---Third POV---
Seeing how determined Son Gokū was, Ryouma naturally went along with his wishes.
"Kokuō, what about you? Do you have a place in mind?"
"As long as I can run freely whenever I want, that's enough for ."
Kokuō lifted a hoof, indicating that Ryouma didn't need to worry about him.
"Alright, then take these necklaces."
As Ryouma spoke, he reached out and took out two collars marked with the Flying Thunder God mark, showing them to the two tailed beasts.
Kokuō lowered its head to make it easier for Ryouma to put the collar on it and asked curiously, "Is there sothing special about this?"
While helping Son Gokū fasten the collar, Ryouma explained, "These have my space-ti coordinates stored in them. If you run into any trouble, use the chakra in your bodies to contact . I can be there in less than a second."
Although most of the chakra from the two tailed beasts was now with him, the threats in the shinobi world weren't limited to just Madara's group, there were also many missing-nin and small-country organizations that frequently caused trouble.
Since he had accepted their chakra, it was essentially a long-term contract, naturally, he had to do his best to protect them.
"Okay~ Then I'm heading back to Konoha. Take care."
After a simple farewell, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique with Shukaku and instantly returned ho.
---
"Isobu, where are the others?"
Ryouma found it quite convenient to have this hobody turtle hanging around, it was like having a 24/7 intelligent surveillance system.
Isobu lazily lifted its tail and replied, "They went to find a craftsman. They want to fix up the pond in the courtyard."
"Oh? That eager?"
Their unusual enthusiasm made Ryouma a little suspicious, but since they were willing to help, it did save him a lot of trouble.
Looking up at the rising sun, he patted Shukaku on the head and asked, "I'm heading to Konoha Hospital. Are you coming with or staying ho?"
"Hospital? Nah, I'll pass."
Shukaku was still recovering from the thrill of Kokuō's express ride and just wanted to lie down quietly for a while.
After placing it on a floor cushion in the courtyard, Ryouma didn't use the Flying Thunder God Technique this ti and instead walked to Konoha Hospital.
On the way, he picked up a bag of ordinary apples, completely lacking in visual appeal.
Inside Konoha Hospital, he walked in like he owned the place and went straight to the front desk to grab the patient records.
"Jiraiya, Room 316 on the third floor."
---
"Jiraiya-sama, you still can't be discharged yet."
Shizune sat operating a dical instrunt and didn't forget to remind the unruly white-haired man on the hospital bed next to her.
"Aww, Shizune. This little injury is nothing at all. You've heard of the Sannin, right? It's a really impressive title—"
Smack!
Shizune slapped away the hand Jiraiya was using to try and pull out his IV needle.
"Even a Sannin is still human. When you arrived at the hospital yesterday, you'd already lost so much blood it was life-threatening. And look at this."
As she spoke, she picked up a thermoter from the table and pointed at the reading to show him.
"Your body temperature is almost 40 degrees! Please don't make things more difficult for , alright?"
"Ah, uh..." Jiraiya stamred, "That must be because the Will of Fire burning inside is just too hot... Alright, I'll behave."
Lying back down properly on the hospital bed, he gazed at the clear blue sky outside the window.
"I wonder how Nagato is doing."
When he regained consciousness last night, Minato happened to be there. According to him, it was just a coincidence that he'd co to visit, but he suspected Minato had actually been waiting by his bedside the whole ti.
Honestly, it had moved him quite a bit. Of course, if the person waiting for him had been Tsunade, that would've been even better.
Knock knock knock~
At the sound of knocking, he suddenly sat up straight. In novels, when the male protagonist thinks about the heroine, there's often a knock on the door right after.
"No way... Is it Tsunade?"
The door opened a second later.
A tuft of white hair peeked in.
"Too bad, it's , Ryouma."
Ryouma's hearing was sharp, so of course he'd heard Jiraiya muttering to himself.
"And with her personality, would she even knock? Really, Jiraiya-senpai."
"Ah, yeah, that's true. Haha~" Jiraiya awkwardly slapped his forehead and laughed.
At that mont, Shizune finished her routine checks for the room. She stood up and stepped aside from the bed, greeted Ryouma, and left to continue checking other rooms.
Ryouma placed the apples on the bedside table, sat in a chair, and pulled out a kunai from behind his back. With a few swift flicks of the blade, he peeled an apple until it was perfectly clean.
"You're too kind. I haven't even thanked you yet for saving ."
As Jiraiya reached out to take the apple, Ryouma took a bite himself and said, "No need to thank . If anything, I should be thanking you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had the chance to completely eliminate Madara."
Jiraiya let the hand he'd extended naturally turn into a head scratch and awkwardly withdrew it.
"Ryouma... You know about Nagato, right? The red-haired kid with the Rinnegan..."
"I know."
Seeing how much effort Jiraiya was putting into his description, Ryouma quickly reassured him.
"You do? That's great. Yesterday, Minato filled in on your mission. Do you know why Nagato ended up siding with Madara?"
Jiraiya finally asked the question that had been weighing on him the most.
"He was probably being controlled," Ryouma replied as he finished off his apple and grabbed another, swiftly peeling it before handing it to Jiraiya.
"Controlled?"
"Yeah. The one you fought in the Land of Grass was just a puppet created using the Rinnegan's abilities. The real Nagato is being possessed and controlled by a special being nad Black Zetsu, who's one of Madara's subordinates."
"Then... is Nagato still alive?"
"Of course he's alive."
Ryouma could imdiately tell what Jiraiya was thinking and added a warning. "But I'd advise you not to act recklessly again. The enemy may have failed this ti, but if you run into them again, they'll likely go for the kill."
Jiraiya chomped down the entire apple in just three bites and said with feigned lightness, "Haha, was I that obvious?"
Seeing his reaction, Ryouma figured his advice wouldn't change much. So, he pulled a scroll from the ninja tool pouch on his back.
"Here, take this."
Jiraiya accepted the scroll, looking puzzled.
"What is it?"
"It's a self-activating warning scroll. If you tear it open, the technique inside will be triggered and destroyed, which will instantly send a signal to ."
Ryouma had given an older version of this to i before.
Jiraiya solemnly accepted the scroll that could be called the number one protective charm in the shinobi world and carefully put it away.
He was determined to save Nagato.
Based on the intel Minato gave him yesterday, Iwa no longer had any intentions of continuing the war. As long as Konoha remained safe both internally and externally, there wouldn't be much problem if he left the village for a while.
What's more, Konoha now had an absolute stabilizing force holding it down.
The aning behind Ryouma giving him this scroll was obvious, he wanted to lend Jiraiya a helping hand.
"Thank you."
"No need to thank ."
Ryouma looked down and fiddled with a Flying Thunder God kunai, his expression calm as he spoke.
"Compared to so unnecessary intel, your life affects many people's emotions. I just hope you won't take too many reckless risks."
After saying that, he didn't stay any longer. He got up, bid farewell, and jumped straight out of the window.
Watching his retreating back, Jiraiya shifted on the hospital bed and muttered to himself, "What an unexpressive little brat… Just don't learn that part from Tsunade."
---
Walking along the main street of Konoha, Ryouma was on his way to do sothing very important.
At a steady pace, he arrived at the Uchiha clan grounds. As he passed by Fugaku's residence, he heard a familiar voice.
"Still not ready yet, Itachi? I can't wait any longer, I'm going ahead to wait outside!"
As the voice fell, a grey-haired kid rushed out from Fugaku's front gate and slamd straight into Ryouma.
"So hard…" Rubbing his slightly aching head, Hidan squinted up and looked.
Ryouma patted his head and habitually asked, "You haven't been bothering your classmates at the ninja academy recently, right?"
"Of course… not. Mhm."
Hidan's answer lacked confidence, but Ryouma didn't press further. It was clear Hidan ca to play with a friend today, not the ti to lecture kids./Malphegor
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