Kurenai felt like she had uncovered the truth. She looked at Seiryū and whispered, "Seiryū, don't you think that white-haired guy is the Peeping Tom from this morning?"
"He's even practicing Ninjutsu with Jōnin Minato? Do you think Jōnin Minato got tricked? He seems kind of easy to fool. Should we go over and confirm?"
She really thought Minato was easy to deceive. He always smiled gently and never fought back when Jōnin Kushina bullied him. He looked like a genuinely honest person.
And honest people were the easiest to fool!
Seiryū nodded blankly. "Uh, now that you mention it, he really does look a bit like him..."
What else could he say?
Kurenai was sharp for once, so he might as well play along. After all, she was his younger sister.
Hearing Seiryū's "confirmation," Kurenai immediately grew indignant. "Hmph, that hateful Peeping Tom! Come on, Seiryū, let's expose him! Even if Jōnin Minato wasn't tricked, we can't let him associate with someone like that. He'll be influenced!"
This morning, Seiryū had already punished the Peeping Tom, setting a good example. Now, she also wanted to stand for justice.
She couldn't let Jōnin Minato be deceived, and she definitely couldn't let him hang around with such a person.
Expose him, he had to be exposed!
Kurenai dragged Seiryū with her, storming over angrily.
Seiryū was helpless and could only let himself be pulled along… The two moved quickly and arrived in no time. Kurenai immediately pointed at Jiraiya and snapped, "Hmph! You hateful Peeping Tom, why are you here? Are you trying to trick Jōnin Minato?"
Then she looked at Minato seriously and said, "Jōnin Minato, you must not get too close to him. He's a Peeping Tom. This morning…"
Kurenai started listing all of Jiraiya's crimes in one breath.
Someone like him needed to be punished! Peeping at a hot spring inn—his behavior was vile and despicable!!
Jiraiya, Minato: "..."
Minato scratched his head, feeling strangely embarrassed. He glanced at his teacher, not knowing what to say.
Sigh, what a headache.
Could Sensei not act like this? As his student, how was he supposed to clean up after him?
"Hahaha..." Jiraiya laughed dryly. Being accused in public, especially by a child, was awkward, even for someone as thick-skinned as him.
He was still too young to reach the level of shamelessness he would one day master.
Right now, Jiraiya definitely wouldn't admit to anything. There was no proof anyway. Why would he confess?
Forcing himself to stay calm, Jiraiya put on a friendly smile. "Little friends, could it be that you've mistaken me for someone else? I've been here training with Minato since this morning. How could I have time for anything like that?"
"Besides, maybe you've heard my name before..."
Jiraiya planned to use his reputation to salvage his reputation.
Hearing this, Kurenai looked suspicious. "I've heard your name?"
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Jiraiya laughed three times and then began a bizarre dance, shaking his head as he moved. "I am the white-haired Toad Sage, known throughout the East, West, North, and South, one of the mighty Sannin, a handsome man who can make crying children fall silent."
After a string of abstract and exaggerated self-introductions, Jiraiya stomped his geta on the ground, flicked his long white hair, and proudly declared, "I am Jiraiya-sama!!"
"..." Seiryū couldn't help but cover his face. His secondhand embarrassment was kicking in hard.
He thought he was already eccentric, but the people in Konoha were far more outlandish than he imagined—each more ridiculous than the last!
"Toad Sage? Jiraiya?" Kurenai tapped her chin, feeling like she'd heard that name somewhere before.
Then she thought carefully and pointed at Jiraiya in shock. "You're Jiraiya-sama? One of the Sannin? The one as famous as Lady Tsunade!?"
Her current dream was to become a powerful ninja like Tsunade, so she naturally knew the name of the Sannin.
But this Peeping Tom… was actually Jiraiya-sama, one of the Sannin?
How was that possible? Her entire worldview was crumbling.
The Sannin were legendary figures in the shinobi world. Shouldn't they be powerful, composed, and dignified?
How could they do something so shameful...?
"Indeed, that's me!" Jiraiya laughed proudly, feeling triumphant. Time to completely distance himself from the Peeping Tom accusation.
He coaxed, "Do you really think that I, one of the Sannin, would stoop so low as to peep?"
Seiryū, Minato: "..."
Yes, you would.
Not only would you, but you've done it many, many times...
"Hmm..." Kurenai hesitated. She subconsciously glanced at Seiryū, seeking confirmation.
She didn't want it to be true. She had already pegged this guy as the Peeping Tom from this morning.
And now, she had to accept that the Peeping Tom was actually one of the Sannin?
She didn't want to believe it!
How could Jiraiya-sama of the Sannin be such a pervert!?
Toad Sage? More like Pervy Sage!
"I don't know." Seiryū shrugged and asked Minato, "Jōnin Minato, is he really Jiraiya-sama, one of the Sannin?"
"Uh..." Minato gave a couple of awkward laughs and nodded. "He's my teacher. And yes, he really is Jiraiya, one of the Sannin."
After all, he was his teacher, so Minato had to give him at least some face. He added, "And Sensei has been here training with me since this morning. He hasn't left this place at all..."
What else could he do?
He had no choice but to back his teacher up. If this really got confirmed, it wouldn't just be Jiraiya's reputation that went down—his would too...
Jiraiya secretly gave his student a thumbs-up and nodded repeatedly. "That's right, that's right. I've been here the whole morning. Minato can vouch for me!"
"..." Kurenai felt like they were underestimating her. Even Seiryū couldn't fool her anymore, and now they wanted to try and trick her with this? Adults were so sneaky!
She muttered under her breath, "I'm not three years old..."
Did she really need more evidence? The bruise was still on his face. Did he really think some makeup would hide everything...?
Kurenai's voice wasn't loud, but Minato still heard it... He felt his face heat up and quickly changed the subject with a smile. "Kurenai, Seiryū, what are you two doing here? Oh, that's right. Today is Sunday, the Academy's day off. Were you out playing?"
Seiryū replied, "Yeah, just walking around. Gotta relax sometimes. By the way, Jōnin Minato, is that Ninjutsu you're working on the one you mentioned before?"
Minato smiled. "I didn't think you'd remember. Yeah, it's that one. But it's still incomplete. Right now, it's just a prototype..."
(To be continued.)