figure walked in and sat down beside him.
The figure seemed very familiar with Ichiraku Ramen. Even though it was the first day of business, he didn't even look at the menu and skillfully said, "One bowl of miso chashu ramen, no bamboo shoots."
While making the ramen, Teuchi felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if this person was an old customer.
Instinctively, he responded, "Alright, please wait a moment."
So, he added an extra portion of noodles into the boiling broth… After thinking for a moment, he added another portion.
On the other side, Jiraiya unconsciously turned his head, wanting to see the newcomer's face.
In his drunken haze, he saw a head of golden hair and couldn't help but overlap the image with Minato.
'Impossible. Minato is still on his mission,' Jiraiya shook his head, clearing some of his intoxication, and took a closer look. It turned out to be a young blond man with whisker marks on his face.
Feeling a sudden impulse, he asked, "Yo, you came to try Boss Teuchi's secret ramen too?"
The blond young man looked deeply at Jiraiya, his eyes filled with emotions, "Yeah, that's right."
Jiraiya became interested and continued, "Judging by your reaction, this isn't your first time eating here?"
The blond young man neither confirmed nor denied it. Instead, he cleverly diverted the question with another.
He asked, "Uncle, just now you were lost in thought. What were you thinking about?"
Jiraiya was stunned, 'Uncle?'
'Do I really look that old?'
Maybe he wasn't young anymore after all.
Jiraiya thought about making up an excuse and casually glanced at the lanterns hanging in Ichiraku Ramen, "Actually, I was thinking of writing a new novel, but I haven't decided on the protagonist's name yet."
The blond young man seemed to have thought of something, and his expression turned strange as he muttered, "Uncle, don't tell me it's some pervy novel?"
Jiraiya coughed violently, feeling embarrassed, but maintained a serious expression. "What are you thinking? I'm writing an inspiring and passionate ninja story."
Hearing this, the blond young man's eyes became even more skeptical, "Clearly, it's a pervy novel. Uncle, you don't have to be embarrassed to admit it."
Jiraiya firmly denied, "Who said that? This novel is called Tale of the Gutsy Ninja, and it's definitely not pervy!"
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