Naruto Dream Fulfillment Master

Page 235

"Kakashi-sensei, are you injured? What happened?" Sakura asked anxiously, reaching out to check Kakashi's injuries.

Sasuke frowned and looked at his teacher: "Is it that serious...? Should we go to the hospital first?"

Faced with the worried looks from the three students, Kakashi scratched the back of his head awkwardly and chuckled dryly, saying, "Ahaha, it was just a little accident. I accidentally... uh, tripped and fell when I got up this morning."

"You tripped and fell?!"

"Who could fall and hurt themselves like this while taking a nap?!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he looked Kakashi up and down at the injuries on his face, completely disbelieving his teacher's explanation.

Even the usually composed Sasuke raised an eyebrow and scoffed disapprovingly, "You're kidding."

Sakura bluntly exposed him, saying, "Kakashi-sensei, stop making up excuses! We're not strangers to what really happened."

Kakashi was speechless, left speechless by the students' barrage of questions. He could only awkwardly touch his nose and say, "Well... it's really nothing serious, everyone, don't worry."

He tried to gloss over the matter with vague answers, but Naruto and the other two wouldn't listen.

Under the three men's persistent questioning, a bead of cold sweat trickled down Kakashi's forehead.

He couldn't help but secretly lament his misfortune.

You can't exactly say you got beaten up and that's why you ended up like this!

If he were to lose face in front of the students, what would become of him, a dignified elite Jonin?

Thinking of this, Kakashi couldn't help but sigh, the scene that happened this morning flashing through his mind, still leaving him speechless.

He never expected that Obito would also be in the audience last night, and that he would witness him "bullying" Obito when he was a child.

But things turned out quite differently. Before dawn this morning, Obito stormed in and dragged the half-asleep Kakashi into that strange space without saying a word.

Immediately afterwards, he received a merciless beating.

Kakashi was too embarrassed to go all out, and only after being beaten black and blue did the disgruntled Obito snort and throw him back home.

Fortunately, the prediction was correct; Obito was just venting his anger and did not detain him like last time.

Kakashi's injuries look frightening, but they are all superficial wounds.

"Anyway, everyone, don't worry, I'm really fine." Kakashi cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Ahem, um... isn't your mission today to practice team tactics? Come on, let's get started."

"Hey—? Teacher, you're injured like this, what are you still training for!"

Upon hearing this, Naruto exclaimed, "How about we take a day off first?"

“Yes,” Sakura nodded in agreement. “Kakashi-sensei, why don’t you go back and rest first…”

"No need, no need, I'm perfectly healthy!"

Kakashi quickly waved his hand, pretending to be relaxed, and said, "See, I can still move, right? This little scratch is nothing. Come on, let's get started on training..."

Before he could finish speaking, a hearty laugh suddenly came from not far away: "Hahaha, you're all here!!"

Kakashi was taken aback. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a tall, white-haired figure striding towards him from the end of the road.

The person, wearing a bright red kimono jacket, waved from afar with a smile on their lips.

"Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, hello there."

The newcomer greeted them loudly; it was Jiraiya.

Naruto's eyes lit up, and he darted forward: "Perverted Sage! You're back!"

Jiraiya laughed heartily: "Yo! You brat, missed me?"

"Lord Jiraiya." Kakashi also showed a rare smile, waving in greeting, "When did you get back?"

"Just arrived in Konoha," Jiraiya replied with a smile. "I heard Naruto yelling and screaming as I was passing by, so I stopped by to check it out."

Before he could finish speaking, he noticed the injury on Kakashi's face and was taken aback: "Hey, Kakashi, what happened to you?"

"Uh..." Kakashi adjusted his headband, looking a little embarrassed as he turned away. "I accidentally tripped and fell."

"Pfft—" Jiraiya almost couldn't hold back and burst out laughing on the spot. "You kid don't even bother to think before you lie! Falling down and turning yourself into a pig's head? That's such a lame excuse!"

Kakashi was both amused and exasperated: "Really. I accidentally fell down the stairs... uh... never mind."

He quickly waved his hand, not wanting to continue the topic.

"Lord Jiraiya, enough about me. How did your investigation go this time?"

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya's smile faded slightly, and he nodded, saying, "You've gained quite a bit."

He didn't explain much, but turned to Naruto, put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and looked him up and down, "Let me see, have you been slacking off while I was away?"

"Hehe, I've been training really hard!" Naruto stood up straight and puffed out his chest when he saw Jiraiya scrutinizing him.

Sakura chuckled from the side, "Naruto is practicing new techniques like crazy every day. Look at him, Jiraiya-sama, he's much more composed than before!"

Although Sasuke didn't speak, he nodded slightly in agreement.

Although he doesn't usually praise Naruto, the latter has indeed made significant progress recently.

Jiraiya carefully sensed the surging chakra fluctuations within Naruto's body and nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, you didn't slack off after all."

"That's right!" Naruto scratched his head and grinned sheepishly.

"Alright." Jiraiya nodded, then changed the subject, "Naruto, you, Sakura, and Sasuke continue your training. I have important information to report to Tsunade, so I won't disturb you any longer."

Although Naruto was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this, he still nodded sensibly: "Okay! Perverted Sage, you can go ahead and get busy."

"Haha, goodbye." Jiraiya waved cheerfully.

After saying that, he turned around and prepared to leave.

After taking a few steps, as if suddenly remembering something, she turned back and glanced at Sasuke.

Sasuke was deep in thought when he noticed Jiraiya's gaze. He looked up and stared back at him, a hint of confusion in his dark eyes.

Jiraiya stared at him for a moment without saying a word, then quickly looked away.

Looking at Sasuke's slightly immature yet resolute face.

Jiraiya thought of Itachi's request, and silently sighed...

Alas, the messy affairs of the Uchiha clan will ultimately have to be resolved by the brothers themselves.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but reveal a helpless yet expectant smile, waved his hand, and said loudly, "Then I'll go first. You guys train hard!"

After Team 7 saw Jiraiya off, the training ground fell silent again.

Naruto scratched his head, somewhat confused, and muttered, "Why was Jiraiya looking at Sasuke just now?"

Sasuke blushed upon hearing this, turned his head away, and scoffed, "Who knows?"

Sakura blinked, also feeling that what had just happened was a bit strange, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Kakashi stared thoughtfully in the direction Jiraiya had left, vaguely guessing what had happened.

But now is not the time to delve into that. He quickly snapped out of it, clapped his hands, and said, "Alright, stop standing there! Let's start training."

"oh--!"

Naruto nodded vigorously, his previous unhappiness completely gone, and he was energized once again.

……

Konoha Village.

Inside the Hokage's office, the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, was listening intently to Jiraiya's report.

"...Anyway, that's what happened."

Jiraiya stood in front of his desk with his arms crossed, recounting his experiences over the past few days.

From his journey to the Land of Grass, to the perilous process of infiltrating Amegakure to gather intelligence, and to the various situations he witnessed, he told Tsunade everything without holding back.

When Tsunade heard that Jiraiya had sneaked into the Akatsuki's hideout alone, she couldn't help but gasp, her beautiful eyes flashing with a mixture of shock and anger.

Her slender fingers clenched into fists; clearly, she was quite frightened by Jiraiya's bold move.

"You lunatic!" Tsunade glared at him angrily. "Who told you to go to a place like that by yourself? You're incredibly reckless!"

Seeing her anger, Jiraiya quickly chuckled and waved his hand, "Don't be angry, don't be angry, everything's alright! Besides, the information is very important, we can't go without going ourselves..."

"Hmph!" Tsunade glared at him fiercely, barely suppressing her anger, and continued to ask, "And then? You just mentioned Uchiha Itachi... He said he's recovered?"

“That’s right.” Jiraiya nodded, his expression somewhat complicated. “I saw it with my own eyes. Itachi looks quite well now, and his movements are extremely agile. He doesn’t look like someone who is seriously ill at all.”

Tsunade looked on incredulously.

She personally diagnosed Itachi's illness, and she had recently spent a lot of energy trying to concoct a medicine to prolong Itachi's life. As a result, Jiraiya told him that Itachi's illness was gone.

"Is there anyone in the ninja world whose medical skills surpass mine?!"

"I knew you'd react the same way I did when you heard this news."

Jiraiya shook his head with a wry smile, "But no matter what the process was, the result is that Itachi has fully recovered."

"However, Tsunade, let's put this matter aside for now. Since Itachi's health is no longer a problem, there's no need to rush."

Tsunade took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down: "...Okay. What about other scenarios?"

"I've only found out a few scraps of information about 'Pain,' and I haven't been able to meet him in person."

Jiraiya's expression turned serious. "However, I unexpectedly discovered something—Orochimaru has been captured by the Akatsuki."

"Orochimaru?" Upon hearing this name, Tsunade paused, a complex expression flashing in her eyes.

After a moment, she snorted and said casually, "If he got caught, he got caught. He brought it on himself."

Jiraiya stared at her, sighed deeply, and said in a deep voice, "Orochimaru betrayed the Akatsuki and ran away back then, and now he's in their hands again... Those guys in the Akatsuki aren't exactly soft-hearted. I'm worried about his situation."

Tsunade frowned upon hearing this, and looked up to meet Jiraiya's gaze: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Jiraiya met her sharp gaze and said, word by word, "I want to go and rescue Orochimaru."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade's expression changed drastically: "You—what?!"

She suddenly stood up and slammed her hands on the desk, making the entire desk vibrate.

"Are you crazy, Jiraiya?!" Tsunade's almond-shaped eyes widened in fury. "Didn't you just say how dangerous the situation in Amegakure is right now, and that you barely managed to escape? Do you really want to go back in?"

Faced with Tsunade's rebuke, Jiraiya remained solemn but did not back down: "Tsunade, I am well aware of the dangers of Amegakure. But Orochimaru..."

“He’s not completely beyond redemption,” Jiraiya argued. “You saw it yourself, in the last dream, Orochimaru…”